Conservation Biology Ch. 1-6

Kareiva and Marvier (2012) argue that conservation biology has five values, different from Soule's, they are ...

-conservation must occur within human altered landscapes -conservation will be a durable success only if people support conservation goals -conservationists must work with corporations -only by seeking to jointly maximize conservation and economic objectives is conservation likely to succeed -conservation must not infringe on human rights and must embrace the principles of fairness and gender equity

Forest conservation ethic gets it start in the British colony of India; what were the three principles?

-human activity damaged the environment -civic duty to maintain the environment for future generations -scientific, empirically based methods should be applied to ensure this duty was carried out

Three primary goals of conservation biology field

-to investigate and describe the full variety of life on the planet -to evaluate and predict the effects of human actives on biodiversity -to develop practical solutions to protect and manage biodiversity sustainability

The authors give us 6 reasons to be optimistic, what are they?

-while biodiversity is being severely degraded by humans, the vast majority of modern species are represented somewhere on the planet -world population growth has begun to slow, indicating some challenges will be behind us -we have momentum. there is a growing understanding that nature is not inexhaustible -increasing realization that conservation of nature and human prosperity go hand in hand and that what is good for the environment can be good for people too -science underlying conservation biology is maturing rapidly -humans are remarkably innovative

More recently the discipline has matured and changed, by 2012 Kareiva and Marvier propose a revision and these revisions are based on two main arguments. What are those arguments?

-while conservation biology remains a crisis discipline, it is now more objective and evidence based than back then -conservation biology's core values are now more human centric than original Souls postulates

How many species have been described by science

1.24 million eukaryotic species

The rate of extinction during this modern period is how much larger than the know rate of the fossil record?

100 to 1000 times faster than historical rate

What is the "lifespan" (in years) of the "average" species?

11 my

Review the WWF Ecoregions. How many are there? What are they based on?

14...

How many are left to be described (estimated)?

16,000 being described per year

triassic period when did it occur

210 mya

How long did the Cambrian explosion last?

30 million years

how long did silurian period last

30 mya

Silurian period how long ago?

440 mya

While conditions have improved for the "average" person on the planet, the benefits of economic development are unequal. American's constitute ___% of the global population but account for __% of world energy consumption. The wealthiest 10% of world's population accounts for ___% of all consumption. ___ billion people live in absolute poverty.

5%, 24%, 59%, 1.3 billion

More that __% of inhabitable land surface has been transformed to support the human population, the majority of which is transformed into __________________ and pastures, and ____________________ environments.

50%, croplands, urban

how long ago was cambrian explosion

542 mya

Humans have appropriated over ___% of all freshwater runoff, with most going to ________________. To address the need for freshwater, humans have and will continue to construct dams. What are the conservation concerns with damming rivers?

70%, agriculture. damming alters global flux of water and sediment from continents to oceans

How are species responding to climate change?

87% of species are shifting ranges toward earth's poles at an average pace of 6.1km per decade

What % of all species that ever existed have gone extinct?

90%

Biological community

All of the populations of organisms living and interacting in a particular area. a forest of trees and undergrowth plants, inhabited by animals and rooted in soil containing bacteria and fungi

Simpson equation

Ds= sum i=1 thru S pi^2

and the 7 major aquatic biomes

Lakes, Estuaries, Intertidal Zone, Ocean Pelagic Zone, Coral Reefs, rivers, abyssal zones

Describe three different triggers of the demographic transition. Connect each to birth and/or death rates.

Social triggers- reduced fertility rates because of improved access to contraception and others ecological triggers- limitation by essential resources could also be both of these

Why was the formation of Yellowstone National Park a "truly revolutionary idea" (top of page 33)

a government had never made a decision to forgo the utilitarian benefits of development and extraction solely to preserve the scenic beauty of a splendid landscape for public enjoyment

Apply your knowledge of species accumulation curves to biodiversity species estimates (Figure 4.4)

accumulation curves at lower taxonomic levels tend to show that discovery rates are still increasing and that we don't have good estimates of the numbers of genera and species for most groups of organisms

example of new taxa that emerged from cambrian explosion

all major body plans ever known appeared in a relatively short time period

Quantify Biodiversity: alpha, beta and gamma (Box 3.3)

alpha-community scale of biodiversity as "local" and referred to the amount of biological variation or "species per mountain" beta- represents the amount of turnover or uniqueness of communities from one location to next or "gamma/alpha" gamma- regional scale of biodiversity or "species per region"

What defines a Biodiversity Hotspot?

areas with abnormally high levels of species richness

Michael Soule argued that conservation biology is a unique from environmentalism and is rather a scientific crisis discipline. Explain his logic.

argued that conservation biology was a new scientific discipline but one that differs from most other biological sciences as it is a crisis discipline. crisis discipline- practitioners must take action even in the absence of complete information because waiting to collect the necessary data may result in irreversible loss.

