Midterm 1 Flashcards

Question

why does fitness of individuals increase with | heterozygosity? *Significance of gen. diversity within individuals

Answer 1

- Heterozygotes do better: hybrid vigour - Two versions of a gene (or protein) gives greater flexibility (different versions of a protein help in changing conditions) - Bad alleles can be compensated for by the better version - Some alleles on different loci work better together

Answer 2

Definition: All the organisms of the same species living in the same geographic area and have the possibility of inter-breeding - Distribution of the genetic diversity among the individuals of the population

Answer 3

forms: different versions (alleles) of a gene on a locus (heterozygote) origins: mutations and sexual reproduction

Answer 4

forms: - Number of polymorphic loci (locus with 2 or more alleles and allows for multiple possible genotypes and phenotypes ) - Heterozygosity - Number of alleles for polymorphic loci (# of alleles per locus) origins: - Gene flow - Mutations

Answer 5

Heterozygosity/allele diversity go up with increasing population size ex. Halocarpus bidwillii- the larger the population is, anticipated polymorphism (polymorphic loci), heterozygosity and allele number to go up Ex common shrew- habitat for many species are being fragmented and lead to a reduction in genetic diversity as it leads to inbreeding-> Shew species are separated on the islands compared to the mainland and have less genetic diversity as a result. Diversity increases with population size because: 1) Genetic drift and 2) bottlenecks and founder effects

Answer 6

Genetic drift is a change in the frequency of an allele within a population over time. This change in the frequency of the allele or gene variation must occur randomly in order for genetic drift to occur. ( random change in allele frequency due to ‘sampling error’ during reproduction/ random changes in reproduction of the population) - Especially important in small populations - Results in allele loss **2 types: bottleneck effect and founder effect (Population crashes and populations founded by a few individuals will have reduced genetic diversity AND Strength of the effect will be proportional to the number of survivors or the number of founders)

Answer 7

- >The small population is more vulnerable to genetic drift as the random event has more chance to cause more change from the original compared to in the large population *There werent many representatives there in the first place (Don’t see as much genetic drift in the bigger population) * could have less genetic diversity in the population for random reasons

Answer 8

you have some major disaster or event that kills off most of the population with few that survive by random chance (many of the alleles may have disappeared) -if few survivors, even more chance of genetic drift as there is a smaller population

Answer 9

effect because of the founders of an area. if some leave an area to go to another area, the founders of the new area may not be representative of all the alleles from their original area. if few founders, even more chance of genetic drift as there is a smaller population

Answer 10

populations at low levels of genetic diversity do poorly | - Possibility to adapt to a changing environment

Answer 11

1) no inbreeding depression and | 2) better equipped to cope with changing conditions

Answer 12

Variation in the number of alleles present and the | frequency of different alleles among populations

Answer 13

gene flow= migration of genes between populations Connectivity= migration of individuals between populations shrew- Fst values range from 0-1 (1= genetically dissimilar), the further they get away, the less genetically similar to each other (high Fst value) •For small populations, gene flow is beneficial and help prevent problems associated with small effective population sizes. •For already well differentiated populations, that are already adapted to local conditions, gene flow can be deleterious. Outbreeding depression

Answer 14

more dispersion/more mobile -> more gene flow ->> less genetic differentiation between populations

Answer 15

- Structure of the habitat (or habitat patches) influences connectivity. ->Barriers (rivers, roads, mountain ranges, etc…) increase differentiation and corridors decrease it.

Answer 16

when crosses between two genetically distant groups or populations results in a reduction of fitness ex: Capra ibex ibex, hunted to extinction, Later mixed with subspecies from Turkey and Sinai and the hybrids gave birth in the middle of the winter (not adaptive)-> Went extinct again!!!

Answer 17

- Different isolated populations are adapted to different environmental conditions; thus increase the ability of a species to cope with changing conditions - Population isolation is ultimately the source of new species * Local adaptation and eventual source of new species. But, for small populations , gene flow is a good thing.

Answer 18

- Forms: variability in number and frequency of alleles between populations - Origins: population isolation - Patterns: Disconnected populations (through low mobility, barriers, etc…) differ more

Answer 19

groups of actually or potentially interbreeding natural populations, which are reproductively isolated from other such groups Problems: -hybrids (ex. liger) -potential interbreeding is hard to evaluate -some species reproduce asexually

Answer 20

Number of species changes over time as a function of relative importance of speciation and extinction rates ->Catastrophic events increase extinction rate, which can surpass speciation rate: mass extinctions

Answer 21

- There are places that are hard to explore (ex. high in the trees) - there are new ecosystems - there are cryptic species (many different species that look like the same species *think insects) - poor knowledge

Answer 22

1) Alpha (α) diversity: the number of species found within a specified small area (study area) 2) Gamma (γ) diversity: the number of species found within a wide geographic area (entire landscape) 3) Beta (β) diversity: rate of change in number of species as one moves from area to area: Beta = Gamma / Alpha

Answer 23

locally distributed landscape: has a low alpha diversity and a high beta diversity (specialists) widely distributed landscape: has high alpha diversity and low beta diversity (generalists)

Answer 24

S is number of species, A is the area sampled and c and z are parameters to be estimated ->Log10 scale of equation gives a linear relationship Y= a X + b (where b = log(c) and a=z) ->Species area relationships: Important for a management tools (ex. How big to make a park, to protect the sp.)

