Chapter 18 APES

CITES (international)

(Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora): A 1973 treaty formed to control the international trade of threatened plants and animals.

Least concern species

Species that are widespread and abundant.

What factor has played the largest role in decreased diversity of domesticated species? (a) A focus on increased yields (b) The use of genetic engineering (c) The adaptation to specific growing environments (d) The decreased number of pests (e) Increased seed storage efforts

(a) A focus on increased yields *Answers have not been checked with Dr. Rackley, I have just put down what I think the correct answers are so please don't assume I am correct!*

pg. 649 The most significant cause of species decline and extinction throughout the world is (a) habitat loss. (b) overharvesting. (c) pollution. (d) climate change. (e) invasive species.

(a) Habitat loss *Answers have not been checked with Dr. Rackley, I have just put down what I think the correct answers are so please don't assume I am correct!*

Which group of organisms has had the greatest number of extinctions since 1500? (a) Birds (b) Amphibians (c) Mammals (d) Reptiles (e) Fish

(b) Amphibians *Answers have not been checked with Dr. Rackley, I have just put down what I think the correct answers are so please don't assume I am correct!*

The Lacey Act (a) provides protected habitats for a number of threatened species. (b) forbids the interstate shipping of illegally harvested plants and animals. (c) provides harvesting quotas and prevents overharvesting. (d) prevents the spread of invasive species to the United States. (e) gives penalties for polluting ecosystems, especially water.

(b) forbids the interstate shipping of illegally harvested plants and animals. *Answers have not been checked with Dr. Rackley, I have just put down what I think the correct answers are so please don't assume I am correct!*

Passenger pigeons were driven extinct primarily by (a) habitat loss. (b) overharvesting. (c) pollution. (d) climate change. (e) invasive species.

(b) overharvesting. *Answers have not been checked with Dr. Rackley, I have just put down what I think the correct answers are so please don't assume I am correct!*

Which is NOT true of the Endangered Species Act? (a) It is an example of the single-species approach to conservation. (b) It prohibits the hunting or harvesting of some listed species. (c) It includes the development of recovery plans for listed species. (d) It uses a different definition for threatened than the IUCN. (e) It has resulted in the delisting of several species after successful population growth.

(c) It includes the development of recovery plans for listed species. *Answers have not been checked with Dr. Rackley, I have just put down what I think the correct answers are so please don't assume I am correct!*

pg. 656 The Marine Mammal Protection Act (a) allows states to make exceptions regarding the killing of marine mammals. (b) was passed primarily to protect whales. (c) prohibits the killing of all marine mammals. (d) allows the import of marine mammal body parts. (e) protects sharks as well as marine mammals.

(c) prohibits the killing of all marine mammals. *Answers have not been checked with Dr. Rackley, I have just put down what I think the correct answers are so please don't assume I am correct!*

Invasive species are (a) usually not a threat to biodiversity. (b) rare in island habitats. (c) successful due to a lack of natural enemies. (d) mostly specialist species. (e) often unable to compete effectively in the new environment.

(c) successful due to a lack of natural enemies. *Answers have not been checked with Dr. Rackley, I have just put down what I think the correct answers are so please don't assume I am correct!*

In a major extinction event, what is the minimum percentage of species that goes extinct? (a) 25 percent (b) 40 percent (c) 50 percent (d) 75 percent (e) 90 percent

(d) 75 percent *Answers have not been checked with Dr. Rackley, I have just put down what I think the correct answers are so please don't assume I am correct!*

Problems with protecting many small habitats include I. increased proportions of edge habitats. II. increased dispersal between populations. III. the need for corridors between some protected species. (a) I only (b) I and III only (c) II only (d) II and III only (e) III only

(d) II and III only *Answers have not been checked with Dr. Rackley, I have just put down what I think the correct answers are so please don't assume I am correct!*

The primary impact of climate change on species diversity is expected to be (a) an increased number of extreme weather events. (b) an increased variability in weather. (c) decreased precipitation worldwide. (d) changes in available habitat because of changing temperatures. (e) the increased ability of species to disperse

(d) changes in available habitat because of changing temperatures. *Answers have not been checked with Dr. Rackley, I have just put down what I think the correct answers are so please don't assume I am correct!*

According to the theory of island biogeography (a) when conservation areas are close to each other, more species will persist. (b) species on islands far from the mainland are at the least risk of extinction. (c) multiple small conservation areas will protect species better than one large area of the same size. (d) conservation areas should be connected with corridors to increase migration. (e) edge habitat is important to protect for increased diversity.

