Conservation Biology Exam 1

The application of biological principles to the preservation of biodiversity at all levels, from the genome to the ecosystem

Conservation Biology

What is the biodiversity crisis?

loss of biodiversity

What are 3 levels of biodiversity?

Genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity

What are 3 patterns of biodiversity?

taxonomic, geographic, and temporal patterns

What 2 things do functioning ecosystems provide?

natural resources and ecological services

What are the 2 ultimate threats to biodiversity?

Human population size and human resource consumption

What are 5 proximate threats to biodiversity?

habitat loss and change, invasive species, overexploitation, pollution, and climate change

What are 2 points of in situ conservation?

reserve design and ecological restoration

What are 3 points of ex situ conservation?

Captive breeding, seed banks, and reintroduction

A geologic epoch in which humanity is the main driver of planetary change

the Anthropocene

What 3 things is the Anthropocene defined by?

land use change, anthropogenic pollution, and nuclear fallout

The _____ was a period of environmental stability.

Holocene

The Anthropocene follows the ________.

Holocene

__________ ___________ arose during the period of stability.

Human civilizations

What are 9 planetary boundaries of the Holocene?

freshwater use, stratospheric ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosol loading, ocean acidification, biogeochemical flows, novel entities, land use change, biosphere integrity, and climate change

What 3 boundaries are humans pushing past?

Biogeochemical flows, novel entities, and biosphere integrity

Total impact = ___________ _______ X _________ ________

Population size, resource utilization

I in I=PAT

Human impact on environment

P in I=PAT

Population size

A in I=PAT

level of affluence

T in I=PAT

Technological sophistication

World population (human)

8.1 billion

US human population

337 million

predicted human population in 2100

10.4 billion

Humans consume _______ % of NPP

20-30

NPP

Net production of plant biomass

What 2 things will human resource utilization increase with?

Increasing population size and increasing standard of living in developing nations

What are the “BRIC” nations?

Brazil, India, Russia, and China

Amount of productive land, freshwater, and ocean necessary to produce the resources required by a single person

ecological footprint

The US’s per capita ecological footprint

7.9 ha

per capita ecological footprint varies by _______.

Nation

India’s per capita ecological footprint

0.9 ha

The global human ecological footprint is currently ~______ Earths.

1.5

It would take _____ - ______ Earths to sustain everyone at current consumption levels of people in developed nations.

4,5

Human impact on the environment varies ___________.

geographically

The sum of all living things on Earth

biodiversity

What is the background extinction rate?

0.1 species/million species/year

What is the current extinction rate?

100 species/million species/year

What is the current extinction rate similar to?

extinction rates during previous mass extinction events

_______ _______ emerged in response to the “biodiversity crisis”.

Conservation Biology

Applies biological theory and knowledge to the preservation of biodiversity

Conservation Biology

Conservation biology draws theories from what 5 things?

Evolution, systematics, ecology, population genetics, and behavior

What 3 other fields does conservation biology encompass theory from?

Economics, social science, and political science

What are 3 goals of conservation biology?

document the full range of biological diversity on Earth, investigate human impacts on biodiversity, and develop practical methods to protect biodiversity

What are the 4 principles of conservation biology?

Evolution is the fundamental characteristic of biological systems, ecological systems are dynamic and largely nonequilibrium, humans are part of the natural world and the precautionary principle

What are the 2 goals of conducting conservation biology in an evolutionary framework?

Ensuring that populations survive and that populations evolve in response to environmental change

What is an example of an ecological system that has changed over time?

plant succession

Predictable succession of one plant community after another through time

plant (vegetative) succession

How does plant succession potentially end?

With a stable climax community

Each plant community changes ______ _________, favoring the establishment of the next community.

environmental conditions

What are two types of disturbances that prevent ecological systems from reaching a stable end state?

Natural and Anthropogenic disturbances

What is the goal of conducting conservation biology in a non-equilibrium framework?

Preserve the continuum of biological communities over time and space in a landscape context

_________ over time at any given site is expected.

Change

The nonequilibrium framework maintains _________ ___________ regime.

natural disturbance

How long have humans been part of the natural world?

more than 200,000 years

Even pristine _______ is impacted by human activity.

wilderness

What is the goal of the human presence framework?

preserve biodiversity in the face of human presence

Steps should be taken to prevent potential harm to the environment even if the scientific knowledge is incomplete or inconclusive

the precautionary principle

What are 6 characteristics of conservation biology?

a response to the biodiversity crisis, a multidisciplinary science, a science with an evolutionary time-scale, a science of eternal vigilance, an inexact science, and a normative science

What are 3 reasons that conservation biology is an inexact science?

complexity of ecological systems, predictions based on incomplete knowledge, and predictions are often probabilistic

Conservation biology applies biological knowledge to preserve _________ and _______ _______.

biodiversity, ecosystem health

What are 5 value-based assumptions of conservation biology?

biodiversity should be preserved, extinction of populations and species should be prevented, evolution should continue, ecological complexity and ecosystem function should be maintained, and biodiversity has intrinsic value

What are 4 levels of biodiversity?

genetic, population and species, community, and ecosystem diversity

The ultimate source of all biodiversity

genetic diversity

A given species possesses many _________.

genes

Each gene may exist in _________ alternate forms (alleles).

two or more

In most species, individuals are typically ______ distinct.

genetically

________ ________ among individuals gives rise to the heritable variation on which natural selection acts.

genetic diversity

Genetic diversity among individuals is necessary for what?

adaptation to changing environmental conditions

A group of actually or potentially interbreeding organisms that are reproductively isolated from other such groups

species

All of the individuals of a given species in a given place at a given time

population

A given species may consist of one or more ____________.

populations

Many species exist as many ________-________ ________, which may be locally adapted to the immediate environment

semi-isolated populations

Why are species legally relevant to conservation biology?

policies often specifically grant protection to species

What are two examples of laws that grant species specific protection?

Endangered Species Act and Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species

The _______ is the fundamental unit of evolution.

species

What are 3 examples of species concepts?

Biological species concept, phylogenetic species concept and morphospecies

A group of actually or potentially interbreeding individuals that are reproductively isolated from other such groups

Biological species concept

What is the biological species concept inadequate for?

asexually reproducing organisms and extinct (fossil) forms

A group of individuals that share a common evolutionary history (one common ancestor) and are diagnosable by a unique combination of characters

Phylogenetic species concept

A group of individuals recognized by appearance (morphology)

morphospecies

When is morphospecies often used?

when ecological or phylogenetic knowledge is limited

Why is morphospecies misleading?

morphological variation among sexes, life stages, ect.

What is morphospecies also known as?

Operational taxonomic units

Who introduced binomial nomenclature?

Linnaeus

What are the 2 parts of binomial nomenclature?

generic name and specific epithet

How many extant species are described by science?

about 2 million

How many extinct species are described by science from fossils?

300,000

How many extant species are there ESTIMATED to be?

5-10 million

We have an ________ “catalog of life”.

incomplete

How many extant described species are insects?

nearly 1 million

What is needed for taxonomic/systematic studies?

funding

Many extant species may become _________ before they are described by science.

extinct

_________ and _________ organisms are particularly poorly known.

Microscopic, parasitic

All of the individuals of all species in a given place at a given time

community

What is the biotic component of an ecosystem?

community

How can species diversity within or among communities be described?

species richness, evenness, and similarity

Number of species

species richness

Number of species weighted by importance

evenness

Distinctiveness of species composition

similarity