Answer 25

another species diversity indices-> considers the abundance of individuals of each species -> pi is the proportion of total number of individuals belonging to species i, and S is the total number of species ->Ranges from 0 to 1: 0 being more diverse *No index is perfect and a combination of many is the most informative

Answer 26

More light in the tropics would result in higher primary productivity, which in turn could support a wider range of species. But productivity not always = diversity

Answer 27

There is more space under tropical climate than other colder climate. Thus, more space = more species because lower extinction and higher speciation rates. But other biomes have equal area.

Answer 28

Few species might be able to tolerate harsh conditions found at higher latitudes. Also, climate is more stable in the tropics (over geological times) allowing accumulation of more species over time.

Answer 29

Higher temperatures would result in faster speciation rates through an influence on mutation rates and species generation time -Colder temp-> everything slowed down metabolically

Answer 30

Species in the tropics are competing with many others and have higher parasite loads (no winters to kill them). This would prevent some species to dominate and lead to niche specialization (they dont become better adapted to the environment and outcompete other species because of their parasite load)

Answer 31

Rappaport’s rule= Latitudinal ranges of plants and animals are generally smaller at lower than at high latitudes. ->Can pack more things into a larger area (more space in the topics)

Answer 32

The decrease in diversity when moving from lower latitudes towards higher latitudes is referred to as Latitudinal Diversity Gradient. Generally it is observed that the diversity richness is more in the areas near the equator than at the poles. ->Overall, a combination of the different hypotheses is probably responsible for this pattern

Answer 33

A species found naturally in a single geographic area and | no other place is endemic to that location

Answer 34

- Area of great debate and uncertainty Link between species diversity and ecosystem productivity: ->More species (each specialized on a specific resource) will do a better job at exploiting all resources available and hence increase productivity Link between species diversity and ecosystem stability: ->An ecosystem with high species diversity should be able to cope with variable conditions better because it has a wider range of tolerance (the sum of tolerance of all species in that system)

Answer 35

Community: an assemblage/collection of populations of different species that occupy a certain geographic area Ecosystem: community + abiotic variables

Answer 36

Largely driven by temperature and precipitation regimes

Answer 37

Functional significance is huge: more types of communities–> more diversity Sum of biotic and abiotic conditions is the ‘set in which the actors (populations) evolve’

Answer 38

genetic: -Little attention (changing now) Problems with small populations= Inbreeding, founder effects, declining populations, fragmentation -Public perspective is that it does not really matter (can we change this?) species: -‘Traditional’ unit for conservation efforts -International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list (endangered, threatened, least concern) -Can’t protect a species without preserving others it depends on (Flagship species/biased and normally a charismatic large vertebrate and umbrella species/protecting these species indirectly protects the many other species that make up the ecological community of its habitat) community: - Probably the most important and the best approach - Killing two (or more) birds with one stone

Answer 39

is at the species level. No longer found anywhere in the world. (ex. Tasmanian Tiger)

Answer 40

At the species level, no longer found in natural conditions anywhere in the world

Answer 41

- Locally extinct: at the population level. No longer found where it used to be, but can still be found elsewhere. Synonymous to extirpated

Answer 42

- Ecologically extinct: at both species or population level. So rare that it no longer serves an important ecological role ex. sea otters on west coast - They like to eat sea urchins and therefore the kelp forests will grow/flourish as not as many urchins are eating the seaweed. The sea otters have a keystone role.

Answer 43

Ancient species that gave rise to new species no longer | exist

Answer 44

Not many documented examples, but thought to be very possible. Occurs through complete mixing of a species, subspecies, population, etc… with another. ex. Capra ibex ibex (locally extinct)

Answer 45

``` 1- Narrow geographic range 2- One or a few populations 3- Small population size 4- Declining population size 5- Hunted or harvested by people ```

Answer 46

``` 1- Large home range 2- Large body size 3- Not effective dispersers 4- Seasonal migrants 5- Little genetic variability 6- Specialized niche requirements 7- Form temporary aggregations 8- No prior contact with humans 9- Relatives went extinct ```

Answer 47

Contradicts the narrow geographic range idea… It relates to habitat degradation (fewer and fewer contiguous patches of habitat). Affects mostly mammals, especially predators. ex. Male cougars have home range of ~ 1000 km2 ->requires a lot of land mass

Answer 48

Due to a combination of factors: including home range, | selective hunting, small population sizes, low reproductive rates, etc…

Answer 49

•Unable to cope with changes in local conditions (natural disaster, etc.) so it would be nice if you could get out of there, if not then not good and could die ex. butterflies that are good dispersers are less likely to be threatened

Answer 50

they rely on 2 or more habitats… thus more likely to experience change ->You’re depending seasonally on habitat and food to travel large distances (takes a lot of energy) •Ex. Delaware Bay- Horseshow crabs video, we have an impact during their seasonal migrations (also, They have to spawn on the beach for the Red Knot to survive).

Answer 51

•Cant deal with any environmental variability.

Answer 52

•Ex. The orchid- need the bees to help with their pollination -> limited window of survival

Answer 53

Close proximity of individuals increases vulnerability to local catastrophes or to human exploitation • Ex. The passenger pigeon (extinct north American bird that had massive flocks that turned the sky black, took 14 hours to pass. Were hunted on a massive scale-cheap food for slaves, etc.). Martha was the last one • Ex. the buffalo (were slaughtered almost to extinction in 1800s where there was less than 1000, now there is 500,000)

Answer 54

•Especially true for islands lacking predators. Flightlessness is not a good thing to be able to move out of an area ->But, of course sensitive species might already be extinct on long-occupied islands

Answer 55

Taxonomic units often share a certain number of risk | factors therefore if relative went extinct, you’re likely at risk as well

