REN3301 Revision

Question 1

M1 - Provide a suitable definition of ‘biodiversity’.

Answer 1

The sum total of all biotic variation, from the level of genes to the ecosystems.

Question 2

M1 - Describe the three levels of biodiversity commonly recognised.

Answer 2

i) Genetic diversity: variety of genetic information contained in all living organisms
ii) Species diversity: variety found within and between populations of species, as well as between different species
iii) Ecosystem diversity: variety of habitats, communities and ecological processes

Question 3

M1 - What is conservation biology?

[SEE SCHEMATIC WORD DOCUMENT FOR MORE, p1]

Answer 3

A multidisciplinary science, concerned with the description of biodiversity, causes of biodiversity loss, and remedial actions to protect and renew habitats and ecosystems, manage threatened populations, and address deep causes of biodiversity loss.

It is also a synthesis of traditional disciplines (basic & applied sciences and natural & social sciences).

Question 4

M1 - Outline the three main guiding principles for conservation biology.

Answer 4

i) Evolutionary change: To allow populations to change in response to environmental changes through adaptations and evolution.
ii) Dynamic ecology: The integration of non-equilibrium processes within a hierarchy of species interactions and recognises that ecosystems are open with fluxes of species, materials and energy, maintained by natural and dynamic processes (i.e. fires, floods, etc.)
iii) Human presence: Recognises that conservation efforts can not exist in isolation from humans and integrates humans into conservation practice.

Question 5

M1 - What are the ethical principles (i.e. Soulé’s ‘Postulates’) of conservation biology?

Answer 5

i) Diversity of organisms is good (untimely extinction is bad)
ii) Ecological complexity is good (simplified ecosystems are bad)
iii) Evolution is good (interference with evolutionary processes is bad)
iv) Biotic diversity has intrinsic value (destruction of diversity is bad)

Question 6

M1 - Why is conservation biology described as a ‘crisis-oriented’ science?

Answer 6

As it requires urgent decisions be made using ‘informed judgement’, with incomplete information, limited examples and evidence, partially testing hypotheses and conflicting views. It isn’t possible to wait for all species to be identified in a given area, or their behaviour, etc. as there is very much an urgency in relation to conservation of the Earths biodiversity.

Question 7

M1 - List four characteristics that describe the discipline of conservation biology today.

Answer 7

i) Social sciences
ii) Population biology
iii) Environmental monitoring
iv) Policy & politics

Question 8

M2 - Provide a suitable definition of ‘biodiversity’. In your answer explain why we can identify three meanings associated with the term biodiversity.

Answer 8

The sum total of all biotic variation, from the level of genes to the ecosystems. It should be viewed as a:

(i) concept, that is all encompassing to refer to the entire variety and variability of what we recognise as ‘life’;
(ii) a measureable quantity of some sort with which we can gauge how biodiversity may change naturally or what effects human interactions may have; &
(iii) a social or political construct from which we can attain a sense of ‘value’ of biodiversity and hence, derive biodiversity policy.

Question 9

M2 - Describe the three components of biodiversity as outlined by Noss (1990).

[SEE SCHEMATIC WORD DOCUMENT FOR MORE, p2]

Answer 9

i) Composition: identity and variety of elements in a collection; includes species lists and measures of species diversity and genetic diversity.
ii) Structure: physical organisation or pattern of a system, from habitat complexity to patch patterns and other elements at a landscape scale.
iii) Function: ecological and evolutionary processes, including gene flow, disturbances and nutrient cycling.

Question 10

M2 - What is functional diversity?

[SEE SCHEMATIC WORD DOCUMENT FOR MORE, p3]

Answer 10

Functional diversity represents the range of functions that are performed by organisms in a system. It may also refer to the variety of responses by species in the ecosystem to environmental change, or how many ways the ecosystem can respond to change.

Question 11

M2 - What is functional redundancy and why isn’t it widely accepted among biologists?

Answer 11

Where it is suggested that there are more species present in communities than are needed for efficient biogeochemical and trophic functions. Some authors suggest that the loss of species with the same or similar functional effects should have little effect on ecosystem processes. Others suggest that the higher the number of species, the greater the efficiency of biogeochemical processes.

