Lecture 5:Biodiversity Preservation, Restoration and Reconciliation  Flashcards
How do we conserve species?
The main strategies have been the preservation of genes, species and ecosystems (either in situ or ex situ), and the restoration of degraded habitats by re-introducing key species or processes to the site
- Whole sub-disciplines of ecology have developed around these themes (conservation biology, restoration ecology)
- More recently the idea of reconciliation ecology has been developed (Rosenzweig, 2003), to encourage the use of anthropogenic habitats by a wider range of species
Resource managment
In this era of intensive management, understanding key resource dynamics became important
But we were still thinking at inappropriate space and time scales, and assuming equilibria or the ‘balance’ of nature
Equilibrium concepts
As the equilibrium concepts of succession and climax communities developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they implied predictability of ecosystem dynamics
• And predictability means that systems can be managed and controlled much like a machine
most early ecological research assumed that ecosystem processes could be broken into smaller parts and then reconstructed (mechanistic approach)
• The legacy of this is still being felt today in resource management, with control over resource production assumed to be higher than it actually is
Conservation perception
Conservation is perceived/presented as a scientific endeavour = preservation of biodiversity in the form of components (species, genotypes) or assemblages (communities, habitats, ecosystems, landscapes) – actually sustainable use
What is post normal science?
(Funtowicz and Ravetz 1994) observes that the reductionist scientific method is not feasible for some large and complex scientific issues and systems analysis due to the uncertainty and potential risks involved (originally for civil nuclear power)
example is global warming – scientists agree that it is happening and needs to be addressed, but great uncertainties exist
• These large-scale problems cannot be addressed solely by scientists
Conservation, post normal science?
conservation is post-normal science – the risk to be managed is the loss of biodiversity and associated services, and everyone has a stake in this
Extended peer community
Ravetz advocated an ‘extended peer community’ that should be involved in deciding values and making decisions, which in conservation terms is the whole conservation industry as it currently exists
Biodiversity preservation
- Preservation of species in zoos/botanical gardens/reserves • Creation of gene banks
- Conservation of habitats/ecosystems
How many species we use?
Of the 250,000 global plant species, ~3000 have been used directly for human food, ~200 have been domesticated, and 15 species are crops of major economic importance
• e.g. in rural Peru, 193 species eaten, 120 collected from the wild – contrast with the UK, where we eat around 20 basic species
• Diversity of wild crops has now been lost, e.g. rice in India was 3000 varieties – now 75% of rice comes from fewer than 10 varieties
• Indonesia – 74% of rice comes from a single maternal parent
• USA – 50% wheat crop from nine varieties, 75% potato crop from four varieties, and 50% of cotton crop from three varieties
Single species preservation- Otters decline
Otters formerly widespread throughout the UK, rapid decline from 1950-1980. Populations remain in Wales, SW England and Scotland
• Decline due to 1) pollution of watercourses, 2) water quality leading to declining prey, 3) Impoverished bank side habitat, 4) mortality from road deaths and eel traps
Single species preservation- Otter action plan and objectives
Action plan objectives: 1) Maintain existing populations, 2) Expand existing populations, 3) By 2010 restore breeding otters to all catchments and coastal areas where they have been recorded since 1960
• Some successes (in 2003 numbers were increasing)
Keystone species
Feeding relationships among major species in the rocky intertidal community dominated by Pisaster ochraceous
• Increases in response to Pisaster removal for 3 years are indicated by (+) and decreases by (-)
• After 10 years only the response of Mytilus remains positive
IUCN and European Red Lists
The International Union for Conservation of Nature global and European Red Lists were established in 1963 to draw attention to endangered species
- Selection of species was largely subjective, yet this set the standard for conservation criteria until the 1990s, when more quantified assessment began to take place and the updated Red List Categories were published in 1994, refined in 2001 (e.g. now using Population Viability Analyses)
- The Great Auk is the UK’s only extinct animal (since 1500 AD) – 8 species are currently Critically Endangered due to habitat loss/degradation
EU Bird and Habitat directives
EU Birds Directive -covers the protection, management and control of naturally occurring wild birds in the EU (1979)
•The primary mechanism is the establishment of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for 182 species considered to be in danger of extinction or vulnerable specifically due to habitat loss
• E.g. the Night Heron is suffering from a Europe- wide loss of reed-bed and wetland habitat, so this legislation is an added incentive to conserve these ecosystems

More EU Bird and Habitat directives
1992 EU Habitats Directive –
• Its aim is to ensure the preservation of biodiversity primarily via the conservation of habitat, to support the Bern Convention and the Birds Directive
• Key habitat types are those which 1) are in danger of disappearance in their natural range, 2) have a very small natural range due to regression or limited area, or 3) present outstanding example of one or more the five biogeographical regions: Alpine, Atlantic, Continental, Macronesian and Mediterranean – such sites can be selected as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) (note that SACs and SPAs together = the Natura 2000 network)