Answer 56

1. International: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 2. Continental: Natural Heritage Network and Nature Conservancy, NatureServe conservation status 3. National: Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC)

Answer 57

Estimated that cats are responsible for 100-350 million bird kills per year In the US it is 1-4 billion birds killed per year. • 8.5 million pet cats – Largest source of human related bird mortality in Canada • 1.4-4.2 million feral cats – Lack of information on feral cat predation • Feral cats have been implicated in the extinction of at least 33 bird species

Answer 58

1. Unreported mortalities (house cats and feral cats) 2. Population estimates of feral cats may be underestimated 3. The data they got wasn’t from Canada (was it representative?) 4. High variability in the factors estimated 5. Underestimates of pet cats that have access to the outdoors 6. Inflated because there are other animals that kill birds (Did a bird hit a window, a cat found it and brought it home?) 7. Seasonal effects unaccounted for 8. All of Canada is not represented. Potential geographic bias

Answer 59

* Limit time outside * Leash (catio) * Cat license—train owners * PIT tags for cats—keep track of owner—fines * More strict spay and neutering rules—no reproductive capacity without breeding licence * Predator control * Make cat indoor cat toys less expensive * Bell on a cat * Rainbow scrunchies * Shock collar to reduce free range * Increase rehabilitation efforts for feral cats * Pet stores are only allowed to sell rehabilitated/feral cats * Focus on protecting the birds (make bird friendly environment)

Answer 60

``` Pros: • Comfort • Service animals • Teach responsibility • Labour—pets in a way – transportation • Drug dogs • Law enforcement • Protection • Chickens • Entertainment ``` Cons: •Carry disease/parasites • Exploitation of exotic or rare species • Some are not domesticated • Cost a lot of time and money • Obligate carnivores create issues with climate change due to meat requirements (Increase carbon emissions) • Dangerous animals— mortalities/injuries (pet snakes) • Ethical treatment (some people don’t know how to care for their pet) • Introduction of invasive species • Good quality of life

Answer 61

1)Document biological diversity-> - Origin, Ways to quantify, Patterns & Functional significance 2)Investigate human impacts on biological systems (threats to biodiversity) 3)Develop approaches to minimize anthropogenic impacts

Answer 62

``` 1- **Habitat destruction (or loss) 2- **Habitat degradation 3- Habitat fragmentation 4- Overexploitation 5- Species introduction 6- Spreading of diseases 7- Global warming ```

Answer 63

habitat loss definition: impacts so severe that all, or nearly all, species are adversely affected, or to cases where the time span needed for recovery is extremely long habitat degradation definition: impacts that affect many but not all species, and that may be temporary (although many impacts are persistent at low-medium levels of intensity) *Loss of biomes and ecosystems often around water as people like to be near water

Answer 64

coastal development, shrimp farms, trawl fishing(scrapes the marine floor?), commercial fishing and ports create pollution and introduce non-native species

Answer 65

Individuals are either killed directly or forced to migrate to remaining habitat, where artificially inflated densities will eventually take care of them.

Answer 66

the influence of a group of human individuals has on the environment, measured as land area needed to sustain their needs ->more developed areas tend to have a bigger footprint-• Canada has a high footprint

Answer 67

•Biodiversity hotspots: where about 50% of worlds species contained in 7% of the land

Answer 68

Initial size (16 million km2) Approximately half is remaining. 1 % is destroyed annually ->Biodiversity hotspot Land converted to: - Pasture land - Subsistence agriculture-when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families - Large-scale agriculture (monoculture= cultivation of a single crop in a given area) Problems: - Top soil is thin and nutrient-poor because of rapid circulation of nutrients in natural forests (doesn't stay in soil for long) - Rapid erosion and nutrient depletion - Agricultural operations need to be moved after a short time - Soil is nutrient poor and you burn it all up after agriculture and get the little nutrients that were there but it doesn’t come back fast

Answer 69

- 97% of Madagascar’s tropical deciduous forests are gone | - Almost all of Europe’s old-growth forests are gone

Answer 70

Between 1800 and 1950, > 95% of grasslands in USA converted into farmland Consequences inland: - Regional and global changes in climate - Water control and erosion - Desertification

Answer 71

wetlands= swamps, marshes, bogs, vernal pools - Can easily be drained and converted into cropland - Many cities built on wetlands - 50% of US wetlands gone - 97% of vernal pools gone in some areas in California - people dig ditches and allows water to come off wetland area-> create parking lot - Peat moss removed by big tractors sucking them up and selling them as nice absorptive material

Answer 72

• Soviet government diverted the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya rivers for irrigation purposes. (the Aral Sea has been shrinking since the 1960s after the rivers that fed it were diverted by Soviet irrigation projects.) • Salinity went from 10g/l to more than 100g/l. • Water level has dropped over 23 meters. • Was one of the four largest lakes in the world—68,000 km2 -The desiccation of the Aral Sea greatly increased the number of dust and salt storms in the area -lead to local climate change: The result was shorter and hotter summers, longer and colder winters, and a decrease in precipitations -The region's once-prosperous fishing industry has been devastated, bringing unemployment and economic hardship

Answer 73

On the Water-Starved Colorado River, Drought Is the New Normal (from dams, irrigation and now climate change) - A few wet years in a long dry spell would be critical these days to keep the Colorado from completely drying up - Western states began divvying up the Colorado’s water, building dams and diverting the flow hundreds of miles to irrigate 3.5 million acres of cropland

Answer 74

-Form in low energy coastal tropical areas, where sediments accumulate - Extremely important nursery habitat for fish and crustaceans (exploited species) - 35% of the world’s gone -Research has shown mangroves are able to absorb between 70-90% of the energy from a normal wave (the trees mitigate the impact of a tsunami) -Mangrove forests stabilize the coastline, reducing erosion from storm surges, currents, waves, and tides. The intricate root system of mangroves also makes these forests attractive to fish and other organisms seeking food and shelter from predators.