Question 12

M2 - What is a biological species as defined by Mayr (1942)?

Answer 12

A group of actually or potentially interbreeding populations that are reproductively isolated from other such groups. It was developed in an attempt to define species on their ability to produce offspring.

Question 13

M2 - With the aid of a suitable diagram, distinguish between alpha, beta and gamma diversity

[SEE SCHEMATIC WORD DOCUMENT FOR MORE, p4]

Answer 13

i) Alpha: Number of species in a given community / ecosystem type (number of species found in a small homogenous area)
ii) Beta: Represents change of species compostion along an environmental or geographic gradient
iii) Gamma: Number of species in a large region or continent

Question 14

M2 - How has the Earth’s biodiversity changed over the past 600 million years?

Answer 14

There has been considerable long-term evolutionary changes in patterns of global diversity. In the past 500 million years or so, the trajectory of taxonomic diversity among plants and animals were roughly congruent.

Question 15

M2 - Briefly list three hypotheses put forward to account for the high species diversity in tropical regions.

Answer 15

Tropical systems have high moisture, high temperature and basic nutrients (fertility).

Question 16

M2 - Explain what is meant by the intermediate disturbance hypothesis.

[SEE SCHEMATIC WORD DOCUMENT FOR MORE, p5]

Answer 16

When disturbances are frequent, species which are unable to recover in the inter-disturbance period will potentially be lost from the system. When disturbances are rare, a system is effectively at equilibrium and competitive interactions would be expected to dominate. The intermediate disturbance hypothesis predicts that in between these two extremes is a level of disturbance at which species diversity is maximized (Fig. 2.10). According to this model, periodic disturbance (including environmental fluctuation) promotes species diversity.

Question 17

M3 - List the major threats to biodiversity commonly recognised.

Answer 17

i) Habitat destruction; as mentioned in 85% of all species endangerment / recovery plans
ii) habitat fragmentation; related to habitat destruction
iii) over-exploitation; as mentioned in 17% of all species endangerment / recovery plans
iv) exotic species; as mentioned in 49% of all species endangerment / recovery plans
v) pollution / climate change; as mentioned in 24% of all species endangerment / recovery plans

Question 18

M3 - Provide a suitable definition of ‘extinction’.

Answer 18

The irreversible / irrevocable loss or elimination (death) of a species or group of taxa

Question 19

M3 - What is meant by the term ecologically extinct when referring to a species?

Answer 19

The point at which an organism is no longer able to reproduce, as in when its population is so low it is beneath its reproductive threshold

Question 20

M3 - Distinguish between mass extinction and background extinction. What is one possible cause of a past mass extinction?

Answer 20

Mass extinction events are geologically short intervals of intense species extinction whereas background extinction is the typical rate of extinction thought to have occurred throughout most of Earth’s history. It is thought the K-T mass extinction event was caused by a large asteroid hitting earth in Mexico, triggering other climatic events (such as hindered photosynthesis).

Question 21

M3 - List three characteristics of the past mass extinction events in evolutionary history.

Answer 21

i) Global cooling events (i.e. Ordovician and Devonian)
ii) Global warming (i.e. Jurassic and Permian)
iii) Meteor impacts (i.e.Permian, Triassic, Jurassic).

Question 22

M3 - What are the estimated recovery times for the past five major mass extinction events?

Answer 22

i) Ordovician: 25 million years
ii) Devonian: 30 million years
iii) Permian / Triassic: 100 million years
iv) Cretaceous: 20 million years

Question 23

M3 - A number of Pleistocene extinctions of mega fauna have been attributed to colonization by humans. List three regions where and when such extinctions are believed to have taken place and the types of species that were lost.

Answer 23

i) Australia: 60,000 – 80,0000 years ago – species lost include Marsupial lions, diprotodons, giant kangaroos.
ii) North America: 11,000 years ago - species lost include 70 large species, including mammoths, mastodons, lions, sabre-toothed tigers, etc.
iii) Madagascar: 1,500 years ago - species lost include elephants, birds, lemurs, hippos, etc.

