Quiz 1 Flashcards
Aims of conservation biology?
1) Document the full range of biological diversity on Earth
2) To investigate human impacts on species, genetic variation, and ecosystems
3) To develop practical approaches to prevent the extinction of species, maintain genetic diversity within species, and protect and restore biological communities and their associated ecosystem functions
What is conservation biology?
integrated, multidisciplinary scientific field that has developed in response to the challenge of of preserving species and ecosystems
Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson
Prominent North American writers who argued that nature has uses other than human economic gain
John Muir
Argued for a national movement to preserve nature in its wild and pristine state
Gifford Pinchot
Developed a more applied view of nature
- Natural resources as commodities, goal of management for the greatest food for the greatest number of people for the longest time
Resource conservation
Aldo Leopold
The land ethic: protection of nature is protecting ecosystems
Rachel Carson
Pesticides and the concept of biological amplification
Found that increasing use of agricultural and industrial pesticides was causing unforeseen and unintended consequences on the environment
Pollution and environmental degradation affect creatures at many different ecosystem levels through cycling of matter
- regional problems with global connections
- such degradation and pollution are not merely irritating but can be life threatening
19th century environmental movement
increasing population pressure and more widespread firearms led to dramatic reductions in some animal populations
Many species became extinct in the wild at this time or suffered severe population declines
- ex. storks, cranes, great bustards, ospreys, sea eagles, wild boar, wolves, etc.
What did the 19th century environmental movement lead to?
Commons, Open Spaces, and Footpaths Preservation Society (1865)
The National Trust (1895)
The Royal Society for Preservation of Birds (1899)
When and what was the Rio summit (Earth summit) about?
1992: convention on biodiversity, which required signatory countries to take action to protect biodiversity and use it sustainably
Lead to the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy (1995)
What is the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy goals?
Conservation and sustainable use
ecological management
education and awareness
incentives and legislation
international cooperation
What are the UN Climate Change conferences?
Held under the UN framework convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), they serve as formal meeting of the UNFCCC Parties (Conference of the parties COP) to assess progress in dealing with climate change
The Paris Agreement
International agreement to lower worldwide greenhouse gas emissions
COP 28
first global stock take of the world’s efforts to address climate change under the Paris Agreement. Having shown that progress was too slow across all areas of climate action, countries responded with a decision on how to accelerate action across all areas by 2030.
United Arab Emirates (Nov/Dec 2023)
COP 29
Baku, Azerbaijan (Nov 2024)
COP 15
Montreal
Adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) including four goals and 23 targets for achievement before 2030
COP 16
Governments will be tasked with reviewing the state of implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework. Parties at the Convention are expected to show the alignment of their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans with the Framework
The Millenium Assessment
International scientific assessment (2001-2005)
Goal to assess the consequences of ecosystem change on human well-being and to establish the scientific basis for actions needed to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of ecosystems and their contributions to human well-being
Focused on the consequences of changes in ecosystems for human well-being
Undertaken at multiple scales (local to global)
Designed to both provide information and build capacity to provide information
What is biodiversity?
The variety of life, in all of its many manifestations, encompassing all forms, levels, and combinations of natural variation, at all levels of biological organization (within species, between species, and ecosystems)
Levels of biodiversity
Genetic: encompasses the components of genetic coding that structure organisms (nucleotides, genes, chromosomes)
- genetic variability allows species to (potentially) adapt to a changing environment
Organismal: domains or kingdoms, species, populations, etc.
Ecological: biomes, provinces, ecoregions, etc.
What are the three organizations for a species?
Biological, morphological and evolutionary
Biological species
a group of individuals that can potentially breed among themselves in the wild and that do not breed with individuals of other groups
Morphological species
a group of individuals that appear different from others, that is, are morphologically distinct (sometimes referred to as morphospecies)
Evolutionary species
A group of individuals that share unique similarities in their DNA and hence their evolutionary past
Species richness
The number of unique species in a collection of set of observations
Purpose and explanation of a species accumulation curve
To estimate what would be found if sampling were exhaustive
Number of species found per sampling effort (e.g. # of transects sampled, or # of days of sampling)
- as you sample more days, you get less species
- asymptote represents the estimated number of species for that habitat
An extrapolation curve can be fit from an accumulation curve to estimate how many species there might be
Species diversity
the number of species and abundance of each species that live in a particular location (species richness + abundance)
Species are weighed by some measure of their importance (ex. Shannon-Wiener index)
Why are diversity indices important?
