Conservation Biology Flashcards by Cassie Bosma

What are 2 main goals of conservation biology?

investigate the impact of human activities on all levels of biodiversity
develop PRACTICAL approaches to prevent extinction

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What is a brief definition of “special concern”?

Small or declining populations

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What was the classic approach to wildlife management?

Management was for maintaining game animals mostly

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What are 3 examples of practical approaches to prevent extinction?

Habitat protection
Restoration ecology
Progressive wildlife management
Research and application

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What is the sequence of the extinction vortex?

Small population, inbreeding and random genetic drift leads to loss of genetic variability, reduction in individual fitness and population adaptability, lower reproduction and higher mortality lead to an even smaller population and the vortex continues.

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What is one of the most important aspects of conservation biology?

Habitat! Location!

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What are 7 Eco-centric considerations for conservation area design?

minimum critical area
habitat diversity
biodiversity hot spots
maximum core/ minimum edge
spacing/ connectivity/ corridors
buffers/ zoned reserved
habitat health/ restoration efforts

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What are 3 considerations for minimum critical area?

island biogeography
natural disturbance regimes
migrations and top predator home ranges

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Why are top level predator ranges important?

Range of predator is so large that it encompasses many lower tropic level ranges.

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Why are habitat corridors designed?

Because animals have migration routes

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Biodiversity hot spots such as…?

Endemics, large number of species

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Explain biodiversity with respect to islands

Less biodiversity on islands as distance from the mainland increases and less biodiversity on smaller islands

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What are 4 anthropocentric considerations for conservation area design?

politics
economics
legal issues
stakeholder interests

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What are 5 types of stakeholder issues when designing conservation area?

Housing and highways
Agriculture
Industrial development
Resource extraction
High/ low impact recreation (hike vs. ATV)

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Restoration Ecology: Natural succession often slower or faster than rate of human activities?

Slower

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What is Restoration ecology?

Restoration (ex. streams)/ conversion(change of habitat from dry to wet) of degraded ecosystems to the natural state
Applied side of conservation biology

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Restoration Ecology: Ecosystems are not infinitely resilient but environmental damage is….?

(partly) reversible

Preventing is easier than restoring/reclaiming

What is the physical aspect of restoration ecology?

altering landscape structures

What is the hydrological aspect of restoration ecology?

changing flow regimes

What is the Chemical aspect of restoration ecology?

bioremediation using bacteria, fungi, plants

What is the biological aspect of restoration ecology?

re-vegetation, re-introducing native species, eradicating invasive species, biological augmentation (N-fixers, mycorrhizae)

What is the experimental aspect of restoration ecology?

adaptive management

trial and error

What are 5 aspects of restoration ecology?

physical
chemical
hydrological
biological
experimental

What are 5 limitations to restoration ecology?

money
time
knowledge (restore to what?)
values (re-create for what purpose?)
nature (limited or unpredictable responses of organisms and natural systems

What is Wildlife management?

The process of keeping certain (classically game) wildlife populations at "desirable" levels determined by wildlife managers (predator control)

What is the Minimum Viable Population?

Smallest number of individuals at which population can sustain itself and avoid extinction vortex (the brink before extinction vortex)

What is the Minimum Viable Population based on?

Based on effective (not total) population size (ex. number of reproducing individuals and sex ratio) Takes into account sex ratio for reproductive success and # of individuals as well as effective population size Ne (effective pop) = 4 #females x #males/#f +#m)

What is Optimum Sustainable Population?

Maximum population that can be sustained indefinitely without detrimental effects on the population or its ecosystem (carrying capacity, k)

What is Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY)?

population size providing optimum reproduction for commercially exploited species Theoretically an inflection point of logistic growth curve (k/2) Difficult to pinpoint Lots of variables involved Highest reproduction point is the steepest gradient of graph

What is the Anthropocentric approach to wildlife management? Re: value systems

historically focused on game species management for hunting and control of "pest" (competitors) animals and socio-economic values (game/sport)

What is the Ecocentric approach to wildlife management? Re: value systems

Should include broader aspects of conservation biology, biodiversity, and ecosystem maintenance, ecological values, ecosystem as a whole, broader picture of niche for animal

What is manipulative management? Re: degree of interference

changing population numbers by direct or indirect means | High degree of interference, goal oriented (short-term goals)

What is custodial management? Re: degree of interference

minimizing external influences on populations and habitat | Low degree of interference, protective

What is traditional management? Re: knowledge base

conservative and based on experience and received wisdom passed down through generations

What is experimental management? Re: knowledge base

based on hypothesis testing and trial and error | more modern scientific

What are 6 Direct management techniques (for better or worse - value based whether or not we agree with them)?

(Re-)Introduction, stock enhancement Captive breeding programs Sterilization programs (predator control) Regulating hunting/trapping/fishing by season, area, gender, size restrictions Hunting/trapping/poisoning of "undesirable" species (invasives, competitors, predators) Deterrents

What are some deterrents used in direct management techniques?

sound, physical/visual barriers, chemical irritants, herding (yosemite:minimize contact of ranchers and wolves)

What are 7 Indirect management techniques?

``` Planting food crops Artificial/ supplemental feeding Water sources/ Salt licks Artificial or planted shelters Artificial nest sites Habitat alterations Education (Bearsmart) ```

What are 4 habitat alterations involved with indirect management techniques?

Reforestation, wetland restoration Controlled burns, cuts, mowings Adding coarse woody debris to streams Deliberate habitat impoverishment

What is an example of deliberate habitat impoverishment?

Airport bird control | ie. making the habitat unappealing to birds such as no roosts or food sources