Question 24

M3 - Why are small populations at a higher risk of extinction than large populations?

Answer 24

Stochastic and genetic problems; inbreeding, catastrophe, disease, etc.

Question 25

M3 - Why are species that live on islands more vulnerable than those on the mainland?

Answer 25

Vulnerable to catastrophic events that occur in a single place as there is nowhere else to go and the entire population would be affected. They also have small populations, narrow range, limited dispersal, etc. They often have not developed the capability to deal with potential threats (i.e. invasive species) the way mainland species do.

Question 26

M4 - Briefly distinguish between values and ethics.

Answer 26

Values are enduring beliefs about appropriate conduct or end states of existence, representing worth in usefulness or importance to the possessor of those values.
Ethics is the branch of philosophy concerned with right and wrong, establishing a basis for judging what is right and what is wrong.

Question 27

M4 - Distinguish between instrumental and intrinsic values.

Answer 27

i) Instrumental or utilitarian value says something is good if it provides the means for acquiring something else of value
ii) Intrinsic value is good ‘in and of itself’, as in good for its own sake.

Question 28

M4 - What is meant by ‘burden of proof’ in relation to biodiversity?

[SEE SCHEMATIC WORD DOCUMENT FOR MORE, p6]

Answer 28

When attributing non-instrumental values in any biodiversity issue, the burden of proof is with conservationists (i.e. they must prove potential impacts or effects when only instrumental values are considered). When we consider non-anthropocentric values, the burden of proof is with developers etc. This consideration keeps with the precautionary principle of sustainability.

Question 29

M4 - Compare direct and indirect use values.

Answer 29

• Direct use values apply to components of biodiversity that are harvested directly and used by humans. These uses include consumptive use (local markets) and productive use (standard economic markets).
• Indirect values are values assigned to functional aspects of biodiversity: non-consumptive (determined on service provided), option value (economic value of species or ecosystem in the future) and existence value (value we get from knowing a species exists).

Question 30

M4 - Distinguish between anthropocentrism, biocentrism and ecocentrism.

Answer 30

i) anthropocentrism is the belief that nature exists for human benefit
ii) biocentrism is life-centred; opposes anthropocentrism, focuses on intrinsic value of nature, particularly on individual species
iii) ecocentrism (earth centred); provides a more holistic view in that the entire biotic and abiotic environment has an inherent value

Question 31

M4 - Explain what is meant by the stewardship ethic.

Answer 31

It is a form of anthropocentrism, and assigns intrinsic value to all forms of life. It is an objective intrinsic value of nature by way of divine decree.

Question 32

M5 - What are the four components of ecosystem services as described by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment?

[SEE SCHEMATIC WORD DOCUMENT FOR MORE, p7]

Answer 32

i) Provisioning services (i.e. food, timber, water and fibre)
ii) Regulating services (affect climate, floods, disease, etc.)
iii) Cultural services (provide recreational, aesthetic and spiritual benefits)
iv) Supporting services (soil formation, photosynthesis, nutrient cycling)

Question 33

M5 - What is the most significant anthropogenic driver of species extinction recognised today?

Answer 33

Habitat change is the most significant anthropogenic driver of species extinction. This includes agricultural activity, urban expansion, and system modification.

Question 34

M5 - Briefly list the human activities that degrade habitats.

Answer 34

i) Overexploitation of vegetation for domestic use (i.e. fuelwood and fencing), overharvesting of fish leading to ecosystem collapse and physical modification of ecosystems
ii) Overgrazing of habitats leading to loss of grass cover, soil compaction, loss of soil fertility, etc.
iii) Agriculture, which is harmful to soil ecosystem, freshwater ecosystems, cultivation of soils, nitrification, uncontrolled fire, river diversion for irrigation, etc.
iv) Industrialisation, including extractive industries such as mining, contaminating soils and waterways

Question 35

M5 - Describe fragmentation and its impacts on biodiversity.

Answer 35

Fragmentation can be caused by natural disturbances (i.e. fire and wind) or human-induced (such as the clearing of natural vegetation for roads and agriculture). The two important consequences of fragmentation include a reduction in the area of the habitat type and a change in habitat configuration. Impacts may include increase in edge populations, smaller localised populations, loss of area-sensitive species, increased habitat vulnerability.

