BIOL 421- Final Exam (UNR)
Name three ways that 'irreplaceability' might be defined. Plot irreplaceability against threat level and which areas might be your highest priority? What rationale are you using to identify your priority area?
* "Irreplaceability" can be defined as the degree of richness, endemism, or presence of threatened/endangered species. The highest priority should be for areas with the greatest threat and highest possibility of not being replaced. Also, a high priority area should be places that are high in irreplaceability but are not yet threatened. We can prevent these areas from become destroyed but understanding they are a biodiversity hotspot.
Provide an example of "conservation in the matrix" and why this matters in conservation planning.
* Example: land sharing = using methods to benefit wildlife, using less pesticides Land sparing = intensive local agriculture, using a lot of pastiches sharing the land with agriculture
Describe two general methods of assigning a value to an environmental good or service, describe one example of each.
* Market valuation: - can be conventional market or implicit market - Example: new york water supply dealing with the expense of an alternate supply or current valuation of watershed Nonmarket valuation - contigent valuation methods - intrinsic value, wildlife and nature - example: New york protection of watershed
What is an umbrella species? Name two benefits and two drawbacks of using such a tactic in reserve design?
* Umbrella species is a species that is protected indirectly in a way that many other species that make up the ecological community of its habitat are protected as well (panther) two benefits; help underhand complexity and support trophic levels drawbacks: simplify a community, umbrella species could be wrong
Provide a schematic, perhaps similar to that in Breckheimer et al. 2014, that show how restoration for one taxon may or may be of benefit to another species. Which of these would support the idea of an "umbrella species" and why?
* see diagram for synergy and conflict - The Synergy one would support the idea of an umbrella species because it indicates that if one is restored the other is too. They work together in synchrony
Recreate the graph given in Dr. Leger's lecture that shows the various restoration-related endpoints that might characterize a particular project. Describe each of these potential endpoints in terms of their achievement of species composition/complexity and ecosystem function/processes.
*see graphs
Kareiva and Marvier (2003) argue that using simple metrics like richness and endemism to identify biodiversity hotspots may leave important elements of biodiversity "out in the cold". List and briefly describe three such elements/features that might be important to consider in designating hotspots.
- Ecosystem function/service - Geographic balance - Evolutionary distinction
In very large scale reseeding efforts in Nevada, there is typically a 1% rate of successful establishment. What does Dr. Leger suggest is the primary source of this minimal success?
1) Environmental factors are responsible 2) could be planting different seeds
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIS), by 2020, what will be the 5 types of renewables (including hydropower) from which we will obtain energy? Rank them from smallest to largest.
1) Hydropower 2) wind 3) Solar 4) Geothermal 5) Biomass
List three reasons why a restorationist should care about local adaptation.
1) Increased likelihood of establishing a particular site 2) Maintain ability to respond to natural variation 3) Maintain historic genotypes
List 5 major areas by which conservationists can begin to plan in a "climate aware" way
1) Minimize non climate stressors to impart greater resistance and resilience; manage for change 2) Maximize the matrix = restoration to past states may not be feasible; assess value of novel states 3) Target ecosystems not just individual species and focus on a range of systems and function 4) Protected area networks that incorporate corridors and refugee to help species adapt or acclimate to change 5) Goals must include change; frequency reassessment of conditions and refinement of goals
When a petition to list a species under ESA is received, list the 3-4 main step of what happens next. Describe this in words or with a simple schematic.
1) Once petition is received it is either deemed substantial or not substantial - if substantial = goes into status review and reports the 12 month findings - from there it can be deemed warranted but not precluded, warranted, or not warranted 2) If warranted but not precluded = candidates get assessed and converted and go into the same steps as if was deemered warranted which consist of publishing a proposed rule, 60 day comment period, and holding a hearing if one is requested - then there is final rule or the rule is withdrawn 3) if not substantial or not warranted the petition dies
Provide three reasons why restoration ecologists need to identify their reference community for any given project.
