Guest Lecture: CPAWS Flashcards
biodiversity crisis=
extinctions have increased a lot in the past ~100yrs (we’ve lost 3 billion birds in north america in the past 50 years :( )
landscape disturbances in Alberta have especially affected the ___ ___ (you can see the damages from space!)
- example=
boreal forest
- coal valley, south of hinton
Alberta is unique because it has __ apex predators (that’s a lot!)
What are the 3?
grizzly bears, wolves, cougars
woodland caribou are a(n) ____ species, meaning they are very sensitive to change.
- Their status is:
indicator species
- threatened status: they’re declining by 50% every 8yrs :(
Where do caribou live? It’s a very unique niche.
Why is this problematic for them?
wetlands and old-growth forests
These habitats are being destroyed by humans (mining, tourism, deforestation)
Human-induced habitat alterations have caused an imbalance in ___-___ relationships, resulting in unnaturally high ___ rates.
Give an example of this with wolves and caribous
predator-prey
high predation rates
example:
- seismic lines in wetlands= don’t grow back- turn into “wolf highways”
- wolves can then take out entire herds of caribou
- caribou have little habitat left that doesn’t have these wolf-highways
What is the disturbance management threshold? What does this mean?
= 65% undisturbed (35% disturbed)
= amount of necessary undisturbed habitat to have likely population stability (will be unstable and decline if this decreases)
recruitment=
how many calves that are born make it to sexual maturity?
What is a potential solution to the caribou crisis (and many other species- biodiversity crisis in general)
more protected areas!
- national parks, wilderness parks, ecological reserves, etc
*there are 6 categories of protected areas (same worldwide)
What are some problems with protected areas?
- not always in an ideal location (because of politics)
- sometimes conservation isn’t really a goal (also because of politics)