Answer 75

exclusive economic zone (EEZ)= is a seazone prescribed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind. Cut down and converted in rice cultures, shrimp aquaculture basins

Answer 76

- Temperate equivalent of mangroves - Thick cover of salt resistant herbaceous plants - Highly productive habitat - In the US: 50% gone

Answer 77

33% of marine fish diversity in 0.2% of the ocean’s area. Mix of pollution, sedimentation, nitrogen addition, fishing, warming resulted in 20% loss • Impacted heavily- bleaching, massive loss of reefs, harvesting of coal (people use dynamite to fish and to get coal- bottom pic) • Important area- biodiversity hotspot

Answer 78

Unregulated dredging/trawling =Great reduction in habitat complexity, Reef-forming species and bedrock flattened -> forests of sponges and coal are gone and replaced with rows of mud, (these were a critical habitat for fish development) On average, a single location is dredged 7 times a year in the main fishing areas… no recovery possible

Answer 79

islands contain fewer species than the mainland. Also that number of species on an island decreases as island area decreases.

Answer 80

of species (S)

Answer 81

when you only look at number of species in a community you typically ignore the fact that some species are rare and others are common. Some have great biomass and others little. A way to get around this problem is to use the following indices (there are others): 1. Simpson’s index 2. Equitability (Evenness) E 3. Shannon Weaver diversity index H 4. and Equitability J

Answer 82

1. Concentrates on the suitability of islands as habitats for various species ( habitat diversity). 2. Balance between the rate at which islands are colonized by species new to an island and the rate at which resident species go extinct on the island. 3. Considers the balance between colonization from the outside of the island and the evolution within it.

Answer 83

Larger areas typically encompass more different habitat types Lack (1969b, 1976) suggested that the number of species reflects the “type” of island within which he included its climate and habitat. He suggested that large islands contain more species because they contain more habitats.

Answer 84

1. Lack studied birds, he proposed that the reason a species did not colonize an island was not from a failure to disperse but from a failure to find the right habitat. 2. In addition his argument does not acknowledge the importance of evolution within the island itself.

Answer 85

• Number of species on an island is determined by the balance between immigration and extinction – and that this balance is dynamic (ongoing), with species going extinct and being replaced (through immigration) by the same or different species.

Answer 86

•Immigration rate is high when no species are present and reaches 0 when all species from the source pool are present. • Extinction rate is 0 when there are no species on the island and will generally be low with few species. –> However we would expect a priori that extinction rate will increase at a more than proportionate rate because with more species competitive exclusion is to be more likely and population size on average will be smaller making extinction more probable. ->The number of species where the two curves cross is in dynamic equilibrium.

Answer 87

• The number of species on an island should eventually become roughly constant through time. • This should be a result of continual turnover of species, with some becoming extinct and others immigrating. • Large islands should support more species than small islands. • Species number should decline with increasing remoteness of an island.

Answer 88

Large contiguous area of habitat is reduced in area and divided in several isolated patches -Reduction in population is not proportional to the decline in total area of habitat

Answer 89

typically simulation models, based on real data, that projects population trends in time -uses population growth rate, population size and carrying capacity to find rate of population change

Answer 90

the smallest population that has a X probability of surviving over X years -use extinction probabilities

Answer 91

0Require a tremendous amount of quality data to be realistic -Outcome is highly dependent on population model used, and to parameters (e.g. carrying capacity) -Assumes somewhat stable conditions in the future ->Lots of possible expansions and modifications… but very system-specific

Answer 92

Under a certain density (smaller populations), individuals can have difficulty finding a mate, thus reducing population growth, and increase the odds of extinction

Answer 93

=when two separate environments come in contact with each other(forest and city). Trees are more exposed to wind at the edges and can fall down and may have a domino effect as they expose more vulnerable trees behind it. not all of the habitat area may be declining. Depends on a number of factors. When you fragment an area, you make more edges and make areas that may be more vulnerable to adversity as the environment changes. '-Reduction in population is not proportional to the decline in total area of habitat - small fragments have more edges and populations in these fragments may be more at risk to extinction because those fragments are experiencing more of an impact from the surrounding (the new ecosystem surrounding that patch) *native forest can implode/collapse * they are no longer living in an environment that they're well adapted to but in an accommodation environment that they're adapted to as well as another environment

Answer 94

May be due to smaller patches being more likely altered by changed environmental filters Such shifts may have implications for: – habitat structure, ecosystem function and food web interactions in small remnant forests

Answer 95

Predation within the forest was very low, there was a natural cover and the birds had the ability to survive. When you get towards the edge, they got more vulnerable and eventually got whipped out

Answer 96

After fragmentation, mobile species move to remaining patches. In the long term, density dependent effects will reduce densities.

