Conservation Biology Final Exam

Human appropriation of net primary productivity

"an aggregated indicator that reflects both the amount of area used by humans and the intensity of land use"

Living planet index

"measures trends in vertebrate populations of threatened and non-threatened species and is used as a proxy for monitoring biodiversity change in different habitats"

Redefining the ark

*Zoos, botanical gardens, and aquariums are increasingly focusing on: -Field conservation -Education -Research *Many zoos adopt foreign parks and funnel money to them. *New York's Wildlife Conservation Society has helped found more than 110 parks and reserves around the world. *At the San Diego Zoo, sales of rubber snakes = $14,000/year, all of it used for habitat protection in Peru.

The mangrove islands in Florida

- fragmented islands -Archipelago A ended up with more species than before (77 to 81) -Archipelago B ended up with less species than before (56 to 47) -Led to one of the biggest debates in conservation biology. -Was known as the SLOSS debate: single large or several small.

How many people visit botanical gardens?

-"The Missouri Botanical Garden has over 45,000 members, and an annual attendance of over 901,000" -Chicago botanic Garden tops one million visitors for fifth consecutive year

Article One of Convention on Biological Diversity

-"fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources" -"Using genetic resources, whether from plants, animals or micro-organisms, refers to the process of researching their beneficial properties and using them to increase scientific knowledge and understanding, or to develop commercial products." -commercial products: chemical compounds for the pharmaceutical industry, enzymes in the biotechnology industry, genetic diversity for incorporation into crop plants for the agriculture industry, plants for ornamental horticulture industry -non-commercial: general scientific knowledge

ORGANIC Act (1916) to establish the National park Service

-"the service thus established shall promote & regulate the use of the federal areas known as national parks, monuments, and reservations...to conserve the scenery and the natural & historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations" -Act to Improve the Administration of the National Park System (1970): "one national park system preserved and managed for the benefit and inspiration of all the people of the United States."

Environmental Protection vs. Economic Growth

-1985: more people favored protection of the environment -stayed constant until 2008 when recession occurred -now more people again favor the environment over the economy -people favor the environment during good economic times

If we extend the hotspot idea beyond vascular plants, how much overlap is there among taxonomic groups?: Great Britain

-A study in Great Britain separated the country into 10x10 km grid cells -For multiple taxonomic groups, cells with highest species richness (top 5% highest) are hot spots -Assessed overlap of taxonomic groups -Very little overlap -For example: Butterflies and birds shared only 10% of hotspots, No grid cell was a hotspot for all groups, Greatest overlap was butterflies and dragonflies (34% overlap)

Conservation Medicine

-Adding a veterinary and disease perspective to conservation biology and population management. -New field, new perspectives on classic problems

Autozygous

-Autozygous individuals have two alleles that are "identical by descent" -A result of inbreeding -Leads to increase in homozygosity in the population

The problem of excess individuals

-Breeding plans often lead to excess individuals. -Institutions have limited space, especially for big animals

Carl Jones and the Mauritius kestrel

-Carl Jones arrives in 1979 (24 years old), employed by what would become BirdLifeInternational. -A captive breeding program was started in 1974 but was failing. Jones' job was to shut down the program and exit Mauritius. -Instead, he organized a team and saved the kestrel (and many other species).

Restoring species interactions (a controversial example)

-Endemic ebony tree (Diospyros egrettarum) on small 25 ha island off coast of Mauritius (Ile aux Aigrettes) -Critically endangered (logging for firewood). -Dispersal-limited, dispersers (giant tortoise and skink) extinct. -Introduction of the exotic Aldabra tortoise to save the ebony tree.

Mini case study - Spix's macaw

-Endemic to northeast Brazil, caatinga vegetation. -Heavily impacted by pet trade and habitat loss. -3 individuals in the wild in 1986, last one disappeared in 2000. -Extinct in the wild but survive in private collections. -All current captive birds descended from 7 or 8 wild-caught founder individuals. (narrow genetic pool) -Artificial insemination accelerated the breeding project and opened new opportunities for preserving genetic diversity.

