Conservation Biology (chapters 1-3)

Species

"kind"; "appearance"; differences based on body form, functions, biochemistry, behavior, genetic composition, etc

Era of Abundnce (up to 1849)

-17th and 18th centuries- Frontier attitude (enough resources for everyone) -increasing human population; land exploitation (people farming) -tremendous pressures on wildlife populations (so much land, they didn't think they could make species extinct) -1630: first bounty systen created by Massachusetts Bay Colony (for every wolf you bring in, you get money $.01) -1646: first closed hunting hunting season- Rhode Island-white tailed deer (can't kill whenever you want)-first law in place to conserve

Era of Protection/preservation (1900-1932)

-1900- Lacy Act- landmark legislation -prohibited interstate transport of game -control market hunting

Era of Ecology and Ecosystem Managment (1960-1985)

-1962- Rachel Carson writes "Silent Spring " -effects of pesticides; created large public outcry -DDT banned 10 years later (NOT used in large quantities)

Modern Conservation Movement (1985-present)

-1985-society for Conservation Biology is born -less emphasis on single species management -more emphasis on: -GIS/GPS analysis -cataloging -management of small populations -threatened and endangered species -genetic research -landscape/ecosystem management

species that were extremely close to becoming extinct

-California Condor (ate shot animals- lead poisoning) -Indian Bat -Black-footed ferret (was once the most endangered in the world) -Peregrine Falcon (fish they ate contained pesticides- thinning shells)

1980 Nongame Wildlife Act

-funding to state agencies for restoration of non-game wildlife

species that became extinct

-Heath Hen (1930s) -Carolina parakeet (1919) -Last Passenger Pigeon Martha (1914)

other fields it draws from

-applied discipline resource managment disciplines -agriculture, forestry, wolf managment, fisheries, ect -"applied field"- draws from other fields

species that nearly became extinct

-bison -turkeys -elk -wood ducks -deer -prong horn -beavers

the most detrimental environment problems

-climate changes -deforestation -threatened water -desertification -polar ice caps -ozone depletion

Michael Soule (1936-)

-cofounder of the society of conservation Biology 1985 with Paul Ehrlich and J. Diamond -conservation bio is a "crisis discipline"

Highly developed countries (HDC)

-complex industrial bases, low population growth, high per capital incomes ex) US, Canada, Japan

1969 National Environment Policy Act (NEPA)

-creates EPA- consolidated all environmental government programs into 1 agency (small organizations into EPA) -requires agencies to prepare EIS before conducting any research activities related to the environment

renewable resources

-direct solar energy -energy of winds, tides, flowing water -fertile soil -clean air -fresh water -biological diversity (forests, food, crops, fish) *can become nonrenewable

3 pillars of sustainable development

-environmentally sound decisions -economically viable decisions -socially equitable decisions

1964 Wilderness Act

-established national wilderness preservation system- 9 million acres

Aldo Leopold

-his philosophy is termed the "Land Ethic" -game could be managed as a renewable resource -land use policy compatible with biodiversity; middle ground b/w overexploitation and complete preservation -ecosystem management (preserve and utility) -A Sand County Almanac (1949) -first to create a wildlife management class -can use natural resources while preserving

the goal of sustainable development:

-improve living conditions for all people while -maintaining healthy environment in which -natural resources are NOT overused and -excessive pollution is not not generated and -biodiversity is maintained

Era of Exploitation (1850-1899)

-land clearing continued -poor agricultural practices (really awful practices- so many resources to how many people there were at that time) -soil erosion, loss in fertility -decline in wildlife populations -large mammals, game birds (needed more regulations- bison, otters, coyotes, beavers, white-tailed deer, turkeys all needed more protection)

Less Developed Countries (LDC)

-low level of industrialization, very high fertility rate, high infant mortality rate, low per capita income ex) Bangladesh, Mali, Ethiopia -hard to get people to care about the environment when they are living in poverty

nonrenewable resources

-metallic minerals (gold,tin) -nonmetallic minerals (salt, phosphate, stone) -fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas)

preservationist ethic

-natural areas have spiritual and intrinsic values worth more than the tangible goods provided by them -man and other species are equal -Muir, Thoreau, Emerson

species diversity

-origin of new species is typically a slow process -evolution of new taxa is even slower -human activities are destroying species *BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY ONE ORGANISM*

1973 Endangered Species Act

-preserve and promote habitats of threatened and endangered species -cannot build where there are a bunch of endangered species

E.O. WIlson (1929-)

-sociobiologist, Consilience, Biophilia -Cons bio is a "discipline within a deadline" -"HIPPO"= habitat destruction, invasive species, pollution, population (human), overexploitation -biophilia= we have an ingrained interest in life on earth

1901-1909 Theodore Roosevelt

-strong wilderness ethic -established Adirondack forest Preserve (need wood but it needs to be managed- forest wasn't regulated before) -established US Forest Service -appointed Gifford Pinchot as Director

Resource Conservation Ethic

-the proper use of natural resources is based on what will provide the greatest good for the greatest number of people for the longest time -efficient, multiple use of resources -Pinchot (American forester) , Leopold (early)

