Midterm: Sections 1-4 Flashcards
Successfully restoring wildlife populations depends upon knowledge of what?
Of ecological principles like evolution, genetics, food webs, niche ecology, etc. It requires a blend of theoretical and practical science, as well as sound monitoring plans.
What are three difficulties with establishing a historic restoration point?
1st - How do you determine the which time period is historic?
2nd - How do you determine which conditions were present in that historic period?
3rd - Are those conditions appropriate today?
What is trophic cascade?
Trophic cascades are indirect interactions that control an entire ecosystem. Ex. sea otters and kelp forests, wolves and grizzlies in Yellowstone, etc.
Reference ecosystems provide 4 key types of baseline information needed to direct a restoration plan, what are these?
- What the original conditions was compared to present composition
- Determine what caused the degradation
- Determine what needs to change to restore the degraded ecosystem
- Develop how to measure and monitor for success
Describe the 4 basic reference ecosystem models.
1. Contemporary restoration sites Same location, same time 2. Historic models of restoration Same location, different time 3. Contemporary remnants Different location, same time 4. Historic remnants Different location, different time
What is the difference between ‘ecological restoration’ and ‘restoration ecology’?
Restoration ecology is the science of restoring ecosystems and advancing ecological theory.
Ecological restoration is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that’s be damaged, degraded, or destroyed.
Why is it difficult to identify the ‘natural condition’ (3 main points, explain them)?
- Difficult to determine inclusion or exclusion of human impacts in an ecosystem. Do you include Indigenous Peoples’ influence or not?
- Natural conditions often include only short-term data. However, that data may include degradation or effects of climate change, etc. and may not be fully representative of a natural condition.
- Invasive species are a difficult subject as how far back must one go in the records to determine if a species is native, non-native or invasive?
When developing a restoration plan, one should develop goals based upon what three sources of knowledge?
Historical conditions
Current regional conditions
Species specific requirements
What is the formal definition of wildlife, under the BC Wildlife Act?
“All native and some non-native amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals that live in BC.”
Why is an ecosystem approach needed to restore wildlife populations?
Because it provide the greatest and more holistic understanding of the species, their resource requirements, population dynamics, the biotic and abiotic interaction in the ecosystem. Understanding the ecosystem will increase the success of the restoration plan.
Given all the uncertainties discussed, how can these be managed when developing a wildlife restoration plan (3)?
However, these uncertainties can be controlled/bound by:
- clearly stating specific goals for each restoration project
- providing clear justification for your goals and approaches,
- include a thorough analysis of historic conditions and the role humans played (i.e., thoroughly understand the system).
With respect to Source and Sink subpopulations, which statement is the most accurate statement.
Question options:
Source populations are primarily composed of subdominant individuals.
Source populations typically are large areas.
Imigration from Source to Sink populations (and their corridors), are critical to restoration.
Sink populations are primarily composed of dominant individuals.
Sink populations are typically small areas.
Immigration from Source to Sink populations (and their corridors), are critical to restoration.
Understanding movement patterns can aid restoration planning and habitat management, by:
Question options:
Understanding the resources that induce movement.
Knowing what species (predators, competitors, etc.) and when they may occur in your restoration area.
Understanding the season-specific needs of the species.
Understanding the importance of areas beyond your restoration site.
All of the above.
All of the above.
A seasonal, cyclic movement by an individual represents:
Question options:
Home range.
Territory.
Migration.
Dispersal.
Migration.
When measuring ‘habitat’ for a species, it is important to factor in:
Question options:
1) Spatial variability in biotic & environmental variables.
2) Temporal variability in biotic & environmental variables.
3) Efficiency and feasibility of sampling with precision.
4) Relevance to the impact effects
5) All of the above.
All of the above.
The best configuration for sampling ‘habitat’ components is:
Question options:
1) Small circular plots as they are easy to establish, mark, measure, and relocate.
2) An encounter transect to optimize area covered and allow for large sampling units.
3) A long transect as it covers lots of area but requires less time and effort than a large grid system.
4) A large grid system to capture as much variability in the habitat.
??
The most important criteria that should guide selection of fine-scale habitat variables for measurement is:
Question options:
1) The features measured should have intraseasonal variation that is small relative to interseasonal variation.
2) The variables should describe the environment in the immediate vicinity of animals.
3) Measure of habitat feature that is suspected to influence distribution and local abundance of the species.
4) Variables must have biological relevance to the species – measured as fecundity, survival, carry capacity.
4)Variables must have biological relevance to the species – measured as fecundity, survival, carry capacity.
Extrapolating results from published studies to your area of interest can be misleading because:
Question options:
1) Most studies of habitat use occur where the species of interest is in adequate abundance.
2) Most studies focus on the fine-scale (home range, nesting sites, calving grounds).
3) Extrapolations from published studies to your specific location are tenuous at best.
4) The methods, location, and data analyses in the published literature may be specific to their objectives.
5) All of the above.
6) None of the above, extrapolating the results from the published literature is both the best and most reliable approach.
5) All of the above.
What is the best scale to measure specific habitat needs for a species:
Question options:
1) Metapopulation level.
2) The scale of the projects must be guided by the natural history of those animals.
3) Home range
4) The largest scale possible.
5) The smallest scale possible.
2) The scale of the projects must be guided by the natural history of those animals.
