Lecture 34 - Conservation Biology (part 2)

Question 1

Biodiversity is sustained with…

Answer 1

landscape conservation

Question 2

Conservation efforts lately have been focusing on…

Answer 2

biodiversity within communities, ecosystems, & landscapes

Question 3

Biodiversity of a landscape is related to…

Answer 3

landscape structure

Question 4

Fragmentation

Answer 4

• Species adapted to ecosystem centers have more rapid decline than species along edges
- Ex. Amazon rainforest with isolated forest fragments

Question 5

Edges

Answer 5

• The boundaries of the ecosystem
• Ex. Edges of forests, lake shorelines, cropland and urban housing tracts
• Edges have their own properties that differ from surrounding ecosystems
• Organisms can thrive in edges because they get resources from both surrounding ecosystems

Question 6

Edges have their own properties that differ from surrounding ecosystems. Give an example:

Answer 6

Ex soil surface at edges receive more sunlight than the forest beside but is cooler and wetter than the soil in the open areas also beside

Question 7

Organisms can thrive in edges because…

Answer 7

they get resources from both surrounding ecosystems

• Ex. Ruffled grouse (Bonasa umbellus) needs forests for nesting coverage and winter food but openings for summer food

Question 8

In fragmented habitats, ______ _______ can exist that help organisms move between fragments

Answer 8

movement corridors

Question 9

Movement corridors can be what?

Answer 9

Can be narrow strip of land, trees, small clumps of habitat, ect that is similar enough to the habitat fragment

Question 10

What does movement corridors allow for?

Answer 10

Allows for dispersal, reduces inbreeding, aid in migration

Question 11

Riparian

Answer 11

(along water ways that undergo frequent and/or periodic flooding) act as corridors (coyotes come into the city via the frozen Red River and it’s riparian banks)

Question 12

Riparian ecosystems are more than just corridors. They can also…

Answer 12

protect a huge diversity of species from wild fires, such as lichens on alder trees
within montane streams in BC

Question 13

We can create _______ _______ to help species cross roads that would otherwise have fragmented their habitat

Answer 13

artificial corridors (like Wildlife bridges in Banff National Park; kinda a tunnel on road for cars to go through)

Question 14

Corridors can be harmful though…

Answer 14

• Can spread diseases among habitat fragments

* Can allow predators to travel into new fragments

Question 15

What else can we do to protect landscapes and habitats?

Answer 15

Can establish PROTECTED AREAS, preventing/reducing habitat loss as a means to preserve biodiversity

Question 16

7% of the _____ _____ are in protected areas

Answer 16

world’s land

Question 17

10% of ______ ______ ____ is in protected areas

Answer 17

Canada’s land mass

Question 18

Begs the question though….

Answer 18

should the land set aside in protected areas be managed to reduce particular threats (ie wildfires, removing predators, etc) or should we let nature run its course and not interfere?

Question 19

Biologists focus on areas to be protected that are…

Answer 19

biodiversity hot spots

Question 20

Biodiversity hot spots

Answer 20

Relatively small area with numerous endemic species and/or a large number of threatened or endangered species

Question 21

Example of biodiversity hot spots:

Answer 21

Ie Newfoundland is a biodiversity hot spot for many endemic and endangered lichens due to its unique climate and fog forests and has many protected areas and provincial/national parks (Gros Morne, Terra Nova, etc)

Question 22

Designating biodiversity hot spots generally leans towards those with…

Answer 22

vertebrates and plants, and less so on insects and other invertebrates

Question 23

Nature reserves are…

Answer 23

protected “islands” of biodiversity within a “sea of disturbance”

Question 24

Do we create fewer but larger reserves or smaller, more numerous ones?

Answer 24

Larger reserves have smaller total perimeters (edges) than smaller ones and also are good for large, territorial animals

Question 25

Zoned reserves accounts for…

Answer 25

land management practices

Question 26

Zoned reserves

Answer 26

Extensive regions of undisturbed land surrounded by areas with controlled human
activity for economic gains

Question 27

What do zoned reserves have?

Answer 27

Strict regulations prevent the area from overexploitation and often have buffer
zones to prevent the undisturbed areas from being damaged by human activities

Question 28

Describe how Costa Rica does really well with zoned reserves

Answer 28

• Goal is to protect and maintain 80% of its native species

* Even have ECOTOURISM, promoting its national parks and reserves to tourists for economic gain

Question 29

Ecotourism

Answer 29

promoting its national parks and reserves to tourists for economic gain

Question 30

Marine protected areas (MPA) also exist:

Answer 30

• Endeavour Hydrothermal vents off Vancouver Island
- Protects unique biota found in deep sea vents along spreading ocean floors

• Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound Glass Sponge Reefs MPA
- Protects 9000 year old reefs

• Often establish in areas with economic resources (fish, oil, etc)

Question 31

Urban ecology

Answer 31

looks at protecting species within urban areas and works to understand how species and the urban environment interact

Question 32

Almost __ ______ people will live in cities by 2030

Answer 32

5 billion!

