FINAL EXAM- Conservation Flashcards
purpose of conservation behaviour?
to understand behaviour in order to help in conservation efforts, and visa versa
=multidisciplinary
Ex-situ conservation
=extract animal from wild and work with in captivity
Ex. take eggs to zoo and raise until hatching, keep young until ready to be released
reintroduction
Ex. reintroduction of Canadian wolves in Yellowstone national park
translocation
not taking from environment where going to go back, take from one place and transplant into totally new one
can interfere with genetic diversity
examples of issues dealing with conservation behavior (4)
- ex-situ conservation
- reintroduction
- translocation
- anthropogenic impact and urban/ suburban issues
examples of application of ‘active adaptive management’ (4)
- soft release pens (transitions)
- pre-release predator training (train to hunt on own)
- predator harassment (hunters are trying to reduce predators as seen as competition, so we try and protect predators)
- hazing (aversive control)
- predators are target as becoming a problem themselves)
examples of application of ‘passive adaptive management’
- from historical data or from uncontrolled experiments
- qualitative research, sometimes may influence policy
considerations in terms of management vs. ethical issues
- Colorado lynx- starved on release as not sustainable
2. anthropogenic impacts: boats and whales, howling at wolves in national parks
what are invasive species, and how do you deal with them?
-control of invasive species is growing problem, becomes a conservation issue
- Pest= brown spruce longhorn beetle from Europe, emerald ash borer from Asia
- sometimes create, other times just occur naturally
-dealing with them: repelling animals or attracting animals (e.g. using pheromone traps)
describe proximate/ proximal questions
=how?
mechanisms and development
physiological mechanisms/ things don’t see
causal mechanisms
close to you/ animals in time and space
describe distal/ ultimate questions
=why?
evolution and adaptation (function)
what is the fifth category of questioning/ research?
=IEC/ICE
integrative and applied ethology
beyond fundamental principles
full integration of proximate and ultimate
Steps of conservation research (9)
- define problem
- define question
- develop focused hypothesis and predictions
- identify IV and DV
- identify and develop sampling and measurement techniques
- select analytic tools
- answer question and apply answers to problem
- explain how new data applies to problem
- apply the results
what are behavioral mechanisms about?
-about causation, physiology, neuroscience, cognition, affective processes, etc.
=drive/ cause a behavior
defined as ‘rules’
proximate (proximal) causation/ ‘how’ questions
examples of behavioral mechanisms (5)
- temperature dependent sex determination
- sex ratio manipulation of female body condition
- mechanisms of predation risk assessment
- mechanisms of food selection
- ethotoxicology/ behavioural ecotoxicology (effect of neurotoxins and endocrine disruptors on conservation relevant behaviours)
within-individual diversity hypothesis vs. among-individual diversity hypothesis
within- individual diversity hypothesis= increase in number of food items to exploit, look at prey not considered before
among-individual diversity hypothesis= specialization in food items in some individuals, don’t adjust/ adapt at all
major perspectives of behavioral ecotoxicology (3)
- behavioral neuro–> neurotoxins
- behavioral endocrinology–> endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC)
- behavioral ecology/ physiological ecology–> adaptation (or lack of) to hostile environments
origins of behavioral ecotoxicology?
- behavioral toxicology (lab oriented, started with study of heavy metals)
- behavioral ecotoxicology= field oriented
- ethotoxicology= like ecotoxicology but more grounded in ethology
early years and findings in regards to DDT
- estrogenic effects of DDT (act like estrogen agonists)
- impact of DDT on Florida bald eagles –> lead poisoning from ingesting carcases with ammunition in them
- behavioral changes from nesting, courtship and reproductions
main contributions of (neuro)ethologists
- knowledge of species and their natural action sequences (i.e. their potential as model systems)
- knowledge of techniques and tools for:
- the detailed description of behaviors (ethograms)
- the detailed analysis of behavior patterns - knowledge of relevant neurophysiological and endocrinological mechanisms
what are the two levels of analysis?
- Macrostructure= current trend
- Microstructure (frame-by-frame analysis)= proximate/ physiological factors, how behavior changed by environmental conditions such as neurotoxins
what test can be used in order to analyse the mamichog?