The number of trophic levels is a critical aspect of biodiversity and can influence communities through trophic cascade - provide an example of trophic cascade.

as sea otters eat herbivorous sea urchins kelp forests flourish but when otters disappear because of overhunting or predation, urchins eat the steps of the kelp, which results in urchin barrens

Why are most trophic pyramids in the shape of a pyramid (and not a column or square, or upside-down pyramid)?

because is depicts the amount of biomass in, or energy available to each trophic level in a community. energy always declines at each successive trophic level

Why doesn't such a method work well for bacteria and archaea (P. 91) and what did Locey and Lennon (2016) do to make a reasonable estimate of microbial diversity?

because the discovery of higher taxonomic groups is still accelerating thus we don't have reliable estimates of diversity for prokaryotes even at the highest taxonomic levels. they worked out a scaling relationship

What roles (action) did the first professional managers of conservation practice?

began with selfish motives: certain types of people were prohibited from using resources in particular areas so that those resources were reserved for extraction by a privileged few

The early conservation movement in the US gained its footing from a foundation of pioneering, anthropocentric view on nature during a phase called the Romantic Transcendental Period. What was that and who were the key members?

began with writings of Waldo Emerson. a relationship between humans and nature. Henry David Thoreau/Marsh

ecosystem

biological community together with its s\associated abiotic environment. marine ecosystem

Define conservation biology as an interdisciplinary field that

brings together experts from the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and economics as well as practices from natural resource management for a common purpose: to protect earth's biodiversity

What is one limitation of Species Richness and how is that overcome?

can give an inaccurate picture of biodiversity when there are large differences in the relative abundance of species. Simpson developed a measure of species diversity that simultaneously considers both species richness and evenness

Which three anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases is driving climate warming, and what is the primary cause of these emissions?

carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Primary cause is burning of fossil fuels for energy

Define carrying capacity and state the estimated range of credible human population carrying capacity

carrying capacity- steady state of population estimated range= 7.7-12 billion

Wetlands are centers of high biological diversity and have an important role of ecosystem services. Explain their losses since 1700.

change in wetland area averaged 54-57% nut could be as high as 87%.

What is an extirpation and provide an example.

condition of a species that ceases to exist in the chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. 76% of species have been locally extirpated in the most human affected terrestrial habitats on earth. average of 14% lost across all habitats for which data is available

Internationally conservation biology formed the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992, whereby all countries agreed that ....

conservation of biodiversity is a "common concern of humankind" and who'd pledged a common goals for the international conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources

What is the role of detritivores?

decomposers feed on dead plant and animal tissues and wastes, breaking down complex tissues and organic molecules

Describe the Evolutionary-Ecological Land Ethic.

developed by Leopold. was considering nature as a landscape organized as a system of interrelated processes. most important goal of conservation isn't to maximize sustainable yield but to maintain health of natural ecosystems and ecological processes

Gifford Pinchot is pivotal in the early conservation movement in the US. What were his most significant contributions?

developed resource conservation ethic- argued for proper use of natural resources. began sustainable forest management. established yale school of forestry.

Would you expect a particular biome in different realms to have the same species or different species? Explain.

different

By the late 1800's a new view arose called the Resource Conservation Ethic. Explain what that is and how it logically led to concepts such as Maximum Sustainable Yield.

direct contrast of other two ethics. this yield sought to harvest forest products as quickly as they regenerate. didn't save the nature preserves

In Soule's view, conservation biology has 4 normative values, they are ....

diversity of organisms is good ecological complexity is good evolution is good biodiversity has intrinsic value

What is species richness? Provide an example of what it is and how it is estimated

easiest way to quantify diversity and is a tally of the number of unique species in a collection or set of observations. estimates are strongly influenced by sampling effort so construct a species accumulation curve.

