Pbio exam 3

Summarize the goals or functions of biosphere reserves. Analyze how well these goals address the needs of local and global communities.

-Focusing on a multi-stakeholder approach with particular emphasis on the involvement of local communities in management -Acting as sites of excellence for education and training -Promote dialogue for conflict resolution of natural resource use

Discuss the other types of activities that are needed to meet related conservation activities. Explain why plants of socioeconomic importance or their wild relatives merit conservation.

-Maintenance of associated indigenous and local knowledge. Explain why plants of socioeconomic importance or their wild relatives are awarded conservation: genetic diversity of minor crops and other socio-economically important species have received less attention. Priority species may include certain medicinal plants, non-timber forest products, local landraces, wild relatives of crops, neglected and underutilized plant resources as well as major forage and tree species, which may become the crops of the future.

Describe the zones that are established for biosphere reserves, indicating which has the highest level of protection

-The core area is strictly protected ecosystem that contributes to the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic variation. -The buffer zone surrounds or joins the core areas, and is used for activities compatible with sound ecological practices that can support scientific research, monitoring, training and education. -The transition area is the part of the reserve where the greatest activity is allowed, encouraging economic and human development that is socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable. Analyze how well these goals address the needs of local and global communities: -the core area brings ecosystem services which can be calculated in economic terms (carbon sequestration, soil stabilization, supply of clean water and air). Employment opportunities can also complement conservation goals (environmental education, research, environmental rehabilitation and conservation measures, recreation and ecotourism). -the buffering zone brings biological and cultural diversity. They can also have an important connectivity function in a larger space context as they connect biodiversity components within core areas with those in transition areas. -the transition area may contain a variety of agricultural activities. local communities, management agencies, scientists, non-governmental organizations, cultural groups, economic interests and other stakeholders work together to manage and develop the area's resources

Name the five principal threats to plant biodiversity and the approach taken by the Convention on Biological Diversity to address these. State how these are related to your previous knowledge on the three levels of biodiversity

.5 principal threats to plant biodiversity and the approach taken by the Convention on Biological Diversity to address these: habitat transformation, climate change, over-exploitation, pollution and the impact of invasive alien species. 16 output-oriented targets CBD focus on ~ positive sustainable future where human activities support the diversity of plant life (including the endurance of plant genetic diversity, survival of plant species and communities and their associated habitats and ecological associations), and where in turn the diversity of plants support and improve our livelihoods and well-being.

percentage that reflects net annual loss of global forests annually

0.18% annual net loss of global forests

Name the five factors that are considered before a species is listed

1) damage to, or destruction of, a species' habitat; 2) overutilization of the species for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; 3) disease or Bart Gamett/USFWS predation; 4) inadequacy of existing protection; and 5) other natural or manmade factors that affect the continued existence of the species. When one or more of these factors imperils the survival of a species, the FWS takes action to protect it. The Fish and Wildlife Service is required to base its listing decisions on the best scientific information available

Name two biosphere reserves within the United States (described in your readings), the agency that manages them, and the importance of each of these examples.

1. The Organ Pipe Cactus Biosphere Reserve: managed by: United States National Park Service/ MAB (man and the biosphere program). Important because: help to promote expanded research, education, tourism and recreational facilities 2. Great Smoky Mountains National Park: managed by: United States National Park Service/ All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, or ATBI/ nonprofit partner Discover Life in America. important: very diverse area that deserves protection/maintenance, old mnt. ranges

Describe the types of companies that become FairWild certified

12 companies that are directly involved in wild-sourcing of medicinal and aromatic plants were FairWild certified

Distinguish between direct and indirect effects of invasive plant species on ecosystem

A direct effect of invasive species have to do with an exact pinpointed problem caused by invasive species. For example, the american chestnut was victim of an invasive species, and the direct effect is the loss of chestnuts in forests. An indirect cause would be wildlife that eat the food will be penalized too.