Modifying habitat

-Habitat can be modified to reduce degradation. -Establishment of shade grown coffee in place of sun grown coffee is an example. -sun grown coffee is a monoculture and supports less biodiversity

Tower of London

-In 1204 held prominent collection of animals -Acted as the "Royal Menagerie" -Opened to the public in 16th century -Closed in 1835

Habitat restoration

-In Australia, people have removed "bush rocks" to decorate their gardens. -Bush rocks are important for the survival of some snakes and their prey. -Artificial rocks can be substituted.

CBD Countries Report

-Italy's report on their national strategy to upheld the CBD (English abstract ~100 pages) -includes what they have done and how they have paid for it and how they plan to pay for more work in the future -gives picture of the specific challenges and opportunities for biodiversity conservation in Italy -each country makes own report

The Ark Concept and Inbreeding

-Kathy Ralls and John Ballou of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. compared records of animals born of related parents with those born to unrelated parents. -They found that inbreeding had some devastating effects.

Botanical gardens as arks

-Much easier and cheaper to maintain captive populations of plants than of animals. -Hundreds of species of plants can be kept in a small botanical garden •Require less care, no cages •Mating can be arranged easily •Can be vegetatively propagated and easily be stored during their dormant seed stage -Botanical gardens contain around 15% or more of the world's flora. -Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Aquariums as arks

-Much less successful than zoos with regards to captive breeding. -However many efforts underway, including the cichlids of Lake Victoria, desert fishes of N. America, Appalachian stream fishes

Most reintroductions do not succeed(so we hope to not get to this point):

-Of 80 translocation projects for endangered birds and mammals in Australia, Canada, NZ, and U.S.......44% were successful (Griffith et al. 1989) -Of 40 taxa of fishes native to NA deserts translocated to 407 sites..............26% of sites saw establishment of fish (Hendrickson and Brooks 1991) -Of 15 plant translocations in California................. 4 judged to be successful (Hall 1987)

Corridors connect habitat patches across a landscape.

-Possible benefits: increased gene flow and dispersal which should decrease extinction rates (increased 𝑁𝑒) and increase patch recolonization rates (if there is a local extinction) -Possible consequences: may increase exposure of wildlife to humans (more poaching, increased chance of getting pathogen from domesticated animals/plants) which could increase extinction rates and they eliminate the "quarantine advantage"

Quantifying Inbreeding: We can also quantify how inbred an individual is.

-Sewall Wright developed a metric for the probability that an individual is autozygous based on pedigree information. -Possible in captive animals where pedigrees are sometimes available. -Molecular markers and new statistics available for wild populations.

Environmental Enrichment

-Simple, barren enclosures can lead to behavioral problems (e.g., zoochotic behaviors, repetitive behaviors done for no reason, self mutilation, etc.). -Environmental enrichment is a husbandry principle, attempts to redesign enclosures to promote the psychological and physiological well-being of animals. -Area, Structural complexity, Microclimate variation, Light variation, Access to conspecifics and social interactions, Work for food, Manipulable objects for play, Allowing animals to manipulate their environment to some degree, Introducing periodic novelties -pre-1950s: barren, concrete, lots of individuals in one area

When might several small protected areas be better than a single large one?

-Some resolution when Soulé and Simberloff published together. -Use PVAs and density estimates to figure out how much space you need in a protected area! -But also remember that species interact so you must focus on many species (the whole ecosystem!). -Corridors and buffer zones are important (but the former can sometimes be a mixed bag).

Conservation biology vs. the "new conservation" or "conservation science"

-Soule published early description of conservation biology in 1985 -conservation biology is focused on biodiversity -Kareiva and Marvier published an update in 2012 advocating "Conservation Science" a new discipline that focuses on "people and nature"

"faunal relaxation"

-Species richness will drop to equilibrium with time, a process Diamond called -The rate of change (dS/dT) in species richness on an island (𝑆) is the immigration rate (𝐼) minus the extinction rate (𝐸) -If an island is in equilibrium (no change in 𝑆), 𝐼= 𝐸. [0=I-E; E=I] -But if 𝐼 drops (land bridge is flooded, island created) dS/dT will go negative (the island will lose species) until it reaches the new equilibrium and dS/dT becomes zero again.