Question 36

M5 - What is overexploitation?

Answer 36

The unsustainable exploitation and harvesting of biotic resources, and essentially consists of some form of over-harvesting through hunting, fishing and collecting. It is a major cause of extinctions.

Question 37

M5 - What is an invasive species?

Answer 37

Can be native (indigenous local resident), introduced (non-native / foreign, bought in / dispersed from its place of origin, weed (plant growing in undesirable location) or feral (domesticated animal that has reverted to living in the wild)

Question 38

M5 - Describe the three stages of the processes of invasion.

Answer 38

i) Dispersal: organisms disperse to a new location, resulting in range expansion
ii) Establishment and population increase in the invaded locality
iii) Regional spread from initial successful population

Question 39

M5 - What is a physiological filter in relation to invasion by exotic species?

[SEE SCHEMATIC WORD DOCUMENT FOR MORE, p8]

Answer 39

The ecological opportunities – must not be hostile to growth or reproduction

Question 40

M5 - What are four characteristics of a successful invasive species?

Answer 40

i) An ability to occupy vacant niches
ii) High survival rates
iii) High adaptability
iv) Defence mechanisms

Question 41

M6 - Why is genetic variation important for adaptation to changing environmental conditions?

Answer 41

It allows populations to tolerate a large range of environmental extremes, such as climatic extremes, heavy metal pollutants, herbicides, pesticides, etc.

Question 42

M6 - What are the three main reasons why a species may become extinct?

Answer 42

i) Increased susceptibility to disease
ii) Increased inbreeding
iii) Loss of ability to respond to environmental change

Question 43

M6 - Define heterozygosity

Answer 43

Variation within individuals. An organism is heterozygous when two different alleles occupy the gene’s position on the homologous chromosomes.

Question 44

M6 - What is genetic drift in a population?

Answer 44

Changes in allele frequencies that result from chance matings in very small populations.

Question 45

M6 - In general terms, how do population (demographic) bottlenecks effect the effective size of a population?

Answer 45

When a population is reduced to small numbers, a demographic bottleneck occurs (an extreme example of genetic drift). It refers to the loss of variation at the level of individual genes that contribute to genetic diversity. When the population is small, genetic drift is accelerated, hence the bottleneck can reduce size of population quickly.

Question 46

M6 - What is inbreeding depression?

Answer 46

Inbreeding is the production of offspring by individuals related by descent (e. g. self-fertilization, brother-sister, parent-offspring, cousin matings, etc.). Inbreeding reduces reproduction and survival (reproductive fitness) – referred to as inbreeding depression.

Question 47

M7 - Give an example of each of a deterministic and stochastic factor affecting populations.

Answer 47

i) Deterministic: Result of systematic forces that cause population decline (e.g. loss of pollinators, inability to find mates, inability to defend against predators).
ii) Stochastic: The result of random fluctuations that have no systematic direction (e.g. extreme events, etc.)

Question 48

M7 - Briefly define each form of stochasticity impacting upon small populations.

[SEE SCHEMATIC WORD DOCUMENT FOR MORE, p10]

Answer 48

i) Genetic: refers to changes in the genetic composition of a population unrelated to systematic forces (selection, inbreeding or migration / genetic drift). May reduce amount of diversity and increase chance of deleterious recessive alleles being expressed.
ii) Demographic: refers to the variability in population growth rates arising from random differences among individuals in survival and reproduction within a breeding (reproductive) season. In absence of external factors, a populations chance of survival depends on balance between fecundity and mortality.
iii) Environmental: refers to variation in birth (natality) and death (mortality) rates from one season to the next in response to weather, disease, competition, predation, or other factors external to the population. Environmental stochasticity is represented by temporal changes in a populations vital rates that often affect all individuals of given age or stage similarly.
iv) Catastrophes: (i) are often distinguished as events at random intervals over time in which a large proportion of the individuals in the population die. (ii) even though catastrophic declines may occur very rarely, they have a large impact on whether populations are able to persist.