impacts of chestnut blight and European gypsy moths on deciduous forests

A non native fungal pathogen blight on the American chestnut eliminating it from deciduous forests causing decreased timber harvests and wildlife that chesnutt's would usually habitat. European gypsy moth ruins trees on millions of acres of northeastern and midwestern forests. It currently is found in 19 states causing an estimated $3.9 billion in tree losses and also decreased wildlife habitat

Describe the types of genetic resources that were being stored in the gene bank in Aleppo, as well as in Svalbard, and why a new facility was needed

Aleppo: strains of drought- and heat-resistant wheat have been developed over time.includes more than 135,000 varieties of wheat, fava bean, lentil and chickpea crops, as well as the world's most valuable barley collection Svalbard: containing a seed of just about every known crop in the world -- is meant to be humanity's backup in the event of a catastrophe that devastates crops Relocated to Lebanon, Solh opens the door to a vault on the Agricultural Research and Educational Center of the American University of Beirut campus in the Bekaa Valley. This is where the seeds ICARDA received back from Svalbard are housed. Needed: because

Explain how an important plant area (IPA) is defined and what impact these defined areas have on conservation.

An important plant area can be defined as a site exhibiting exceptional botanical richness and/or supporting an outstanding assemblage of rare, threatened and/or endemic plant species and/or vegetation of high botanical value. ~Countries make significant efforts to protect these areas but it is often not followed through with or low scale management plans

effects on property values of Asian longhorned beetles and Emerald ash borer

Asian longhorned beetles first appeared in NY in 1996 and in Chicago in 1998. Larvae go into trees causing girdling (removal of bark) of stems and branches, dieback (death of twigs and branches which generally starts at the tips) of the crown, and can kill an entire tree. It infests many different tree species in the U.S. and is a threat to urban and rural forests. Emerald ash borers were first detected in the U.S. in 2002, found in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, larvae tunnel under bark of ash trees and could eliminate ash as a street, shade, and forest tree throughout the U.S. Estimated replacement cost in six Michigan counties is $11 billion and an additional $2 million in lost nursery sales.

Discuss how ex situ conservation efforts can support in situ conservation efforts, using the Ecological Restoration Alliance as an example

Botanical gardens working together to support restoration ~ERA works toward using info gained with in botanical gardens in order to restore the natural environment

Describe how the GSPC is meeting targets for sustainable use and trade of wild plant resources. Discuss international agreements and the expectations for sustainably sourcing plant-based products.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and GSPC partner to protect the fundamental plan that: species the requirement that exports of Appendix II specimens should only be permitted when the export has been validated as both legal and 'sustainable ~Timber is a major resource they are trying to protect Int Agreements: EU Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan with its two key legal instruments.e 2005 FLEGT Regulation allows for the control of the entry of timber into the EU from countries which have bilateral FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) with the EU ~ first VPA to be developed was with Ghana. Republic of Congo and Cameroon are in the ratification proces ~ Global Timber Tracking Network (GTTN) was launched to bring together scientists, policymakers and other key players to develop tools for identifying key timber species and their origins so that customs inspectors and others can confidently determine the geographic origin of logs and wood products. GTTN is coordinated by Bioversity International with support from the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, and the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry.

Describe the types of ecosystem services that are lost with losses of entire ecosystems and the biodiversity they contain

Cultural: the scenery, provisioning: the products given from that ecosystem like medicine, regulating: trees lost, therefore air quality regulation lost, climate regulation, air provisioning services supporting: all supporting lost with no other services in tact.

Describe in situ (in place) strategies for ecosystem conservation and describe where improvements are needed.

