Reserve Designs

When applying ideas for design of nature preserves, what 5 factors are considered?

1) area 2) less subdivision 3) proximity 4) corridor 5) edge effect (perimeter)

How does one decide what habitats or ecosystems to include in reserve or reserve systems?

1) classification (such as ecoregions) important in any coarse-filter approach 2) hot-spot approach for tropical forests

What were the results of the GIS case study (4)?

1) different taxa didn't have the same hot spots for endangered species 2) exception: overlaps occurred where humans have reduced habitat in areas of high endemism such as S. California, Hawaii and S. Florida (correlated with agricultural development, urbanization) 3) conservation of all endangered plants would be best proxy for other taxa because endangered plants occupy greatest total area 4) amount of land needed to conserve currently endangered & threatened species is a small portion of the total.

In what two ways does the classification of the reserve indicate the variety of its purposes?

1) each has variable impacts and tolerance of human activities 2) multiple use of reserves such as extraction of resources, recreation, protection of wildlife or ecosystems, etc.

What are two ways in which we can protect against exotic species?

1) elimination 2) control

What are four criticisms of the GIS study?

1) endangered species list is biased towards vertebrates and incomplete 2) bias towards areas with large federal landholdings (S. California) because this is where species tend to be federally listed as endangered 3) assesses endangerment, not the degree of endemism 4) analysis ignores ecological services, endangered habitats, need for wilderness & natural areas and many other considerations

Why is it important for a reserve to be able to sustain typical types of ecosystem disturbances (3 examples)?

1) fire is used as a management tool but can only be used in large reserves and it cannot be around people or during certain times of the year 2) conflict over water in Klamath River (Oregon/California) 3) Everglades issue of "sheet flow" versus snail kite

What 2 factors does the 2006 scheme to protect strategic regions take into consideration and what is it based on? Provide an example

1) global climate change 2) habitat loss based on mammals

What were the results of the longleaf pine corridor experiment (2)?

1) higher species richness in connected versus unconnected sites and the difference increased over time (20% more species with corridors) 2) native species showed effects but invasive species did not-likely because exotic species are not adapted to longleaf pines so they cannot benefit as much from corridors as native species can

What makes the best reserve size (3)?

1) large enough for MVP of threatened/endangered species (1/population density in typical habitats) 2) large enough to contain multiple areas of typical ecosystem disturbance patch sizes 3) large enough to contain diverse species, which depends on diverse habitats

What arguments of the SLOSS debate (one for each view)?

1) large parks buffers small populations against disturbances 2) small preserves contain more total species than a single large preserve does

What are the 6 steps in the procedure of Gap Analysis?

1) map existing vegetation to level of domain species 2) identify predicted distributions of native vertebrates using map 3) map public land ownership 4) map existing system of conservation lands (public and private) 5) compare distributions of native vertebrates & vegetation communities with conservation network 6) provide objective basis for informed conservation decisions

What are 4 general gaps/problems in existing reserves?

1) montane areas often represented due to preferential human habituation 2) lowland areas often under-represented for similar reasons 3) few marine ecosystems represented in reserves 4) some biomes such as tropical dry forests poorly represented in reserves because they are in heavy demand for agriculture

What are the 6 types of protected areas?

1) nature reserve/wilderness area 2) national park 3) natural monument 4) habitat/species management area 5) protected landscape/seascape 6) managed resource protected area

What considerations are made when creating a reserve design in order promote management?

1) protect top predators, to maintain community structure 2) maintain large enough, or otherwise capable of sustaining typical types of ecosystem disturbance (fire, insect outbreaks, floods & droughts) 3) protection from exotic species 4) regulate the amount and types of human visitation

What is the overall purpose of reserves?

1) reserves traditionally designed to protect threatened or endangered states=species (e.g., California condor, Kirtland's warbler, redwood grove) 2) increasingly reserves designed to protect processes (e.g., fire, other disturbances that maintain species diversity)

What are four examples of data layers that might be useful in planning?

1) species geographic ranges 2) species richness in different regions (e.g. states, counties, parishes, countries, eco-regions) 3) topography, soils, lakes & rivers, ecoregion type 4) human land-use, population, cities, wealth distribution, etc.

What are 5 cons of corridors?

1) spread of diseases 2) speed invasion by non-indigenous species 3) spread of fires, other disturbances 4) kind of corridor needed (width, kind of habitat) depends on organisms (no one size that fits all) 5) corridors may not be cost effective: opportunity costs due to tradeoffs with other conservation efforts

What are two questions raised about reserve designs?

1) to what conditions do we wish to restore the reserves? 2) how do we integrate reserves with other human activities?

What was the Case Study: Plant Species in Longleaf Pine?