Question 49

M7 - How is population size determined by births and deaths?

Answer 49

Fecundity (natality) and survivorship (mortality) are measurements used. The following equation can be used to determine population size after time:
Nt+1 = Nt + (Bt + lt) – (Dt + Et)
Whereby Nt+1 is population size after time (t)
Nt is initial population size
Bt is number of births over time
lt is number of immigrants into population over time
Dt is number of deaths over time
Et is number of emigrants leaving population

Question 50

M7 - What do the terms ‘density-dependent’ and ‘density-independent’ mean? Which environmental factors might be responsible for density-dependent and density-independent population regulation?

[SEE SCHEMATIC WORD DOCUMENT FOR MORE, p11]

Answer 50

Density-dependent factors vary as a function of population size or density and include intra-specific competition (breeding spaces, food, mates, foraging spots) and interactions between species (e.g. predation, parasitism, and competition).

Density-independent population factors influence birth and/or survival in ways that have no relation to the density of individuals and include a wide range of environmental factors (e.g. climate, topography, latitude, altitude, rainfall, and availability of light).

Question 51

M7 - What are the conservation implications regarding source-sink dynamics?

[SEE SCHEMATIC WORD DOCUMENT FOR MORE, p12)

Answer 51

Source habitats are ‘good’ quality habitats where reproduction exceeds mortality. Sink habitats are poorer in quality and mortality exceeds reproduction

Question 52

M7 - What is a metapopulation?

Answer 52

A metapopulation is a group of discrete local populations (‘sub-populations’) which are interconnected by occasional migration events and that mutually affect each other.

Question 53

M7 - What is the rescue effect?

Answer 53

The rescue effect is where migration between sub-populations can reverse local extinction or reduce the probability of extinction by bolstering a population that is reduced in size.

Question 54

M8 - Distinguish between endogenous and exogenous disturbance.

Answer 54

Endogenous disturbances are those to which community repeatedly exposed to over evolutionary time and tend to be ‘natural’ disturbances;

exogenous disturbances are those which are ‘novel’ to the community and tend to be human-induced disturbances.

Many endogenous disturbances are essential for maintaining overall ecosystem structure and function particularly in maintaining species richness in many ecosystems.

Question 55

M8 - With the aid of a diagram, differentiate between variegated, fragmented and modified transition states and various combinations of these features in landscapes impacted by human activities

[SEE SCHEMATIC WORD DOCUMENT FOR MORE, p13]

Answer 55

i) fragmented: modified or unmodified ecosystems destroyed over substantial parts of landscape; communities still occupy small proportion of landscape but tend to have abrupt boundaries
ii) variegated: ecosystems still form significant component of the landscape matrix, although there may be areas where they have been destroyed; these ecosystems tend to have more gentle gradients of modification (i.e. ‘fuzzy’ boundaries)
iii) relict: ecosystem largely destroyed with only very small areas containing elements of the modified communities remaining in the landscape.

Question 56

M8 - What is a keystone species? Why are these species important in the conservation and management of communities and ecosystems?

Answer 56

A species whose impact on its ecosystem is disproportionately large relative to its abundance. This is a species whose presence or absence, or substantial increase or decrease in abundance, profoundly affects other species in the community.

Question 57

M8 - Ecosystem management has been described as an extension of traditional natural resource management in three dimensions. With the aid of diagram, describe these dimensions.

[SEE SCHEMATIC WORD DOCUMENT FOR MORE, p15]

Answer 57

i) time: temporal scales important for sustained conservation
ii) space: includes spatial scale from habitats to landscapes and recognises ‘open’ systems
iii) degree of inclusion: particularly in relation to the human dimension.

Question 58

M8 - What is a stakeholder in the context of ecosystem conservation?

Answer 58

Stakeholders are those members of society who want to or should be involved in a decision or action because they have some interest or stake in it.

Question 59

M8 - List the ten dominant themes of ecosystem management which have been generally accepted by conservation biologists.