(d) conservation areas should be connected with corridors to increase migration *Answers have not been checked with Dr. Rackley, I have just put down what I think the correct answers are so please don't assume I am correct!*

The intrinsic value of an ecosystem (a) is the total monetary worth of its features. (b) is based on the goods the ecosystem produces. (c) considers the potential benefits that could be discovered in the ecosystem. (d) is the value it has independent of humans. (e) is the function of an ecosystem that humans cannot replicate.

(d) is the value it has independent of humans. *Answers have not been checked with Dr. Rackley, I have just put down what I think the correct answers are so please don't assume I am correct!*

Which is NOT a category of instrumental value? (a) Regulating services (b) Resilience (c) Provisions (d) Cultural services (e) Diversity

(e) Diversity *Answers have not been checked with Dr. Rackley, I have just put down what I think the correct answers are so please don't assume I am correct!*

Which is a trend identified by the Convention on Biological Diversity between 2002 and 2010? (a) Over half of threatened species have moved away from extinction. (b) Very few plant species are at risk of extinction. (c) The genetic diversity of crops is increasing. (d) Marine species are affected most by recent biodiversity losses. (e) The human ecological footprint has increased.

(e) The human ecological footprint has increased. *Answers have not been checked with Dr. Rackley, I have just put down what I think the correct answers are so please don't assume I am correct!*

5 categories of ecosystem services:

1. Provisions 2. Regulating Services 3. Support Systems 4. Resilience 5. Cultural services

Global decline in genetic diversity of wild species

50,000 species go extinct each year. The rate of extinction during the past 50 years is 1,000 times higher than in all of human history. These declines in genetic diversity have some natural causes.

Marine Mammal Protection Act

A 1972 U.S. act to protect declining populations of marine mammals.

Lacey Act (national)

A U.S. act that prohibits interstate shipping of all illegally harvested plants and animals.

Provision

A good that humans can use directly. Having a large amount of biodiversity provides us with: any kind of food crop, lumber, medicinal plants, furs, natural rubber. *Biodiversity is really important because the majority of prescription drugs today come from natural resources!!!*

Red List (international)

A list of worldwide threatened species.

Exotic species

A species living outside its historical range. Also known as *alien species*. They are moving around the world.

Endangered species

A species that is in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

Threatened Species

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), species that have a high risk of extinction in the future. According to U.S. legislation, any species that is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range. (ex: Mammals)

Convention on Biological Diversity

An international treaty to help protect biodiversity. It has 3 objectives: -Conserve biodiversity -Use biodiversity -Share the benefits that emerge from the commercial use of genetic resources. (STEWARDSHIP VIEW) . They identified the following trends from 2002 to 2010: • On average, species at risk of extinction have moved closer to extinction. • One-quarter of all plant species are still threatened with extinction. • Natural habitats are becoming smaller and more fragmented. • The genetic diversity of crops and livestock is still declining. • There is a widespread loss of ecosystem function. • The causes of biodiversity loss have either stayed the same or increased in intensity. • The ecological footprint of humans has increased.

Resilience

Depends greatly on species diversity. Biodiversity provides many sources for resilience for an ecosystem. If one species dies out, an entire ecosystem can depend on it if it's not bio diverse. *Just because you don't know the importance of a species in an ecosystem doesn't mean that it doesn't have one.*

The Size, Shape, and Connectedness of Protected Areas

Even though the theory of island bio geography was originally applied to oceanic islands, it has since been applied to islands of protected areas in the midst of less hospitable environments. For example, it is less likely that species can travel among protected areas that are far apart. When a species has been lost from one ecosystem, it will be harder for individuals of that species from other ecosystems to recolonize it. Conservationists must also consider metapopulations. A species is more likely to be protected from extinction if it can be rescued by dispersers from a neighboring population. Edge habitat Habitat that occurs where two different communities come together, typically forming an abrupt transition, such as where a grassy field meets a forest.

