Conservation approaches

Question 1

Threats to Biodiversity

Answer 1

Habitat loss
Introduced species
Overharvesting
Global change

Question 2

Species-level conservation:

Answer 2

Focus on threatened species (IUCN Red List)
Species assessed according to standardised criteria
Many species not evaluated or data deficient: no listing = no funding

Question 3

Population-level conservation:

Answer 3

Genetic (and other) problems for small populations: Extinction vortex
Evidence for Extinction vortex: Effect of introduction of genetic variation
‘Minimum Viable Population’ concept – any smaller and extinction vortex will finish it off
Depends on effective population size

Question 4

Effective population size

Answer 4

Ne - How much of the current genetic variation in the population is carried over to next generation?
Equal to adult population size if all individuals contribute equally to next generation.

Question 5

Habitat- and landscape-level conservation:

Answer 5

Focus on habitats, rather than individual species
Connecting patches of habitat
Maximise habitat types in the landscape
Can work in concert with species-level conservation through ‘Flagship Species’ concept

Question 6

Zoned Reserves:

Answer 6

A landscape approach to conservation
Protected areas to cover diversity of habitat types
Buffer-zones of low-intensity economic activity
Connectivity among protected areas

Question 7

Biodiversity Hotspots:

Answer 7

Where to focus protected areas to maximise diversity protected?
”44% of all species of vascular plants and 35% of all species in four vertebrate groups are confined to 25 hotspots comprising only 1.4% of the land surface of the Earth”
“Silver bullet strategy” for conservation planning