1) define the preferred condition of a degraded system, set goals 2) define what needs to be done to restore the ecosystem 3) help develop criteria for measuring the success of restoration treatments
The Red List category in which a species is placed is based on what four types of population/species information
1) population size reduction 2) Extent of occurrence estimated over a certain amount of kilometers 3) population size regarding to the number of mature individuals 4) Probability of extinction
Holsinger has suggested 5 basic steps or principles to reserve design, list or briefly describe these steps.
1) what are the elements of concern 2) Where are the elements of concern found 3) How large must the preserve be to serve its purpose 4) What features of the preserve must be protected/managed to allow the elements to persist in the area 5) How large a buffer zone is required to prevent/reverse degradation of the primary habitat
Name 5 potential sources of information that a restoration ecologist might use to identify their reference community
1. Contains a characteristic mix of species that occur in a reference ecosystem 2. Species are present in appropriate amounts 3. Consists of native species to greatest practical extent 4. The environment is capable of sustaining reproducing populations 5. Is sufficiently resilient to endure periodic stress events
Chornesky et al. (2015) propose Suisun Bay as an example of "managing for change". What two main points do they make with this case study?
1. Create a landscape that will optimize the adaptive capacity, benefits, and options for desired transitions of California's ecosystems 2. Manage for the future: manage ecosystems in ways that anticipate increased frequencies of extreme events
Penrod et al (2012) proposed a protected area linkage network for the California deserts. What process or series of steps did they go through to establish the linkage network
5 steps 1) start with largest landscape blocks 2) Choose focal species 3) Generate habitat suitability maps 4) Quantify least cost paths 5) Compile across species and targeted landscape features
What is adaptive management? Why is such an approach critical when implementing "climate-aware" conservation practices?
Adaptive management is a structured, iterative process of robust decision making in the face of uncertainty, with an aim to reducing uncertainty over time via system monitoring critical because they are worried if species can adapt to new changes in the climate
Describe two ways that wind facilities may have impacts on birds or bats that are distinct from those of other renewable sources of energy.
Air pressure shifts can kill birds causes noise that interferes with bats and birds - causes stress which impacts health
What categories can species fall into under CITES? Provide a brief description of each.
Appendix 1 = species threatened with extinction Appendix II = not necessarily threatened with extinction but in which trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival Appendix III = protected in at least one country
Lovich and Ennen (2011) call for a consistent research design across studies to maximize what we can learn about the impact of utility-scale facilities on wildlife. What is the acronym that we discussed in class for the most robust approach to such studies? Describe the approach and provide the rationale for each component of the design.
BACI - Before = get before surveys of surrounding species and land condition and how the species are using the land - After = take after surveys of species in area, land condition and if land use has changed for those species - Control = have a control area to compare the treatment groups - Impact = assess the impact of the utility scale facility
Describe how a wildlife or conservation credit/banking system works. What do you see as the primary value of such conservation tools? What do you see as the primary risk of such conservation tools?
Banking system is a market based mechanism - quantifies conservation outcomes (credits) and negative impacts from human activities (debts) as market transactions - credits earned can be used or sold conservation easement; "value" based on habitat suitability modeling, "net conservation benefit." encourage companies to participate as a way to trade caps and quotas puts a value that can be off of an ecosystem
Linking reserves with corridors has been controversial at various points in the history of Conservation Biology. Describe two potential benefits and two potential drawbacks of linking reserves with corridors
Benefits: allows for shifts in population and allows for diversity and connectivity Cons: species may not use it and it is not well studied for a solid conclusion
Loarie et al. (2009) introduce the idea of "climate velocity". How does this concept apply to a landscape like California or the Great Basin and what does it mean in terms of how species may be able to respond to climate warming?