Earth is well suited for life

-water covers 3/4 of the planet -habitable temp, moderate sunlight -atmosphere provides O2 and CO2 -soil provides essential minerals for plants ---humans are altering the earth in negative ways

3 components of biological diversity

1) Species diversity- all species on earth 2) Genetic diversity- within a species, among geographically separate populations, among individuals in a population 3) Ecosystem diversity- biological communities and their associations with ecosystem *figuring out how everything is related is the hard part

Guiding Principles of Conservation Biology

1) The diversity of species and ecosystems should be preserved -most people like biodiversity (zoos, parks, etc), -"biophilia"-Wilson 2) The extinction of populations and species should be prevented (background extinction= natural extinction-NOT affected by humans-accelerated because of humans 100x) 3)Ecological complexity should be maintained ex) coevoutionary relationships expressed in the natural environment 4) evolution should continue in natural environments 5) Biodiversity has intrinsic value -regardless of economic, scientific, aesthetic values to humans

3 goals of Conservation Biology

1) document the full range of biodiversity on Earth 2)Investigate human impact on species, genetic variation, and ecosystems 3) Develop practical approaches to prevent extinctions, maintain genetic diversity and restore biological communities and their ecosystem functions (makes different from a normative discipline)

Morphological Species Concept

: a group of individuals that is disinct from other groups in some important morphological characteristics such as body shape or other structural features -emphasis within a species -common way to define species -include asexual species, doesn't require knowledge of the extent of gene flow -PROBLEMS: too subjective (which characteristics to use, how many similarities/differences needed to be the same/different species?)

Biological Species Concept

:A group of populations that potentially breed to produce viable, fertile offspring with eachother but do not produce viable, fertile offspring with other groups -difficult to observe (hard to see which offspring came from which parent) -useless for asexual organisms- no interbreeding -useless for fossils (cannot tell if fossil was successfully reproducing offspring)

Ecological Species Concept

:a group of individuals adapted to use the same niche, or a particular set of resources -emphasizes unity within a species -defined in terms of niche uniqueness -includes asexual organisms -PROBLEM: same as morpho and phylo -Is the niche different enough between the species?

Phylogenetic Species Concept

:a group of individuals with unique genetic history (gene sequences, protein analysis, morphology) -emphasizes within a species -smallest group that share a common ancestor= species -branch in the "tree of life" -PROBLEM= difficulty in determining the degree of difference required to indicate separate species- which sequences/proteins should be used? How many differences are required?\-elephant that uses both habitats? might be a hybrid?

Environmentalism

:a social movement characterized by political and educational activism to protect the environment from destruction and pollution (social movement)

Deep ecology worldview

:all species have equal worth

Sustainable Development

:economic development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of future generations

phylogenetic species

:group with unique genetic history- protein analysis, gene sequences, morphology; each branch is a new species usually with traceable ancestral linkages

Western Worldview

:human superiority and dominance over nature

Niche

:sum of interaction a group has with their biotic and abiotic environment (pattern of living; role)

Environmental Sustainability

:the ability to meet the current human need for natural resources without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their needs--> central focus on conservation biology

EO Wilson

Coined the term Biophilia: to love living things, love biodiversity, be one with nature

1872*

First National Park-Yellow Stone Park

Natural Resource Consumption

Humans are globally significant consumers of natural resources (renewable and nonrenewable)

10,000 years

It took how many years for the human population to reach 1 billion?

Mecistops cataphractus (gator) and Bassaricyon neblina

New species found in the amazon -->scientists went into the amazon and found 441 new species

1896*

Supreme Court rules that wildlife is state (or public) property, not private (cannot shoot something just because it is on your land)

Audubon

US naturalist- painted nature, which increases the interest in the environment

Marsh

US naturalist- wrote Man and Nature: humans as agents of environment change -we are the driving factor for why some things are changing *laid down the ground work for env movement

conservation biology definition

an integrated, multidisciplinary sciemtific field developed in response to the challenges preserving species and ecosystems

A Sand County Almanac

by Aldo Leopold :collection of essays advocate Leopold's idea of a "land ethic", or a responsible relationship existing between people and the land they inhabit

spotted owl poster

endangered due to logging activities

ethical and theoretical

conservation bio draw from heavy disciplines --> rooted mostly in science (ecology, genetics, etc) but also uses physical science and some non-science fields

a scientific discipline

conservation bio is a

second goal of cons bio

economic factors

environmental ethics

field of ethics that considers the moral basis of environmental responsibility

1852

first game warden- Maine

1864

first hunting license required- New York

ecological species

group adapted to use the same niche or particular set of resources

1980s

when did conservation biology arise?

7 billion

how many humans alive on earth

1.5 million

how many species are identified on earth today?

activity

humans range of ________ can range from highly destructive to benign to helpful

3.5 billion years

life has been on earth for

primary goal of cons bio

long-term preservation of ecosystems

Thoreau

naturalist author, wrote about simplifying life (Walden Pond= most famous)

Teddy Roosevelt

we have to use natural resources but let's use them in a responsible way

Rachel Carson

wrote silent spring about pesticides and impacts on the environment - Pacific North-West