Answer 59

i) Hierarchial context – understanding of all levels of biological organisation required
ii) Ecological boundaries – need to focus on natural (ecological) boundaries
iii) Ecological integrity – includes all levels of ecological hierarchy
iv) Information base – where sound scientific data is acknowledged as basis for decisions
v) Monitoring – Linked to carefully chosen indicators that reflect management goals
vi) Adaptive management – management is learning process and flexible in adapting
vii) Inter-agency cooperation – cooperation among NGO, local, state & federal governments
viii) Organisational change – change structures and methods of operation of resource management
ix) Humans embedded in nature – we are a fundamental part of ecosystems & must be included
x) Values – human values play dominant role in ecosystem management goals

Question 60

M8 - List the key elements of an adaptive management approach to conservation of biodiversity.

Answer 60

Assumes that scientific knowledge is provisional and that management is a learning process and must be flexible enough to adapt to uncertainty.

Question 61

M9 - What is a protected area?

Answer 61

Also called reserves, protected areas are clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values

Question 62

M9 - Briefly outline one convention or treaty pertaining to protected areas.

Answer 62

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES 1973) has been successful in restricting international trade in endangered species. The Convention aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

Question 63

M9 - Briefly outline any three of the six types of protected areas recognised by the IUCN.

Answer 63

i) Category Ia – Strict Nature Reserve: Protected area managed mainly for science. Area of land / sea possessing some outstanding or representative ecosystems, geological or physiological features and / or species.
ii) Category Ib – Wilderness area: a protected area managed mainly for wilderness protection. Generally a large area of unmodified or slightly modified land and / or sea.
iii) Category II – National park: mainly for ecosystem protection and recreation. Natural area of land and/or sea, designated to (a) protect the ecological integrity of one or more ecosystems for present and future generations, (b) exclude exploitation or occupation inimical to the purposes of designation of the area and (c) provide a foundation for spiritual, scientific, educational, recreational and visitor opportunities,

Question 64

M9 - Outline the ten basic principles recognised in planning reserve systems

Answer 64

i) Comprehensiveness – includes many different habitat types of region / area
ii) Representiveness – inclusion of critically threatened species and representative of the broader biodiversity
iii) Adequacy – determination of minimum critical areas to ensure persistence over time. Must be adequate in size, contributing units, etc.
iv) Efficiency – requires balance between costs and benefits; appropriately distributed
v) Flexibility – providing for opportunities for expansion of reserve network
vi) Risk spreading – spacing out reserves to minimise risk, balanced with connectivity
vii) Irreplaceability – extent that inclusion preserves unique features
viii) Connectivity – maintaining dispersal corridors for species
ix) Protected area shape – minimising perimeter / edge ratios
x) Minimising fragmentation – reducing edge effects

Question 65

M9 - As a conservation biologist trying to save the greatest biodiversity, what factors might you want to consider when deciding whether to protect one large area or several small areas?

Answer 65

• The nature of the disturbance regime
• Degree of spatial continuity
• Dispersal capabilities of species
• Population demographics
• The characteristics of species concerned

Question 66

M9 - What are considered the more common threats in protected areas?

Answer 66

• Habitat loss and degradation due to conversion of natural vegetation to pastureland and intensive agriculture
• Overexploitation of natural resource
  The underlying causes were attributed to: population growth and immigration, the open nature of resources, insecure land tenure, weak law enforcement, local dependency on natural resources, illegal trade, cultural habits, weak incentives

Question 67

M10 - Distinguish between restoration, rehabilitation, reclamation, re-creation and recovery

Answer 67

I) Restoration: Bringing something (usually ecosystems) back to its former state. This often involves intensive management.
II) Rehabilitation: attempt to restore any element of a structure or function – partial return to original state (passive or active)
III) Reclamation: restoration work on most severely degraded sites – reclaim lost areas and make them function (active process)
IV) Re-creation: attempts to reconstruct an ecosystem on a site so severely disturbed and degraded there is virtually nothing left to restore
V) Recovery: leaving the system alone to recover with no intervention (passive process)

Question 68

M10 - Describe, with the aid of a suitably labelled diagram, the trajectories of various types of restoration projects in terms of ecosystem functioning and ecosystem structure

[SEE SCHEMATIC WORD DOCUMENT FOR MORE, p17]

Answer 68

[SEE WORD DOCUMENT FOR DIAGRAM]

Question 69

M10 - Outline five of the nine attributes of a restored ecosystem proposed by the Society for Ecological Restoration.