Damschen said that corridors increase plant species richness at large scales. Study site at Savannah River Site, S. Carolina Study design: 1) experimental construction of "connected" vs. "unconnected plots of regenerating long-leaf pine plant communities 2) design controls for total area sites and for edge:area ratio; 6 replicate "landscapes" Longleafs are maintained by fire. It helps to clean out vegetation of ticks and jiggers. Frequency of lightning storms is highest in this area due to wind patterns.

What is the major major tool for optimizing reserve designs called?

Geographic Information System (GIS) software

Managed resource protected area

Management primarily for sustainable use of natural ecosystems (e.g., Kistachie National Forest is for timber management)

What was the method used in the GIS Case Study-use of endangered species ranges in U.S. to situate reserves?

Method: mapped hot spots for endangered species across U.S. by county, for plants, birds, herps, molluscs

Natural Monument

Protection of specific natural/cultural features (e.g. Jean LaFitte National Historical Monument with Fr. Quarter, Chalmette Battlefield, Barrataria=natural history unit)

What is the SLOSS debate concerned about?

Should reserves consist of Single Large or Several Small areas given a fixed amount of available real estate?

What was seen in Costa Rica regarding corridors?

Study Site-Braulio Carillo, La Selva -allowed seasonal movement -allowed elevational migration of butterflies, birds (e.g. Three-wattled Bellbird, Umbrellabird), etc. -increase dispersal/maintain biodiversity

What is the best design to lessen edge effects?

a circle is better than a line

What has empirical evidence shown regarding corridors?

active dispersal via corridors is weak (in part due to dearth studies: depends on species, corridors, landscapes)

Reserve

area in which native ecosystems or habitats are protected from most forms of human use

GIS

computer-driven integration of spatial information (data "layers")

Habitat/species management area

conservation through management intervention (e.g., Bayou Sauvage Nat' 1 Wildlife Refuge and Big Branch NWR [USF&WS]; water levels managed to help seed plants used for duck food during migration & winter)

Should corridors be present or absent?

corridors are better because they allow movement

What is an example of a montane area that is poorly represented due to preferential human habituation?

eastern Andes similarly have poor forest protection, affecting Cerulean Warbler, Olive-sided Flycatcher among migrant birds

Processes

ecosystem function

National Park

ecosystem protection and recreation (e.g., Yellowstone N.P.)

What is the pro of corridors?

facilitate movement between reserves: elevational migrations, dispersals, seasonal home range, range shifts

Protected landscape/seascape

for conservation and recreation (e.g., Fontainbleau St. Park, Gulf Coast National Seashore)

Hot-spot

geographical region containing both high diversity of endemic species and large proportion of threatened or endangered species due to human activities

What determines the answer of the SLOSS debate?

how habitats are distributed among reserves-if they are homogeneous, then one large small reserve is best but if they are heterogeneous then several small ones are best, each with distinct habitats-e.g., elevation, rainfall gradient

In what region must reserves be larger and why?

in the tropics to protect the rare species; the main arguments are based on species-abundance distribution patterns because tropics contain larger number of species so larger reserves are necessary to protect the MVP of all the relatively rare species

What did this study help identify?

key areas for conservation

What type of ecosystems is GIS extremely helpful in studying?

large ones

What is a lowland area that suffers problems in its reserves due to preferential human habituation?

longleaf pine forests are almost totally logged due to ease of access

Nature reserve/wilderness area

managed mainly for science, wilderness (e.g., Adirondack park, NYS, has "Forever Wild" wilderness areas)

What are two examples of organisms left out of conservation consideration due to the fact that the GIS study does not look at the degree of endemism?

many species of salamanders and newts in Appalachian mountains and allegheny plateau are left out of conservation consideration

Who first proposed the hotspot approach?

norman meyers

What is useful about GIS?

one can relate information in one layer to that in another, e.g., overlay different types of data, estimate distances between features, ask about buffers (e.g., habitat edges), etc.

Which organism will be the best surrogate to protect biodiversity overall?

plants

Gap Analysis

priority-setting method comparing actual reserve locations with biodiversity needs (conservation status of existing species)

What is the best design regarding proximity?

smaller proximity between patches is better because greater isolation makes dispersal and colonization difficult; genetic isolation and interbreeding are more likely when proximity is large linear proximity is worse that a triangular&clumped configuration because it has less dispersal options

State

species, communities, ecosystems

What is the best design regarding area?

the larger the area the better

What is the best design regarding subdivision?

the less subdivision the better because that means less edge effects

What types of problems does gap analysis identify?

the need to match location of reserves with hotspots, location of endemics, representative ecosystems

What is an important purpose of the reserve system?

to cast a wide net so as to protect all major ecosystem types

What is the purpose of the Nature Conservancy? What type of approach does it take?

to focus on entire landscapes and not just a single species this is a corse-filter approach designed to provide efficient protection for a broad spectrum of ecosystems and habitats and thereby protect most species indirectly