Climate velocity = simple metric that describes the speed and direction of climate at any point in space - California and Great Basin are dealing with a higher climate velocity where the mean temps are getting higher - means that species that are not able to adapt to these warmer temps may be affected in a negative way
Given the low success of large-scale seeding efforts in the Great Basin, Dr. Leger designed an experiment to understand which traits underlie seedling survival. Describe her "seed size" experimental design. Use graphs that show the outcome of her experiment and what can be inferred from these data. (hint: the green histograms of seed count versus seed weight).
Collected seeds from 100 survivors at two sites compared to a sample of original seeds seed size decreased in seeds collected from fire sites Propagation field F1 - mean was highest and gopher was lowest
What are two common approaches to dealing with externalities? Provide an example of each.
Command and control = regulation - emission standards incentive based markets - charge systems
There is much public debate about whether the ESA is a success or a failure. Provide at least one point from each side of this debate.
Considered to be a success because we have been able to recognize 2300 species that need the governments help Considered to be a failure because 10 have gone extinct, and only 49 out of the 2300 have recovered
Lovich and Ennen (2011) suggest there are 4 primary areas or questions in need of research concerning the potential impact of utility-scale facilities on wildlife, describe each of these?
Consistent design across studies - in order to have the utility scale facilities not have impact on wildlife there must be a stable and constant blueprint of each facility assessment of cumulative effects - going over thoroughly how much these facilities impact wildlife what design and density maximizes energy while minimizing land and wildlife impact can these impacts be mitigated? how?
Name 5 characteristics of a restored community.
Contains a characteristic mix of species that occur in a reference ecosystem species are present in appropriate amounts consists of native species to the greatest practicable extent environment is capable of sustaining reproducing populations sufficiently resilient to endure periodic stress events
What is CITES and what is it intended to do?
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora focus is prohibition of interstate and international trafficking in protected wildlife
What experimental design did Damschen et al. (2006) use to test the impact of corridors on species richness? What did they find?
Corridors increased plant species richness at large scales unconnected (winged) vs connected vs unconnected(rectangular species) connected patches had higher plant species richness -increased colonization through seed deposition - increased pollen movement between connected patches - greater movement of herbivores = reducing competitive displacement
Heller et al. (2015) provide an example of how we might prioritize acquisition of particular land parcels based on certain criteria. What do they advocate in terms of criteria we should consider and what case study do they present to support this?
Criteria: expanding the climate gradient by adding to Bay area protected areas
What was/is the SLOSS debate? Name three points that proponents of each side of this debate might highlight as the benefit of their approach.
Debate in ecology and conservation biology during the 1970s and 80s as to whether a single large or several small (SLOSS) reserves were a superior means of conserving biodiversity in a fragmented habitat Large reserves - reduced edge effect - larger area for diversity - specific range for shifts Small reserves - more realistic - can capture different areas - localize better
What are the two general 'models' of energy capture/generation and in what critical way do they differ in terms of land use/conversion?
Distributed model and utility scale generation distributed model = solar, wind, make it where you use it, rooftops to small utilities and can be small amounts of land utility scale = lots of power captured far from use and transmitted, large amounts of land
Provide an example of 'command and control' regulation. Describe one benefit and one drawback of such approaches.
Emission standards = control release and limit production benefit = can help implement solutions that help the environment drawback = expensive to implement
Provide a brief definition of the following under the ESA: endangered, threatened, critical habitat
Endangered = species that are likely to become extinct Threatened = species that are likely to become endangered in the near future Critical habitat = vital to the survival of endangered or threatened species
Appleton (2002) notes two critical lessons learned from the New York City Watershed Protection Program that can be applied to other situations, what are they?
Engaged farmers with the Whole Farm Planning = ties in all the planning you do together for the whole farm - helps beginning farmers tailor farming goals voluntary stewardship = reduce tension between Growth Management goals related to agricultural viability and protection of critical areas
What is local adaptation?
Existence of genotypes that are well suited to biotic and abiotic conditions in the area
To better plan solar energy development in the southwestern US, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) developed a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. Describe at least three objectives that they intended to achieve through this process.
