Chapter 54

ex situ conservation and reintroduction

"out of place"; no longer exist in the wild and can only in captivity can sometimes leave and reestablish themselves in the wild

over-exploitation

2/3 harvestable marines are exploited or depleted and need regulation overhunting is a major threat to all species exotic animals for pet trade is illegal but continues threaten plants and fungi too

s= 18.9 x A^0.15, if the km2 went from 10,000 to 1,000, for one species of this bird; what percentage of all species would disappear on the island

30% species would vanish. species from 75 to 53.

What is an example of a stochastic event? See Section 54.2 ( page 1146) . A severe storm Deforestation Changing seasons A population explosion

A severe storm (it means random)

explain how u can measure the biodiversity in the rain forests of borneo at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels

At the genetic level, you could measure the genetic diversity of the orangutan population by comparing DNA sequences obtained from blood or feces samples. Alternately, you could use environmental sequencing to look at the genetic diversity of soil organisms. At the species level, you could monitor the species richness of trees, birds, mammals, and other groups, and identify any changes in species richness. At the ecosystem level, you could measure the ability of the growing forest to retain nutrients in the soil, prevent erosion, trap carbon, increase the prevalence of cloud cover and rain, and other functions.

A student has drawn a model to represent the effects of an insecticide on flowering plant communities. Interpret his model.

Both communities have 12 species. False Both communities have the same species richness. True Community 2 has higher evenness because the letters are organized in rows. False You can tell that Community 1 has higher species diversity because of the lack of pattern in the letters in the model. False Community 2 has higher species diversity because it has the same species richness as Community 1 but higher evenness. True

Why does increased species richness increase NPP? See Section 54.3 ( page 1153) . Diverse assemblages of plant species may utilize the same resources in the same way, increasing efficiency of resource extraction and increasing NPP. A diverse assemblage of plants species will perform many ecosystem services. Certain species or functional groups may facilitate the growth and productivity of primary producers by modifying the environment to make it more favorable. In a diverse assemblage of plant species, all surviving plants are likely to be high-productivity species.

Certain species or functional groups may facilitate the growth and productivity of primary producers by modifying the environment to make it more favorable.

management plans for endangered species

ESA exists; best example brought the eagle back from DDT and hunting through laws

design an experiment to test the hpothesis that the rain forest of borneo is more effective at building soil, retaining soil nutrients, and minimizing soil erosion than oil palm plantations are

Establish several study plots in an area of Borneo where some of the forest has been converted to oil palm plantation but the adjacent forest (of similar elevation and topography) has rain forest still intact—half of the plots in the plantation and half in the rain forest. Monitor soil depth, soil nutrient levels, precipitation, and stream sediment levels regularly, and compare after several years.

explain why fragmentation reduces habitat quality and can lead to the reduction of genetic diversity

Fragmentation reduces habitat quality by creating edges that are susceptible to invasion and loss of species, due to changed abiotic conditions. Genetic diversity can be reduced inside fragments as inbreeding occurs, exposing rare deleterious alleles to natural selection, and/or as populations lose genetic diversity via genetic drift

how to access threats

Habitat destruction and fragmentation in Borneo are obvious from the clear-cut areas. Overexploitation could be assessed by interviewing local citizens and law enforcement officers on the history of poaching orangutans for the pet trade or for other uses. Effects from invasive species could be assessed through published or local accounts of community structure over time. Pollution could be assessed by direct measurement of soil, water, air, and possibly tissue samples (in dead orangutans, feces, or blood samples). The effects of climate change could be assessed based on local long-term temperature and precipitation data, which could affect the species present in the orangutan forest habitat.

David Tilman and colleagues planted varying numbers of species from different functional groups of grassland plants in an experiment that examined which question? See Section 54.3 ( page 1153) . How does species richness affect biomass? Do grassland species produce more biomass than woody species? How does inbreeding affect biomass? Do pesticides increase pest resistance?

How does species richness affect biomass?

explain why high biodiversity in rain forests leads to high productivity, in terms of efficiency of resource use, when compared to oil palm plantations

If many species are present, and each uses the available resources in a unique way, then a larger proportion of all available resources should be used—leading to higher biomass production.

What is DNA barcoding primarily used for? See Section 54.1 ( page 1141) . It is primarily used to build phylogenetic trees. It is primarily used to estimate species diversity. It is primarily used in environmental sequencing. It is primarily used to estimate ecosystem diversity.

It is primarily used to estimate species diversity

if u decided to eat 100 kcal of chicken instead of beach, how much less land would be required to support your feast?

It takes about 150 m2 for a year to produce 1000 kcal of beef, and about 5 m2 for a year to produce 1000 kcal of chicken, so you would use about 145 m2 less land by eating chicken instead of beef today.

why would the data for terrestrial, freshwater, and marine species each add up to more than 100%

Nearly all endangered species are threatened by more than one factor and therefore appear on the graph more than once, leading to species totals greater than 100 percent.