Answer 97

For a while, large reserves became a paradigm in conservation. Would feed species to smaller surrounding fragments. BUT… assumption of the model states that mainland populations never go extinct. So basically, species will remain extant as long as it persists on the mainland. After the mid-90s, a new paradigm emerged: Metapopulation theory: A population of populations

Answer 98

=A large number of patches with equal quality, equally connected ->Populations go extinct and get colonized ->Arrows are potential for movement for the separate areas

Answer 99

=A population of populations Main insight: survival of metapopulation exceeds survival of individual populations (each individual island/patch has a lower survivorship than the whole population) -patches are able to be rescued as they move all over the place -Occupancy depends on ratio of extinction/colonisation • One population with low extinction and high colonization-> species will spread until all the “islands” are filled in -Modern versions allow for variability in patch quality and isolation ->Parameters can be measured in the field ->Allows estimation of persistence time Important insight: at equilibrium, model predicts a certain proportion of patches will be unoccupied • Although a certain patch may not contain a species you’re interested in, it is still an important component of the metapopulation because the species could be there in the future. (could be an exam question -should you protect other patches? YES!) ->A patch presently unoccupied is still an important component of the metapopulation ->In many cases (especially long-lived species), we are probably passed the threshold… extinction debt

Answer 100

1) Habitat is distributed in discrete patches able to sustain local breeding populations 2) Every patch has a non-zero probability of extinction 3) Within patch dynamics is independent of other patches 4) Migrations between patches occur and an empty patch can be recolonized ->Can be extremely useful to conservation biology. -Warning: conditions must be met for a particular species to be of any use

Answer 101

Insects in a natural field are more likely to behave as a metapopulation than birds in a fragmented woodlot Caution is advised

Answer 102

=space between adjacent habitat patches and has a | big influence on connectivity

Answer 103

lead to: Road kills Behavioural modifications Physical and chemical environment changes ->Can apparently be “prevented” by critter crossings

Answer 104

=physical connection between two patches of habitat that might be isolated by some intervening area that may be inhospitable corridors: a) increase plant diversity, b) increase plant and animal dispersal, and c) corridor effects on dispersal can be predicted from knowledge of smaller-scale movement behaviour of animals, especially near habitat edges. - can be natural or not - usd to preserve biodiversity - promotes movement of individuals between habitat fragments by connecting the two fragments (allows populations to interact with each other, breed with each other and expand/persist) - also allows migration rates not to be interrupted ex. Blueways are the sum of multiple migratory pathways used by various marine species across large ocean expanses such as the Gulf of Mexico. These heavily-travelled corridors are critical for connecting habitats and allowing species to migrate between nesting and feeding areas.

Answer 105

exploitation= direct use of ecosystems for food, materials, medicine, etc… By definition, every ecosystem product is renewable (Often, humans perceive natural populations as unlimited resources) Overexploitation-> arises when the yield is greater than regeneration capacity of ecosystems -Accentuated by increasing human population size/technology

Answer 106

•We don’t see the giant fauna anymore as they no longer exist •Stern trawlers-> drag huge nets and suck and capture everything up. They even cheat by putting liners in them (lines with hooks that catch the fish) • Some species can be targeted because they are considered a nuisance to human activities (Ground squirrel/belugas) o They killed the wolves as they thought they were killing cattle. Not all were and then they were putting the wolves in danger -Dodos in Mauritius were mass slaughtered -30-70 million American bisons & 3-5 billion passenger pigeons killed almost to extinction during European colonization of North America

Answer 107

• Called slimeheads because no one wanted to eat them • But as we fished down the waters—value increased • Slow growing, late maturing • Extremely susceptible to overfishing • First exploited in Australia in the 1970’s • Used hydroacoustic data to estimate population size • Oops overestimated population size • Complete collapse of the fishery

Answer 108

huge schools of fish due to upwelling (nutrient cycling within the water allowing phytoplankton to grow ) -Harvest well-regulated at around 10 M tons a year, ~ 1/5 of stock (20% of stock) 1972 El-nino event, upwelling stopped because the wind changed direction and brought nutrient poor water to where the Peruvian anchovy was (food for fish went down and so they went down but quota stayed the same) Quota never reached, major collapse in subsequent years

Answer 109

management curve should be proportional instead of fixed because these curve all change with time and you'll have different size populations and therefore different yields -the MSY drops down each time because it reflects the proportional quota -Seems to make more sense, but dependent upon reliable biological data and Actual curves are sometimes questionable at best! (problematic)

Answer 110

population will crash if it gets into the allee threshold zone because cant find individuals to mate with catch per communal effort (CPCE)= how much effort is being made to catch the fish that you were able to catch ie 20 fish/day -they are putting more and more time into it and not catching as many Abalone (CPCE going down) -as they become more rare, the price goes up and there is more pressure to catch them

Answer 111

Wealthy countries learned from their mistakes, models are getting better and data is more available and more accurate. Collapses are less and less likely. -But, research and enforcement of laws are expensive -In many developing countries, there are no management strategies or they are not enforced. ->Need to invoke the “Precautionary principle”

Answer 112

• if an action or policy has a potential risk of causing harm to the public or to the environment, in the absence of scientific consensus that the action or policy is harmful, the burden of proof that it is not harmful falls on those taking an act. • In other words the burden of proof is not the responsibility of the public, but the responsibility of the party which is wanting to engage in said activity

Answer 113

Access to new areas through logging roads and displacement of populations lead to more and more intact habitat where animals have disappeared. The bushmeat crisis. -In West Africa and the Congo Basin, Bushmeat is Now the Leading Threat to Great Apes and Monkeys -he meat is either eaten by the hunter or sold to earn much-needed income. Ultimately, it is one of the few resources people in impoverished countries can use to meet basic protein requirements.

Answer 114

As the more profitable, large-bodied, animals are depleted, we move to the next best thing… whales to minkes

Answer 115

As a resource gets depleted, sometimes market prices skyrocket (double whammy) ex: Chinese bahaba: swim bladder used in traditional medicine. As populations collapsed (less than 1% left) market value increase. -Swim bladder worth 7 times its weight in gold!