Mini case study - Spix's macaw part 2

-Studbook kept to manage breeding (maximize pop. growth, genetic diversity, and minimize inbreeding) -Over 50 birds in Brazil ready for reintroduction. -Protected area established. -Blue-winged macaws (Maracanã) have similar habitat and are sympatric (last Spix 'seven paired with one) -Study of Maracanã to determine productive areas and nesting sites for Spix 's. -Maracanãs may help captive Spix 's survive in wild (indicating where to feed and nest etc.) -Education is critical to get people onboard with protecting the species upon reintroduction, especially from the pet trade. (Also for protecting maracanãs!)

Siberian Tigers as an example of excess individuals

-The Siberian Tiger SSP calls for a pair at a given zoo to produce one male cub and one female cub. -Their first litter produces four males. -The second litter consists of two females and two males. -Congratulations - now you have your pair!You also have five extra males and one extra female! -Approximately ¾ of all space allocated for tigers in North American zoos is filled by surplus (excess) individuals. -High costs to institutions to maintain these individuals throughout their lives.

Food supplementation - be careful!

-The Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adalberti) is managed with artificial feeding to improve breeding success. -Food is rabbit either wild or for human consumption, or directly supplied from farms. -Farm-supplied rabbits have high level of veterinary drugs, negative impact on eagle chick immune systems.

What does faunal relaxation mean for newly created patches of habitat in a fragmented landscape? What does it mean for protected areas?

-They will lose species over time until they reach their new equilibrium. -Equilibrium is determined primarily by area and distance to source of colonists, but also other factors like edge effects.

Minimizing inbreeding with Species Survival Plan (SSP)

-To minimize inbreeding, zoos came up with an elaborate computerized mating system known as the Species Survival Plan, or SSP. -Based on studbooks or pedigree records and feasibility of moving individuals among institutions -"Species360" manages information on ~10,000 taxa in 500 zoos

Conventions on Biological Diversity

-United Nations Environment (UNEP) convened the Ad Hoc Working Groups of Experts on Biological Diversity in November 1988 to explore the need for an international convention on biological diversity -text was written on the Convention on Biological Diversity (an agreement/contract among countries) -values of biodiversity -biodiversity-related resources must be used sustainably; diversity must be conserved -acknowledgement of negative human impacts on biodiversity -acknowledgement of lack of knowledge regarding biodiversity and call for investment in creasing this knowledge -action to protect biodiversity must be taken, even if science is not totally figured out

The Ark Concept

-Zoos, botanical gardens and aquariums can serve as "backups" for species in case they go extinct in the wild -Plants and animals can then be reintroduced later if possible

Antoni Gaudi

-a modification of Soule's simile -conservation biologists and those interested in protecting biodiversity must be like Gaudi -famous Catalan architect. Started work on La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona in 1883. He died in 1926, construction still ongoing -he knew he wouldn't live to see it finished, so he built it in a way that his vision would have to be followed

Aichi Biodiversity Targets: Strategic Goal A

-address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by mainstreaming biodiversity across government and society -make people aware of the values of biodiversity -integrate biodiversity in development plans for countries -eliminate incentives that harm biodiversity, implement incentives for conservation and sustainability -private and public implement sustainability plans

National Park Vistors mainly:

-better educated (Bachelor's degree or higher) -higher incomes -mostly white -only 4% of visitors were 18-24 (although they make up 13% of US population)

Conventions on Biological Diversity Part 2

-countries want to benefit from their natural resources -the convention was opened for signatures in 1992 at the Rio "Earth Summit" (a UN Conference) -signed by the US (Clinton), but not ratified (by congress) -The US and the Vatican are the only two countries to not sign -development of Strategic Plan -in 2002, CBD introduced first strategic plan with the goal "to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level..." (not entirely accomplished) -in 2010, CBD introduced the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020

Extractive Areas

-defined groups of people are given exclusive rights on the condition they follow sustainable practices -generally center around the exploitation of non-timber forest products (though not always) -prevents whole-sale conversion of an area by clarifying issues of access and ownership and generating reliable sources of revenue

Aichi Biodiversity Targets-How are we doing?

