Ecological restoration - Week 21

Question 1

Define restoration?

What is the role of restoration ecologists?

Answer 1

Returning systems to structures and function before disturbance

How to repair anthropogenic damage to systems

Question 2

Name some reasons why it is useful to restore?

Answer 2

Ecosystem services, improve water, fish, game quality, aesthetic values, can be economic, social, political

Question 3

What are the 3 main challenges facing restoration?

Answer 3

• Fuzzy target, without knowing the community, how do you know the target?
• Moving target, communities are dynamic, not static, even in absence of man
• Experimental design problem, lack of scientific control/ replication

Question 4

How do organic farms differ from conventional?

i.e pest control etc

Answer 4

No difference in average pest control

More reliable than conventional farms

Question 5

What are some benefits of using natural filters over filtration systems?

Answer 5

Soil, roots, microorganisms break down contaminants

Aquatic plants n wetlands absorb trap nutrients/ sediment

Question 6

With evasion ecology, how do you predict what species will establish/ become pests?

What is the study of invasion?

What does endemic mean?

Answer 6

Tens rule:
10% feral species introduced establish
10% of them become weeds/ pests

Describe, model n manipulate them

Native/ restricted to 1 location

Question 7

How the himalayan balsam affected native plants?

How snakes affected native species?

Answer 7

This produces more pollen than native plants, in ‘stigmal clogging’ native plants clogged with wrong pollen.

Directly affected many birds, indirectly affected much more

Question 8

How does invasion size affect success/ how do you control a biocontrol agent?

Answer 8

10 releases of 1000/ 1000 releases of 10 etc?

Survival often decrease in 1st year, small release often go extinct, if you survive the first year then likely persist

• Rate of population growth same for all release sizes, low today, high tomorrow
• Lots of small releases best!!!!!!!!!!!

Question 9

Applied community ecology:

Global warming affects?

Answer 9

Increase of global temperature, increase in average advancement of life histories

• During the last decade average of 4.5 flowering days faster
• Change in leaf flush, caterpillar abundance, great tit egg-laying not changed
• Frog fungus + high temperature = more fungus = 67% of all species extinct
• Pair wise interactions, embedded in more interactions
• Simulate global warming, who has: no food, gaps in food supply, curtailment of food sources: 17 to 50% of pollinators could be affected.
• If one species is affected by global warming, this will cascade the system
• In some cases you can mitigate for climate change issues