Chapter 56: Conservation Biology and Global Change Flashcards
Conservation biology
Branch of biology specifically focused on conserving biological diversity
What do conservation biologists do?
Attempt to understand the factors that affect maintenance, loss, and restoration of diversity
Why might conservation biologists need to have experience in other fields?
- Lots of sub-disciplines that are essential to aspects of conservation biology
Three levels of biodiversity
- Genetic diversity
- Species diversity
- Ecosystem diversity
Importance of genetic diversity
- Genetic variation within population facilitates natural selection
Species diversity
Number and evenness of species in small plot, ecosystem, biosphere
Importance of biodiversity
- Important for natural selection, different roles of each species in communities and ecosystems, interconnections among species and abiotic factors
- Medications contain substance originally found in plants
Importance of ecosystem diversity
- Loss of certain habitats and groups of species results from loss of ecosystem
Why are conservational biologists worried about species loss?
- Current rate of extinction matches that of mass extinctions in past–this time w’re causing it
Ecosystem services
- Services provided by ecosystems that help sustain human life
- Often taken for granted (purification of air, pollination, recycling of nutrients…)
- $1 billion to preserve Catskills vs. estimated $8 billion for water treatment plant
Threats to biodiversity
1) Habitat loss and degradation (greatest threat)
2) Introduced species
3) Overexploitation
4) Global change (climate, atmospheric chemistry…)
Fragmentation and diversity
- Type of habitat loss; diversity decreases
Introduced species
- Non-native species introduced and wipes it outtttt
- Predation upon native prey/lack of competition
Overexploitation
- Harvesting wild organisms at rates exceeding ability of those populations to rebound
Current CO2 concentration in atmosphere
- 400 ppm
