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BIOL 4410-- animal > conservation bio ONE > Flashcards

conservation bio ONE Flashcards

1
Q

Science of Conservation

A

conservation is a scientific endeavor to understand the natural world to minimize extinctions. The scientific method is used to formulate and test hypotheses to answer research questions

hypothesis– answer to a research question that makes testable predictions

  1. research question
  2. hypothesis
  3. prediction
  4. new data
  5. compare data
  6. reject or support hypothesis
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2
Q

individuals
populations
species
communities

A

individual: male, female, juvenile, etc
population: made up of individuals
species: can have many populations and subspecies
communities: have many different species

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3
Q

why is it hard to define “species”

A

because speciation is a continuous process

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4
Q

allopatric speciation

A

isolation leads to unique populations via mutations and differential selection which can lead to new species with a unique evolutionary history

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5
Q

biological species concept (BSC)

A

species: groups of interbreeding populations which are reproductively isolated from other such groups
subspecies: distinct populations of species, which are unique but still have gene flow

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6
Q

subspecies are incipient species

A

time and isolation for differences can develop, but are still not reproductively isolated

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7
Q

biodiversity

A

diversity of and within species over some defined area– species and their genetic variation

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8
Q

species richness

A

total number of species in an area (common metric for biodiversity)

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9
Q

why do we want to prevent extinction and preserve biodiversity, what is their value

A

philosophical and ecological

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10
Q

2 philosophical values to save species

A
  1. Inherent (intrinsic) value: they are valued just because they exist, most often seen in charismatic species
  2. Utilitarian value: they provide direct and indirect benefits to humans
    - direct benefits: food, fuel, material, medicine (vincristine and aplidin)
    - indirect benefits (ecosystem services): crop pollination, water purification, erosion regulation, pest regulation, soil formation, climate regulation
    - overall $33 billion/year estimated benefit
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11
Q

Ecological reason to save species

A

High diversity ecosystems function better (are more productive and resilient) than depauperate (low diversity) ecosystems

ecosystem function increases with community diversity

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12
Q

Tilman Prairie Biodiversity Experiment

A
  • low and high diversity plots established and compared
  • high diversity plots had: higher biomass (more productive), retained soil nutrients, more resilient to drought and disease, less herbivory by grasshoppers, fewer weedy invadors

diverse systems being more productive and “healthier” has implications for agriculture, range land, and forestry

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13
Q

why is there a biodiversity crisis

A
  1. people do not understand/appreciate the value of species and biodiversity
  2. economic externalities exist, leading to environmental degradation
    (externality: hidden cost in economic transaction; hidden cost: environmental degradation; environment pays for this hidden cost)

environment is damaged unless the government gets involved

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14
Q

examples of externalities

A
  • byproducts of industrial production– toxins
  • released into air, water, ground
  • toxins degrade the environment (reduce survival and reproduction of organisms)
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15
Q

5 mass extinctions that dramatically reduced global diversity.

Which was the most intense?

A
  1. 443– Ordovician (26, 60, 86)
  2. 359– Devonian (22, 57, 75)
  3. 251– Permian * (51, 82, 96)
  4. 200– Triassic (22, 53, 80)
  5. 65– Cretaceous (16, 47, 76)

Permian was most intense, with a 51% family, 82% genera, and 96% species extinction

Overall, D— Pleases The C—

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16
Q

what was the cause of these extinctions

what about in the cretaceous

A

Temporal

extra-terrestrial: massive volcanic eruption with associated changes in oceanic and atmospheric chemistry and climate change. toxic gas in the air changes global chemistry, hurting survival and reproduction. Asteroid, earthquakes, tidal waves

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17
Q

how many species are formally described

how many new ones are described per year

A

1.5 million

~ 15,000

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18
Q

undescribed species and total species estimate

A

10 million, 5-15 million

(most are insects

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19
Q

biodiversity hotspots

A

unusually high levels of biodiversity
(tropical forests, tropical lakes, coral reefs, temprate shrublands with mediterrean climate– wet winter, dry spring summer fall)

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20
Q

how much of the area is made up of biodiversity hotspots and how many species do they have

A

5-10 percent contain over 25 percent of all species

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21
Q

latitudinal diversity gradient

A

highest diversity near the equator and declines as you move towards the poles, has been this way for millions of years

on a graph, 0 is the equator

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22
Q

hypotheses for the LDG

A
  • based on evolutionary NOT ecological time
    1. stability
    2. productivity (energy)
    3. area
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23
Q

2 mechanisms that cause change in diversity over evolutionary time

and the LDG hypotheses must explain these

A
  • speciation increases diversity
  • extinction decreases diversity
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24
Q

ecological time is

A

within the lifespan of a species

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25
Q

evolutionary time is

A

over many thousands of generations (millions of years)

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26
Q

stability hypothesis

A
  • the tropic regions have been the most climatically stabilized for many years
  • increased stability promotes lower extinction rates
  • evidence: climate has fluctuated globally, how is it at the equator? hard to know
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27
Q

productivity (energy) hypothesis

A
  • productivity = rate of conversion of solar energy to biological energy (photosynthesis). measures by change in plant biomass
  • since the earth is tilted, the tropics have the most solar radiation
  • more resources = higher pop sizes and lower extinction rates
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28
Q

how was the productivity hypothesis tested ?

