Habitat and Species Restoration
what constraints did the restoration of malibu lagoon have?
a city with full infrastructure already exists .. it does not allow for a historical restoration of an area
what kind of areas would probably need bioremediation/reclamation?
abandoned mine nuclear waste oil spill acid rain
captive breeding is an example of what kind of restoration? (passive or active)
active
what did Ontario use to fix the SOx emission from smelter of metals?
application of limestone fixed the pH
what does site assessment consist of?.. when doing a restoration?
assess the current status of the area are there any threats? wha t is he environmental history
restoration should be used to _____ conservation efforts not replace them
augment
why should the dam be removed?
it has no function it is filled with sediment and many species would benefit
what kind of genetic considerations should you have when restoring something? why does it matter?
it matters because genetic diversity matters for a healthy ecosystem are they local genotypes? do they belong where you are trying to plant them?
what is the issue with buying soil that has mycorrhizae?
it might be non-native
why is it easy to restore an area that has ice plant?
it rarely ever re-roots if you pull it out its gone
what plants can attract birds?
fruit trees
bioengineering
genetic engineering of plants and bacteria to accumulate heavy metals and break down waste
its important that re-introduced or translocated of the animals be of the same _____ ______ as the animals that already live in the area
genetic stock
what are some of the best management practices (BMPs) we talked about .. that are found in like portland
green streets curb cuts rain garden bioswale
what is the issue with restoring tidal flow?
historically speaking there is actually only this kind of flow for a small part of the year ; because its naturally a closed system and it would kill the habitat
what do we mean by scale considerations?
how big will your restoration project be? what constraints do you have? physical, $
what type of species would you probably want to start with in restoration projects?
if its really screwed pioneer species
explain what she said about how hydrology changes flooding
if you mess with hydrology you mess with flooding patterns then animals who lay their eggs on the beach may be out of sync with the water so animals/eggs drown
what do we mean by "if you plant it, they will come"
if you put up plants the species will come as well
what was the example we talked about that was a ecosystem service restoration? ... malibu wanted to do what
in malibu lagoon they wanted to restore nutrient mitigation and filtration because of increasing nutrient pollution and bacteria
what type of breeding should be avoided according to the IUCN guidelines
inbreeding
what does it mean to increase permeability of water into the ground?
increase infiltration of water through soil strata basically have more soil go through the soil where it will be filtered of toxins and other hydrocarbons
what is succession? why should you keep this in mind for
its the process by which the structures of a biological community evolve over time this kind of tells you what plants you can plant and which you can not ...as well as how your area will change with time
why is that there are so many projects that only focus on plants?
its what we can see easily; measure easily; show results easily
what do we mean by retention?
keeping water in the gardens so you dont have to add extra water to it
what kind of animals do projects usually focus on?
large charismatic species
what is the leading crop in the US?
lawns
how can you help the soil in a restoration project?
manipulation of microbe communities adding beneficial fungi or bacteria
what is the largest dam considered for removal?
matilijah dam
how can reintroduction be harmful?
may hurt wild populations they may bring in diseases, they may be of conflicting genetic stock
what is translocation? why do we do it?
moving of individuals to sited they don't currently occupy to boost degraded populations or when there isnt enough environment for the animal to live there
what is one strategy that has worked in the past
moving sediment very slowly over time
what kind of microbes are beneficial to the plants?
mycorrhizal fungi
for endangered species what space considerations should we have?
need to know the entire range and what is happening in other populations
is it possible to actually get rid of invasives?
not likely to get all of it
what do mycorrhizal fungi help with?
nutrient uptake extend the SA of plant roots water uptake
what do we call a mini-restoration?
patching areas together (small plots) .. aim to bring animals back
what is active restoration?
physical re-construction like planting or reintroduction
what are nurse plants?
plant species that increase the survival of newly germinated seedlings because they ameliorate a harsh physical environment
what is the overall goal of ocean friendly gardens?
restore local areas and try to get larger scale function by bringing back native plants that will naturally increase biodiversity and increase habitat
what is the current agreed upon plan for restoration of ballona creek?
restore the flow between the creek and the wetland by removing a concrete barrier to bring in tidal flow
what do we mean when we say restoration of an entire ecosystem?
returning a place to its historic state bring back biodiversity, processes, etc.
why do we want to increase permeability?
so it doesnt run into storm drains and into the oceans
why is it important for natural processes and inter species interactions to be included in restoration project?
soil is impacted by both and its literally the basis of the ecosystem which will determine what will live and what wont
what is a solution to ^^?
soil transplant
why are sediments so important for animals?
sometimes its needed for breeding of animals
what imporant thing did whooping crane loose the ability to do during the intensive breeding program? how are they fixing that
stopped migrating which is important in their life history they teach them the route by flying a small plane there and then monitor them through radio signals on an anklet; they all figure a way to get back
is it easier to preserve ecosystems or restore them? why?
to preserve we know how to preserve but restoring them is really complicated and we dont have that much info ..
what changes to landscapes/rivers do dams cause?