When did Conservation Biology form in the US and who was the pioneering leader?

emerged in the 1970s; Soule

What is a species? Provide a definition that covers all three concepts.

fundamental units of evolution and primary targets of some of the most powerful examples of conservation legislation

Apply biodiversity towards the conservation of species level, ecosystem level and genetic level: provide examples of each.

genetic diversity- source of all variation in life forms species diversity- collection of species that occupy and interact in a particular location community and ecosystem diversity- different biological communities and their associated ecosystems that comprise whole landscapes

mediterranean communities

has most plant species covers just 0.7% earths surface 28% endemic species and 7.5% of worlds marine fauna and 18% marine flora

What is the Anthropocene?

human domination over Earth's ecosystems as well as their biophysical processes. Current geological epoch

The new paradigm (define paradigm) in conservation was National Parks in 1783. Why was this a significant shift in the thinking about conservation?

idea of the national park. first one was because it was declared a holy site and protected from logging and hunting. IN late 1700's just put aside for natural beauty instead

Provide an example of environmental degradation that predates human written history.

in southern asia, large tracts of forests were felled to meet the growing need for timber to build trading ships to serve expanding mercantile centers such as Constantinople

What is a hybrid? What role do they play in the conservation of species?

intermediate forms that blur the distinction between species. inability to correctly distinguish one from another slows down efforts at species protection and makes it difficult to write precise, effective laws

large tropical lakes and river systems

make up 0.01% of water 0.8% earths surface. 1-% of all known organisms and 33% of vertebrates

what new taxa did triassic period bring

modern forms of biota

Apply the species concepts (all three) towards specific examples.

morphological species concept- individuals are morphologically, physiologically, or biochemically distinct from other groups in some important characteristic comprises a species biological species concept- group of individuals can potentially breed among themselves evolutionary species- group of individuals share unique similarities of their DNA and hence their evolutionary past comprises a species

Aldo Leopold came to the conclusion that the most important goal of conservation is ...

most important goal of conservation isn't to maximize sustainable yield but to maintain health of natural ecosystems and ecological processes

Long Answer Question: how does a new species arise from another species?

mutation, genetic drift, natural selection 4 types of speciation- Allopatric Speciation- population becomes separated causing formation of new Sympatric Speciation- a small segment of the original population becomes isolated reproductively Parapatric Speciation-population of a species enters a new niche or habitat Quantum Speciation-the budding off a new and very different daughter species from a semi-isolated peripheral population of the ancestral species

The Indian Rhino (Box 1.1) once on the verge of extinction has been recovering. What are the key elements of this success story?

national parks and captive breeding programs established. grassroots anti poaching programs, government formation of armed patrols

Was that the only one?

no there were two others

Primary Producer

obtain energy directly from sun through photosynthesis- flowering plants

Define desertification and explain where is why this happens

occurs when soil degradation by human activity causes relatively dry areas of land to become increasingly arid and lose their water bodies, vegetation, and wildlife. Happens because- account for 40% of land heavily degraded home to many people

Explain the logic of determining the numbers of species from the ratio of known to unknown tropical forest canopy beetles (page 88).

of beetles that have been described, canopy beetles represent an estimated 44% of all species

most species live

on land

coral reefs

overall biodiversity 25% of all marine species

What were the proposed causes of major diversity explosions?

oxygen levels in the atmosphere and oceans may have suddenly crosses a threshold that allowed for increased rates of metabolism and emergence of larger more complex animals

Name the 8 biogeographic realms that have unique suite of characteristic biomes and species based on long term evolutionary isolation from other regions

palearctic, afrotropical, indo-malay, australasian, oceanic, nearactic, nootropic, and antarctic

What is the 10% rule? Why does it exist?

percentage of energy transferred from one trophic level to the next. 10% of the energy produced by lower trophic level becomes available in the next trophic level. because las and less energy is transferred to each successive trophic level

Often it is not extinctions or extirpations that are the result of human activities, but rather population decay. What is population decay and provide a vivid example

population decay- When a population or group of something is declining, and the amount that decreases is proportional to the size of the population example- health of 14,152 populations showed a 58% global decline between 1970-2012. animal populations are half the size they were 42 years ago

