Quiz 4, Chapter 11, 11 Extended Flashcards
Describe a graph of the relationship between temperature and population growth rate. Include necessary terms.
Relationship between temperature and population growth rate- T0 (Thermal optimum) indicates the temperature at which the rmax (maximum rate of population growth) occurs. A graph of temperature vs pop growth rate (for aphids) would be a bell shaped curve with a left tail.
Describe the spruce budworm.
A number of years of dry weather can lead to outbreaks of spruce budworm, a destructive native insect. The outbreaks end when warmer and wetter weather returns.
What is the relationship between precipitation and population growth rate, using the example of the desert animal Merriam’s kangaroo rat?
Requires moisture/rain for reproduction. Reproduction coincides with seasonal moisture that stimulates plant growth in the fall and winter. The females require the green, succulent plant growth when pregnant and lactating in January and February. If rainfall is low, the plants do not develop and there are low levels of reproduction.
Describe how the level of snowfall correlates with white-tailed deer population.
Annual change in the white-tailed deer population in MN is inversely related to snow accumulation the previous winter. (More snow = less fawn per doe, less deer population). Snow messes with mobility and finding mates, as well as food availability.
What estimated percent of species have humans killed?
50%
What is MVP? Describe it.
Minimum Viable Population, the number of individuals necessary to ensure the population’s existence over a stated period of time (usually 50-60 generations).
99% probability of lasting 40 generations. Does not differ among major taxa or with geographic region. Negatively correlated with the population growth rate (the more individuals needed, the lower growth rate).
What is PVA? Describe it. What factors does it consider?
Population viability analysis (PVA) is a risk assessment model used to estimate MVP by taking into account genetic factors, species characteristics (life history), environmental variability (chance variations). If large fluctuations in population size, the estimated MVP is greatly increased.
What is MDA? Describe it. What factors does it consider?
Minimum dynamic area (MDA) is an estimate of the area requirement per individual. Takes into account home range size of individuals, family groups, or colonies; carrying capacity of the habitat.
How successful are ecological models? Explain.
Only 20% of ecological models work, they need lots of very accurate data and need to be continuously calibrated.
Who was Aldo Leopold?
The “founding father of wildlife management”. Established the nations first Department of Wildlife Ecology at UW-Madison and served two decades in the forest service.
What book(s) did Aldo Leopold write?
The River of the Mother of God, A Sand County Almanac
What did “The River of the Mother of God” describe?
The importance of predators in the balance of nature
Over-protection of “Bambi”, forests
Scientific management of wildlife habitats (via public and private landowners; not via game refuges, hunting laws, etc; rejected the Utilitarianism approach by Teddy Roosevelt)
Describe the difference between an Utilitarianism approach to conservation vs a non-utilitarianism approach.
Utilitarianism approach: views species and ecosystems as resources or service
Non-utilitarianism approach: emphasize on aesthetic, emotional, spiritual, and ethical values of the nature (view of Leopold)
What did “A Sand County Almanac” describe?
Landmark in the American conservation movement, organized into:
Part I: Sand County Almanac; poetic.
Part II: The Quality of Landscape. e.g., “Thinking Like a Mountain” (Only the mountain has lived long enough to listen objectively to the howl of a wolf)
Part III: The Upshot
Land ethics
Wilderness
Conservation esthetic (more than just usefulness)
What were Aldo Leopold’s three qualities according to Dr. Huang?
EAI
Experiential (= involving experiences)
Aesthetic (=artistic)
Inspirational
Who was Rachel Carson?
Studied as a Marine biologist, renowned for her keen observations and sensitivity.
What book(s) did Rachel Carson write?
Silent Spring
What did “Silent Spring” describe? What was its impact?
Discussed DDT, pesticides, & other environmental chemicals.
Attacked by chemical industry 1963 Testified before the Congress Other events: falcon population decline 1972 DDT banned by US EPA
Also talked about the formerly wildlife-rich town that is now quiet.
What were Rachel Carson’s three qualities according to Dr. Huang?
RPC
Rational
Passionate
Courageous
Who is Jared Diamond?
Wrote about environmental history, evolution. Son of a physician (dad) and a linguist, teacher, concert pianist (mom). Researched ornithology and evolutionary biology.
What book(s) did Jared Diamond write?
The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal (1991)
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (1997, Pulitzer)
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed (2005)
The World Until Yesterday.
What did “Guns, Germs, and Steel” describe?
Analyzed why certain societies succeeded while others failed.
Asked why Eurasian people conquered. Talked about how societies with strong agriculture technology could afford to advance in other ways (not everyone needed to be a farmer, some people could specialize in other jobs/skills.
What did “Collapse” describe? What example(s) did it use?
Sought to understand societal collapses to which environmental problems contribute.
Mismanaged/overutilized resources determine the collapse of society.
Examples:
Problems in Montana:
copper mining
logging and burning of forests
soils – apple orchard
nutrients depletion;
salinization; erosion
Societal conflicts/disparities
Land value
Urban vs. rural behavioral philosophy
Bitterroot Valley-used to be a forest now serves as a place of recreation
What are the (5) factors to societal collapse?