When a community is dominated by only one or a few species, it might be that a rare species is at risk
How many species are there on Earth study by Mora et al. summary
Used taxa accumulation curves (data from 1758 to 2006), compiled data from 1.24 million valid species
Contacted taxonomists for expert opinions
Plotted species accumulation curves for each taxonomic classification group
- Notice the shape of the curve: phylum, class, and order has a pretty good accumulation. As you get down to genus and species, the curve doesn’t asymptote. Therefore, with every new year, we are still accumulating new species
How many species are there on Earth Mora et al. study conclusions
86% of existing species on Earth and 91% of species in the ocean still await description
Describing Earth’s remaining species may take as long as 1200 years and would require many taxonomists and a lot of money
With extinction rates now exceeding natural background rates by a factor of 100 to 1000, this slow advance in the description of species will lead to species becoming extinct before we know they existed
How many species are there on Earth Mora et al. constraints and limitations
Inventories are incomplete
Described species tend to be larger bodied, more abundant, and more widespread
Distributions best known for temperate regions
Biome
Ecological unit based on dominant vegetation in terrestrial systems, and in the sea, on ocean currents and patterns of primary productivity
(distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life)
Useful for assessing global diversity and ecosystem services
Biodiveristy hotspot
exceptional concentrations of endemic species (species found only in one region) are undergoing exceptional loss of habitat
Latitudinal gradients in species richness
Species richness of many taxonomic groups peak near the equator
Hypotheses for latitudinal gradients of species richness
There are at least 30 hypotheses
Examples: historical perturbation, environmental stability, habitat heterogeneity, productivity, interspecific interactions, etc.
What is the species-energy relationship hypothesis?
Solar energy on Earth’s surface is concentrated near the equator
The amount of available energy in an area affects levels of diversity (i.e. energy availability generates and maintains richness gradients)
Climatically based energy hypothesis
- temperature, (actual and potential) evapotranspiration
Productivity hypothesis
Energy constrains richness via trophic cascades
Argues that the base of the global food web, plant richness is limited primarily by solar energy and water. Herbivore richness in turn is limited by plant production; predator richness is limited by production of herbivores; and so on up the food chain.
Ambient energy hypothesis?
founded on the physiological requirements of organisms (i.e., solar energy inputs affect organisms through their physiological response to temperature).
-Environments at higher latitudes have mean conditions farther from organismal optima (e.g. their thermal neutral zones).
For example, it is more physiologically costly to live at high latitudes because the ambient temperature in polar regions is outside the thermal neutral zone of many organisms throughout the year.
Conclusions of study about water, energy and water-energy for plants and vertebrates
Plants:
- tropical/sub-tropical: water variables best predictors
- cooler areas: water-energy variables dominated
Vertebrates:
- warm: water or water-energy was most closely associated with richness
cold: ambient energy (temp.) were more important
study about water, energy and water-energy
Water: rainfall and precipitation
Water-energy: actual evapotranspiration, productivity, NPP
Energy: temp., hours of sunshine, potential evapotranspiration
Mass extinction definition
The extinction of a large number of species within a short period of geological time
What are the 5 mass extinctions in order of oldest to most recent?
Ordovician
Devonian
Permian (largest extinction event)
Triassic
Cretaceous (dinosaurs)
(Current, anthropogenic)
What is included in the IUCN Red list threatened section?
Vulnerable, endangered, and critically endangered
Why is the number of threatened species so much higher in tropical and sub-tropical forests?
Because there is a very high species richness
What is the projected rate of faunal depletion in North American freshwaters in comparison to terrestrial fauna?
5 times greater than for the terrestrial fauna
How many freshwater fishes are threatened with extinction?
1/3
Why are freshwater ecosystems so vulnerable to extinctions?
