Chapter 7 Flashcards
To be most effective in preserving a species…what types of information do you need to know?
-Environment
-Distribution
-Biotic Interactions
-Morphology
-Physiology
-Demography
-Behavior
-Genetics
-Relationship with Humans
What does morphology refer to?
-What the organism looks like
-Distinguishing features
-Change over geographic range
How might the distribution vary? Why would this be important?
-Random, clustered (clumped), spaced regularly (uniform), metapopulation migration
patterns.
What does demography deal with? Why is this important?
-Ne past and present
-Birth rates, death rates, age structure, sex ratio
What would we want to know about a species’ genetics?
If there’s heterozygosity, geneflow, inbreeding, etc.
How could understanding an organism’s behavior or physiological tolerance be an asset?
-Helps know if they’re nocturnal/diurnal
-understand social organization, mating and reproductive characteristics
-Help understand how they acquire food
How is Peer-reviewed different from other sources?
-You’ve had other scientists in the discipline review the paper
How is primary literature different from secondary?
-Primary: Original research
-Secondary: Review articles (more their take on the conclusion)
What is gray literature?
-Not peer reviews, mainly government reports, conservation organizations, unpublished
dissertations/theses.
How would you describe a report from a government agency?
Gray
How would you describe a thesis?
Gray
How would you describe a text book?
peer-reviewed
How would you describe a jounal article?
Peer-reviewed
How is a census different from a survey? What might you choose one over the other?
Consider funding and the ability to get volunteers etc…
-Census: Count the number of individuals present in population, works well for organisms that are
easy to detect, immobile, and have small pop., can establish the range/ pop. Trends
-Survey: Repeated sampling of a pop.to estimate the density
–Used when pop is large or range is extensive
-Used when organisms are very small, tracking larval stages
-Disadvanteges: May miss aggregations, have to pick sample sites randomly
Why do some biologists use amateur naturalists to gather data? What are the benefits and
risks?
Saves money
-Covers wider area
-Get community involved (Increased education)
How is a demographic study different than a survey or census?
A demographic survey collects ecological information (behavior, etc.), while a survey or census only collects population numbers.
What if you can’t find an animal? What other types of evidence may indicate its presence?
-Animal calls
-Tracks
-Scat
-DNA traces
What is eDNA? What can it tell us? What is the advantage of this technique?
Why may it be helpful for tracking Exotic , Endangered or Rare species?
eDNA is environmental DNA, or DNA we collect from the environment. Commonly, it is a water sample. The sample is tested with known DNA sequences to estimate quantification of a species in the area.
**What are the pros and cons of tagging animals?
Pros: Get information of animals in their natural infironment (humans around studying could alter behavior) and can collect ecological data.
Cons: Could impact survival/reproductive success
What is PVA?
What management strategies may be included in the models? (consider things that may decrease the death rate, increase the area available, ….
Population viability analysis - make a model of factors to determine survival. Find factors and decide what they can manipulate to help surviva; (ie, do not hunt dring this time)
What is the minimum viable population (mvp) and the minimum dynamic area (mda)? How are they
calculated? How might they vary between different types of animals?
mvp: minimum amount of a population to maintain the species
mda: the minimum area needed for the species to survive
What does IUCN stand for?
International Union for the Conservation of Nature
What important service does the IUCN provide?
Conservation Catagories
What is the IUCN red list?
List of threatened species
Define least concerned
not threatened or near threatened
Define near threatened
close to qualifying as vulnerable
Define vulnerable
High risk of extinction in the wild in meadium term future, may become endangered, 10% probability of extinction in 100 years
Define endangered
High risk of extinction in the wild in near future, may become critically endangered,
20% chance of extinction in 20 years or 5 generations
Define critically endangered
High risk of extinction in the wild in immediate future, survival seems unlikely, 50% chance of extinction in 10 years or 3 generations (whichever is longer)
**What are the low risk categories? What if there isn’t enough data?
- least concerned
- near threatened
Species without enough data are often put into these lesser priority categories due to us not knowing if they need more help.
What information is important in the classification of species in one of the categories? How is extent of occurrence different from area of occupancy? Which one is larger?
-Population decline, area occupied by speciesm # of pop., total # of individuals (# of mature breeding individuals), estimate of the probability of extinction.
-Extent of Occurrence: Area contained within the shortest continuous imaginary boundary which can be drawn to encompass all the known, inferred or projected sites of present occurrence of a
taxon. (Bigger)
-Area of Occupancy: The area within its’ extent of occurrence which is occupied by a taxon.
Which of the categories are thought to be the highest priorities in terms of Conservation
efforts? How does this relate to the issue of reducing the opportunity cost of conservation
programs? Why are species classified as Extinct in the Wild not prioritized more?
Population decline is highest priority.
Opportunity cost: the cost to reintroduce a species vs spending the money on the species already there.
What is more likely to be classified as Data deficient … a mammal or a polychaete worm? Why
do you think this is the case?
A worm because people don’t care about them, so no one is collecting the data
**How do major groups of animals compare in the index of species survival?
SLIDE 52 trends
All species declining, birds and mammals some, amphibians more, and coral significantly
**How is the Living planet index different form the IUCN red list?
The Living Planet Index looks at communities and ecosystems while IUCN is only about species. They are both ways to organiza and see how things are doing.
