BIO 104 3.3

single-species conservation

A management strategy that focuses on protecting one particular species.

keystone species

A species that impacts its community more than its mere abundance would predict, often altering ecosystem structure

indicator species

A species that is particularly vulnerable to ecosystem perturbations, and that, when we monitor it, can give us advance warning of a problem.

key concept

Legal protection for threatened species includes national laws and international treaties.

ecotourism

Low-impact travel to natural areas that contributes to the protection of the environment and respects the local people.

For conservation programs to work, they must protect not only the species in question but

also the humans who share its habitat.

many conservationists advocate

an ecosystem conservation approach

National parks are set aside primarily for

human recreation

if you are a seed and fall near your parent plant, are you more likely to survive or less likely

if a seed is near its parent plant it is not likely to survive at all

how many plants and animals are at risk of going extinct

1/3

how many elephants were poached in 2011

40,000

landscape conservation

An ecosystem conservation strategy that specifically identifies a suite of species, chosen because they use all the vital areas within an ecosystem; meeting the needs of these species will keep the ecosystem fully functional, thus meeting the needs of all species that live there

The 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

An international treaty that promotes sustainable use of ecosystems and biodiversity. The CBD sets goals and targets for meeting those goals but its success has been hampered by its lack of enforcement tools

who is Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

An international treaty that regulates the global trade of selected species

Debt-for-nature swaps

Arrangements in which a wealthy nation forgives the debt of a developing nation in return for a pledge to protect natural areas in that developing nation.

what country boasts the largest population of forest elephants on the continent

Botswana

key concept

Consumers can help protect biodiversity by making purchases that support the sustainable use of natural areas and that avoid illegal wildlife trafficking.

key concept

Designated protected areas can help the species that reside within by reducing human impact on those species or their habitat.

legal safeguards like the

ESA and CITES

key concept

Ecosystem conservation programs focus on protecting the habitat within an ecosystem, which helps protect all the species that live there.

key concept

Ecotourism and debt-for-nature swaps provide funding and incentives to protect natural areas and in the process, benefit local communities.

sad elephants

Elephants exhibit complex behaviors and are known for both their elaborate communication networks and their uncannily human-like mourning rituals. Even when they are miles apart, the members of a family maintain regular contact, communicating with sounds too low for human ear

info

Every nation in the world has protected areas.

protected areas

Geographic spaces on land or at sea that are recognized, dedicated, and managed to achieve long-term conservation of nature.

key concept

Habitat destruction is the biggest threat to species today. Other threats include invasive species, overexploitation, pollution, and climate change.

yeah :(

In recent decades, despite a rash of international attention to the problems of biodiversity loss, each of these factors has gotten worse.

info

National laws also protect endangered species

how much has overfishing effected oysters and tuna

Overfishing has claimed some 85% of oyster reefs and as much as 90% of the world's populations of large predatory fish like tuna and cod

key concept

Scientists can use conservation genetics to help identify endangered populations and to track illegal sale or trade of endangered species.

key concept

Single-species conservation programs focus on an individual species, successfully protecting some high-profile species, but are less often used for less visible or valued species.

threatened species

Species that are at risk for extinction; various threat levels have been identified, ranging from "least concern" to extinct."

flagship species

The focus of public awareness campaigns aimed at generating interest in conservation in general; usually an interesting or charismatic species, such as the giant panda or tiger.

yeah

The loss or even decline of a species can have significant effects on its ecological community

info

The number of protected areas has increased dramatically in recent years but it still falls below the targets set by the Convention on Biological Diversity for terrestrial and marine ecosystems

Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The primary federal law that protects biodiversity in the United States. Animals officially declared threatened or endangered need to be protected through a range of federally funded and scientifically proven strategies

Ecosystem resoration

The repair of natural habitats back to (or close to) their original state or as close as possible

conservation genetics

The scientific field that relies on species' genetics to inform conservation efforts.

Key Concept

Though most species have yet to be assessed, those that have been are assigned a conservation designation ranging from least concern to extinct.

key concept

When one species in an ecosystem is endangered, others that interact with or depend on it can be negatively impacted. This can cause a domino effect as more and more interacting species are impacted by the changes.

is an elephant a keystone species?

YOU BETCHA. Not only does it disperse seeds and mobilize large amounts of nutrients with its feces, it also reorders the physical structure of the forest—trampling vegetation, felling trees, and opening up the forest canopy in ways that facilitate plant growth and keep the ecosystem healthy. Savanna elephants also play a role as a keystone species. Without their grazing and trampling of young woody vegetation, the savanna grasslands on which so many antelope and other species and the predators who feed on them depend would quickly convert to shrub lands. "Once they're gone," "overall biodiversity will likely plummet."

how long will it take the forest of guanacaste to return to normal?

a couple hundred years

was ivory getting poached from many different spots or from a couple of hotspots?

a couple of hotspots

what is the red list

a series of designations to classify the seriousness of threat to a given species. Species are added to the list when they're at risk of becoming endangered, and they're removed when their status improves.

how was ivory trade mapped?

by sequencing DNA from ivory

Nature preserves (also called nature or game reserves) are

closed to hunting and fishing; their main goal is to protect wildlife.

what is doing the most damage to elephants?

construction of roads, due to the easier access poachers have to them and fragmentation of habitat

goal of single species approach?

goal of these programs is to release animals back into the wild

65% of all forest elephants were killed between 2002 and 2013

info

As long as the main problem facing a species is low population size, reintroduction campaigns can be very effective, but this is insufficient if other threats exist

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Elephants travel 14 times faster than normal when crossing a road that is unprotected from poachers

info

Loxodonta africana cyclotis (forest elephant) and Loxodonta africana africana (savanna elephant)

info

Without the elephants to disperse them, Blake says that plants with large fruits and seeds would eventually disappear. "The balance would be tipped in favor of those species that are dispersed by wind or other abiotic agents."

info

by focusing on the ecosystem as a whole, the entire community benefits—not just the species we knew were endangered but also those that we didn't even know were there

info

no ore genetic overlap between forest elephant and african elephant than with the indian elephant or wooly mammoth

info

by protecting the elephant you also protect other species as well

info yup

ecosystem conservation

management strategy that focuses on protecting an ecosystem as a whole in an effort to protect the species that live there.

what are the 5 categories of threats to biodiversity

overexploitation, pollution, climate change, the introduction of invasive species, and (the number-one cause) habitat destruction.

other name for cleanup of pollution

remediation

metrics that assess ecosystem health are

species richness and evenness, soil health, water quality, plant community composition, and the abundance of non-native species

conservation biology

the science of preserving biodiversity

True or False: Protection plans can focus on individual species or entire ecosystems; both methods have proven successful

true

humans are changing the environment with unprecedented speed—so much so that many populations cannot keep up

true

Wildlife refuges and wilderness areas are generally open to

visitors, as well as to hunting and fishing, but are not commercially developed (i.e., they have no restaurants, hotels