Rich diversity in small area
Difficult for species to adapt
Where do we find the highest extinction rates?
On islands
What is the background extinction rate?
Somewhere between 0.1 and 1 species extinction per 10,000 species per 100 years (or 0.1 to 1 species extinction per 1 million species per year = 0.1 to 1 E/MSY)
Ceballos et al. paper –> description and background
pointed out that earlier estimates of extinction rates may have been overestimating the severity of the extinction crisis.
It their paper they used more conservative assumptions (2 E/MSY) and compared this rate with the current rate of mammal and other vertebrate extinctions
Used the IUCN 2014 Red List data to calculate modern extinction rates in two ways
- using the data exclusively on species listed as extinct
- including both extinct in the wild and possible extinct species
Ceballos et al. paper conclusions
Estimated rates of extinction are higher than background rates, particularly in birds and mammals
- bias since these species are easiest to collect data on (we know the most species of)
Acceleration in the 1800s
Ecological footprint definition
Measure of how much area of biologically productive land and water an individual, population, or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it generates, using prevailing technology and resource management practices
(units called global hectares)
Global hectar
Biologically productive hectare with world average biological productivity for a given year
Biocapacity
area of productive land available to produce resources or absorb CO2 waste, given current management practices
biocapacity per person
total biocapacity of a region divided by the region’s population
average biocapacity for the entire world is 1.7 global hectars (Canada is 15.8)
Ecological footprint per person
a nation’s total ecological footprint divided by the total population of the country.
What are the five main pressures on biodiveristy
habitat loss and degradation
climate change
pollution and nutrient loading
overexploitation and unsustainable land use
invasive species
What is the biggest single source of pressure on biodiversity
Habitat loss and degradation (due to land conversion for agriculture, accounts for 30% of land globally)
Why are tropical moist forests important to protect?
Occupy little land (7% earth’s land), but are estimated to contained >50% of terrestrial species)
Regional importance in protection of watersheds
Global importance as CO2 sinks
Easily degraded, eroded
Why are tropical deciduous forests often used for agriculture?
more suitable since it is easier to clear and burn
human pop. density is 5 times higher in dry forests areas of Central America than in adjacent rain forests
wetlands
64% of the world’s wetlands have disappeared since 1900
buffer flooding, bio-filtration, carbon sinks, high diversity of birds and other vertebrate species
What pressures coral reefs?
coral bleaching (ocean acidification, increasing water temp.), fishing/overharvesting, invasive species, pollution, tourism
10% reefs have been destroyed
Coral bleaching
When corals are stressed by changes in conditions (temp., light, nutrients) they expel the symbiotic zooxanthellae living in their tissue, causing them to turn completely white
What are the effects of habitat fragmentation?
Microenvironment at a fragment edge is different from the interior
Edge is a disturbed habitat that increase vulnerability to invasion
Brings wild populations into contact with domestic plants and animals
May limit potential for dispersal and colonization
May reduce foraging ability
May precipitate population decline by dividing existing population into subpopulations
Extinction debt
Extinctions that we have yet to pay for the habitat fragmentation
Species area relationships
There is often a positive relationship between area and the number of species (for both continental and island biotas)
What causes water pollution? What are the impacts?
Human sewage, agricultural fertilizers, detergents, etc. release large amounts of nitrates and phosphates into freshwater systems
Causes eutrophication (algal blooms)
Eutrophication definition and impacts
Thick blooms of algae
Decrease levels of oxygen in the water (hypoxia) since the bacteria and algae use up the oxygen
Kills fish since they do not have enough oxygen
Causes dead zones: large areas of hypoxic bottom water due to eutrophication that can stress and suffocate some marine organisms
Overexploitation
Occurs when the harvest rate of any population exceeds its natural replacement rate, either through reproduction or reproduction/immigration (fishing, hunting, wildlife trade)
What is the issue with the FAO data?
May underestimate artisanal and subsistence fisheries, bycatch, illegal and unreported catch
Study: the reconstructed catches are overall 53% higher than the reported data
What is the fishing down process?
The successive loss of the largest individuals and species in favor of smaller, faster, and shorter-lived fishes
What is the bushmeat crisis?