Answer 116

native= Species that evolved in a region (= indigenous) E.g. Moose non-native= Species outside the region where it evolved (= non-indigenous). Can be a natural range expansion or shift. E.g. Turkey vulture

Answer 117

``` Species released (by human activity) outside its native range (= alien and exotic) E.g. Burmese Python ```

Answer 118

Reproducing non-native species | E.g. Ring-necked pheasant

Answer 119

Spreading introduced species E.g. Purple loosestrife -Rate of species introductions increased with greater human mobility

Answer 120

1. planes-Brown tree snake 2. Most ancient and most significant vector: Ships ->Rats, mice, cats and insects (and associated diseases) thrived in the hold -Hulls covered in invertebrates -Rocks were taken in to weigh ship down then dumped after filling the hold with supplies from the new world. 3. Steel ships (mid-late 1800s) used ballast water for stability. - Planktonic invertebrates (including larvae), algae, fish are taken and dumped elsewhere. - Modern ships are faster (higher survival of hitchhikers on a shorter trip) ``` 4. Recreational fishing gear involved in the spread of freshwater invaders (via bait fish industry) *v common ```

Answer 121

1. Aesthetics ex. Starlings, purple blue-strife flowers 2. Recreation ex. pheasants Released in unfenced areas for hunting (went wild), Multiple introductions worldwide by anglers/fishermen 3. Food- Everywhere humans go, they bring their food with them. Not invasive per se, but clearly a threat ex. -Nile perch introduced to Lake Victoria, to develop local fishery. Resulted in extinctions or ecological extinctions of 100s of native endemic cichlids. -salmon cages/farms-they can escape and bring diseases 4. Companionship ex. Domestic (but mostly feral) cats kill 50-500 million wild birds annually in Canada 5. Biological control of invaders ex. Gipsy moth introduced to North America by scientist trying to breed infection resistant silk caterpillar— unfortunately escaped and destroyed forests. also Compsilura concinnata, a parasitoid, was introduced. No effect on gypsies, but decimated dozens of native moths

Answer 122

ex. Brown tree snake Introduced after World War II. Populations stayed low until the 60s. Spread to the entire island. ->Resulted in 15 extirpations of forest birds. Including 3 endemic species and 2 distinct sub-species.

Answer 123

Large inland sea supporting important anchovy fisheries -Little water exchange with Mediterranean In early 80s, -Mnemiopsis was introduced from ballast waters -Proliferated in absence of predators. In 1989… 1 kg / m3 ->Zooplankton community declined dramatically and Planktotrophic anchovy’s fisheries collapsed BUT In 1997, ANOTHER ctenophore introduction through ballast waters Kideys (2002) Science 297: 1482-1484 Turned out to be a specialist on Mnemiopsis Mnemiopsis was apparently extirpated -Beroe, the specialist, disappeared on its own

Answer 124

ex. Flathead Lake, Montana -> Has a complex food web full of introduced species -> A deliberate introduction, to help an introduced species, shifted everything through a weird trophic cascade “Original” food web= Dominant fish:Kokanee. Lake trout were rare and deep. In 80s: mysid shrimp was introduced to feed kokanees. Not eaten by kokanees but instead competes with kokanes for zooplankton and feeds lake trout. -> Kokanees vanished. Bears and eagles declined. Trout became dominant fish. Phytoplankton (which zooplankton ate) bloomed.

Answer 125

Carcinus maenas, introduced in the 1900s. Quickly invaded Atlantic coasts Long term: presence of crabs could induce collapses of snails even without preying upon them because the adjusted shell thickness increased with the crab odour and it resulted in a smaller body size and clutch size

Answer 126

ex. Apache trout= IUCN: critically endangered - Few small populations in Western US - Lives with the introduced rainbow trout - 65% of Apaches are hybrids - One population is now all rainbow hybrid

Answer 127

A species is more likely to become established when there is a constant arrival of newcomers: • Widespread vs. rare • Invaders, at first, face the problems of small populations (Allee effects, stochasticity) ->Similarly, a community is more likely to be invaded when newcomers are constantly arriving • International port vs. a tiny remote island (island biogeography concept appears again)

Answer 128

It has proven very difficult to come up with a list of characteristics that make species good invaders ->Taxon-specific analyses are useful. List a bunch of species and their characteristics and find what correlates with invasion success E.g. Pine trees in South Africa: short juvenile period, short interval between seed crops, small seeds E.g. Fish in Great Lakes: Growth rate, Temperature and salinity tolerance and egg size

Answer 129

Immigrant in a new environment is no longer plagued by its predators, parasites, diseases and so on… Increased vigour, growth and fecundity. Eventually build new enemies. ex. Brushtail possum: Native to Australia, but invaded NZ - In NZ, fewer competitors, no microparasites, 16 macroparasites (76 in Aus) = 10 x density in NZ

Answer 130

-Extreme environments: e.g. arctic, less invadable, great physiological filter -The biotic resistance hypothesis: Species-rich systems are more stable and have less “niche space” for invaders • Mixed results… many cases where there is a positive correlation between native and invasive species numbers • But islands seem especially vulnerable

Answer 131

Disturbed communities would be more vulnerable because of temporary resource availability. Native species, by definition, are not adapted to disturbance (since they are disturbed). Complementary to biotic resistance hypothesis.

Answer 132

• Invasions are analyzed a posteriori • Experimental manipulations are difficult and unethical • Early stages of invasions are often unnoticed

Answer 133

ex. Ballast waters have to be dumped 200 nautical miles from coast before entering Canadian waters… except in rough seas!

Answer 134

Precautionary approach: every introduced species is guilty until proven innocent -Early action is often the best. Cost of dealing with early invasions is far less than advanced ones. -Good news… removal of an invader -> recovery of natural community. As long as all the original species are still present ex. Sand dune on the coast of California. Early invasion by European beach grass. Physical removal followed by recovery.