A
  • productivity increased by feeding nutrients
  • but increase led to decreased diversity, oops
  • but, this was done in ecological time, so maybe its not a fair test
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29
Q

Area Hypothesis

A
  • based on data
  • more species are found in larger areas
  • slope shows how quickly you pick up species
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30
Q

how to do the area hypothesis

A
  • divide the globe into biomes (tropical, temperate, artic/boreal) for all latitudes
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31
Q

results of area hypothesis

A
  • tropic biome has largest area and most species, temperate, then boreal
  • tropical north and south biomes are contiguous, hence why its area is greater than all others
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32
Q

what does area hypothesis have to do with speciation and extinction

A

more area -> species move -> vicariance (something breaking area) -> split -> allopatric speciation -> greater speciation rate

greater area = more resources = higher population sizes = lower extinction risk

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33
Q

support for area hypothesis

A

vicariance in tropics has increased due to cooling. and speciation is higher on larger islands

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34
Q

what type of animals were extinct during the pleistocene extinctions

A

large-bodied mammals and big birds; bigger than 100 lbs

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35
Q

where and when was the pleistocene extinction

A

North and South America, about 12,000 years ago

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36
Q

how many mammals went extinct in NA pleistocene

A

34/37

  • 50% of 70 pound ones gona
  • and all 2100 ones extinct
  • bison was only big survivor (2000)
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37
Q

how many mammals went extinct in SA pleistocene

A

80% big bois

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38
Q

what were the large species during Pleis called

A

megafauna

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39
Q

what about Pleis in Eurasia and Africa

A

not many– some in Eurasia and very few in africa

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40
Q

what to understand to answer these extinction patterns ?

A
  1. why clustered towards the end
  2. why in just NA and SA
  3. why just big bois and birds
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41
Q

2 proposed Pleis extinct hypotheses

A
  1. climate change
  2. human overkill
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42
Q

climate change hypothesis

A
  • ice ages, prolonged cooling and warming periods
  • glacial maximum and global warming at the end
  • changes in climate at the end of the Pleis led to habitat changes that negatively affected species
  • big bodies need more resources and have lower repro rates
  • endotherms (birds and mammals) are most vulnerable to climate change, as they need very specific foods and climates
  • many guys lived in grass and savannah, which were reduced as the earth warmed. thus species-area relationship
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43
Q

support for climate change hypothesis

A
  • evidence that habitats changed as climate did
  • ex: there used to be boreal places in missouri that now are in north canadal
44
Q

limitations of climate change hypothesis

A
  • there were many changes, so why just the end ?
  • why only big bois
  • why werent they global
45
Q

human overkill hypothesis

A
  • human hunting led to extinctions via overharvesting of megafauna, as humans target big bois and birds
  • humans came to NA and SA around ~ 25,000 years ago
  • has human pops increased, hunting increased
  • animals in NA and SA were not familiar with human hunters, so not adapted to them
  • some went extinct as their prey went extinct
46
Q

support for the overkill hypothesis

A
  • archeological sites have found hunting tools
  • most happened when humans arrived and sites show this
  • many extinctions have followed the arrival of humans
47
Q

how to test the overkill hypothesis

A
  • plant and fungal spores and pollen
  • lake sediment can be dated
  • plants show herbivores, charcol shows widespread firew
48
Q

what a specific spore and what does it tell us abt both extinction hypotheses

A

Sporomiella (fungal) was found in only dung of large herbivores
- climate: extinctions during or after vegetation change, plants changed from cold ones to warm ones
- overkill: decline when humans arrive

49
Q

lake sediment study supports which hypothesis

A

overkills, because no veggie change found until 13k years ago, and human hunting was evident 15k years ago

50
Q

how many extinctions since 1600

A

over 800 globally
- 200 molluscs
- 100 insects
- 100 birds
- 50 mammals
- 30 fish
- 25 reptiles

most happened on islands

51
Q

why are recent extinctions different than Pleis

A

they are global and not as related to human consumption as the last

52
Q

3 threats to biodiversity

A
  • habitat loss, modification, degradation, and fragmentation
  • overharvesting
  • exotic species

(hoe)