Populations of large primates, ungulates, and other mammals may be reduced by 80% or more
The result is a “half empty forest”, land with a mostly intact plant community that is lacking an intact animal community
What are some cascading effects of overharvesting?
Changes in predator/prey dynamics
Decrease in seed distribution (spider monkeys)
What does MSA stand for? Why is it important?
Mean species abundance
Gives you an idea of population extinctions
Source population definition
Where local reproduction exceeds mortality and there is a net emmigration of individuals
Contributes to population growth
Population definition
A population is a group of (interbreeding) individuals of the same species inhabiting the same area
Sink population definition
Local reproduction is insufficient to balance mortality and numbers are maintained by immigration
Extinction vs. extirpation
Extinction: the interaction of multiple ecological factors that negatively affect demography, leading to the elimination of all the local populations of a species across its range
Extirpation: loss of a single population when the last individual in that population dies
How does a declining population affect extinction risks?
The chance of extinction declines exponentially with the increase in population size
Restoration for a declining pop: act upon the threat/pressure that is causing the decline in the first place
How does a small population affect extinction risks?
When a population becomes very small, random factors begin to have a lot of weight
From the point of a restoration perspective, captive-breeding and release programs aim to help the population to recover
How do extinctions and restoration change depending on environmental stochasticity?
If an environment is highly stochastic, that greatly shortens the time to extinction. It is why we do not do release programs in areas of high unpredictability
Why is PVA used?
To estimate the likelihood of a population’s extinction and indicate the urgency of recovery efforts and identify key life stages or processes that should be the focus of recovery efforts
What is the population state in PVA?
A distribution indicating how the total population is spread amongst each life cycle state
If individuals are characterized by age, then the population is summarized by its age distribution
How do we project the population’s fate in a PVA?
Multiplying the projection matrix by the population vector (the initial age distribution) as many times as we like
How do you get the stable age distribution in a PVA?
Divide the number of individuals in each stage with the total number of individuals
What is reproductive value in PVA?
An individual’s potential for contributing offspring to future generations
The amount of future reproduction, the probability of survival to realizes it, and the time required for the offspring to reach fertile age, all enter into the reproductive value of a given age or stage class
How do we obtain the reproductive value in PVA?
Calculating the stable distribution of the inverted matrix
Why are stage-structured models useful in PVA?
Often difficult/impossible to age animals and plants accurately
In some organisms, especially perennial plants, survivorship and fecundity are more related to size than to age
Focusing on life-cycle stages helps to focus attention on the critical transitions that may provide opportunities for management
What is the difference between stage and age-structured models?
Age: all individuals leave their age class each iteration
Stage: not all individuals leave their stage class each iteration (P and G values)
Sensitivity analysis PVA
A set of analytical and simulation-based tools used to evaluate how past or future changes in life history attributes of a population model affect population growth or persistence
PVA analysis should examine how sensitive the pop. growth is to changes in vital fecundity and survival rates
What was the Kunming-Montreal COP15 outcome?
Global Biodiversity Framework: far-sighted action guided by values, knowledge, and repeated assessments of the state of nature to guide adaptive decisions for future generations
future looking approach to biodiversity change: appropriate because there is on average a 25-50 years gap between action and outcome
How many species are threatened with extinction?
1,200,000 species
Are rates of extinction high enough to be called a mass extinction event?
Yes, rates of global extinction are 100-1000x the normal rate
Who can make use of endangered species lists?
Conservation groups: for publicity and public awareness, to identity causes for concern
Governments: to demonstrate action and concern, to incorporate into laws and regulations
Wildlife managers: as guides for spending and deployment of resources
IUCN Red List background and purpose
IUCN establihshed in 1948
Red list established in 1964
Has evolved to become the world’s largest most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal and plant species
Provides taxonomic, conservation status, and distribution information on plants and animals that have been globally evaluated using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria
Purpose to catalogue and highlight plants and animals facing a higher risk of global extinction (i.e. those in the threatened section)
IUCN categories
Extinct: no known individuals remaining
Extinct in the wild: known only to survive in captivity, or as a naturalized population outside its historic range
Critically endangered: extremely high risk of extinction in the wild
Endangered: high risk of extinction in the wild
Vulnerable: high risk of endangerment in the wild
Near threatened: likely to become endangered in the near future
Least concern: lowest risk, does not quality for a more at-risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.
