Lecture 6a: Species Recovery Flashcards
What is the state of wildlife?
Several populations are declining over time
Species Recovery at the Toronto Zoo
TZ has 3 recovery programs
1900s:
- Adopt-A-Pond - started due to Blanding’s Turtle concern (decline)
- Great Lakes Program - started due to Redside Dace (decline)
Early 2000s:
- Turtle Island conservation to bring in Indigenous perspective to whats going on with reptiles and Amphibians in Ontairo
- They are no longer part of the Species Recovery, they are part of the different branch
2015:
- Native Bat Conservation Program
- fill the knowledge gaps on bat species
Toronto Zoo’s General approach to species
- outreach
- community science
- in situ conservation
The three sphere of species recovery
- government legislation (SAR)
- global biodiversity
- zoological practice
What are the two pieces of government legislation?
- Endangered species legislation
- recovery strategies and action plans
Endangered species legislation
Under these legislations, there are three acts we follow:
- Endangered Species Act (ESA)
- Species at Risk Act (SARA)
- Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act (FWCA)
These are the main permitting agencies
Have to provide a document detailing what we are going to do, how are are doing it, where, and who
And then, receive a permit for it and then can do the work
After the work, then submit a report of the result
Recovery Strategies and Action Plans
- One thing that comes out of the legislation is the recovery strategies and action plans
- mandated by SARA
- a document containing the needs of the species
- Identify recovery goals, knowledge gaps, timelines for actions
Process of how recovery documents come to be
- COSEWIC Assessment and Recommendation
- Listing of SARA schedule 1
- Recovery strategy within 1 to 2 years
- Action plan development
SARO
Government legislation on the provincial level
Government legislation and zoological practice intersection
zoo mission
operations
accrediation (conservation)
this is how zoological practices overlap with government legislation:
- Need permits to do the work
○ Those recovery strategies tell us what work we
should and help direct what we are doing
Help to fulfill zoo’s mission - use conservations science to fight extinction, also connecting people
Outreach - which sphere
Government legislation and zoological practice
How does the Great Lakes Program use the outreach approach
- most don’t know about the redside dace
- outreach can help spread awareness
- classroom learning
- printed materials
- offer videos
In situ conservation - spheres involved
- government legislation
- zoological practice
How is Native Bat Conservation Program involved in in situ conservation
- monitoring and surveys
- learn more about bats
- motus towers :tag and keep track of where they going
- mist net setup: to catch the bats (some fly higher than this though)
- acoustic monitor setup: less invasive, records their sound but can’t fully indicate how much
How is the Adopt-A-Pond Program involved in in-situ conservation?
- Blanding turtles radiotracking
- Blanding turtles headstart monitoring
- milksnake monitoring to learn more about them