-despite accelerating policy and management, the impacts of these efforts are unlikely to be reflected in improved trends in the state of biodiversity in 2020 -part of the problem may have to do with an unwillingness to protect economically valuable land -Targets 11 (land protection) and 12 (threatened spp.) are not necessarily complementary -not a lot of overlap between area targets and species targets

History of zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens

-earliest zoos (exotic animal collections) appeared a few thousand years ago in Mesopotamia -typically collections of royalty -large gardens in ancient Egypt and Persia -ponds with exotic fishes have ancient origins, but aquariums as we know them originated in England in the mid-1800s

Compensatory mortality

-harvest mortality does not increase population's mortality above its normal level. For example, 20% of a population normally dies each year from starvation; however after harvesting 10% of the population, only another 10% die (total mortality stays at 20%) -Ideal harvesting results in compensatory mortality.

Papa New Guinea: land-bridge islands

-higher species richness than expected based on their size -they were "land-bridge" islands

criticism of the "new conservation" suggests that it will hasten biodiversity loss, by shifting resources away from traditional approaches like creating and managing protected areas

-humans can construct new ecosystems from non-native species -nature is resilient -nature is a social construct -conservationists preach too much doom and gloom -people can manage nature intensively while preserving biodiversity

How many people visit zoos and acquariums?

-in 2008, zoos and aquariums around the world were visited by ca. 600 million people -huge potential for outreach

Paper Parks

-many protected areas are considered "paper parks," i.e. what is written on paper is not reflective of reality -paper parks are often characterized as having no staff, administration, budget or infrastructure; often they have no formal management plan -paper parks may therefore be ineffective in the short-term or long-term at protecting biodiversity - example: "the Sierra Chinaja is a classic paper park protected area in Guatemala"

Brazilian Atlantic Forest

-more than 80% of the fragments are <50 ha -almost half of the remaining forest is <100 m from its edges -distance between fragments is large (1440 m)

Conservation Science involves

-positive messaging -alleviating poverty -human rights and equality -working with corporations -highlighting extrinsic values of biodiversity

Aichi Biodiversity Targets: Strategic Goal B

-reduce the direct pressures on biodiversity and promote sustainable use -reduce rate of habitat loss by half, reduce habitat fragmentation and degradation -fisheries and invertebrates and aquatic plants are managed by applying "ecosystem approach" -agriculture, forestry, aquaculture are managed sustainably -pollution is reduced to levels that is does not impact ecosystem function and biodiversity -invasive ssp. and introduction pathways are identified, invasives are controlled/eradicated, barriers to invasion established -human pressure on coral reefs and other vulnerable ecosystems are minimized

Why is an international approach needed?

-species distributions cross international borders -threats to biodiversity are geographically widespread and often driven by people from many parts of the world -international support and encouragement may facilitate the conservation actions of specific actions of specific countries

Western N. American parks show evidence of faunal relaxation for large mammals

-species lost over time is fastest in small parks -the bigger the reserve the better -Simberloff & Abele say using island biogeography theory might not be accurate for conservation use

What is ecosystem management?

-techniques and strategies to protect ecosystems (i.e., prevent species extinctions, preserve interactions and ecosystem services) within the realities of a human-dominated planet. -The main way that this goal is achieved is through the establishment of protected areas.