Answer 69

i) Restored ecosystem contains a characteristic assemblage of species that occur in reference ecosystem, providing appropriate community structure
ii) Physical environment of restored ecosystem is capabale of sustaining reproducing populations of species necessary for continued stability
iii) Restored ecosystem apparently functions normally for ecological stage of development
iv) Restored ecosystem is suitably integrated into a larger ecological matrix or landscape, with which biotic and abiotic flows and exchanges
v) Restored ecosystem is resilient enough to endure normal periodic stress events in the local environment

Question 70

M10 - Distinguish, with the aid of a suitably labelled diagram, between resistance and resilience to disturbance.

[SEE SCHEMATIC WORD DOCUMENT FOR MORE, p18]

Answer 70

[SEE WORD DOCUMENT FOR DIAGRAM]

Question 71

M10 - List the four key actions/considerations for successful restoration.

Answer 71

i) Setting realistic goals
ii) Understanding community aspirations and policy framework
iii) Understanding and addressing cause of degradation
iv) Monitoring and assessing restoration work over a long time period using appropriate methodologies

Question 72

M10 - List minimum components of restoration plans as suggested by the Society for Ecological Restoration

Answer 72

• a clear rationale indicating the purpose of restoration project
• an ecological description of the site designated for restoration
• clear indication of goals and objectives
• identification of appropriate reference ecosystem or suite of desired attributes of an acceptable end point
• explicit plans, schedules and budgets for works to be undertaken
• strategies for long term protection and maintenance of the restored ecosystem

Question 73

M11 - Define ecosystem management

Answer 73

Effective ecosystem management involves inducing a willingness among participants to give up some degree of control. It is a broad process involving 3 key components:

• The recognition of ecosystem as appropriate management unit
• Stakeholders are included in process of decision making from beginning
• A flexible and ongoing adaptive management model used

Question 74

M11 - How does uncertainty manifest in relation to ecosystem management?

Answer 74

i) A lack of knowledge about future conditions (i.e. weather and climate)
ii) An imperfect understanding and representation of major processes in physical and biological models
iii) Imprecise measurements of important physical and biological parameters
iv) Randomness in models with stochastic components

Question 75

M11 - Outline the limitations of conservation in protected areas.

Answer 75

i) Often too small to support all species
ii) Often too small to contain normal patterns of disturbance that generate important processes of resource diversity
iii) Often so fragmented that natural migration is unable to balance local extinctions
iv) Often surrounded by hostile anthropogenic forces that harbour invasive species and degrade the environment
v) Direct pressure for development

Question 76

M11 - What are the goals or attributes of effective conservation strategies?

Answer 76

i) Proactive: proactive planning and strategies attempt to identify and deal with potential problems before they manifest as major problems
ii) Need for wide array of professional and stakeholder viewpoints for
iii) Management should be a means along the way, not as an end itself
iv) Must be open to new ideas and not have preconceived ideations about pitfalls – progressive thinking is crucial

Question 77

M11 - Define and briefly describe adaptive management

Answer 77

Adaptive management is a formal process for continually improving management policies and practices by learning from their outcomes, and requires planning, collaboration, careful measurement and analysis, and commitment to progressive change. Two key concepts are feedback (learning) and adjustment (adapting).

Question 78

M11 - With the aid of a diagram, outline the six basic steps to adaptive management.

[SEE SCHEMATIC WORD DOCUMENT FOR MORE, p19]

Answer 78

i) Assess: key gaps in understanding of the system are identified
ii) Design: design a management plan and monitoring program
iii) Implementation: put plan into practice
iv) Monitor: indicators monitored to determine how effective actions are
v) Evaluation: comparing outcomes to forecasts
vi) Adjustment: models, objectives etc. are adjusted to reflect new understanding

Question 79

M11 - List the key elements of an adaptive management approach to conservation of biodiversity.