Which of the following statements is the best TRUE statement:
Question options:
1)
You can apply a principle or concept based on broad measurements of vegetation to local situations.
2)
The best approach to understanding habitat needs comes from studying the fundamental, mechanistic explanations of why animals are in the habitats and absence from others.
3)
Results developed at a fine scale can be adequately applied (generalized) to other locations.
4)
The most powerful approach to understanding habitat needs comes from the simple correlations between animal abundance and a list of habitat factors,
2) The best approach to understanding habitat needs comes from studying the fundamental, mechanistic explanations of why animals are in the habitats and absence from others.
Which of the following is not one of the four levels of geographic scale needed to be examined in the understanding of habitat and a species needs.
Question options:
1)
Select at the geographic range.
2)
Select at the genetic level, (e.g., diversity in phenotypes, genotypes)
3)
Select at the resources and microsites level (e.g., snow interception, security cover).
4)
Select for specific sites or components within home range (e.g., winter range, summer range, calving grounds).
5)
Select at the home range.
??
Is this statement TRUE or FALSE: Restoration of animals demands a sound understanding of the requirements of specific species.
Question options:
1) True
2) False
True
Why is it difficult to identify the ‘natural condition’ versus ‘desired condition’?
Question options:
We understand what constitutes the ‘natural condition’ but the desired condition is highly variable.
The timeline for ‘natural conditions’ is straight forward since it looks backwards in time but to project ‘desired condition’ into the future is difficult.
The ‘natural condition’ is less influenced by the impacts of exotic species than the ‘desired condition’.
It is difficult to identify ‘natural condition’; thus, difficult to identify the ‘desired condition’.
It is difficult to identify ‘natural condition’; thus, difficult to identify the ‘desired condition’.
Which of the following is an example of Trophic Cascade?
Question options:
Both prey species and predator species change in the same way (both either decline or increase).
When a prey species is removed the predator species increases.
When a predator is removed biodiversity declines.
When a predator species is removed the prey species increases.
When a predator is removed biodiversity declines.
What is/are some key considerations to factor in before augmenting a population?
Question options:
Are there two lines of evidence that support the hypothesis that a severe population bottleneck has occurred?
Would the introduction of additional animals degrade resource conditions, driving the wild animals to a more rapid extinction?
Was the population bottleneck due to a disease outbreak and can the source of the problem be eliminated?
Are there habitat patches nearby to establish a population (or metapopulation) of larger size, rather than a single, isolated population?
All of the above.
All of the above.
What is/are the main concern(s) about captive breeding and restoring rare populations.
Question options:
Captive breeding is expensive.
Captive breeding programs can induce additional mortality.
Translocation is problematic.
Captive breeding can lead to loss of genetic variation through random drift.
All are main concerns.
All are main concerns.
Given that mortality is high among reintroduced animals, one should avoid:
Removing individuals when the source population is healthy.
Ensuring the source population has high genetic and environmental similarity when compared to the new population.
Only capturing animals descending from the most prolific lineages in the source population.
Ensuring the source population has high genetic diversity
None of the above.
None of the above.
Which of the following statement is false?
Genetic variation largely determines the ability of populations to persist through changing environments.
Severe genetic problems (e.g., inbreeding, bottlenecks) can occur as a result of captive breeding and translocation.
Captive breeding selection can eliminate alleles that are maladaptive in the captive situation yet important for survival in the wild.
Random genetic drift can cause the cumulative loss of both adaptive and maladaptive alleles.
??
Released animals must both survive and produce viable offspring. Which statement is the best True statement:
Reintroduction programs must use high-quality habitat.
Resources central to survival and reproduction must be available in the release site.
You must identify critical factors and identify their status in the release location.
You must address other factors such as competition and predation.
All are True
All are True
When a few individuals drive the direction of genetic composition in a population, this is called:
Genetic bottleneck
Founders Effect
Genetic Inbreeding
Restrictive genetic composition
Founders Effect
How does one ensure genetic variability is maintained in captive breeding programs?
Maintain at least 25% of the genetic variation in the source (wild) population in the captive population.
Correct Answer
Maximize the genetic diversity of the source animals and captive-rearing animals.
Implement captive rearing when the effective population size of <1000 individuals, and good gene flow exists with other outbred populations.
Incorrect Response
Intervene as early as possible before population crashes.
Maximize the genetic diversity of the source animals and captive-rearing animals.
What is the definition of Translocated as a type of restoration material?
Species, populations, or genotypes collected offsite and introduced to a project site outside their historical range.
Species, populations, or genotypes native to a local site.
Species or genotypes not known to have existed there previously, are established at a site.
Genotypes collected offsite for planting or release at a project site within the natural range of the species.
Genotypes collected offsite for planting or release at a project site within the natural range of the species.
With respect to migration, disperesal, and home-range movements, knowing this information is critical as it:
Provides details of location of the areas the individuals actually use and need.
Provides guidance for corridor establishment.
Provides guidance for when these areas are important.
Helps prioritizes sites for restoration.
All the above.
All the above
Understanding movement patterns can aid restoration planning and habitat management, by:
Understanding the resources that induce movement.
Knowing what species (predators, competitors, etc.) and when they may occur in your restoration area.
Understanding the season-specific needs of the species.
Understanding the importance of areas beyond your restoration site.
All of the above.
All of the above.