53
Q

habitat loss / modification

A
  • humans modify habitats from one type to another
  • most species are just adapted to one, so the conversion reduces their fitness (survival and reproduction) and can lead to extinctions
54
Q

eastern deciduous forest birds

A
  • by 1870, characterized by the industrial revolution and western migration, 50% of the habitat was converted from forest to non-forest
  • 3.99 went extinct
  • there were 23 species, but with 50% loss, only about 19 can be supported
  • 17% loss
55
Q

habitat loss and species capacity graph

A

x– habitat loss
y– how many species it can handle

55
Q

what are grassland, wetlands / aquatic places, and coral reefs converted to

A
  • grassland: converted to agriculture
  • wet / aqua: filled or drained for development, channeled for flood control, or polluted
  • coral reefs: sandy bottoms
56
Q

how many tropical and temperate forests are turning into non-forest spaces for agriculture, logging, and pasture

A

67% in asia and africa

56
Q

habitat degredation

A

no structural change, but reduced quality with pollution and toxins

industrial pollution, toxic heavy metals, chemical pesticides (DDT), lead, nitrates, and sulfates for acid rain

57
Q

eutrophication

A

fertilization of aquatic habitats

58
Q

Eutrophication of Lake Washington

A
  • used lake washington instead of the pacific ocean for sewage treatment
  • 20 million gallons of treated sewage pumped into lake in 1920s (fertilizers and detergent)
  • sewage was treated with N and P
  • the added nutrients to the treated sewage caused algal growth
  • summer algal blooms started
  • in fall, algal death and decomposition was followed by fish death due to reduced O2 levels
  • plan to save the lake changed dumping to the pacific ocean
59
Q

Ocean Eutrophication

A

1970s “dead zone” in Gulf of Mexico started occurring every fall in the 1980s, and the size was increasing

caused by N and P runoff from Midwest agriculture (fertilizer) and cities (sewage)

caused by hypoxic conditions where O2 was too low to support marine life

60
Q

habitat fragmentation

A

habitat patches in a sea of other kinds of habitats

61
Q

2 effects of habitat fragmentation

A
  • movement is impeded
  • edge effects are created
62
Q

movement during habitat fragmentation

A
  • individuals are adapted to specific environments which they prefer to move in
  • when they are converted, movement is reduced
  • reduced movement can negatively affect the number of species
63
Q

model of island biogeography

A

used to predict the number of species on an island

64
Q

colonization/immigration and extinction relationship

A

as colonization rate decreases, extinction rate increases, equilibrium is at S*

x axis– number of species
y axis– rate

65
Q

5 key assumptions in the model of island biogeography

A
  1. based on ecological time, NOT evolutionary
  2. number of species on an island affects extinction rate
  3. number of species on an island affects immigration rate
  4. island size affects extinction rates– Erate declines as size increases
  5. island distance to mainland affects immigration rate– Irate declines with longer distance
66
Q

fragmentation impedes movement -> immigration curve lowered -> reduced number of species

what does this imply

A

small island -> fewer species due to high extinction rates
+
farther distance -> fewer species due to lower immigration curve
=
both reduce the predicted # of species

67
Q

movement also aids population persistence– population structures

A
  • a species can exist as a metapopulation (a set of populations) and many separate populations connected by movement of individuals
  • existing populations can go extinct each year
  • unoccupied sites can be colonized each year
68
Q

what is population persistence

A

persistence (population does not go extinct) of entire metapopulation (across all sites) is a function of colonization

high dispersal -> most sites occupied -> low extinction rate for metapopulation

69
Q

colonization and persistence relationship

add fragmentation in there

A

high colonization means high persistence

fragmentation reduces colonization, thus persistence

70
Q

what happens to species without immigration

A

present species will decline and go extinct

hence reserves, which are set aside to keep human interaction away from animals; however, the low immigration leads to extinction

71
Q

Edge effects– ecotones

A

habitat conservation creates leads to ecotones– abrupt transition from one habitat to another

edge– transition

72
Q

how can edge effects look

A

the edge of a habitat can differ from the center/core

this affects fitness of those adapted to the core

73
Q

what happens to species interactions at the edge

A
  • new species interactions occur
  • mixing species adapted to different habitats
  • can hurt those adapted to the core
  • ex: brown-headed crowbirds are open habitat, brood parasites. These expanded into forest areas where others nest, and they would put their eggs into these nests. this hurt other chicks (such as the kirtland warbler), reducing their fitness
74
Q

overexploitation

A

2nd most important human activity responsible for the conservation crisis

75
Q

k =

A

carrying capacity

76
Q

k / 2 = p*

A

maximum sustainable yield (MSY): where you can use animals without harming their population

calculated by the slope of the log -> line curve with x– pop size and y– change in pop size

77
Q

how to use MSY model for sustainable harvest

A
  1. determine P*
  2. harvest MSY each year, to keep pop size at P*
  3. maximize harvest without causing population to change
  4. goal– keep population size to P*
78
Q