How do species richness and species diversity differ? See Section 54.1 ( page 1141) . It is easier to determine species diversity than species richness. Species diversity is always greater than species richness. Species richness is a count of the number of species in an area. Species diversity incorporates both species richness and the relative abundance of each species. Species diversity is a more accurate means of quantifying the diversity of species.

Species richness is a count of the number of species in an area. Species diversity incorporates both species richness and the relative abundance of each species.

Which of the following best describes conservation triage? The idea that some species are worth more to their ecosystem than others The idea that you can't help all species survive, so you should prioritize which ones you help The idea that to save some species, you must kill others (like invasive species) The idea that we are currently in the sixth mass extinction

The idea that you can't help all species survive, so you should prioritize which ones you help

A student drew a model to represent her measurements of insects in urban and rural communities. Interpret her model.

The urban community has higher evenness. False The rural community has higher species richness. True The rural community has higher species diversity. True Each drawing in the model represents more than one individual. True The student should have included more anatomical detail to show how the species differ. False

if you understand species-area curves, you should be able to use the equation describing the line (S=18.9A^0.15) to predict the species richness of an area with 5000 km^2

Using the equation S = (18.9)A0.15, plug in 5000 km2 for A and solve for S such that S = 18.9 × 50000.15 = 68 species.

habitat degradation

a reduction of the quality of a habitat

stability

ability to maintain productivity and other aspects of ecosystem function as conditions change over time; recover to former levels of productivity or species richness over a disturbance

In Brazil, a research group that set up plots to study forest fragments of different sizes found that _____. See Section 54.2 ( page 1146) . fragments of all sizes responded to disturbance more efficiently than intact forests fragmented forests and intact forests cannot be differentiated aboveground biomass dropped sharply in fragmented forests intact forests lost biomass

aboveground biomass dropped sharply in fragmented forests

PVA combines data from

age-specific surviorship and fecundity, geographic structure, rate and severity of habitat disturbance

birds, mammals, amphibians which is most threatened?

amphibans(41%) than mammals (26%) than birds(13%). threatened means vulnerable, endangered and critically endangered.

biodiversity highest in endemic species

andes mountain

genetic restoration

artificial gene flow like the flordia panther thing

biodiversity hotspot criteria (most in need in conservation)

at least 1500 endemic vascular plants and lost 70% of their traditional/primary vegetation

criticism of hotspot criteria

considers cumulative past loss not current rate of loss doesnt consider south america which has the most plants in such little area bcs it hasnt lost 70% yet; it will if they dont conserve it Focuses on species diversity and not ecosystem diversity despite how important it is

worse industry in land use, water use, and greenhouse emissions

cows

how is projections for biodiversity made?

cross-check projections and validate with empirical data from real world

habitat fragmentation

dividing contiguous habitats into small, isolated fragments (road, pipes etc can limit dispersal)

3 levels of biodiversity

ecosystem diversity genetic diversity species diversity

PVA population viability analysis

estimates likelihood of a population to avoid extinction for a given time period; used to make managment plans

invasive species

exotic species that disrupts natives

phylogenetically isolated species

exp. red panda, couldn't mate with anything else but beetles could do whatever because there is 360,000 species of them, the lineage could easily be lost forever.

bioprospecting

exploration of bacteria animals plants etc as novel sources of drugs

all-taxa surveys

finding and cataloging all the species present in an area

endemic species

found in that particular area and nowhere else

ecotourism allows

funds from transportation tax to be given to people who conserve ecological services because the money they make from preserving scenic beauty

factors that can affect each diversity

genetic diversity- selection, drift, gene flow species diversity- speciatiation and extinction ecosytem diversity- changes in climate can make new ecosystems or ecosystem function

climate change effects on biodiversity

habitat decreasing endangers species; sea level rising endangers species; biomes are redistributed from temp and rain change; trees and other slow dispersal species cant keep up with rapid climate change; coral reefs most diverse and threatened by temp and bleaching ocean acidification because co2 is making too much carbonic acid intake hurting animals

patterns behind increasing threatened species

habitat loss for 90% of land cases, almost always more than one factor, overexploitation in marine, pollution in freshwater, some background extinctions because of pred/comp/fires/niches

why do people support barcoding

helps nonspecialists identify species and enables species to be identified when the entire organism is not available such as just gut samples

ecosystem restoration

helps tribes, trees, animals, can reduce temperature and increase rainfall. biomass recovery is is slow and being linked to increasing richness

theory as to why those areas are the most diverse?

high NPP because abundance of sun and rain and large plant biomass supports lots of consumers and thusly more speciation, niche formation etc.

