Conservation Biology Lecture Notes Flashcards

Flashcards covering key vocabulary from a lecture on species and landscape approaches to conservation, population dynamics, and modeling techniques.

CITES

An international treaty that tends to have a species-oriented approach to conservation.

Flagship Species

High-profile species used to garner public interest and promote conservation education (e.g., Morelet’s crocodile, neotropical otter).

BIDE factors

Factors that influence changes in population size: Birth, Immigration, Death, Emigration.

Life History Characteristics/Traits

Characteristics such as sex-ratios, age-structure, and time of first reproduction that influence population dynamics.

Density-independent factors

Factors that affect population size regardless of population density.

Density-dependent factors

Factors where per capita mortality increases or per capita birth decreases as population density increases.

Allee Effect

A phenomenon where higher densities are needed for reproduction (e.g., colonial nesters, abalone, queen conch).

Genetic Drift

Changes in allele frequency that can lead to a decrease in genetic diversity and inbreeding depression, especially in small populations.

Demographic Uncertainty (Stochasticity)

Random changes in sex-ratio, reproductive success, and mortality rates that can impact small populations.

Environmental Uncertainty (Stochasticity)

Unpredictable environmental changes that can cause a sudden increase in reproductive failure or individual mortality.

Source Population

A population where reproduction is greater than mortality, indicating a high-quality habitat.

Sink Population

A population where reproduction is lower than mortality; will go extinct without immigration and occupies marginal quality habitat.

Metapopulation

A population structure frequently organized by source-sink dynamics where not all populations are equally likely to go extinct.

Rescue Effect

A factor that maintains small populations, often through gene flow.

Minimum Viable Metapopulation Size

The minimum number of subpopulations needed for a metapopulation to persist.

Remnant Populations

Patchily distributed species that survive not because of immigration but because of other factors (e.g., long-lived plants with asexual reproduction).

Population Viability Analysis (PVA)

A tool used to examine the demographic effect of different threats or management practices on a population, including predicting future population sizes and extinction risk.

Count-based PVA

A type of PVA that relies on censuses for data.

Demographic or Structured PVA

A type of PVA that uses demographic data and matrices.

Multi-site PVA

A type of PVA that considers various subpopulations.

Ecologically Functional Population Size (EFP)

A population size that maintains interactions and fulfills ecological roles within an ecosystem.

Hierarchical Analysis

An approach to population regulation that considers factors at both the individual (resource use within habitat) and landscape (regional habitat availability and quality) levels.

Landscape Models

Models that incorporate the movement of individuals over a landscape, recognizing the interconnectedness of populations and the presence of good and bad locations.

Spatially Explicit Population Models (SEPM)

Models that incorporate actual locations of individuals and suitable habitat, considering the movement among them. Requires a landscape map, projection of landscape change, and simulation of population dynamics.

Landscape Species Approach

Focusing on one species with a wide range (e.g., large carnivores) and its critical habitat, combined with human landscape considerations.