Facilitating near term utility scale solar energy development on public lands minimizing potential negative environmental, social and economic impacts providing flexibility to consider a variety of solar energy projects ( location, facility size, technology and so forth )
Penrod et al (2012) proposed a protected area linkage network for the California deserts. What were at least three of their overall goals for the linkage network?
Goals - provide live in and move through habitat for multiple species - support meta populations of smaller species - ensure availability of key resources - buffer against edge effects
List at least three questions/requirements that must characterize a species or DPS if it is to be considered for listing under ESA.
Has a large percentage of the species vital habitat been degraded or destroyed? Has the species been over consumed by commercial, recreational, scientific or educational uses Is the species treated by disease or predation
What are the two primary goals of the IUCN Red List?
Identify and document those species most in need of conservation attention if global extinction rates are to be reduced Provide a global index of the state of change of biodiversity
List and describe two examples of incentive based market approaches.
Individual transferable quotas: can transfer left over or greater quotas Cap and trade: can trade higher caps
What is a 'reference community'?
Is a community that has considered to exist prior to this time - may have been influence or modified by human actives to varying degrees over time
What agency (or agencies) oversee the Endangered Species Act?
Jointly administered by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service for terrestrial and freshwater species and the National Marine Fisheries Service for marine species and anadromous species such as salmon
What is a Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances? In general, what does the public get out of such agreements and what does the landowner get?
Landowner: Permission for a specified level of incidental take during 'covered activities'; may include crop cultivation and harvesting, livestock grazing and production, farm equipment operation and recreational activities Public: improved habitat (mixture of early, mid and late stages go grass-for-shrub) habitat largely intact with minimal future roads or human alterations
In simulating future climate conditions in 2100 in Bay Area parks/reserves, what do Ackerly et al. (2010) find in terms of current versus future temperature distributions in these areas?
Max future summer temps will increase a couple degrees Min summer temps will increase too
What does the finding 'warranted but precluded' mean, provide an example of a species that received this listing in the recent past.
Means the taxon should be listed by that listing other species takes priority because that are more need of protection Example = Greater sage grouse - warranted because of loss of habitat and fragmentation of habitat but lack of adequate regulatory mechanisms to stem habitat loss
Briefly describe the New York City Watershed Protection Program and how this case provides an important example of valuation of ecosystem services.
NYC drinking water = largest unfiltered water supply in the US - 1.2 billion gallons of drinking water to 1/2 of new york everyday Facility: 10 billion to build; 1 million a day to operate
Is the opportunity to capture solar energy equivalent across the US? That is, what is the spatial distribution of insolation or direct normal solar radiation in the US? Based on the distribution of this resource, what regions of the US will receive the most pressure for solar facility development?
No, the west coast, southwest has a better insolation. The southwest and arid regions will revise the most pressure for solar facility development as they contain vast amounts of land with little development
Name 4 of the 9 Red List categories
Not evaluated Extinct Endangered Least Concern
Describe the idea of "novel ecosystems". Do you think this is a helpful or harmful idea in conservation and restoration? Why?
Novel ecosystem refers to a new species combination that arises spontaneously and irreversibly in response to anthropogenic land use changes, species introductions, climate change without correspondence to any historic ecosystem Harmful because it alters the biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem
What parts of an economy do most people generally consider? What roles does nature play in this? Are these roles typically considered? Use a simple diagram to support your answer
Output, households, factor market, firms Nature plays a role into households and firms - these roles are typically considered *insert diagram
For the Mohave ground squirrel, what do "pinch points" on the landscape represent, in terms of movement?
Places where there is basically a corridor that links habitat. These pinch points may be important when climates shift using it to move northward - therefore, conservation and protection is important
From Dr. Beth Leger's lecture on restoration ecology, provide a general definition of 'restoration'.
Process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed
What are the three phases of recovery for an ESA-listed species?