Question 33

Describe how critical research focuses on urban streams

Answer 33

• Focus on water quality and flow
• What species are found in them
• Urban rivers tend to rise and fall more rapidly than streams in rural
areas
- Concrete and other impervious materials, storm drains, etc force
runoff into streams
- Also have higher concentrations of nutrients and chemical
pollutants
• Can plant native shrubs and plants to manage riverbanks, help
establish invertebrate populations, and moderate stream flow and
water quality

Question 34

Describe how urban rivers tend to rise and fall more rapidly than streams in rural
areas

Answer 34

• Concrete and other impervious materials, storm drains, etc force runoff into streams
• Also have higher concentrations of nutrients and chemical pollutants

Question 35

What can be done to urban streams to help?

Answer 35

Can plant native shrubs and plants to manage riverbanks, help establish invertebrate populations, and moderate stream flow and water quality

Question 36

Human activity is…

Answer 36

modifying Earth’s ecosystems at the regional and global levels

Question 37

Acid precipitation

Answer 37

is a large-scale global change in which precipitation (rain, snow, fog, etc) has a pH <5.2

Question 38

Describe acid precipitation

Answer 38

• Burning of wood and fossil fuels releases SO2 and NO2 which reacts with atmospheric water forming sulfuric and nitric acids
• Can result in huge loss of species as the acid precipitation not only burns terrestrial species, but also acidifies lakes and rivers

Question 39

Nutrient enrichment and loss

Answer 39

Nutrients are lost when habitats are converted or destroyed (agriculture removes nutrients from soils, etc)

Question 40

When does nutrient enrichment happen?

Answer 40

happens when nutrients are added to a habitat that have either been lost or not previously found there
• Ex adding fertilisers to crops added Nitrogen to the soil, but can also enrich surrounding waterways

Question 41

Critical load

Answer 41

the amount that plants can absorb without causing harm to the ecosystem

Question 42

What happens when nutrients exceed critical load?

Answer 42

can cause immense problems
• Leaching, runoff, ground water contamination, etc
• Can lead to eutrophication, “dead zones” of phytoplankton kill

Question 43

Toxins in the environment

Answer 43

We release a bunch of stuff into our environment and a lot of it is not good

Question 44

Organisms can absorb/acquire these toxins into their bodies, which then…

Answer 44

bioaccumulate up the trophic levels

Question 45

Biological magnification

Answer 45

results in top-tier carnivores being the most affected

Question 46

Rachel Carson wrote…

Answer 46

“Silent Spring” outlining the effect of DDT on the ecosystem and the decline of large birds of prey
• The DDT interfered with their bodies’ ability to deposit calcium into their eggs, resulting in population decline since the parents crushed their eggs during nesting

Question 47

Pharmaceuticals also affect ecosystems…

Answer 47

• People who consume over the counter medicines and other drugs
excrete a lot of it when they pee or flush them down the toilet

• Sewage treatment cannot break down all of them so the chemicals
end up in our waterways

• Sex steroids (estrogen, etc) can cause male fish to acquire female
characteristics at super low doses, which can cause population
declines if there are no breeding males

Question 48

Greenhouse gases and climate change:

Answer 48

• Atmospheric ozone (O3) is important for screening out harmful and excess UV radiation from the sun
• Located 17-25km in the stratosphere (upper atmosphere)
• Accumulation of CFC’s (chlorofluorocarbons, widely used in hair sprays and refrigeration in the 1970s) react with ozone, reducing it down to O2
• This thins the ozone layer, reducing its ability to protect life on Earth

Question 49

Sustainable development

Answer 49

meets the economic needs of society today without limiting the availability of
future generations to meet their needs

Question 50

But what does sustainable development mean?

Answer 50

Ecologists set conservation strategies by identifying which habitats/patches are most crucial that will also improve the lives quality of life for the local people
• A connection between life sciences with social sciences, economics, and humanities

Question 51

Case Study: Costa Rica

Answer 51

• Successful conservation of biodiversity required inputs and cooperation at the national government, NGOs, and private citizen levels
• Nature reserves are given tax benefits, especially to those established by individuals

• Established and promotes ecotourism

• 10% of the GDP is from ecotourism
• Locally, almost 100% of locals are employed in tourism

• Only implemented after the country was socioeconomically stable
- Infant mortality rates decreased, life expectancy increased, immunizations, disease control, education goals