Environmental damage
Climate change
Hostile neighbors
Friendly trade partners not exist anymore
Society’s response to its environmental problems (resilience), how fast you go back to original state
What are Jared Diamond’s three qualities according to Dr. Huang?
SIA
Synthetic / Integrative (synthesizing results from data)
Insightful
Articulate / Eloquent
Describe the Lofoton Islands
Islands in Norway that are an example of maintained environmental stability. Bridges are curved and fit into landscape. Power plants built 3 miles inside of the mountains that run on Hydroelectric power.
Differentiate between the Natural Capital and the Economic Capital
Natural Capital is the world’s stocks of natural assets such as geology, soil, air, water
Economical Capital is the amount of $/assets that a firm needs to have + in case $
Differentiate between Monoculture vs Polyculture
Monoculture is farming a single crop over a wide area for several consecutive years
Used in industrial, large harvests with minimal resources
Polyculture is farming multiple/mixed crops
What is the definition of Swidding Agriculture?
The technique of rotational farming in which land is cleared (like by fire) and then left to regenerate after a few years
How many years does it take to create 1 inch of topsoil?
1000 years. Topsoil dispersed in improper locations is a big deal
Describe Sustained Yield
Harvesting at a level that ensures a similar yield over and over without forcing the population into decline.
What is MSY?
(Maximum Sustained Yield): Takes population down to the level replaced in 1 yr
What is OSY?
(Optimal Sustained Yield): Less than MSY, safety factor
What is the Management Objective For R-Strategists?
“reduce natural wastage” = take animals that would die anyway due to density-independent mortality (young fish already have high mortality)
Invest in large growth rate, occupy less crowded niches. Focuses on REPRODUCTION rather than COMPETITION less stable population size.
What is the Management Objective For K-Strategists?
Internal regulation, help with density-dependent factors (diseases, starvation)
Invest more heavily in fewer offspring, occupy high density niches. Focuses on COMPETITION rather than REPRODUCTION, it’s population is mostly stable
What was his example using Pacific Sardine?
Exploitation Causes Instability Example: Pacific Sardine
During the 1940’s and 50’s younger fish were taken a lot, plus they had problems competing with anchovies, plus abiotic factors such as warmer temperatures caused reproductive failure.
Describe the Fixed Quota method of managing exploitable populations.
Used in fisheries and in response to overfishing
Risky (can’t easily or quickly change quotas)
Describe the Harvest Effort method of managing exploitable populations.
Used in sport hunting (# of hunters, bags, time length)
More successful than fixed quotas
Specified amount of hunters, length of time rather than amount of animals.
Describe the Dynamic Pool Model method of managing exploitable populations.
The quota constantly is changed due to frequent evaluations
Used in Japanese fisheries
Regulate size of gill net, prevent gill net
Seeks to estimate number of the fish population at a particular time from available data, and predict its future evolution under various assumptions about natural and anthropogenic effects, especially levels of fishing
What is the issue with any technique on managing exploitable populations?
All of these have problems, because “economics” demands no stopping/decreasing
They see animals as biological units, not parts of a system
Describe the causes of Wildlife Decline/Extinction. There are seven total.
Habitat destruction, fragmentation, or alteration
- –Whooping Cranes had issues with habitat loss and overhunting
- –Until the summer of 1954, their summer grounds were not known. Once they were, a new flock was created that was trained to follow an alternate route.
Human Competition
—The American bison was used by indigenous hunters for hides, arrow points, glue, paint, and arrow straighteners
Poaching
—Rare species are more valuable → Hellbenders
Lead Poisoning and Shooting
—Even if they don’t die from initial injury, will succumb to lead poisoning and may harm predators/scavengers
Disease
—The density dependent chronic wasting syndrome, or spongiform encephalopathy has prions that affect the CNS
Collection (hunting)
Natural Disasters
What are some issues that have to be considered in wildlife management? There are seven total.
Habitat
—Habitat may be reduced, may need to form corridors
Life strategy of species, r vs k
Carrying capacity of the habitat
Genetics/Biodiversity
—California Condor
Interspecific Activity
—Predation
Abiotic Factors
—Climate stability/changes
Public Support
What are some problems with reintroduction? There are six.
High Cost Loss of habitat Niche already occupied Logistical Difficulties Reduction or fragmentation of habitat Adapting back to the wild ---Captive-born adjusting to temperature and predators
Describe the restoration efforts/decline of the Pergrine Falcon. Include the major cause of their decline and how it worked.
Restoration efforts from 1970-1999 (follow 30yr pattern)
Decline started in 50’s and 60’s due to DDT
DDT is metabolized to DDE, which binds to the ATPase dependent Ca+2 channels and prevent calcium deposition onto eggshells
3-4% background egg breaking became much larger
Describe the restoration efforts/decline of the Wild Turkey
Restoration efforts from 1950→Continue
Decline started in 1800-1900 due to overhunting, deforestation, and contaminants
Worst time was in the 1930’s, which they vanished from 19/39 eastern/midwestern states
Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in the Wildlife Restoration Act → constant $$
Public support due to Thanksgiving and general hunting
Available forests
Ability to adapt to habitats
Continued intensive studies even after recovery using PR $