traps sediment which would usually flow with the water to be washed up to create coasts
what exactly is bioremediation
use fungus and bacteria to break down TCE, PCB, DDT and hydrocarbons
why both?
we want to remediate conditions when the option of conservation no longer exists but conserve whenever possible
why are some reasons why we would choose restoration?
when there isnt enough area of a certain habitat left when areas are highly degraded or fragmented
what is a situation in which you would want to use nurse plants?
when you have late successional species that you are planting and you want to help them thrive
what is the problem with buying plants from local nurseries?
you are unaware of the origin of the plant they may be from the wrong place in CA which may cause animals to not recognize them
why is an area with fennyl not going to be successful on its own?
you have to use round up to kill the plant.. it doesn't die any other way .. it cant take care of itself
what is the main message we learn from the arthropods
you need restoration to work at all trophic levels should look at all levels
should you always have to take care of the ecosystem? what do we expect from an ecosystem long term?
you shouldnt have to at some point the system should be able to move forward on its own
what are curb cuts
curbs that are constructed in such a way that excess water goes into this plant shed so it will infiltrate there
#1 drivers of ecosystem destruction?
dams
what are the 3 main "categories" that ocean friendly gardens strive for?
Conservation Permeability Retention
how much would it cost to remove the dam?
40 mill
water tx systems use what as a main source of remediation
bacteria
why do we have to start learning about restoration?
because there will be a lot more to conserve in the future; we are loosing habitat types
what are the IUCN guidelines on translocation/reintroduction
best to protect if the populations are naturally reproducing in the wild asses the risk to wild populations of doing this make sure threats are removed upon release comply with international standards reduce stress and suffering take disease and parasites into consideration
why was the malibu lagoon restoration controversial?
biodiversity was not listed as a goal
protection or restoration?
both
how do you ensure you are getting local genotypes?
by sourcing them yourself aka collecting seeds/individuals from a similar, local location
why dont we remove matilijah dam?
costs 20 to 180 million to remove
what do the scientists do to make sure the animals don't imprint on humans
covered completely and use like fake cranes
captive breeding can result in unintentional ________ risk increases with what?
domestication time
all restoration needs to be based in ______ science and within the _______ context
ecological historical
what kind of topics/professions would you need to bring together for a restoration project?
ecosystem and landscape ecology geneticist soil science geochemical animal behavior population bio engineering botany wildlife disease
what is the goal of ecological restoration?
emulate the structure, function, diversity, and dynamics of the specified ecosystem
what are different things/categories we can restore?
entire ecosystem species specific ecosystem services replacement
what ar common historical context piees that are ignored in projects
processes species interactions water soil
define conservation define restoration
protect what you have building up a degraded system
what kind of restorations can we do with respect to animals?
reintroduction habitat enhancement
reintroduction
release of individuals produced in captivity
what is bioremediation/reclamation
remediating an area that needs toxins or pollutants removed
what was the one successful passive restoration project we talked about?
removal of a crossing in malibu creek state park which broke up habitat before
what is passive restoration?
removal of obstacles to natural regentation
what is captive breeding?
removing some or all of the remaining indiiduals from a wild population to a facility where young can be produced and cared for with the objective of creating large numbers of individuals for re-release into the wild
what is replacement restoration?
replacing one degraded ecosystem with a different kind of ecosystem
what was the animal restoration example we talked about in class?
the blue butterfly project -- this was habitat enhancement -- protection of the sage scrub
what stops us from taking down dams like the one in malibu?
the sediment that has built up would probably destroy property , not even counting we dont know where we would put that sediment we have to buil a road to the dam to take sediment out
what is the major threat in the malibu creek that is affecting steelhead trout?
there is a dam that blocks the migration of the species
explain the whooping crane example... what happened, what is happening?
there used to be thousands but due to hunting there were only 15 by 1938 they then had to take all the animals in for an intensive breeding program ...
explain how mycelium can help with bioremediation
they absorb oil within 8 weeks production by producing enzymes that break down carbon bonds
what are the problems with cultivars?
they are rarely seen in nature so they are usually cultivated and cloned from a mother plant
explain the example about how anthropod diversity in coastal sage scrub....
they compared arthropod diversity at restoration sites and at natural sites they found that although on the large scale both sites looked good there was lower arthropod diversity, they have more invasives
what are some problems with putting plants from a nursery into a wild area?
they may have failure to thrive because they are accustomed to conditions in the nursery animals wont recognize them they wont develop the root system necesary to survive
what was the habitat restoration that took place at dockweiler beach? what did they do?
they tried to rebuild coastal habitat there was a lot of ice plant that initially was put in to stabilize the movement of sand but that actually is a natural ecosystem service the nonnative shallow rooted plant was keeping pollinators out
what are some ways we reconstruct environmental history?
through historical literature like photos, research, stories, paintings, etc.
what is the goal of the restoration plan in ballona wetlands?
to create permanent tidal flows
what is required of disease/parasite considerations by the IUCN
to have a quarantine before release to monitor for negative effects
what are some reasons you might want a constructed wetland?
to improve water quality and capture rain water can treat small amounts of sewage