Exam 1 Flashcards
Biological Conservation
sustainable use of biological resources to avoid their disappearance and ensure they are there for future use
Conservation Biology
application of biological knowledge to sustain biodiversity and the discovery of such knowledge
5 Key Principles of Conservation Biology
- diversity of species should be preserved
- avoid untimely extinction
- maintain ecological complexity
- evolution should continue
- diversity has intrinsic value
Common losses to biodiversity
- increased population
- loss of habitat/natural land
- increasing extraction of natural resources
- high extinction rates
Intrinsic Value
- value of the thing just for existing (not monetarily).
- this leads to sustainable use
Extrinsic Value
- value of the resource only when used anthropocentrically
- leads to over exploitation, immediate and over consumption, loss of biodiversity
Homestead Act of 1862
- govt gave land to ppl to encourage them to explore the west
- lead to the exploration of Yellowstone and eventually the first national park
John Muir
- helped establish yellowstone
- got the govt to protect pretty land (Yellowstone) from private profiteers
- preservationist ethic
- visit it, view it, leave it alone
Preservationist Ethic
idea that intrinsic value is more important than extrinsic
Gifford Pinchot
- director of forest services
- protected nature during the industrial age
- max sustainable use & multiple use
- pro consumptive and non consumptive uses
Maximum Sustainable Ethic
resources should be extracted at the rate equal to the natural renewal rate
Multiple Use
public land should be used for a variety of purposes (recreation, research, resources)
- some given higher priority than others
Aldo Leopold
preserve wilderness for intrinsic value
Rachel Carson
wrote silent spring, brought public attention to degradation of the environment
Summary
- conservation and intrinsic value are becoming more understood/accepted
- public & science & gov’t support conservation
Biodiversity
the variety of life in a certain place or on the entire planet
Externality
the hidden cost of extracting a resource, or engaging in economic activity based on a resource
- can be positive or negative
- “hidden” cost is not evaluated i.e. the benefit, cost, and value of an area
- “cost of doing #1 is that you then can’t do option #2-4”
Tragedy of the commons
when a community resource is freely used by all but gets taken advantage of and then can benefit no one
Can countries protect biodiversity, be sustainable, and economically competitive?
Yes! Sustainability can increase with a countries growing economic well-being
Direct use value
the marketplace value of a harvested / extracted resource, whether sold or consumed immediately
Indirect use value
the value of a resource as determined by the benefits that it currently provides (without being harvested)
Option value
the value of the resource at some point in the future, if a new use/benefit is discovered
Existence value
the monetary value of the resource to exist, without being destroyed.
- different from intrinsic value because it can be assigned a $$ amount
Direct Use - food
- most energy consumed by humans is from agriculture products
- selective breeding for domestic plants/animals = less biodiversity
- most important crops = rice, potatoes, wheat, corn
Direct use - medicines
- medicines are based on chemical compositions found in plants
- plants have medicinal value
- 1/125 plants have a medicine that can be used to benefit us
Direct use - building materials
- timber harvesting is worth $30 billion and increasing
- recreational harvesting - unnecessary and non consumptive cutting down of trees for recreation/landscaping
Productive use
most common, resource becomes a product that enters the marketplace (i.e. trees get turned into paper)
Consumptive use
resource is not manipulated before being sold in the market (selling xmas trees)
Indirect Use value
uses of nature where nothing is being harvested or destroyed
Biological Controls
the use of natural entities to control pests or weedy plants
Ecotourism
value of biodiversity in generating income when visitors pay to see/indirectly use nature
The 7 Ecosystem Services
- primary productivity
- Cleaning air
- purifying water
- flood/erosion control
- pollination / seed dispersal
- control pests/pathogens
- climate regulation
Primary Productivity
- annual production of plant biomass
- producers (sun=energy) –> consumer (herbivores) –> predators (carnivores)
Cleaning the Air
- plants filter particulate matter out of the air via chemical reactions of pollutants landing on leaves
Purifying Water & Soil
microbes and plants absorb and breakdown chemicals to help maintain a natural balance of nutrients in the water
Flood & Erosion Control
- plants hold water, preventing erosion and flooding
- also leads to high biodiversity bc lots of water / nutrients
Pollination and Seed Dispersal
diversity and spreading of seeds depends on animals and weather
control of pests & pathogens
biocontrol and natural regulation of pest populations
- biodiversity cannot function naturally if a species takes over
Climate Regulation
biodiversity contributes to regulating local climate / global climate and weather patterns
- regulate microclimate temperature
- carbon sequestering
Carbon Sequestering
plants take in CO2 from the air and hold it in their tissues as plant biomass
Main Points from Lecture 1
- preserve biodiversity at all costs
- do not blindly tinker with the Earth’s system
- there could be benefits to biodiversity we don’t even know about yet
Most threats to biodiversity…
are caused directly or indirectly by humans and our activities
Biotic and Abiotic
biotic - living things like plants/animals
abiotic - nonliving things like weather and water
Mass Extinctions
- there have been 5 (in the last 500 m yrs)
- were in the 6th mass extinction called Anthropocene bc humans are to blame for it
