Ecology: Lecture 7 Flashcards
What might we use conservation biology for?
To deal with invasive species like the lion fish.
Approaches to deal with lion fish?
- Divers might collect or kill them
- Remove spines and cook the fish to encourage other people to hunt them
STILL hard to deal with.
Lionfish example?
Invasive species to Florida and the Caribbean (Atlantic waters) and they have blossomed there. The range has grown very quickly.
- Prey on species that aren’t prepared for them and corral into a place where the can’t get away. They feed on herbivorous (grazing) fish.
- Outcompete the native species and cause many issues.
What is conservation biology?
A recent science (50 years) where we tr and recognize that human beings, through moving invasive species, climate change, increasing pollution, habitat conversion, and more, are affecting ecosystems and causing all kinds of problems.
What is the goal of conservation biology?
Aims to conserve biodiversity and ecosystems under a level of human pressure.
- slow, halt, or reverse the loss of biodiversity.
What do conservation biologists do?
Applying ecological theory to aid in biodiversity conservation.
Approach: provide a scientific foundation for conservation decisions
What is the IUCN Red List?
A list of species who are threatened with extinction.
- An assessment of individual species to determine/identify if they are threatened with extinction.
What does the IUCN do for assessments?
Working groups sit down and look at all the available data (population size, trends, range size, threats, etc).
- They have groups for individual groups of organisms, plants, animals, etc.
- They then categorize these species by putting them into a set of categories based on extinction risk.
Red List?
list of species at risk of global extinction
Red List Categories?
All have numeric values associated wit them (thresholds)
Extinct (EX)?
Very certain that the species is gone, and does not exist.
Extinct in the Wild (EW)?
Same as extinct, but there are some individuals in captivity.
Critically Endangered (CE)?
High risk of imminent extinction in the near future.
Endangered (EN)?
Trending towards critically endangered (pop/range decreasing or threats increasing)
Vulnerable (VU)?
At risk of extinction
Least Concern (LC)?
No imminent risk of extinction.
Data Deficient (DD)?
Not enough information.
Not Evaluated (NE)?
Not enough resources to evaluate at the moment.
What categories are considered to be endangered?
Those that are at risk of extinction
- Critical endangered (CE)
- Endangered (EN)
- Vulnerable (VU)
How often is the list updated?
Every 4-5 years, they update the list to see improvement or decline in the status.
Current stats for assessments?
166,000 species assessed
46,300 species threatened
1.2 million described species
8.7 million total species
Shortfin mako?
Current status: endangered
Population size: unknown
Threats: overfishing, both as a target and bycatch species
Sumatran rhino?
Current status: critically endangered
Population size: ~30
Threats: human disturbances, poaching, land conversion, and illegal logging, etc
Sea otter?
Current status: endangered
Population: decreasing
Threats: oil spills, disease, climate change
COSEWIC stands for what?
Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.
What does COSEWIC do?
Panel of scientific experts to identify and assess species at risk in Canada based on:
* Population size (number of individuals)
* Recent decline
* Threats to populations/habitats
COSEWIC Extinct?
Gone everywhere globally
COSEWIC Extripated?
Gone in Canada but found elsewhere
COSEWIC Endangered?
Could soon be extripated from Canada
COSEWIC Threatened?
Could soon be endangered in Canada
COSEWIC Special Concern?
Vulnerable to current threats. Something we might need to “keep an eye on”
COSEWIC assessments can be done at what levels?
- Population (Walrus in NS vs in Northern Arctic areas)
- Species level
Might the COSEWIC status be different from IUCN?
Yes! The Canadian populations might be doing worse or better than the global population
COSEWIC Reccommendations?
- COSEWIC recommends listings on
the species at risk act to the Federal
Minister of Environment and
Climate Change - Intersection of science and policy –
and politics
SARA?
Species at Risk Assessment
- COSEWIC makes recommendations and wants to get things listed on the SARA, which mandates that actions be taken.
Who makes decisions about SARA?
The Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change
What is the process of COSEWIC Recommendations?
COSEWIC recommendation: within 90 days it’ll be answered
Initial response
Within 9 months: final response
- Send report back to COSEWIC
- Accept onto SARA
- Reject and has no listing
SARA Rules?
Federal legislation since 2003
Goals:
* Prevent extinctions/extirpations of wildlife in Canada
* Plan for the recovery of endangered or threatened species
* Must develop a management plan for listed species
Conserving Biodiversity Levels?
Species level
* Species in need of protection
* (IUCN Red List, COSEWIC, SARA)
Genetic level
* Genetic diversity worthy of
conservation
How to conserve genetic diversity?
Maintain large populations
* preserve total genetic diversity
Protect isolated populations (less exchange)
* preserve unique genetic types
Why is it important to maintain genetic diversity?
Once you lose genetic diversity it takes a long time to get it back.
IUCN Red List of Ecosystems?
Coral reef (Caribbean)
IUCN: Endangered
Aral Sea (Central Asia)
IUCN: Collapsed
DIFFERENT CATEGORIES FOR ECOSYSTEMS
Benefits of biodiversity?
Ecosystem services:
- The benefits that people obtain from ecosystems
Different benefits of ecosystems?
- Provisioning services
- Regulating services
- Cultural services
- Supporting services
Provisioning services?
Supply the goods themselves, such as food, water, timber, and fibre
Ex.
- Foods (e.g. fisheries)
- New medicines & pharmaceutical
compounds
- Clean air and water
Regulating servies?
Govern climate and rainfall, water (flooding), waste, and the spread of disease.
Ex.
- Erosion control & coastal
protection (mangroves)
- Climate regulation
- Pollination
Cultural services?
Cover the beauty, inspiration and recreation that contribute to our spiritual welfare.
Ex.
- Recreation & mental
health
- Spiritual and aesthetic
- Tourism
Supporting services?
Include soil formation, photosynthesis and nutrient cycle with underpin growth and production. Everything depends on its working.
Ex.
- Biodiversity
- Nutrient Cycling
- Primary productivity
Monetary value of these ecosystem services?
$125 trillion/year
Threats to biodiversity?
- habitat loss
- overharvesting
- introduced species
- climate change
- pollution
- overpopulation
Impacts of threats?
- Lower K
- negative r
Small populations?
More likely to go extinct.
- Stochasticity and genetic problems
Stochasticity?
Chance (random) events like disease, hurricanes, or a bad food year.
- Population size varies from year to year
- Small populations may go extinct if there is a “bad year”
Genetic problems?
Genetic variability lost in small populations (genetic drift)
* Less able to adapt to changing environment
Inbreeding (mating with relatives) can occur in small populations
* Expression of deleterious alleles
* Reproductive problems
What is Minimum viable population (MVP)?
Minimum viable population (MVP):
* Smallest population size that is likely to persist into the future
* Future: time period (e.g. 100 years)
* Likely: probability (e.g. 95% chance)
Grizzly Bear MVP?
Yellowstone Park
* Modelling
* For a 95% change of persisting for
100 years, MVP = 100 bears
* Current N is around 1,000 bears (NOT all can reproduce… needs to be altered)
Effective population size?
Number of individuals that effectively participate in producing the next generation.
Conservation of genetic diversity
* Not everybody gets to breed
* Sex ratio (not 50:50)
* Mating system
N e : Effective population size
N = ~1,000 grizzlies
Ne = 400 – 500 grizzlies
Ne is always ≤ N
Conservation biology aim?
PREVENT EXTINCTION!!!
Everything is interconnected?
Yes, everything from range size and competition to behaviour is connected with each other. All things (niches, trophic cascade, population growth, and more) connect together to shape an ecosystem.
Importance of ecology in OUR world?
We all rely on ecosystems. Climate change and biodiversity loss will have an impact on us whether we like it or not.
- Climate change
- Mass extinction
- Biodiversity loss