Sierra Chinaja

-very high biodiversity, mostly non-arable (except for valleys) -protected area in 1989, but no enforcement -threats include: "forest conversion, timber/firewood extraction, forest-fires, erosion and sedimentation, illegal hunting and other non-timber resource extraction, and oil and telecommunications development" -"...forced resettlement of local peoples within the context of contemporary Guatemala is likely to cause extreme hardship to an already marginalized population barely surviving, and could spark civil insurrection" -land rights are important- chance to convert residents from "squatters" to "stewards" -many farmers grow cardamom, shade crop, relatively low impact on forest, high economic value; could be sustainable -the soil on hillsides & mountaintops in SC is very bad for agriculture; natural protection from destruction -SC could establish rules that protect "vertically" and still allow for people to grow crops in the valleys (where they already are) -possible synergy with the movement to protect the rights of indigenous people. proposal to establish an indigenous reserve at SC -indigenous reserve would give people formal rights to land and encourage sustainable practices

Tools for population management(of declining populations)

1. Providing resources •Habitat restoration •Food/water/nutrient supplementation •Restoring species interactions (e.g., pollinators) 2.Controlling threats •Preventing overexploitation of harvested species •Protection against unnatural disturbances/threats (e.g., indirect human threats, introduced predators or pathogens) 3. Direct manipulations •Head-starting •Captive/artificial breeding •Reintroductions/Translocations

Hotspots: advantages and disadvantages

1. Some advantages •Concentrated effort in a few high priority areas can, with careful long-term management, ensure that a large proportion of the world's biodiversity will survive us. •In hot spot areas, conservation needs are often greatest (high human impacts - e.g.deforestation) and payoffs from safeguards are highest. 2. Some critiques: •Do not adequately represent taxa other than vascular plants (e.g.vertebrates or fungi) •Do not protect ecosystem services •Do not consider phylogenetic diversity

tools for ecosystem management

1. designate new protected areas and work to move beyond "paper parks" to truly protected areas 2. connect protected areas (ex. corridors) 3. habitat restoration 4. population management tools when applied to multiple species in an ecosystem, are ecosystem management tools 5. integrate local people into management decisions to increase likelihood of success 6. learn from people who may have been successfully managing ecosystems for long before you got there

We hope that we can make smart choices about where to put protected areas, but often choices are limited due to the expanding human footprint and differences in the distribution of species diversity among taxonomic groups.

But despite tough decisions, protected areas are being established regularly -total area protected has steadily increased (both marine and terrestrial)

Quantifying Inbreeding

Can be quantified in a population with the inbreeding coefficient (F). F= (He-Ho)/He -𝐻𝑒=expected heterozygosity under HWE -𝐻𝑜=observed heterozygosity -When F= 0 there is no inbreeding, when 𝐹= 1 all individuals are homozygotes and inbreeding may be complete. -Autozygous

Habitat Restoration, another set of tools for ecosystem management

Many possibilities including: -Managing disturbance regimes (e.g., controlled burns) -Invasive species eradication -Modify/replace habitat (e.g., building artificial reefs) -Regulating human activities

Buffer zones can protect reserves from some of the negative impacts of humans

Maybe humans allowed in the buffer zone but certain activities are not (e.g., cattle ranching, factor construction, housing developments, etc.)

Removing goats from Galapagos

Tens of thousands of goats, multiple islands. -Transform species rich old -growth forests into relatively barren grasslands. -Unprecedented levels of erosion -Tortoises have fewer nesting sites available and are increasingly out-competed in grazing by the more agile and versatile goats. -Loss of critical microclimates -Whole ecosystem collapse and loss of many endemic species if nothing done -shoot as many goats as possible -Isabela and Santiago islands became goat-free by 2006; effort began in 1997

Reinforcement/Supplementation

addition of individuals to an existing population of conspecifics.

there is evidence that people value biodiversity and understand that there is a biodiversity crisis, but that they feel uninformed about it

also evidence of people being supportive of protecting the environment even at the expense of economic growth (much of the time)

Reintroduction

an attempt to establish a species in an area which was once part of its historical range, but from which it has been extirpated or become extinct.

Nagoya Protocol

an international treaty ensuring the "fair and equitable sharing" of benefits arising from genetic resources -implemented 2010 -compliance obligations

Translocation

deliberate and mediated movement of wild individuals or populations from one part of their range to another.

