evolution and conservation Flashcards
examples that dont lead to conservation
-Human activities change the -environment
-Habitat loss
-Climate change- increase in global temperature causes changes in frequency of extreme events
-Pollution
-Invasive species
what are some consequences of change
-Reduced population sizes
-Extinction of populations
-Extinction of species
-Loss of ecosystems
whats the living planet index
-widely copies summary of change in global population
-1970-2014: average abundance of 16704 populations representing 4005 species monitored across the globe declined by 60%.
examples of loss of species
-orc: metre tall, ireland, lived on coast, anthropogenically effect- more museums wanted and hunted them which lead to their decline
-dodo: flightless pigeon, Mauritius , hunted for food, wasn’t good ay getting away from predators
-freshwater Chinese river dolphin, functionally distinct
Historic versus current extinction
-historic: human exploitation and habitat loss are the same at around 30, introduced species at 40, The causes of extinction from historical records
-current: human exploitation and introduced species are the same at 20, habitat loss at 65
whats evolutionary perspective
-All species are the outcome of evolution- adapted to an environment so a change would make it worse for the species
-Need to understand extinction
-Need to understand speciation
-Limited resources -> which species to conserve?
-Limited resources -> which areas to conserve?- finite amount of money so the question is which species and areas should be conserved
what are the Correlates of extinction
-Are some species more likely to become extinct than others?
-Are species at threat randomly distributed?
-Does this depend on their ecology?
-Does this depend on where they live?
whats Phylogenetic niche conservatism
-An important evolutionary outcome
-Species inherit their niches from ancestors
-Closely related species are ecologically similar
-Share similar life-histories
- Old world leaf warblers
-Very similar in appearance
-Also similar in ecology
-Insectivorous
-Feed on trees
-Short-lived
-Many co-occur
what are the consequences of phylogenetic niche conservatism
-Closely related species share similar levels of threat, because they are ecologically similar
-Low rates of adaptability: conservatism is a consequence of this
-Low rates of evolution: also conservatism results from this
-if evolution isn’t keeping up, species will go extinct
what does PNC stand for
-phylogenetic niche conservatism
PNC & extinction in mammals
-IUCN threat - measure of how likely populations are to become extinct in coming years
-Life history & ecological variables
-Chosen carefully
-Used statistical analysis to compare threats and these variables
whats the IUCN threat scale
-EX (extinct), EW, CR, EN, VU, NT, LC(least concern)
-threatened= CR, EN, VU
-this scale looks to if different traits play a role in distinction
What correlates with extinction threat?
-Geographic range size: C **, P **
-Body Size: C , P *
-Gestation time: C *, P
-Age at sexual maturity: C, P
-Trophic level: c *, P
-Population density: C , P *
-Human footprint: c *, P
-Human density: C , P *
-C= carnivore, P= primate
whats phylogenetic conservatism measured by
-measured by looking to see whether evolutionary distance correlates with differences in traits
-Geographic range size: PC= no
-Body Size: PC= yes
-Gestation time: PC= yes
-Trophic level: PC= yes
-IUCN threat: PC= yes
-pc= phylogenetic conservatism
-Phylogeny is a moderately good predictor of extinction threat - this is a consequence of shared evolutionary history
whats Niche conservatism in mammals like
-Measured & compared rates of evolution across groups and over the globe
-Evolution is faster outside of the tropics- means if environment changes, you respond quickly to rapid changes
-Niche conservatism greater in the tropics- slower evolution leads to increased niche conservatism leading g to increased similarity of closed related species
how is prioritising involved with phylodiversity
-Some areas and groups are more or less adaptable in the face of threats
-Some areas contain more unique species than others- different in the tropics
-Phylogenies contain unequal distributions of species
-Based on phylogenetic information can proritise
whats phylogenetic diversity
- defined as the total amount of history shared by a group of species
-counts amount of shared evolutionary history
-measures of ecological diversity are simple counts of species
-7 species with low phylogenetic diversity- shared evolutionary history (all branch legs that link them)
-7 species with moderate phylogenetic diversity- further spread out of legs in phylogenetic tree
-7 species with high phylogenetic diversity
how can we use phylogenetic information
- Record the species present in a set of areas
-Generate a phylogeny for the species
-calculate phylogenetic diversity
-Prioritize accordingly
Phylogeny & prioritising species
-Phylogeny should be an important consideration in deciding which species to conserve
-Conservation should aim to conserve as wide a range of phylogenetic diversity as possible
-Focus away from species rich groups in which individual species are threatened
-Focus on evolutionarily distinct species
-This is because phylogenetic diversity correlates with genetic and functional diversity