Answer 79

• feedback – knowledge or data on the effects or results of an action, purposefully collected and used to improve future actions
• adjustment – using knowledge and data provided through feedback to redirect subsequent action
• experience – important of experience is implicitly recognised and change made to reflect experience – acknowledges learning-based approach to conservation management
• consists of simultaneous attention to ecological, socio-economic and institutional concerns
• includes large spatial and temporal scales
• includes all relevant stakeholders
• understands and deals with sources of uncertainty and risk, such as environmental stochasticity, independent effects and cumulative effects.

Question 80

M11 - Outline the key principles of adaptive management.

Answer 80

• explicit recognition of uncertainty about the outcome of management activities
• deliberate design of management actions to increase understanding of the system
• careful implementation of the policy or plan
• monitoring key response indicators
• comparing the outcomes to the objectives and predictions and
• incorporating the results into future decisions.

Question 81

M11 - Distinguish between reactive, passive and active adaptive management

[SEE SCHEMATIC WORD DOCUMENT FOR MORE, p20]

Answer 81

• Reactive: change is driven by factors external to the management system, including politics, legal actions, public reactions, and research findings.
• Passive: this approach is characterised by the implementation of a single policy on the assumption that the most likely hypothesis is true.
• Active: this is characterised by accelerated learning through suites of policies and practices that can be compared in management experiments

Question 82

M12 - Provide a pictorial representation of a pressure-state-response model for the conservation of biodiversity showing the potential negative feedback loop.

[SEE SCHEMATIC WORD DOCUMENT FOR MORE, p21]

Answer 82

[SEE WORD DOCUMENT FOR DIAGRAM]

Question 83

M12 - Briefly describe the three challenges for ecology into the 21st century identified by Foster (2000).

Answer 83

i) Inherent complexity of systems and feedbacks. Understanding the interrelation and interconnectedness of population, ecosystem and landscape changes is important.
ii) All biodiversity resides within landscapes, and despite placing higher value on wilderness and naturalness, humans affect all landscapes
iii) Change is rapid and ongoing. Even if we eliminated all future climate change or land use, landscapes would still change rapidly.

Question 84

M12 - Briefly describe the three variables influencing uncertainty and risk.

Answer 84

• quality, depth and breadth of information available
• complexity and non-linearity of processes whose outcome we are trying to predict
• how far into the future we wish to carry predictions.

Question 85

M12 - What are the five major actions needed to conserve biodiversity?

Answer 85

• stabilise then reverse human population growth
• protect tropical forests and other major centres of biodiversity – bulk of biodiversity occurs in tropical forests and a few other hotspots around the globe. Immediate protection necessary to save as many species as possible. This may also impact on global warming by preservation of important ecosystem functions.
• develop a more global perspective of resources, while solving problems locally wherever possible – political time frames are generally short (few years), human interest most often local – need to move away from ‘not-in-my-backyard’ phenomenon – although can act very effectively locally.
• develop ecologically (steady-state) economics to replace growth economics.
• modify human value systems to reflect ecological reality – all of the above points require a major change in human value systems – we need to drastically change the way humans perceive and value natural systems. This change in value systems could be manifest in several ways: (i) accepting limits to growth (ii) replace narrow anthropocentrism (iii) adopt ecological design principles.

Question 86

M6 - What are the 4 main causes of genetic diversity between poulations?

[SEE SCHEMATIC WORD DOCUMENT FOR MORE, p9]

Answer 86

i) Gene flow
ii) Mutation
iii) Genetic drift - demographic bottlenecl
iv) Genetic drift - Founder effects

Question 87

M9 - What are edge effects and with the aid of a diagram, identify suitable and unsuitable edge habitats.

[SEE SCHEMATIC WORD DOCUMENT FOR MORE, p9]

Answer 87

Habitat fragmentation dramatically increases the amount of edge relative to the amount of interior habitat. The microenvironment at a fragment edge is different from that of the forest interior (core area) (Fig. 9.3). Some of the more important edge effects are greater fluctuations in levels of light, temperature, humidity, and wind. It is generally recognized that reserves should be designed to minimize harmful edge effect as much as possible. Protected areas with rounded shape are more capable to minimize the edge effects than the long linear parks with the most edge