Aichi Biodiversity Targets: Strategic Goal E

enhance implementation through participatory planning, knowledge management and capacity building

Aichi Biodiversity Targets: Strategic Goal D

enhance the benefits to all from biodiversity and ecosystem services

Soft release

give animal time to acclimate in a holding pen in the new area prior to release

Additive mortality

harvest mortality increases total mortality of a population

Where are zoos located?

high concentration in North America and Europe

Land-bridge isalnds

islands connected to mainland during last glacial even when sea level was lower -have higher species richness than you'd expect by chance -Species richness will drop to equilibrium with time, a process Diamond called "faunal relaxation"

Hard release

release animal immediately into new area

Wright's inbreeding coefficient (𝒇)

the probability that two alleles at a given locus are identical by descent -Historically this was done with pedigrees; zoos often have pedigree information available. -We multiply the probabilities bc all of those events must occur for Baby to be autozygous(i.e., the AND rule of probability) -If we don't know the genotypes, assume that Baby could be autozygous for either of Gramps' alleles (i.e., let's derive a general expectation of autozygosity).

Aichi Biodiversity Targets: Strategic Goal C

to improve the status of biodiversity by safeguarding ecosystems, species, and genetic diversity

Conservation International (NGO) - Hotspots

to qualify as a biodiversity hotspot, a region must meet 2 strict criteria: 1. it must have at least 1,500 vascular plants as endemics- which is to say it must have a high percentage of plant life found nowhere else on the planet. A hotspot in other words is irreplaceable 2. it must have 30% or less of its original natural vegetation, in other words, it must be threatened -36 areas are hotspots; 2.4% of Earth's land surface but they support nearly 43% of bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species as endemics

Release of Mauritius kestrel

•1984 - 1985 and 1993 - 1994: 331 kestrels released, 257 (78%) became independent •The majority of birds (captive-bred or captive-reared) were put in the nests of wild birds or "hacked" •Hacking—small groups of nestlings (old enough to feed themselves) put in a single nest and fed daily until they fledged; trained to respond to whistle to take food from humans

Mauritius kestrel Monitoring

•All wild kestrels were located •Radio-telemetry to identify habitat use, territory size •Survival, reproduction (and reproductive attempts), behavior, dispersal tracked •Some birds showed less dependence on forest than most birds, leading to the release of birds to degraded forest and savanna areas which worked in some cases •DNA sampling for genetic analyses from all birds

Management Plan for the Mauritius kestrel

•Captive breeding program and release of captive-raised birds •Egg removal to increase # of offspring •Supplemental feeding •Trapping/killing introduced predators (mostly mongooses and feral cats) and pred-proof nest boxes •Monitoring •Setting a goal

Conservation Medicine: Orangutans

•Conservation biologists often try to translocate orangutans from forests that are being cut down to protected forests. Orangutans confiscated from illegal pet trade are also released into protected forests •Vets determined that wild orangutans have low prevalence of mycobacterial infections (and others), but semicaptive individuals have high prevalence, presumed to be transmitted by infectious humans •Translocated individuals and those confiscated from the illegal pet trade should be screened for human pathogens before being reintroduced into the wild

Example of the ark in action part 2

•Current threats, "small population size and restricted range, potential hybridization with domestic horses, loss of genetic diversity, and disease. As the population size is small, it is vulnerable to stochastic events such as severe weather" (King et al. [2015] IUCN) •PVA showed "an initial population of >140 horses is necessary to achieve a 95% probability of survival over 100 years under the low severity level of catastrophes scenario. The corresponding extinction risk for high-severity level of catastrophes is 37%, even for initial population sizes >500" (Slotta-Bachmayret al. [2004] J. Wildlife Management) •Still a major success of zoos functioning as an "ark" for endangered species •Zoos are continuing to monitor and assist in the reintroductions

Mauritius kestrel: results

•Currently, 500 - 800 Mauritius kestrels in the wild, split into two main populations •Listed as "endangered" (no longer "critically endangered") •Big success, but a lot of hard work

Mauritius kestrel (Falco punctatus)

•Endemic •Forest specialist •Habitat loss, invasive nest predators, and widespread DDT use (for ag. pests and malaria-carrying mosquitos) in the 1950s and 1960s led to rapid population decline •Mongoose and macaques depredate nests •By 1974, population dropped to 4 individuals, including one breeding pair

