Conservation Biology Final Exam

conservation

sustainable use of natural resources

preservation

keeping hands off of the environment

restoration

return degraded environment to historic conditions

darwin and wallace

proposed evolution by natural selection in the 1860s

preservation ethic

grew out of romantic-transcendental thoughts; advocated for hands-off, pristine wilderness

utilitarian conservation ethic

advocated for using natural resources for the benefit of people who live here now

aldo leopold

wrote the land ethic, which talked about how people are members and citizens of the land which demands respect for it

rachel carson

observed the loss of bird species and linked the decline in birds to increased pesticides; wrote silent spring in 1962

rosalie edge

focused on protecting all bird species and founded hawk mountain sanctuary

william hornaday

realized bison population was plummeting and tried to “preserve” bison by shooting them in order to study them later

types of science

basic and applied

basic science

“pure” science expands knowledge regardless of known applications for knowledge

applied science

aims to use science to solve a known, real-world problem

biodiversity hotspot

significant reservoir of biodiversity and is threatened with destruction

latitudinal gradients

general increase in species richness towards tropical latitudes

cradle of diversity

more diversity begins in the tropics

museum of diversity

more diversity because of fewer extinction

hypotheses for latitudinal gradients

stability and energy diversity hypothesis

stability hypothesis

species continue to develop in areas that have remained stable for longer

energy diversity hypothesis

warmer areas have higher rates of speciation or lower rates of extinction

what do both hypotheses for latitudinal gradients suggest?

suggest that the greatest diversity is in the south

conservation biology

the study of the protection and preservation of the environment

biological diversity

variety of life

types of biological diversity

organismal, genetic, and ecological

organismal diversity

the full taxonomic hierarchy and its components, from individuals, populations, subspecies and species, genera, families, phyla, kingdoms, and domains

genetic diversity

components of the genetic coding that structures organisms (nucleotides, genes, chromosomes) and variation in the genetic makeup between individuals within and between populations

ecological diversity

scales of ecological differences from populations, through habitats to ecosystems, ecoregions, provinces, and on up to biomes and biogeographic realms

species richness

number of species in a community

species eveness

comparison of relative abundance of species in a community

diversity index

estimates of species diversity; not every index shows the exact same patterns

endemic species

species the live in a limited geographic area

phylogenetic diversity

calculation of the branch length sums in a phylogenetic tree

biomes

geographical region with communities adapted to local climate (temperature and precipitation)

ecoregion

large unit of land or water containing a geographically distinct assemblage of species, natural communities, and environmental conditions

ecosystem services

the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems and the species that make them up, sustain and fulfill human life

millennium ecosystem assessment

largest assessment of the health of Earth’s ecosystems; popularized the term ecosystem services

what are the ecosystem services?

provisioning services, regulating services, supporting services, cultural services

provisioning services

products obtained from ecosystems → food, water, raw material, medicinal resources

regulating services

benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes → climate, natural hazard regulations, erosion

supporting services

services necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services → lifecycle maintenance, biodiversity protection

cultural services

nonmaterial benefits obtained from ecosystem → recreation, tourism, aesthetic values, inspiration

biogeochemistry

studying the chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes near the surface of the Earth

solution to tragedy of the commmons

international ban, taxes and fees, cap and trade, engage more local governments

kunming-montreal global biodiversity framework

23 action-oriented global targets for urgent action over the decade to 2030

ecosystem functioning

the collective life activity of all plants, animals, and microbes and the effects of these activities (feeding, growing, moving, excreting, etc) have on the physical and chemicals conditions of their environment

habitat loss

major threat to biodiversity

types of habitat loss

habitat destruction, habitat degradation, habitat fragmentation

habitat destruction

natural habitats are no longer able to support the original species, resulting in the displacement or destruction of the biodiversity

habitat destruction examples

fossil fuel removal, deforestation, dredging, bottom trawling, urbanization, wetland fill, mowing

habitat degradation

habitat remains intact, but it is degraded such that it is incapable of ecosystem functioning → species extinction or migration

habitat degradation example

pollution, invasive species, agriculture, urban sprawl, logging, mining, overfishing, altered fire regime

habitat fragmentation

the spatial separation of habitats that previously were connected

habitat fragmentation examples

land conversion to agriculture, urbanization, dams, water diversions, pollution, invasive species, deforestation

anthromes

anthropogenic biomes

corridor

a habitat that connects isolated patches of habitat that are otherwise inaccessible

patch

habitat separated from the surrounding matrix

structural connectivity

connectivity from a land or seascape perspective

functional connectivity

connectivity from a species perspective

concerns from connectivty

invasive species movement, disease, predation, edge effects

value of corridors in conservation

ethics, economics, social concerns, politics

theory of island biogeography

describes how island size and isolation determine population colonization success; large islands sustain larger populations than small ones and experience a lower extinction risk

endangered species act

provides a program for the conservation of threatened and endangered plants and animals and the habitats in which they are found

threatened species

a species likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future in a substantial part of its home range

endangered species

a species currently in danger of extinction

how is the ESA implemented?

terrestrial species are protected by the US fish and wildlife service and marine species are protected by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service

keystone species

species that have a disproportionately large impact on an environment compared to their biomass

trophic cascade

how species, like a predator, interacts with the whole food web, including the plant and herbivores

chronic wasting disease

neurological illness found at feedlots outside of Jackson Hole where elk have been since 1912

what animals are likely to go locally extinct?

historic loss of very large organisms, while small organisms have fewer species threatened

defaunation

global, local, or functional extinction of animal population/species in which large species are lost first

tragedy of the commons

refers to a situation in which individuals with access to a public resource act in their own interest and, in doing so, ultimately deplete the resource

greenhouse gases

gases that trap heat in the atmosphere

CO2

carbon dioxide

CH4

methane, which is released by cows, a by-product of natural resources, and produced by flares at landfills

N2O

nitrous oxide, which is a by-product of the production of chemicals for fertilizers

SF6

fluorinated gases like sulfur hexafluoride

ocean acidification

human activity raises CO2 levels in the air, which leads to more dissolved CO2, which leads to decreased pH, which leads to the ocean being more acidic

extreme weather

* small shifts can make a difference
* Ex: more extreme rainfall because more heat = more evaporation = more moisture clouds forming = more rain

greenland

melting over land and icebergs calving off

antarctica

ice shelves form with subglacial melting and calving off the shelf

ice shelf

ice attached to a coastline, fed by glaciers, extending over the ocean

ice shelf purpose

act as breaks to slow down the movement of glaciers coming from the main ice sheet

iceberg

a large piece of floating ice from a glacier

sea ice

frozen saltwater that formed on and floats on the ocean surface (not from land glaciers)

sea ice purpose

regulates heat, moisture, and salinity in polar oceans, as well as provides habitat for organisms

first-year sea ice

has not survived a summer melt

multi-year sea ice

thicker with more ice growing on the underside

biomonitoring

using biological organisms in the environment to infer the habitat quality

biomonitoring example

birds in the presence of DDT

clean water act and bioassessment

includes restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters

healthy stream meaning

when we say healthy, we usually mean the ecosystem is similar to a natural ecosystem with a balanced, integrated, adaptive community of organisms with varied composition, diversity, and functional groups present

substrate

bottom type

smothering

silt and rocks covering larger rocks

silting

clay and silt covering the entire stream, causing high turbidity

sinuosity of channels

curviness of channels

oxbow

U-shaped bend

oxbow lake

lake formed when an oxbow is cut off from the main stream

oxbow scar

dried oxbow lake

riffles and runs

areas where current is fast/turbulent, and the surface may be broken

discharge

the volume of water moving through a stream