Describe in situ (in place) strategies for ecosystem conservation and describe where improvements are needed: include Target 4 (ecosystem conservation), Target 5 (protecting important areas for plant diversity), Target 6 (conservation within production areas) and Target 7 (species-level conservation). ~Terrestrial ecosystems are not being protected ~Natural grassland areas are not well protected compared to forested areas

Discuss the importance of protecting indigenous knowledge and some strategies for accomplishing this. (Fairwild)

Developing countries rich endowment of traditional knowledge and biodiversity plays a critical role in their health care, food security, culture, religion, identity, environment, sustainable development and trade. Some strategies include: -Assist Local people in the preservation of their traditional knowledge in a culturally appropriate manner -Facilitate capacity building and training opportunities in ethnobotany, particularly in countries and regions with significant gaps in such resources -Support and encourage biocultural knowledge transmission and custodianship

Distinguish between endangered and threatened species

Endangered: means a species is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range Threatened: means a species is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future.

Explain how land currently in agricultural production could feed the projected global population.

Enough food could be produced on currently cultivated land for the projected global population of 9 billion, provided that adequate investment was made in sustainable management (including intensification of agriculture and innovation) and further land conversion (i.e. forestry loss) could be avoided

Describe the role of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in achieving goals of ESA

FWS & Commerce Department's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) administer the ESA. The FWS has primary responsibility for terrestrial and freshwater organisms, while the responsibilities of NMFS are mainly marine wildlife such as whales and anadromous fish such as salmon.

Describe which biomes are represented by Mexico's recently (Dec. 2016) protected areas

Marine biome protected area ( Papahanaumokuakea National Monument & Ross sea protected area), terrestrial protected areas: Mexico's Ramsar sites and mangrove forests

Describe the types of conflicts that might arise when areas become protected

Natural resource use, ntegrating cultural and biological diversity, especially the role of traditional knowledge in ecosystem management; Demonstrating sound sustainable development practices and policies based on research and monitoring; Acting as sites of excellence for education and training

Name the differences among species that lead to variability in responses to climate change and describe how this might affect interspecific relationships.

Species differ in their physiological tolerances, life-history strategies, probabilities of population extinctions and colonizations, and dispersal abilities. These individualistic traits likely underlie the high variability in strength of climate response across wild species, even among those subjected to similar climatic trends. The primary impact of climate change may be mediated through effects on synchrony with that species' food and habitat resources

Distinguish between strict protection and mixed-use protection in parks or conservation areas. Discuss the conflicting research results over which is most effective at preventing deforestation

Strict protection: strict protected areas can create counterproductive conflicts between regulators and local communities Mixed-use protection: seeks to strengthen local communities' capacities and incentives for forest conservation -Several studies conclude that strict protection outperforms mixed-use protection -mixed-use protection generally does a better job of stemming forest fires -Strict protection is more effective at preventing deforestation

effects of hydrilla on ecosystems and recreational opportunities

The aquatic plant Hydrilla, form dense canopies at water surface and raise temperatures, change pH, exclude light, and consume oxygen, resulting in native plant displacement and stunted fish populations. This example of an altered aquatic ecosystem caused by an invasive aquatic weed also negatively affects recreation and businesses that depend upon that human activity.

Predict how biodiversity losses could lead to the endangerment or extinctions of species

The loss of biodiversity may take away plants/animals used as food for other species

Describe the migration of plants on the Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador. Name the date and source of the earliest and most recent data sets on plant distribution and vegetation zones

The plants on the highest mountain in Ecuador have migrated more than 500 meters to higher altitudes during the last two centuries. This is determined in a new study, in which researchers compared Humboldt's/ Aarhus University data from 1802 with current conditions. Most recent: summer 2012, The individual plant species are now found more than 500 meters upslope than they were 210 years ago. These changes in the vegetation are more than expected as a result of today's warmer climate

Describe what the general changes in phenology have been relative to leafing out, flowering, production of fruit and growing season. State how this correlates with climate

This is partly a result of the tight links between the seasons and agriculture: Planting and harvest dates (and associated climatic events such as day of last frost) have been well recorded, dating back hundreds of years for some crops

Describe the current rates of species extinctions. Name the causes now and projected for future losses

Today, current extinction rates are estimated to be 100 to 1,000 times faster than those in geological times. 3,481 species out of the 30,700 estimated described species are endangered, and nearly a quarter (22%) of the world's mammal species and a third (32%) of amphibian species are known to be globally threatened or extinct. Causes: globalization caused a few species to dominate, spread of invasive species, reduced global genetic diversity. such losses reduce the fitness and adaptive potential of both species and ecosystems, thus limiting the prospects for recovery after possible disturbance

Compare the costs of biodiversity conservation to the net value of ecosystem services that are lost when they are not protected, according to McCarthy et al. 2012.