Answer 135

another example: Abalones in the Californian intertidal - Terebrasabella (polychaete) introduced from South Africa - Ectoparasite on abalones= makes them unmarketable - Huge volunteering effort (1.6 million abalones handpicked)

Answer 136

Rotenone kills everything and was successfully used to eradicate introduced fish in lakes ->Of course it’s damaging to natural populations, but they usually recover ->Used in early stages of invasions, in high-risk situations ex. Miramichi Lake =one of the most productive nurseries for the troubled Atlantic salmon in the world ->Smallmouth bass are voracious eaters, vicious protectors of their territory and they compete with other species for food and space, so for the past three years striving to eliminate every last smallmouth bass from the lake. Some are calling for the entire lake to be poisoned with a chemical that does not harm the lake’s habitat but which destroys all fish, after which stocks of the lake’s native fish which were saved from the lake before the chemicals were applied to it would be returned to their natural habitat to repopulate the body of water. This method has been used often in other areas but it is expensive and requires much work to get the proper permits from Environment Canada.

Answer 137

Few successful examples: Invasive cactus in Australia Moth was introduced and they reduced cactus densities… (controlled to this date) Not so successful elsewhere… therefore there are problems with biological control

Answer 138

ex. Asian carp introduced to the Mississippi river and river is now very disturbed (fish jumping everywhere even breaking people's bones) ex. Channa argus/snakehead (harmful to humans and a concern to aquatic native species) *can walk on land too which makes them even more invasive

Answer 139

"killer rabbits" in Australia | -harmful to endangered species (mice, ballerina orchid)

Answer 140

-One major challenge= animal right activists often oppose to eradication programs. E. g. American grey squirrels in Italy. -Similar examples with rats on an island (opposed to the method used), feral horses in NZ and US -Fisherman organizations opposed to eradication projects of species they deliberately introduced (because they wanna fish them) -Found at highest densities along trails and roads, in cleared or burnt areas… disturbance hypothesis (Disturbed environments allow invader to come in)

Answer 141

Small woody plant (10 m max) -Native to Europe -Introduced to NA as ornamental plant during 19th century -Quickly spread through NA and Invasive in many areas -Huge problem for both biodiversity and forest management -Forms dense thickets in forested areas and clearings that greatly reduces light penetration-> Outcompetes many native plant species ex. Birds nest in available habitat: -No thorns for protection -Branch configuration helps motility of predators -Nests are lower -Overall increase in nest predation

Answer 142

-Phenology (timing of events): leaves occur earlier than native species and stay for longer -Does well in shade and light, wet and dry areas (large niche) -Dispersed by birds -High reproduction rates -Allelochemicals (prevent other plants from growing in their area by putting chemicals in soil) -Escape from natural enemies: ->Produces a chemical that deters herbivores (insects and small mammals) ->In natural range... has specialist enemies (co-evolution) ->Unconfirmed, but it is suspected that no natural diseases occur in NA ->As a result, does better in the new range. Up to 34 600 individuals per hectare. Only occurs sparsely in Europe

Answer 143

-Biological control: introduction of specialists from Europe… too risky! -Mechanical removal: works well at small scales-> impossible to get them all (seed bank) -Large scale chemical control: expensive and unethical

Answer 144

aquatic invasive species in great lakes

Answer 145

-Florida is second only to California in the number of nonindigenous fish species reported* from its waters. Many of the introductions are aquarium species grown in the tropical fish farms or released by owners. -Florida has a much higher percentage of foreign species introduced* mainly because of the tropical fish farm industry that raises foreign fish species and because of the tropical climate that allows these species to survive. -Florida has a much higher percentage of introductions* attributable to either aquarium releases or tropical fish farm escapes

Answer 146

Human activity greatly increased spread of diseases to wild populations. Easy parallel to be made with species introductions. Occur naturally in wild populations. Several possible outcomes: -Extinction of host -Extinction of disease -Low levels of infection (or infectivity) -Oscillations

Answer 147

-Death-causing pathogens are a strong selective pressure ->Previous contact usually increases immunity -Infection rates depend on frequency of contact between infected and non-infected hosts

Answer 148

Similar to species introductions… in fact, most human-caused infections are mediated through introduced species or are direct species introductions: - Sometimes through direct contact with humans (accidental) - More often through contact of wildlife with domesticated species

Answer 149

White-nose syndrome in bats: Fungal infection in bats, recent outbreak in North America ->Benign (causes a rash) but makes bats wake up in the dawn of winter (90% mortality!!!) *lose body fat ->Was probably brought from Europe by bat biologists (spores on their equipment). Reason for rapid spread= mostly from splurunking (cavers) -The disease’s name derives from a visually observable white growth of a newly discovered fungus Geomyces destructans . It grows on the skin (including the muzzle) of hibernating bats – White nose syndrome first discovered in NY state in 2006. – It is now confirmed in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. – What is being done? • Reduce visits to caves—restrict the sport • Biosecurity protocols for researchers.

Answer 150

Although it is uncommon for a disease to cause host extinction, severe population depletions make populations smaller… thus more vulnerable to stochasticity Ex. Canine distemper, passed by dogs, can cause severe reductions of lion populations Ex. Salmon aquaculture occurs at extremely high density. ->Ideal conditions for spread of diseases. ->Can be transmitted to wild(or native) populations… “spill-over” (sea lice)

