Conservation Biology

Question 1

Why care about biodiversity loss?

Answer 1

Biophilia
loss of medicines, other products yet undiscovered from threaded species
loss of genes
risk to global ecological stability

Question 2

What is our closest living relative?

what is their status?

Answer 2

Mountain gorilla

threatened with extinction

Question 3

What % have global wildlife populations declined by since 1970? what is this info from?

Answer 3

58%

living planet assessment

Question 4

Richness vs evenness

Answer 4

Number of species vs relative abundance

Question 5

What order has the most threatened species?

Answer 5

Primates

Question 6

For all mammals that trends are known, what % are declining?

Answer 6

52%

Question 7

what % of modern extinctions are anthropogenic?

Answer 7

75%

Question 8

What are the 5 major threats to biodiversity?

Answer 8

habitat loss
invasive species
climate change
pollution
overharvesting

Question 9

what are cheetahs most threatened by (4)

Answer 9

overhunting
illegal animal trade
habitat loss (90% of historical habitat gone)
fragmentation

Question 10

Habitat degradation after 2 main factors

Answer 10

1. connectivity

2. metapopulations

Question 11

What are the implications associated with fragmentation and connectivity? (4)

Answer 11

dispersal 
colonization
resource access
gene flow
*more edge, less deep forest

Question 12

What are the implications associated with fragmentation and meta populations?

Answer 12

source and sink dynamics are altered preventing connection and dispersion

Question 13

what are three main contributors to pollution

Answer 13

1. industrial runoff/biomagnification
   * persistent organic polluters
2. acid rain
3. oil spills

Question 14

Example of an introduce predators that kills many many birds?

Answer 14

domestic cats

Question 15

What are 5 examples of overharvested mammals? what are they used for?

Answer 15

elephants - ivory
beavers - pelt
megafauna - trophy
primates - pet trade
primates = medical tests

Question 16

What are some project impacts of CC

Answer 16

• increase population and generalists and invasive species
• increase spread of disease
• extinction/extirpation of rang-limited species
• habitat loss
• reduced pop
• shifts in species dist. along elevation gradients
• shift in timing of life history

Question 17

Is global warming even across earth?

Answer 17

nope

Question 18

Define biological magnification

Answer 18

concentrates synthetic toxins that cannot be degraded by organisms
ex. mercury

Question 19

what is an example of an introduced species in Canada

Answer 19

Wild pigs

- cross of wild boar and domestic swine

Question 20

what ecological effects do wild pigs cause?

Answer 20

soil erosion
degrade water 
destroy crops
prey on sm mammals, birds, etc
threaten native species

Question 21

What implications did the introduction of the Brown Tree Snake on Guam

Answer 21

extirpation of several native bats

Question 22

What impacts does the barbary ground squirrel have?

Answer 22

impact on nature, lizards, and flora

Question 23

what are the implications associated with inbreeding?

Answer 23

• reducing in heterozygosity
• loss of function
• mutations
• inability to adapt

Question 24

Define effective population size?

Answer 24

number of animals contributing genetic material to the next generation

Question 25

what is special about the effective population size of mammals?

Answer 25

often less than actual size by a factor of 2-4.

juveniles or senescent adults do not reproduce
must consider OSR
some F with more offspring than others

Question 26

How have genetic threats been seen in the Red Wolf?

Answer 26

once allopatric with coyotes
direct persecution, coyote range expansion
few pure individuals remain for captive breeding but re-introduction resulted in hybrids