Conservation Bio Midterm Flashcards
Why is their a need for Conservation Biology?
- We’re experiencing an unprecedented loss of biodiversity
- The current (sixth) extinction event is undeniably being caused by a rapid increase in human abundance
- The current extinction event threatens humans
Compare Conservation Biology and Ecological Restoration
Conservation Biology: addresses the biology of species, communities, and ecosystems that are perturbed (directy/indirectly) by human activities or other agents
Ecological Restoration: The practice of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed
What are the three types of diversity that Conservation Bio deals with conserving?
- Genetic diversity
- Species diversity
- Ecosystem diversity
Which type of biodiversity do most discussions focus on?
Species diversity
What are some reasons for caring about biodiversity?
Ecological reasons (2)
1. Biodiversity increases stability
2. Biodiversity is important to many ecosystem services (for which human-made substitutes are either not available or affordable)
Financial reasons
1. Each species entail potential solutions to human needs (medical uses)
Cultural reasons
1. Belief that all species are entitled to life
2. E.O. Wilson –> humans have an innate connection to all life –> biophilia
What are the goals (3) of Conservation Biology?
- Document the amount/distribution of biodiversity
- Conduct research that focuses on topics like the importance of biodiversity
- Develop practical techniques to:
i. Prevent species extinctions
ii. Maintain genetic diversity and evolutionary processes
iii. Protect/restore ecosystems and their functions
What are some characteristics of Conservation Biology?
- A reactive science (crisis discipline)
- An inexact science
i. provides probablistic answers
ii. answers that err on the side of caution - A value-laden science (rigorous)
- A science with an evolutionary time scale
- A science of eternal vigilance
- A synthetic science (several individual disciplines)
What are some methods for protecting biodiversity?
- Advocacy
- Legislation (SARA)
- Executive order
- Financial incentives
- Management
The Canadian SARA and US ESA protect specific organisms, what are the advantages/disadvantages of this?
Advantage: SARA and ESA mandate that critical habitat be identified/protected, so conservation for a single species can benefit others
Disadvantage: Protecting entire ecosystems is critical to the longterm success of conservation
What three categories fall under the focal-species approach?
- Umbrella species - species that require large areas of habitat, so protecting it will protect others
- Flagship species - a charismatic large vertebrate that can garner public support for conservation
- Keystone species - species that have a large impact on the functioning of the ecosystem (relative to their body size??)
Why does ER focus on restoring native species diversity?
- It plays a large role in supporting ecosystem functions
- It is relatively easy to measure
What are the three levels/scales of species diversity?
- Alpha diversity - diversity in ONE site/ecosystem
- Beta diversity - usually measured for two sites
- Gamma diversity - landscape-scale diversity, or diversity across all sites in a region
What are the two fundamental components of diversity?
Species richness and evenness
What are the three most commonly used diversity measures?
- Simpson’s Index of Diversity
- Shannon-Wiener Index of Diversity
- Pielou’s Evenness Index
What types of indeces are Simpson’s and Shannon-Wiener? What are they best used for?
Simpson’s –> Type II index, which is most sensitive to changes in abundance species
Shannon-Wiener –> Type 1 index, most sensitive to changes in rare species