Mapping and Extinctions Flashcards
(21 cards)
Niche
specific set of environmental condition
How has evolution of species mapping made it more precise and predictive?
hand-drawing maps
Collection records
grid-based mapping
overlaying known distribution and environmental layers
What information is needed and what are the problems with it
What species - ID, old name, synonyms
Where seen/collected - names change, hard to find, spelling
When? - often lacking
By whom? - importance, expertise
Source - access to collections
Elements of mapping
extract records from museum specimens within local collections; data from specimens in museums elsewhere; data from published papers/reports/theses; data from private
collections/databases/lists/trip reports
Correct/update the names according to latest checklists
Identify place names, find them on map, georeferenced all the localities (lat and long)
Upload to database
Databases
Store and manage large biodiversity datasets efficiently.
Regional databases link species records to multiple attributes
Prevent duplication, reduce errors, reduce manual typing and allow standardised data retrieval
Each part of record stored in another connected database
What is GIS and what does it do?
Geographic Information Systems.
Integrates spatial data ato mapt records and allows visualisation of species occurrence, habitat suitability, and environmental factors
What are raster layers and what are they used for?
pixels (grid)
Continuous surface e.g. fuzzy boundaries and elevation.
Can be used for discrete data - land cover.
Used for representation of the earth’s surface using matrices or grids.
Information always includes coordinates.
Spatial resolution is dependent upon grid size.
.bmp, .tif, .jpg most common formats
What are vector layers and what are they used for?
Features with discrete shape and boundaries.
virtual (state boundaries) or tangible (airport fence).
Used for representation of earth’s surface using points, lines, polygons.
Information always contains coordinates
Discrete data.
Can have attributes.
.shp is most common format
What is the global standard for mapping, what does it use and why is it important?
EPSG:4326 (WGS84).
Uses latitude and longitude.
Important for global data comptibility, differences lead to errors, and accurate spatial analysis is needed when combining datasets
What is spatial analysis?
exploration of patterns and relationships e.g. species migration.
Monitoring changes e.g. deforestation.
What do prediction models require
Require - climatic data, land use datra, soil data, presence/absence data, climate change predictions
Predictors e.g. temperature, habitat, topography, soil type to produce predicted distribution map
What does the IUCN assessment include?
Justification
Location
Population
Habitat and ecology
Threats
Use and trade
Conservation actions
What is area of occupancy?
AOO
area occupied by taxon, excluding cases of vagrancy (usually measured by placing grid over range and counting each box that has at least one species in)
What is extence of occurrence?
EOO
Area contained with shortest continuous imaginary boundary that can be drawn to encompass all known, inferred or projected sites of presence occurrence of a taxon, including cases of vagrancy
What are Rabinowitz’ seven forms of rarity?
- restricted distribution, specialised habitat, everywhere rare.
- same as 1 but somewhere common
- restricted distribution, generalised habitat, everywhere rare
- same as 3 but somewhere common.
- Widespread distribution, specialised habitat, everywhere rare
- same as 5 but somewhere common
- widespread distribution, generalised, everywhere rare
Not rare is same as 7 but everywhere common
What is AOO related to?
habitat specificity
What is EOO related to?
distribution
What traits are associated with rarity?
Breeding systems (self-compatible, asexual)
Reproductive effort (low)
Dispersal ability (poor)
Genetic structure (uniform)
Competitive ability (poor)
Resource use (specialise)
Describe trophic cascade induced extinctions
Top predator –> herbivore –> vegetation
Example is loss of wolves in yellowstone –> increase in herbivore –> effect in vegetation
After eradication of wolves, no recruitment of new trees into the environment (at the same time older trees are dying)
Describe problem of nature reserves on islands
Islands have stronger species area relationship than mainland
Islands that used to be part of mainland have steeper relationship than islands and line falls between the two scenarios – gets closer to island relationship as the area reduces (lose species faster on small islands)
Takes a long time to pay remaining extinction debt in that area after the establishment of parks
