ENVS 200 CHAP 13 Flashcards

1
Q

What is conservation?

A

It is the name given to various actions we can take to slow/reverse the loss of species and biodiversity

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2
Q

What is biodiversity?

A

It is equivalent to species richness as it is the number of species present in a defined area. It can range from looking at genetic to community diversity.

3 nested levels are: ecosystem>species>genes

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3
Q

What is restoration?

A

It is conservation in a broader sense as it’s goal is to reverse a past failure to conserve.

ex. reintroducing a species to an area where they had previously gone locally extinct, usually due to anthropogenic habitat destruction

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4
Q

What is demographic uncertainty/stochasity?

A

It is the random variations in variables that are super important to the fate of a pop, like: the number of individuals born male or female; the number that die/reproduce in a year; and the genetic qualities of survival/reproductive capacity.

ex. a year where all females were born could be catastrophic to that pop (easier to get skewed gender ratio in smaller pops)

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5
Q

What is environmental uncertainty/stochasity?

A

It is the unpredictable changes in environmental factors, like disasters (ex. high magnitude earthquake) and minor events (ex. avg temp variations) that can also seal the fate of a pop.

ex. adverse conditions could be fatal - small pops have less variable availability to survive

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6
Q

What are alleles?

A

They are a pair of genes that occur at the same location on a chromosome

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7
Q

What are homozygous alleles?

A

It is when the alleles provided by both the mother and father are identical. This occurs when individuals breed with close relatives, causing offspring to be more likely to receive harmful genes.

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8
Q

What are heterozygous alleles?

A

It is when there is one dominant and one recessive allele (different genes from both parents make up a pair), is much healthier, and is most often found in larger pops

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9
Q

Inbreeding depression

A

Close breeding with relatives causing offspring to receive harmful genes

This often results in a loss of genetic variation within small pops.

ex. reduction in fertility, survival, and growth rates

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10
Q

What is overexploitation?

A

It is a pop that is harvested at an unsustainable rate, given the natural mortality and reproduction

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11
Q

What is an introduced species?

A

They are species accidentally, intentionally (often unaware of potential consequences) introduced by humans that can cause invasions of exotic species. Sometimes they can be assimilated into communities without harm, but some are responsible for dramatic changes and they can be invasive.

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12
Q

What is an extinction vortex?

A

It is a pop that has been reduced to a small size and can lead to increased inbreeding, leading to reduced survivorship/fecundity and causing the pop to continually become smaller until it is extinct

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13
Q

What is the minimum viable population (MVP)?

A

The numbers vary, but the MVP value is typically determined by at least a 95% probability of species persistence for 100 yrs

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14
Q

What is population viability analyses (PVAs)?

A

It provides an alternative, specific way of gauging viability as it estimates survivorship & reproductive rates in age-structured pops and simulates variations to represent impacts of environmental disturbances, like varied disaster frequencies and intensities.

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15
Q

What is a charismatic species?

A

They are animals that are easy to sell to the public because it is in trouble/of importance and people care about it.

ex. polar bear

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16
Q

What is a protected area (PA)?

A

It is a clearly defined geographical space that is recognized, dedicated, and managed through legal means to achieve long term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values

17
Q

What is a marine protected area (MPA)?

A

It is mainly protected water areas, with adjacent land included, especially when it is tied to ecosystem function. They were first developed to protect biodiversity and fishery resources

18
Q

What is a no-take zone?

A

It is an area where no fishing is allowed and they are well protected from land-based pollution/other human disturbance - some MPAs are no-take zones

19
Q

What is a complementarity selection?

A

It is an approach for identifying sites best suited to achieve conservation goals. It occurs in a stepwise fashion - it starts with a single best site and at each step, a site that is most complementary to the previously selected site it selected. This way, whatever the previous sites lack, the new site may provide

20
Q

What is irreplaceability?

A

It refers to how replaceable each potential area is and is defined as a likelihood of it’s being necessary to achieve conservation targets

21
Q

What are ecosystem services? What are the 4 types?

A

They are functions/attributes provided in support of human interests by ecosystems, generally saving a cost that would otherwise need to be paid.

provisioning services
cultural services
regulating services
supporting services

22
Q

What are provisioning services?

A

They are products obtained like: wild foods (fish and berries), medicinal herbs, fuel, water, crop pollination, etc.

23
Q

What are cultural services?

A

They provide experiences/meet values through aesthetic fulfillment and educational/recreational opportunities through nature

24
Q

What are regulating services?

A

They provide benefits through regulation: like an ecosystem’s ability to break down/filter out pollutants, moderate disturbances, and regulate climate via carbon sequestration

25
Q

What are supporting services?

A

They are the underlying basis for providing the benfits and they include: primary production, nutrient cycling, soil formation, etc.

26
Q

Invasive Species

A

An invasive species is an organism that is not indigenous, or native, to a particular area. Invasive species can cause great economic and environmental harm to the new area.