When biologists refer to community stability, resilience is a measure of _____. See Section 54.3 ( page 1153) . how community members work together to maintain stability how quickly a community recovers following a disturbance how many members of a community succumb to a disease, blight, or parasite how many species are present in a community

how quickly a community recovers following a disturbance

resilience

how quickly a community recovers from disturbance

resistance

how unchanged a community is during a disturbance

when will it be impossible to preserve high species diversity and high-functioning ecosystems?

humans are more than 10 billion consumption of fossil fuels dont decline

benefits of biodiversity

increases productivity and stability

taxon-specific surveys

intensive search for a specific taxon in a well defined

species richness

is a count of how many species are present in a defined area

species diversity

is a weighted measure that incorporates both species richness ad evenness, the relative abundance of each species present

"edge" effect from hab frag

large amounts of edges that are exposed to more sunlight and wind damages plants leads to less biomass fixed carbon but not in the interior plots

how much of earth is in its wild state? where is it the highest?

less than 25%; the poles where diversity is unfortunately lowest

main challenge of sustainability

live off replenished resources and not petroleum and groundwater

habitat destruction

logging, burning, damming, dredging, plowing, building, having cows

sustainability

managed use of resources at a rate only as high as the rate at which they are replaced

quantification of ecosystem services?

many cant preserve much and are expensive to keep but its more favorable to keep them than replace them so its important to keep them and f*ck the economists wanting to quantify it

ecosystem diversity

measure of vertical and horizontal diversity plus interactions with nonlivng environment

how does biodiversity lead to stability?

more likely to live through problems with lots of diversity surrounding them, less prone to invasion by exotic species

exotic species

nonative species to a new area; can benefit or not affect

horizontal diversity

number of species that occur within each tropic level

vertical diversity

number of tropic levels

endangered species

numbers have decreased so drastically that it is almost certain to extinct unless effective conservation programs are put in place

ethical reasons non-humans are important

organisms have intrinsic worth, industrialized nations are exploiting poor countries resources good resources for money; unethical to deprive future generations from ecosystem services

cultural services

outdoors ppl have less obesity diabetes stress and more problem-solving skills, creativity, sleep, curiosity and vision

What is the dominant conservation problem faced by marine species? See Section 54.2 ( page 1146) . Pollution Invasive species (introduced competitors, diseases, or predators) Habitat destruction Overexploitation

overexploitation

how does biodiversity increase productivity

plots with more species and functional groups are more productive because they weren't all taking water from the same level and had different heights for the sun, facilitation (provide nutrients, shade, or help other plants), includes high-prod species by chance

supporting services

pollination and pest control, photosynthesis

seed banks

preserve diverse strains of crop plants in long-term storage facilities and wild relatives of domesticated species; soon will be with non-crops

primary forest or reforested areas have better biodiversity

primary deep evolutionary history and complex ecological interactions

designing effective protected areas

rare but increasing at a steady rate in prime habitat areas no fishing allowed

provisioning services

raw material like food, labor, wood for building and fuel, fibers, medicines

why is hab fragmentation a problem?

reduces habitats to a size too small to support species especially top predators (tropic cascades ensue) that needs massive space to mate successfully

According to the article, the EDGE of Existence program run by the Zoological Society of London argues that we should save species that are the most important to their ecosystem not prioritize which species we try to save protect certain habitats that have high levels of biodiversity save species that are the most genetically unusual threatened species save species that are the most important to humans

save species that are the most genetically unusual threatened species

management plants for invasive species

ships and cargoes are inspected for species

why do we rotate crops

some are more nitrogen active, some are more nitrogen producing. if you don't keep rotating, the soil could die out.

pollution

some dont break down and may bioaccumulate; pesticides and herbicides; eutrophication from nutrients;drugs;sulfur mercury lead and arsenic

biodiversity highest in species richness

south america and andes mountains

biodiversity trends

species richness higher with latitude; high in tropics low in poles higher in land than in the sea 9/10 species of non-microbial species are terrestrial areas with lotsa geographical variation have more than flat/featureless

how are small populations more likely to die than others in hab fragmentation

storms, fires can completely kill small ones; and imbreding depression with few mates available

wildlife corridors

strips of undeveloped habitat that connect are preserved like a walkway under or over a highway so animals can move sides without being road kill

ecosystem function

sum of biological and chemical processes that are characteristic of a given ecosystem (production, cycling, decomposition, storage) emerge from the sum of feeding, growing, moving, respiring, exerting, decomposing in interacting organisms

if extinction is natural why are biologist concerned with conservation?

the rate of extinction is at mass extinction levels; bove the basal extinction rate

why do people not support barcoding to replace taxonomy

the sequences of one gene may not accurately represent the genetic variation at a species level- and can lead to ambiguous or incorrect results; so it is used in combination depending on the circumstances

genetic diversity

total genetic information within all individuals of a population or species or group of species measured by the number and relative frequencies of all genes and their alleles present in a group

most diverse/species rich patterns land/sea

tropical forests and coral reefs

species-area relationship

used to estimate rates of extinction by tracing backwards on the curve to determine species richness if its area were to decline due to habitat destruction or climate change

DNA bar-coding

uses well-characterized gene sequences to distinguish species. the theory is that the variation between one gene in higher in different species than within species =, and compare tissue samples to the reference library of known sequences

regulating services

water purification, flood control, waste decomposition