US$2 to US$6.6 trillion. e total is just 1-4% of the net value

direct and indirect effects of white pine blister rust on natural resources.

White pine blister rust is a disease of white pine species caused by the non-native fungal pathogen starting in 1900. It spread rapidly, killing off native white, whitebark, and limber pines, whose seeds are an important food source for birds, rodents and bears. Also, it alters forest ecosystems, eliminates wildlife forage, and decreases the soil stabilization effects of these trees, snowmelt regulation, and forest succession

Discuss what societal factors must be considered in identifying a plant as invasive for policy and management purposes

a plant's introduction that does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human, animal, or plant health

endemic

a species native to, and often restricted to, a particular area

Define an invasive species, according to the NISMP

a species that is non-native to the ecosystem under consideration and whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health

Describe the types of records we have that help us understand how phenology of some plants has changed since 1900

a statistically significant change point is first seen in the early 1900s, with steady advancement since 1952

Discuss how changes to the habitat of the yellow-bellied sapsucker will impact other species.

as some tree species will expand their geographic range and others will decrease their range, so too will the different species of woodpeckers. For example, the model predicted that the red-headed woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus, will increase in abundance throughout the eastern region while the yellow-bellied sapsucker, Sphyrapicus varius, will decrease in abundance. The sapsucker also maintains smaller holes, called "sapwells," from which it eats tree sap for nutrients. This unique behavior creates new food sources and habitats for creatures that live near sapsuckers. The sapwells attract and support various insects, which in turn support other animals. However, models predict greatly reduced abundance of balsam fir trees in the eastern forests due to climate change, and as a consequence, less suitable habitat for the sapsucker.14 Thus, as climate changes affect the distribution of tree species, the animals that depend on these specific trees for food and habitat will be affected as well

Describe what constitutes environmental harm by invasive species

biologically significant decreases in native species populations, alterations to plant and animal communities or to ecological processes that native species and other desirable plants and animals and humans depend on for survival. Environmental harm may be a result of direct effects of invasive species, leading to biologically significant decreases in native species populations

Explain how habitats of endangered species are protected and why they are sometimes exempted from protection

by prohibiting the "take" of listed animals and the interstate or international trade in listed plants and animals, including their parts and products, except under Federal permit. Such permits generally are available for conservation and scientific purposes. Listed plants are not protected from take, although it is illegal to collect or maliciously harm them on Federal land. Protection from commercial trade and the effects of Federal actions do apply for plants. In addition, States may have their own laws restricting activity involving listed species.

intra-specific diversity

diversity within a species (among individuals or populations)

Endangered Species Act (ESA)

he purpose of the ESA is to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend

Define phenology

he study of the timing of an organism's developmental stages, such as breeding or flowering. This is influenced by temperature, amount of sunlight and precipitation.

Explain the purpose of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and predict how its location makes it an ideal storage facility

holds more than 700,000 seed samples, originating from almost every country in the world. The Vault already holds the most diverse collection of food crop seeds in the world. Deep in the side of a mountain in the Arctic archipelago is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Known as the "Doomsday Vault," this seed bank -- operated by the Norwegian government and containing a seed of just about every known crop in the world -- is meant to be humanity's backup in the event of a catastrophe that devastates crops

Name a benefit of in-situ compared to ex-situ conservation

in-situ conservation, the conservation of species in their natural habitats, is considered the most appropriate way of conserving biodiversity.Conserving the areas where populations of species exist naturally is an underlying condition for the conservation of biodiversity. It is more natural within in-situ.