=open pool test (shallow water divided into 5 equal regions)–> middle suggests less fearful
motor activity examined:
-number of line crosses, velocity, space utilization, time spent in center, etc.
what makes a mamichog a good model system and why should it be looked at?
extraordinary physiological and behavioral adaptability/ plasticity
only living fish species found in Sydney tar ponds (Canadas most toxic site)
over-winters in mud of salt marshes: exposed to contaminates accumulated in sediments
contributes to contamination of predatory species as low in food chain
amenable to field experiments (e.g. onsite caging exposure)
easily captured with minnow traps or seines
what is a common model system for ecotoxicology research?
=the mamichog ( common killifish)
- females larger than males
- extremely resistant to neurotoxins and endocrine disruptors
-Estuarine species- transition water
- Eurytopic species -resistant to changes in environment
- Euryhaline- tolerant to changes in salinity
- euryoxin- tolerant to changes in oxygen
- eurythermal- tolerant to changes in temperature
definition of estuarine
species that lives in transition waters
definition of eurytopic
species that is resistant to changes in environment
what is a potential alternative model to a mamichog (advantages and disadvantages)?
=Stickleback (estuarine, brackish water fish)
Advantages:
- know more about its genetics
- more sensitive to environmental disturbances, less resilient (mamichog may be too resilient)
- hundred of relevant behavioral studies
Disadvantages:
-size (half size of mamichog
comparative research
- systematic, study 2 species at the same time and compare
- focus on explicit comparisons of observable traits between species
- between group design and cross correlational are common
- can be correlational, observational, experimental, or hybrid
-usually combine comparative with contrastive approach
meta-analysis
statistical approach that compares different studies
analogy/ homoplasy
similarities from convergent evolution, parallel evolution or environmental factors
monogamous behaviour, no common ancestor, adaptation to environmental constraints
homology
similarities from divergent evolution, linear (serial) evolution, or common ancestor, shared characteristics
allometric analyses
study of the relationship of body size to the phenotype
why perform a comparative study?
knowledge about a rare species may benefit from ‘by proxy’ or ‘surrogate’ species that are closely relation
-can study similar species in similar environment but not endangered
Ex. southern vs. northern flying squirrel
-southern=smaller
Ex. bobcat study to understand Canada lynx
but must understand the whole phenotype
the comparative method can be used for … (2)
- explicit hypothesis testing (experimental)
2. analytic descriptions (observational and often correlational)
Explain the results of this example of a comparative study: The Barash study on the genus Marmota
- comparison between 3 species
- social behavior and dispersal pattern has to do with environment they live in (elevation)
- when less food, young take longer to disperse, colonial system is an advantage
- aggressiveness is key factor for dispersal and food resources will determine the level of aggressiveness
limitations of comparative method
- no species B
- no environment 2
- no species B and environment 2
- no interspecific variation within taxon
5 behavioral trait or neural characteristic…
a. doesn’t characterize the taxonomic unit
b. does not characterize environment
c. both
what is meant by the price elasticity of demand?
-want to assess the value of an item for an animal; look at effort and choices when provided with them (can use choice experiments)
- what is highly valued= more effort
- can also evaluate repellants (give just as much info)
simultaneous choice experiments (pros and cons)
PRO: allows for immediate comparisons
CON: covariation can be infinite. controls are crucial
simultaneous choice experiment (cons)
CON: counterbalancing issues and order effects
what is important when it comes to patch selection?
- association with fitness, reproductive success and survival
- idea that have to be good at choosing patches that are most beneficial (lowest energy output with most optimal energy input)
define a ‘sink’
=low quality habitat, patches where animals do not do well
- areas not optimal from a dietary perspective
- some species fall for sinks, spend a lot of time on food with low energy benefits
- sometimes is just temporary, until patch opens up in source
we as humans create a lot of them
ideal free distribution
=patched with more resources see more animals in these patches
ideal despotic distribution
=typically dominant animals hold the most high quality patches (fitness higher in high quality patches and therefore try to hold onto them)
summer-regulated populations
high numbers in the summer influence numbers the following year (including imposing over population)
winter-regulated populations
high summer numbers are reduced in the water (starvation, hypothermia)
what is a way in which humans disturb patch selection?
create artificial environments whereby an area looks good but may be low in terms of good feeding (ex. suddenly depend on junk food provided by humans)
by what means do humans attract the presence of wildlife?
- direct feeding= on purpose, usually with good intentions, but can cause many species to converge in same area (bad for disease spread)
- indirect feeding= usually bad management of garbage