Reducing or eliminating threats to listed animals and plants Restoring or maintaining self sustaining wild populations Removing specie from the lists because they have recovered to the point where they no longer need the protection of the ESA
List and briefly describe the "Three R's" of what we aim to capture for individual species to augment their chance of recovery and persistence.
Representation = capturing some of everything Resiliency = ability to persist through severe hardship Redundancy = several of one type to buffer against loss
In their 'climate aware' approach to reserve design, what do Pearson and Dawson (2005) suggest in terms of general reserve shape/layout and with regards to corridors?
Set up reserves across gradients Several small reserves = to sustain population - thought about linearly to allows species to adjust to climate change
Taking the USFWS decision support system, how do you expect a utility-scale solar development might impact Desert Tortoise? Develop your answer using the sequence of steps from threat through population change as implemented in their set of linked models.
Solar development --> disturbances like roads --> habitat degradation, crushing, population fragmentation --> leads to decrease in birth rate and change in immigration --> population change
The Devil's Hole pupfish was part of a landmark decision concerning the maintenance of its habitat. What was the source of the conflict between this species and other uses of natural resources from Ash Meadows? And what did the Supreme Court decide concerning this issue in 1976?
Source of conflict = agriculture development in Ash meadows area led to depletion of water level - pupfish in this small hole were limited to a 6x13 area of the shelf that all breeding and spawning for the entire species occurs Capper vs US determined that the pupfish have originial water rights in this small location
Describe the idea of "states and transitions" within a particular ecosystem or site. Use a simple graphic to explain your answer. What is the overall message of this in terms of setting restoration goals
State and transition models: assert that some vegetation change is irreversible - for a given site there is ore than one possibly state = states can be relatively stable takes extreme disturbances to push vegetation out of current state Overall message: once you cross a threshold, it is difficult of vegetation to return to previous state *insert graph
Provide a definition for the fields of environmental and natural resource economics.
The application of the principles of economics to the the study of how environmental and natural resources are developed and managed
According to the IPCC, what is climate adaptation?
The process of adjustment of a new climate based on changes due to anthropomorphic causes
To conduct Desert Tortoise impact analyses, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is developing a spatial decision support system. What are the main steps in this linked set of models that go from threat to population change. Provide an example of a threat and how such a threat would translate into each of these model steps and ultimately impact population change.
Threat --> Indirect threats --> stresses to the population --> demographic change factors --> population change example = invasive pants can cause nutritional compromise for other plant communities - change immigration or emigration and decrease birth rate which can cause a population change
Describe three possible direct or indirect effects of a utility-scale solar facility on a population of plants or animals.
Utility scale solar = lots of power captured from use and transmitted Actual footprint - produces carbon dioxide - impact it has on the environment road/access/transmission disturbance water use/impact on surface - consuming a lot of water
In 2010, the Greater sage grouse was found to "warranted" for listing under the endangered species act. What two reasons did the US Fish and Wildlife Service give for this listing?
Warranted because there was a 80-90% decline in population versus before human settlement in the area - large loss of habitat due to energy development and cheat grass Warranted because of a lack of regulatory framework to protect this species
What are "externalities"? Provide an example.
When all costs or benefits are not accounted for Example = common property
What approach did Amy Vandergast and her colleagues use to establish areas of high conservation priority in the Mojave Desert?
Whole series of genetic studies with a map of species with high genetic variation - included diversity hotspots and divergences - overlay of transmission, planned corridors and renewable project sites - areas with high connectivity and pinch points indicate the best location for corridors to go
Describe what is meant by 'the tragedy of the commons'.
occurs when people overuse a common resource often to the point of depletion
When originally established, what was one of the primary goals of protected areas (that is, what were they protecting?). According to Conservation International's gap analysis, how much of their 'biodiversity hotspots' do these areas capture?
they are protecting an area of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity and of natural and associated cultural resources and managed through legal or other effective means Conservation International gap analysis = about 10 % of biodiversity hotspots are captured