Describe when domesticated or introduced plant species are considered invasive and how this can differ from one area to another.

invasive when they have overcome Geographical barriers, survival barriers, establishment barriers, dispersal and spread barriers.

. Describe natural changes and human activities that have contributed to observed vegetation changes on the Chimborazo volcano.

natural changes and human activities that have contributed to observed vegetation changes on the Chimborazo volcano: Warmer climate, A combination of human induced climate change and the direct impact on the plant communities via cultivation of the landscape around the volcano helps explain the large scale vegetation shift more than has been experienced in other regions outside the tropics

richness (species or botanical richness)

number of species found in an area

Describe examples of conservation activities in production landscapes, such as agriculture and forestry

organic production, integrated pest management, conservation agriculture and on-farm management of plant genetic resources. Similarly, sustainable forest management practices are being more broadly applied

Explain the importance of seed banks in preserving genetic diversity as well as the limitations

seed banks protect biodiversity ~Forsome 200-300 major crops, it is likely that 70% of genetic diversity is already conserved ex situ in gene banks ~limits: do not work on all plant species~ tropical plants

Describe the supporting ecosystem services offered by the Eastern forests and woodlands and how these services are compromised by climate change

soil formation would be lost because of temperature changes (freezing and thawing) ~lower winter temperatures

Describe strategies for the conservation of crop genetic diversity.

strategies for the conservation of crop genetic diversity: through ex-situ conservation (seed banks, field genebanks, tissue culture) partly through on-farm conservation and partly through in-situ conservation.

Describe the rate of deforestation occurring in Guatemala and the area protected by the Maya Biosphere Reserve. Name some of the causes behind deforestation in that area

the rate of deforestation in tropical countries remains "alarmingly high." For example, in both Latin America and Africa, it averaged 0.5% per year in the first decade of the 2000s, five times the global rate. Why: rapid deforestation in the past two decades due to immigration and a changing security situation

. Discuss the goals of the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership at Kew

the world's largest ex-situ collection of seeds from wild flowering plants -Banking of seed collections. conserves 25% of the world's seed-bearing species -allowing the use of seed collection for innovation, adaptation and resilience in agriculture, forestry, horticulture and habitat restoration.

Describe a biosphere reserve. Explain who retains jurisdiction over the reserve

~: areas that include terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystems. Each reserve helps solutions restore the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use ~ biosphere reserves are nominated by national governments and remain under the jurisdiction of the states where they are located

Describe the types of concessions that were established within the Maya Biosphere Reserve and the performance criteria that are expected of all these groups.

~Established resident community concessions (n = 2) were granted to communities inside the multiple-use zone that were settled long before the MBR was established. Historically, these communities have subsisted by harvesting and trading in non timber forest products, such as chicle, xate, and allspice. New resident communities (n = 4) were settled by recent immigrants around the time the MBR was established. Nonresident community concessions (n = 6) were granted to communities outside the multiple-use zone, the result of government efforts to recruit entities to manage concessions. Finally, industrial concessions (n = 2) were granted to commercial timber companies ~criteria include a forest management plan, legal incorporation of the grantee, a democratically elected leadership, and third-party certification to Forest Stewardship Council standards within three years of the granting of a concession

Describe the barriers that invasive species have surmounted and how humans can unintentionally support these invasions

~a geographical barrier must be overcome, which often occurs as a mountain range, ocean, or similar physical barrier to movement of seeds and other reproductive plant parts (plants that do this are often called alien) ~non-native plants are those that occur outside their natural range boundaries, and this most often is mediated by humans either deliberately or unintentionally

Describe ex situ strategies for conservation of genetic resources and discuss their importance

~botanical gardens ~seed bank limitations: do not work on all plant species;/tropical cannot