Intro lecture Flashcards
Why study humans in conservation biology
- Conservation is ultimately a human issue, without people “conservation” would not exist
- ## Human populations and behaviours drive conservation issues.
An Island example of conservation issues caused by humans
Gough island:
- 71/99 of insects on Gough are alien/introduced
- 233 human landings on Gough ever, one succesful establishment 1/3 landing.
Gaston et al. (2008)
What is the dilemma with approaches to conservation
Should conservation aim to keep humans out or should it focus promoting co-existing behaviours.
Why has conservation become an issue
Over the course of human history , energy and resource usage by humans as increasingly grown, specifically to exponential levels since the industrial revolution.
What occurred in 1950
People born n 1950 are the first to have seen human population double in their lifetime
How has the human population grown in the 20th century
During the 20th century, more people were added to the population then in all of human history (MASSIVE)
What is the current human population growth rate
- 0.9% P/A
- 66.3m people a year
- 180,000 a day
Where is most population growth located
The following 6 countries account for 1/2 of annual growth
- India
- China
- Pakistan
- Nigeria
- Bangladesh
- Indonesia
What are the population forecasts for 2050
Low - 7.9 B (assuming fecundity falls to 2 per woman )
Mid - 9.3 B (assuming fecundity falls quicker then present)
High - 10.9 B ( assuming fecundity declines at current rate)
what are global urbanisation levels
- 5% of the worlds population reside in cities
- 1/3 live in urban centres of more then 100,000 people
How does city size vary
- 985 cities of > 500,000 people
- 54 (of which) have > 5m people
- 21 (of which ) are mega cities with > 10m people (totalling 324m)
Where is urbanisation focused
- since the 1950’s urbanisation has been in primarily non European countries
- London one of the few areas where urbanisation rates have not changed in the last half decade
What is the great acceleration
The massive increase in energy/resource usage post wwII
What increased in usage in the great acceleration
- energy use
- fertiliser consumption
- large dams
- water usage
- paper production
- transportation
- telecommunications
- international tourism
What did steffen et al. (2015) say about the current epoch
” the earth system has clearly moved outside the envelope of Holocene variability “
- into Anthropocene
How much of global energy do we consume
1/3 of terrestrial energy
1/10 of marine energy
How much land has been excavated and moved in the U over the last 200 years
an area 4x the volume of ben nevis
How does anthropegenic reactive N creation compare with natural processes
Humans create more reactive N then all other terrestrial processes combined
How are wilderness areas under threat
- 10% of wilderness areas have been damaged since the 1990’s
- most remaining wilderness areas are under threat
- Desserts and Tundra are the only areas doing well
What are the 9 planetary boundaries
- Climate change
- Atmospheric aerosol loading
- Ocean acidification
- Fresh water use
- Stratospheric zone
- Land use change
- Global P + N cycles
- Biodiversity loss
- Chemical pollution
What supposedly happens when planetary boundaries are crossed
Transgressing PB’s may trigger catastrophic environmental change
- we have already crossed 3 boundaries :
- Genetic diversity
- Phospherous and Nitrogen usage.
What is the name of the current epoch
Anthropocene - era in which human activity is shaping the climate
For a new epoch to be marked a “cut off point” is required. When is this for the Anthropocene
Two were suggested:
- 1492, arrival of Europeans in the Americas, and subsequent global trade, moved species to new continents and oceans, resulting in a global re-ordering of life on Earth.
- 1964 (when nuclear weapons were first used) was also suggested however 1492 was decided upon as a better candidate
What happened between 1492 and 1650
- Population decreased from 54-61 million people to 6 million people (diesease, war and famine)
- This resulted in the regeneration of 50 million HA of forest and grassland - detectable by sequestration of 5-40 Pg carbon
Who is responsible for the great acceleration
- Great acceleration almost entirely drived by OECD countries
- Worlds poorest countries (800m people) have contributed <2% of global cumulative co2 emissions since 1800
- Poorer countries are rapidly catching up, i.e. china is now the worlds biggest emitter .
What is a populations ecological footprint
Total area ofterrestrial and aquativ ecosystems required to produce the resources consumed by a defined population, and to assimilate the waste produced by that population.
What is the ecological footprint of london
Biophysical demands of London require an area the size of all ecologically productive land in the UK.
How many HA are needed to support western lifestyles
Each resident of NA, Europe, Japan and Australia require 5-10 Ha to support their lifestyles
*There are only 2Ha of productive land/water per person on Earth
Ecological footprints in China
- footprint may grow if population does not
- China : fertility rate in 2003 = 1.9 births/women
- number of households grew at 3x the population
- Average household size decreased by 1
- Smaller housholds consume more capita
