Wildlife Conservation Notes

AVBS3004: Wildlife Conservation

  • Dr Matt Davis, Associate Lecturer, Taronga Institute of Science & Learning, matthew.davis2@sydney.edu.au

Acknowledgement of Country

  • Acknowledging the Gadigal people as the traditional custodians of the land.
  • Paying respects to Elders past and present.
  • Extending respect to any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders present.

Learning Outcomes

  • LO1: Describe contemporary challenges faced by conservation biologists.
  • LO2: Articulate the complex interplay of stakeholders involved in wildlife conservation.
  • LO3: Use techniques employed by scientists to support an evidence-based approach to wildlife conservation.
  • LO4: Critically evaluate, interpret, and present the scientific data that underpins wildlife conservation decisions in real-world scenarios.
  • LO5: Describe and appreciate the varied stakeholder views, particularly in contentious wildlife conservation decisions.
  • LO6: Critically evaluate the outcomes of wildlife conservation programs.

What is Wildlife?

  • Undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species existing in their natural habitat.
  • Includes all organisms growing or living wild in an area without human introduction.
  • Historically synonymous with "game": undomesticated animals hunted for food, sport, or profit.
  • Refers to all living organisms (animals, plants, fungi, microorganisms) in natural habitats without direct human influence.
  • Includes terrestrial and aquatic species, from insects to mammals.
  • Plays a crucial role in ecosystems, contributing to biodiversity, ecological balance, and environmental health.

Definitions of Wildlife by Various Organizations

  • ICCWC (International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime):
    • All wild fauna and flora, including animals, birds, fish, timber, and non-timber forest products.
  • CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity):
    • Living, non-domesticated animals; some experts include plants.
  • FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations):
    • All living things growing independently of people, usually in natural condition, including plants, animals, birds, and aquatic life.
  • IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature):
    • Living things that are neither human nor domesticated.

What is Wildlife Conservation?

  • Protecting populations of species.
  • Recognizing ecological importance.
  • Acknowledging economical importance.
  • Appreciating cultural significance.
  • Humans making conscious efforts to protect wild species and their habitats.

Wildlife Conservation Focus in This Unit

  • Mostly free-ranging, terrestrial vertebrates
  • Some marine examples
  • Wild vertebrates within captive settings (insitu and exsitu)
  • The role of captive institutions in wildlife conservation
  • Contributions of free-living and contained wildlife to conservation programs

Why Should We Conserve Wildlife?

  • Anthropocene:
    • Period in which human activity is the dominant influence on climate and the environment.
  • Ecosystem health and function
  • Combating climate change
  • Preservation of culturally significant species
  • Ethical considerations

Importance and Value of Animals

  • Indirect values
  • Cultural values
  • Direct values
  • Existence values

Indirect Values

  • Ecological and environmental:
    • All species are supported by interactions among other species and ecosystems at all levels of organisation.
  • Ecosystem functioning:
    • Physiochemical and biological processes that maintain life (e.g., nutrient cycling, oxygen production, coastal defenses).

Biodiversity Hotspots

  • Conservation International defines 35 biodiversity hotspots.
  • Extraordinary places that harbor vast numbers of plant and animal species found nowhere else.
  • Heavily threatened by habitat loss and degradation.
  • Their conservation is crucial for protecting nature for the benefit of all life on Earth.

Direct Values

  • Economic:
    • Provides products and services for humans.
    • Livestock/domestic animals – meat, wool, dairy, etc.
    • Bushmeat from wild animals.
    • Insects: pollination for crops and honey from bees.
    • Tourism and education.

Cultural Values

  • Culture around the world (including spiritual and religious beliefs) can guide the value of species.
  • What is regarded as sacred in one culture may not be in another.

Existence Values (Intrinsic Value)

  • A species is valuable just as an entity of themselves, for what it is, because all species have the right to exist.

Complex Conservation Scenario

  • Managing a species with multiple overlapping considerations:
    • An introduced species.
    • Classed as invasive due to impacts on native fauna and flora.
    • Valued by traditional owners who recognize the animal’s right to exist.
    • A source of food and income for traditional owners.
    • Internationally recognized as an endangered species in its native range.
    • Introduced population is the largest remaining global population.

Case Study: The Banteng (Bos javanicus)

Banteng (Bos javanicus)

  • Fewer than 5,000 wild individuals in SE Asia; population trend is decreasing.
  • Habitat loss through development, mining, and agriculture is a major driver of decline.

Banteng in Australia

  • Brought by settlers as a source of food in the mid-1800s.
  • Settlement was abandoned, and animals were released.
  • Feral population up to 10,000 individuals (2007).
  • Genetic testing reveals no hybridization with other domestic cattle breeds.
  • Value to traditional owners as a source of food and income from hunting.
  • Impacts on local vegetation and competition with native herbivores.
  • Minimal dispersal; restricted by preferred habitat.

Ethical Question

  • Should we conserve banteng in Australia?