Mauritius kestrel: Captive Breeding and Egg Removal

•Greatest success with removal of entire clutches—after removal of 1stclutch, 95% of wild females re-laid •From this technique, females laid 4 clutches in a season (egg fertility declined in later clutches...4thclutches never produced fertile eggs) •Removed eggs were artificially incubated, and nestlings reared in captivity •1973 - 1988: 5 adults, 4 fledglings, 3 nestlings brought into captivity, also 14 hand-reared birds from wild eggs •Eggs artificially incubated, hand-reared; fertility only 38% •Kestrels sent to centers and zoos around the world for breeding

Conservation Medicine: Guanaco (Lama guanicoe)

•Guanaco (Lama guanicoe), native to S. America •Often found near sheep ranches •Threatened by ranchers who view guanaco in a negative light; assume they are dirty and can infect sheep with disease •Vets took baseline health data from guanaco and surveyed guanaco and sheep for parasites; only sheep were infected contradicting popular opinion that guanaco were source of sheep diseases

Environmental Enrichment- Benefits include:

•Improved physical health •Improved immune function •Lower stress •Increased reproduction and parental care •Fewer abnormal behaviors

Effective ecosystem management means moving beyond paper parks and that can mean investing time and resources in:

•Park infrastructure and personnel •Designing and implementing plans that effectively protect the park's ecosystem(s), and •Designing and implementing plans that ensure that all people feel like stewards and beneficiaries of protected areas - can require societal change

Example of the ark in action

•Przewalski's horse or "takhi" (Equus ferus ssp. przewalskii) went extinct in the wild in the 1960s, but brought into captivity late 1800s/early 1900s •All living takhi are descended from 12 captive (wild-caught) individuals, all that were left by 1950s •Major captive-breeding program started •Substantial inbreeding, but population has recovered to ca.2000 individuals •Several reintroduction sites (soft releases)

Mauritius

•Small island in the Indian Ocean, due east of Madagascar •Where the dodo (Raphuscucullatus) went extinct in the 1600s •Many endemic species -Mauritius kestrel (Falco punctatus): Conservation biology as a crisis discipline

Mauritius kestrel: Setting a Goal

•Territory size is about 1 km^2 •Given the amount of known habitat onMauritius, 200 - 250 territories possible, with floater birds, a population of 600 - 800 birds is possible •Genetic analyses showed high inbreeding, potential for inbreeding depression (Ewing et al. 2008, Cons. Bio.) •Population may need to be even bigger to overcome effects of inbreeding; can only be done with habitat restoration

Mauritius, the (un)natural history

•Volcanic island of ca. 460,800 acres in size (actually a little bigger, 505k acres, i.e., 204k hectares, 2k km2; about 2/3 size of Rhode Island) •People (the Dutch) first arrived in the late 1500s, permanently settling in 1638 •Native vertebrate fauna included ca. 40 spp. of birds, giant land tortoises, a dozen spp. of lizards, 3 spp. of snakes, 2 spp. giant fruit bats •Forests were cleared for timber, and eventually replaced with agriculture •Species were hunted to extinction

Head-starting

•Young are raised in captivity and then released to give them a "head start" by avoiding high predation rates that young animals often experience •Often used for turtles like these northern red-bellied turtles (Pseudemys rubriventris) from Massachusetts •Mixed results of how well it works for population management; depends on specific population threats

Mauritius, the (un)natural history •As of mid 1970s

•ca. 60% of island is planted with sugar cane, many more acres being planted with tea, pine, and eucalyptus •Human population ca. 875,000; today it's ca. 1.3 million •Introductions of cats, rabbits, pigs, goats, rats, macaques (from Malaysia), mongooses (to control the rats), many cage birds, numerous plants including guava -Long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) introduced by Dutch or Portuguese in 1700s. (why??);Eats bird eggs, destroys native plants, etc; Actively farmed and exported as research animals •there are 11 bird, 10 reptile, and 2 mammal spp. (native), most on the IUCN Red List (several doing better recently)