Data deficient: not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction
What is an example of bias in the IUCN list?
Emphasis on vertebrates (much more assessed than invertebrates, despite invertebrates being much more diverse)
Species at Risk Act (SARA)
A legal list of endangered species is mandated under SARA
Designed to meet one of Canada’s key commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity
Based on pre-existing list produced by COSEWIC
This convention was signed at the Rio Summit in 1992
COSEWIC
Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada
An independent advisory panel to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada that meets twice a year to assess the status of wildlife species at risk of extinction. Many stakeholders (government, scientists, website info, grey data, Indigenous knowledge)
Created in 1977
SARA established COSEWIC as an advisory body
- Under SARA, the gov. of Canada will take COSEWIC’s designations into consideration when establishing the legal list of species at risk
What is the importance of COSEWIC?
The official source of species risk evaluations for Canada (advisory to the government)
No action on endangered species protection can occur unless and until species are designated
Categories in COSEWIC
Endangered, threatened, special concern, not at risk, extinct, extirpated, data deficient
Guidelines to be considered extirpated COSEWIC
There exists no remaining habitat for the species and there have been no records of the species despite recent surveys
or
50 years have passed since the last credible record of the species despite surveys in the interim
or
there is sufficient info to document that no individuals of the species remain alive
Guidelines to be considered data deficient COSEWIC
Data deficient should be used for cases where the status report has adequately investigated all best available info yet that info is insufficient to:
- determine if any criteria or guidelines required to assign status are met
or
- ascertain the species’ eligibility for assessment
What are the eligibility rules for a species to be assessed?
Taxonomic validity
Native species
Regularity of occurrence
Special cases
Eligibility rules - taxonomic validity
Recognized species, subspecies or varieties that have been established as valid un published taxonomic works or peer reviewed communications from taxonomic specialist
What is the purpose of designatable units (DU)?
Some species, subspecies, or geographically/genetically distinct populations may be recognized in cases where a single status designation for a species is not sufficient to accurately portray probabilities of extinction within the species
What may DU’s be recognized on the basis of?
1) Established taxonomy
2) Genetic evidence: evidence of genetic distinctiveness
3) Range disjunction: disjunction between substantial portions of the species’ geographic range such that dispersal of individuals between separated regions has been severely limited for an extended period of time and is not likely in the foreseeable future
4) Biogeographic distinction: occupation of differing eco-geographic regions that are relevant to the species and reflect historical or genetic distinction, as may be depicted on an appropriate ecozone or biogeographic zone map
What are some examples that are not designatable units?
1) Management units that are not based on biological criteria consistent with these guidelines
2) All potential units within the species have the same status designation
Eligibility rules - native species
Normally only native species are considered
Native species: an indigenous species that occurs in Canada naturally or a species that occurred in North America naturally and expanded its range into Canada on its own, has produced viable populations, and has persisted in Canada for at least 50 years
Eligibility rules - regularity of occurrence
Normally only species that occur regularly in Canada are considered, including regular or seasonal migrants, but excluding vagrants
Eligibility rules - special cases
A taxon may be considered eligible if there are clear conservation reasons for consideration (ex. high risk of extinction). In particular, a species which does not meet the eligibility criteria but which is at risk in its primary range outside of Canada could be considered for designation
Summary of what COSEWIC does
Assess the status of wild species in Canada, based on the best available info
Identify threats to species
Produce status reports on assessed species
Forward recommendations to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change (terrestrial species) and the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans (aquatic species)
Summary of what COSEWIC does not do
Consider social, political, economic factors
Consider feasibility or recovery
Make management or recovery recommendations
Designate units based on management requirements, administrative units or political boundaries
What is the process of a species to be assessed?