What two key factors determine a terrestrial biome?

precipitation and temperature

Primary, Secondary, and higher consumers

primary -herbivores eat photosynthetic species. secondary- kill and eat other animals (eat herbivores) higher- eat carnivores

Define biotic homogenization and explain how it reduces biodiversity

process by which exotic species replace native flora and fauna, in turn causing ecosystems to lose their biological uniqueness. reduces biodiversity because it diminishes the distinctiveness of flora and fauna in different locations

Which groups (Fig 4.3) which are least well know?

prokaryotes

What is Connectance?

proportion of all possible links between species there actually realized in the community C= L/S^2

Choose any species (except for the example provided) and give all levels of taxonomic information (Box 3.1).

recall: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species chinese river dolphin dolphin taxonomic info: animalia, chordata, mammalia, cetacea, lipotidae, lipotes, L. vexillifer

What is Linkage Density?

represents the average number of interactions between species D= L/S

Climate warming is associated with a suite of environmental change: name five

rising sea levels, ocean acidification, decreased snow and ice cover, increased frequency and severity of extreme events, environmental change

What is a food web?

species are linked by a complex of species interactions

Keystone species

species on which many other species in an ecosystem largely depend on if removed ecosystem would change drastically. example- wolves

Ecosystem engineers

species that create new physical habitat or the extensively modify existing environments through their biological activities, Beavers since they build dams across streams that create entirely new wetland ecosystems

Resource management requires ____________ and _____________; when did it first became a common practice?

straint and cost, common practice in medieval times with the advent of game and nature reserves

Shannon Equation

sum i=-(1 thru s) pi x ln(pi)

adaptive radiation

the diversification of organisms into forms filling different ecological niches, such as predation and carnivory

What is the importance of the "land of perpetual shade"?

they are now unnatural deserts resulting from massive overexploitation of woodlands. shows humans have always degraded their environment and endangered other species

What is a gene pool and how do conservation biologists use this tool?

total array of genes and alleles that are found across individuals in an entire population. Focus on measuring alleles found at a select subset of gene loci that are practical interest for management. can estimate genetic diversity of a population

How what is a mass extinction, how many have there been? What types of species* are typically used as index fossils to measure such events (*large, small, marine, terrestrial, what sorts of characteristics?)

total of five ordovician-silurian mass extinction- eliminated 57% of marine genera and 86% marine species devonian mass extinction- 97% of all invertebrate species permian-triassic mass extinction- 56% of all genera and 96% of all species went extinct including 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species. 57% of insect families and 83% of all genera extinct LARGEST ONE triassic mass extinction-47% of all genera and 80% all species went extinct 80% of reptile species cretaceous mass extinction- most famous included dinosaurs 76% of all species perished

Name the 9 major terrestrial biomes, .

tundra, boreal forest, temperate grassland/desert, woodland/shrubland, temperate seasonal forest, temperate rain forest, tropical rain forest, tropical season forest/ savanna, subtropical desert

John Muir has a new view about nature, that is has intrinsic value. What does that mean? This led to the Preservationist Ethic. Describe that ethical argument.

value that stems from its very existence and is entirely separate from any utilitarian value to humanity. this this represented the first of three environmental philosophies to shape conservation policies in the US

Define biological diversity or biodiversity from the glossary.

variety of life on Earth, including all of its genes, populations, species, communities, and biomes

what new taxa did silurian bring

vascular plants

Ocean water are changing rapidly, the WOA describes five different ways: what are they?

warming and becoming more acidic, large increases in pollution, excess nutrient flow, high heavy metal concentrations, increased human impact

Review Box 4.3 - what have we discovered about the biodiversity on our own bodies?

we have found that microbial cells on a human body outnumber human cells almost three to one

Define demographic transition and explain the evidence that suggests that the global human population is past this point.

where global growth has now shifted from unconstrained, exponential increases to reduced logistic growth that is headed toward a steady state. One evidence would suggest transition from high birth and death rates to lower birth and death rates.

What is meant by cryptic biodiversity?

widespread existence of undescribed species that have been incorrectly classified and grouped together because they have similar appearances.

Are pathogens and parasites important?

yes when the host species is at high density and under stress.