Endangered Species Act

First passed in 1973, it authorizes the US Fish and Wildlife Service to determine which species can be listed as threatened or endangered and prohibits the harming of these species. Trading these species is also illegal. The act also authorizes the government to purchase habitat that is critical to the species.

Edge Habitat

Habitat that occurs where two different communities come together, typically forming an abrupt transition, such as where a grassy field meets a forest.

Genetic diversity threatens global declines in FOOD & OVERALL POPULATIONS

High genetic diversity ensures that a wider range of genotypes is present. Lower genetic diversity threatens the entire planet and all species (less biodiversity means fewer species) (inbreeding depression). This is also a problem for DOMESTICATED SPECIES of crops and livestock on which humans depend (ex: livestock, potato famine, due to declining seed diversity)

Overharvesting

Hunting, fishing, an other forms of harvesting are the most direct human influences on wild populations of plants and animals. Most species can be harvested to some degree, but a species is overharvested when individuals are removed at a rate faster than the population can replace them. In the extreme, overharvesting of a species can cause extinction.

Climate change has the potential to affect species diversity.

If climate change affects patterns of temperature and precipitation in different regions of the world, biodiversity may be threatened. For example, in some regions, a species may be able to respond to warming temperatures and changes in precipitation by migrating to a place where the climate is well suited to the species niche, In other cases, this is not possible.

Regulating Systems

Natural ecosystems help to regulate environmental conditions. Natural ecosystems, such as tropical rainforests and oceans, remove carbon from the atmosphere. Ecosystems also important in regulating nutrient and hydrologic cycle. Even if we don't understand how an organism or species has an impact on an ecosystem, we shouldn't take them out or change their presence in the ecosystem because we need to sustain these ecosystems as much as possible to sustain biodiversity which is declining at rapid rates currently.

Support Systems

Natural ecosystems provide numerous support services such as pollination of food crops. Ecosystems also provide natural pest control services b/c they provide habitat for predators that prey on agricultural pets. Spiders may not be awesome, wasps might not either but they help to contain pest populations.

Invasive Species

Pose a serious threat to biodiversity (ex: predators, pathogens or superior competitors to native species)

Biosphere reserve

Protected area consisting of zones that vary in the amount of permissible human impact. These ideally consist of core areas that have minimal human impact and outer zones that have increasing levels of human impact. *The country that has done this best is COSTA RICA*

Some conservation efforts focus on protecting entire ecosystems

Protecting entire ecosystems has been one of the major motivating factors in setting aside national parks and marine reserves. In some cases, these areas were originally protected for their aesthetic beauty, but today they are also valued foe their communities of organisms. The amount of protected land has increased dramatically worldwide since 1960.

Near-threatened species

Species that are very likely to become threatened in the future.

Native species

Species that live in their historical range, typically where they have lived for thousands or millions of years.

Cultural Services (Environmental Wisdom argument)

The awe-inspiring beauty of nature has instrumental value because it provides an aesthetic benefit for which people are willing to pay. Similarly, scientific funding agencies may award grants to scientists for research that explores biodiversity with no promise of an economic gain.

Pollution

Threats to biodiversity come from toxic contaminants such as pesticides, heavy metals, acids and oil spills. Other contaminants such as endocrine disruptive, can have nonlethal affects that prevent or inhibit reproduction. Pollution sources that cause declines in biodiversity also include the release of nutrients that cause algal blooms and dead zones as well as thermal pollution that cam make water bodies too warm for species to survive.

Intrinsic value

Value independent of any benefit to humans. (ex) Frogs and their awesomeness regardless of what they do for humans

Instrumental value

Worth as an instrument or a tool that can be used to accomplish a goal. (Ex) Frogs eat mosquitoes which can be good for us as humans

Habitat loss (AKA habitat degradation, habitat fragmentation)

major cause of declining species diversity in the world. DUE TO HUMAN IMPACT Species needing specific habitats are usually prone to population declines. A species can decline in abundance or become extinct even without complete habitat destruction. The decline in forest cover is mostly in TROPICAL AREAS. (Just because there is no change doesn't mean ) CORAL REEFS have gone down since the 1970's.