MSY model successes

A
  • terrestrial species
  • need permits to hunt deer, elk, doves, etc
  • state agency sets a quota of how much can be harvested per year
  • designed to stay at P*
79
Q

MSY model failures

A
  • we overexploit ocean animals (whales, oysters, fish)
  • not too good at preventing this
  • many ocean populations have collapsed due to overfishing
80
Q

why does MSY fail to protect ocean species

A
  • political pressures to set higher quotas for more food and money
  • model assumes that people know the actual population, but that can be hard to predict in the ocean. so, we need to estimate, but that can lead to over-optimistic estimates
81
Q

why does MSY fail to protect ocean species, graph terms

A

unstable equilibrium
- if the actual population size is lower than K/2, then overharvest will occur and MSY harvest will exacerbate this decline. all the while, you still think k/2 is the population

82
Q

how to modify the MSY to reduce overharvestin

A
  1. set target population size to higher than P*
  2. new target population, S2, results in a lower quota, but higher population
  3. it is a stable to poor estimate of the true population size
  4. need to keep population size larger than K/2 to set lower harvest than MSY
  5. unstable below the stock size and stable above the stock size (P*) on the x-axis
83
Q

MSY modification effects on overexploutation and harvest quotas

A
  • decreases overexplotation
  • lowers harvest quotass
84
Q

sustainable seafood

A
  • alaskan halibut and salmon
  • clams, mussels, oysters
  • crabs
  • pacific cod
  • pacific sardines
  • striped bass
  • albacore tuna
85
Q

poorly managed seafood (near k/2)

A
  • atlantic fish
  • chilean sea bass
  • mahi mahi
  • orange roughy
  • bluefin tuna
  • imported shrimp
  • shark
86
Q

exotic species

A

species evolved in one place and moved to another place on earth by human activities

87
Q

invasive species

A

an exotic species that attains high abundance and negatively affects native species

ex: invasive squirrels now outcompeting native ones

88
Q

Unintentional introductions

A

ships and planes

rats, mice, snakes

fire ants and zebra mussels that make up the ballast

89
Q

Intentional introductions

A

for sport

to improve pastureland for livestock (plants)

as a biological control (predators) to reduce abundance of other exotic species (foxes to control rabbits, but it went bad cause they ate other animals instead)

90
Q

how many exotic species are successful

A

only 1%, but humans bring so many

91
Q

4 major problems of exotic species

A
  1. carry novel diseases
  2. super predators
  3. super competitors
  4. alter disturbance regimes
92
Q

novel disease examples

A

Japanese chestnut tree introduced to the US, resulted in decline of American chestnut.

the JC had a fungus that killed AC

exotic mosquitos from hawaii brought malaria to birds

exotic livestock from africa brought rinderpest virus to native wildbeest

93
Q

super predator examples

A

eat prey who have no evolutionary adaptations to this redation

brown tree snake from asia to guam which caused the extinction of 10-12 birds and lizards

burmese python in the everglades

94
Q

super competitor example

A

exotics can outcompete native species

zebra mussel competes for space in the great lakes

kudzu overgrows and outcompetes other plants for light

95
Q

disturbance regimes examples

A

exotic grasses enhance fires

feral hogs create soil disturbances and reduce soil nutrients

96
Q

predictions about exotic species

A
  • which exotic species will become common and invasive: focus on traits to predict if it will attain high abundance and then become a problem
  • which communities are more prone to invasions by exotic species: observe communities to understand how/if it can be affected
97
Q

how to predict invasive species

A

compare traits of closely related invasive and non invasive exotic species

98
Q

example of invasive species prediction

A
  • 24 west pine studied
    invasive species had:
  • shorter juvenille period (faster reproduction)
  • shorter interval between large seeds (high repro rate)
  • smallest seeds (greater dispersal)
99
Q

exotic species have

A
  1. high repro rates
  2. high dispersal rates
  3. ability to live in many habitat types
100
Q

biotic resistance hypothesis

A

native species / native diversity regulated exotic invasion successfully

  • Direct (consumption): native eat invasive (blue crab eat green crab, kangaroo rats eat exotic plant)
  • Indirect (competition): native compete invasive (local species richness, because diverse species are more resistant)
101
Q

why are diverse communities more resistant to invasion

A
  • as diversity increases, fewer resources are available, so more intense competition

in graph: high density have many clustered curves, low density is more spaced out, allowing for invasive curves to come in

102
Q

exotic vs native diversity relationship

A

higher the native diversity, fewer the exotics

103
Q

sustainable model graphically

A

be above P* and approaching k, but not all the way

104
Q

far from P* is sustainable– true or false

A

true

105
Q
A

BIOL 4410-- animal (4 decks)

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