1) species identified by the SSC (species specialist subcommittees) or by the ATK (Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge Subcommittee) as candidates for detailed status assessment based on info suggesting a potential to be at risk
2) compilation of available data, knowledge and info the COSEWIC status report
3) assessment of a wildlife species’ risk of extinction or extirpation and subsequent designation
What is the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems?
A tool to assess the conservation status of ecosystems based on scientific criteria for assessing the risk of ecosystem collapse, including changes in geographical distribution and the degradation of the key elements of ecosystems
What is the living planet index?
An indicator of the state of global populations/species of vertebrates
Why are freshwaters important?
Provides habitat for a diversity of organisms
Ecosystem services
- provision, purification, regulation of water for agriculture, industry, households
- commercial/artisanal fisheries, aquaculture
- recreational opportunities
- deposit sediments that replenish soils and build mudflats and marshes
What are major threats to freshwater?
Water scarcity (0.01% of the world’s water)
Climate change
Disruption of water flow
Water pollution
Invasive species
Water scarcity index
Quantifies the % of circulating renewable freshwater that is withdrawn for human use
How does climate change impact freshwater ecosystems?
Increased temp., decreased dissolved oxygen (leads to hypoxia)
Changes in amount and variability of precipitation
Increased frequency of erratic weather patterns
–> given the insular nature of many freshwater habitats, movements by organisms into cooler habitats may be challenging (fishes often not able to cross drainage systems)
Ectotherm vs. endotherm
ectotherm: organisms that derive the heat required from the environment
endotherm: create the heat needed from internal chemical reactions
What happens when you put a fish in warmer water?
Body will warm –> metabolic processes increase –> will need more oxygen
There is a critical thermal temperature beyond which an ectotherm will not survive
Why do tropical fish have a narrower thermal window?
Tropics do not have much variation in temp. over the year, so do not need a wider thermal window
Tropical fish therefore more sensitive to tropical warming (however, mixed data on this)
Thermal acclimation
ability to shift thermal performance curve
How does the disruption of water flow impact freshwater ecosystems?
Breaks up the natural flow regimes that drive annual cycles of reproduction and feeding in aquatic organisms
Benefits and consequences of dams
Benefits:
- flood control
- water storage
- electricity
Consequences:
- can block movement of fish and invertebrates
- habitat conversion
- often impedes on indigenous territories and causes flooding as well as disrespects local culture and relationship to flowing water bodies
How does pollution impact freshwater ecosystems?
Excess sedimentation associated with land conversion (agricultural tilling, clearing vegetation)
- results in increased water turbidity (a measure of scattering of light caused by suspended particulate matter)
–> Reduced light transmission
–> Impacts fish: gill abrasion, reduced growth rate (impacts their foraging efficiency), breakdown of social behaviour
Too many nutrients –> eutrophication (algal blooms and hypoxia)
Toxic chemicals from agriculture, industries, etc. –> toxins or carcinogenic, endocrine disruptors
What convention worked towards actions for freshwater conservation?
Ramsar convention: over 150 countries have acknowledged the importance of freshwater protection by signing the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance
- designed to promote conservation and wise use of wetlands
Actions for freshwater conservation - restoring flow
removing dams
managing dams to recreate features of natural flow
- trying to establish quantity, timing, and quality of water flows necessary to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services of river habitats
reconnection rivers to floodplains by removing levees (this gets complicated with flood control)
- potentially restore portions of threatened habitat and provide a relief valve for floodwaters
Economic valuation and payments for ecosystem services
Actions for freshwater conservation - reducing waste and inefficiency
drip irrigation (however it is expensive, therefore not always accessible)
For industries: calculation of water footprints (the amount of water used to produce each of the goods and services we use)
Green water footprint
water from precipitation that is stored in the root zone of the soil and evaporated, transpired, or incorporated by plants
- agriculture, horticulture, and forestry products
Blue water footprint
water that has been sources from surface or groundwater resources and is either evaporated, incorporated into a product or taken from one body of water an returned to another, or returned at a different time
- irrigated agriculture, industry, domestic water use
Grey water footprint
Amount of freshwater required to assimilate pollutants to meet specific water quality standards.
Considers point-source pollutions discharged to a freshwater resource