Answer 151

Most are obvious: reduced survival, growth and fecundity of individuals, but some are more insidious ex. Corophium volutator (mud shrimp): - >Discovered microsporidian parasite - >Seems to be turning males into females - Biased sex ratio can crash populations

Answer 152

-Pre-Columbian civilizations suffered up to 90% mortality from European diseases that they were previously not exposed to -Rinderpest virus, a common and deadly infection of bovines. • Introduced in Africa (late 1800s) and killed 75% of antelopes, wild buffalos and giraffes.

Answer 153

Contacts between uninfected and infected hosts - Increases at high density (COV-19 in NYC vs PEI) - Large scale spread affected by migrants (Planes, etc) - Increases with human contact

Answer 154

When vector is known, direct actions can be taken to reduce spread ex. White nose syndrome in bats ->Culling: a controlled eradication of infected individuals / colonies (Has worked with domestic animals but little evidence for effectiveness in wild populations) ex. Large scale immunization programs, rabies in Qc (After 5 years, most raccoons are now vaccinated and there is no sign of outbreaks)

Answer 155

If a disease is caught early: to cull or not? -If yes, local population is eradicated. • Result-> Control may or may not work. Disease may or may not have spread and done damage. -If no, run the chance of letting a major problem spread… • Result-> reduced population size: • inbreeding depression, Allee effects and environmental stochasticity Need-> Gather information to make a good decision

Answer 156

Habitat loss: impacts so severe that all, or nearly all, species are adversely affected, or to cases where the time span needed for recovery is extremely long. Habitat degradation: impacts that affect many but not all species, and that may be temporary (although many impacts are persistent at low-medium levels of intensity). Groom et al. (2006) ->Any human impact making life harder for organisms

Answer 157

selective rather than clear cutting, coral broken by a flipper rather than dynamite, etc… Most obvious form is pollution (but can be on a large scale too)

Answer 158

ex. Toxic baby bottles? BPA banned in Canada and elsewhere… ex. Coal-fired power stations 'poison fish with mercury' ex. DDT decimates many bird species, also damaging to human health.

Answer 159

Not just chemical--Ecological light pollution! ->Many animals are influenced by light in their activity schedule, orientation. ->Artificial lighting may disrupt their natural behaviour ->Frogs can be blinded for hours, moths spend their time bumping into a light bulb, birds get ‘trapped’ in a lit area, amphibians stop calling for mates ex. Mayflies around scurry light ex. Loggerhead turtles (IUCN status: endangered) *Hatchlings use shadows of dunes to orient towards ocean. When artificial lights present, they get disoriented

Answer 160

Wide variety of pollutants from different sources with many adverse effects on humans and wild organisms ex. effect of ozone (O3) on forest trees: -Ozone levels are 36% higher than pre-industrial times Has many negative impacts on plants’ growth, productivity, photosynthesis, chlorophyll concentration, respiration, sensitivity to diseases… -toxic to grapes, damage integument of plants -At ozone concentration lower than those found in big cities, photosynthetic activity was reduced in all species Good Ozone—Stratosphere VS Bad Ozone--Troposphere -most ozone in the northern hemisphere is in the summer months and ozone pollution can travel from urban to rural areas

Answer 161

Experimental lake area in western Ontario: - showed impact of acid rain on lakes and how much pollution is allowed to occur - > Lake was artificially acidified over 8 years (from 6.8 to 5 on pH scale) - >densities of invertebrates/fish changed dramatically - > Condition factor for fish in acidic lake = weight/length^3 - acid rain/ozone emission trends shown great decrease because of this lake experiment

Answer 162

May affect survival, growth and reproduction ex. Untreated waste water contains hormones from urine of women using contraceptive pills (males become feminized and can even grow ovaries- would have no reproduction if they all became female) ->Experimental lake area, added 17-ethynylestradiol. Monitored response of fathead minnows (added estrogen components/estradiol) Males make VTG via their liver but don't have eggs

Answer 163

951 fish samples from 27 species from the Amazon basin Mono-methyl-mercury (MMHg) concentrates (Safe limit is 500 ppb) therefore we are in real trouble with piscivorous fish where they have tissue Hg concentrations up to 1400ppb ->birds are also affected as they eat the fish

Answer 164

• Produced in a lab in 1873, noted as highly poisonous to insects in 1939. • Great success because: – Broad-spectrum effectiveness against insects – Persistent, water-insoluble, inexpensive ->even put it into wallpaper But… some problems emerged • Rachel Carson (1962) – wrote Silent Spring – Noted that DDT was toxic to fish and crustaceans – Noted that birds eating insects and worms in treated areas were dying DDT biomagnifies up the food chain, affecting top predators – Bird eggs are too thin and will not hatch – Nearly wiped out Peregrine Falcons • Finally recognizing the problem, DDT was banned in North America in 1973 • The Stockholm Convention on POPs was adopted in 2001 and came into force in 2004 – banned or dramatically limited access to 12 POPs (persistent organic pollutants), including DDT

Answer 165

• Acute effects – nausea, headaches, diarrhea, and irritation of the mucous membranes, tremors and convulsions, and nervous system abnormalities – at relatively high doses • Chronic effects – early pregnancy loss, male and female fertility problems, neurodevelopmental deficits, possibly leukemia, pancreatic cancer, and breast cancer – results are equivocal in some cases – Urogenital malformations in baby boys – direct links to DDT exposure of the mother • Half life in humans is about 4 years, so effects can linger or be delayed. -seen in breast milk but less now (not dropping in african countries because of Malaria as DDT is used to kill misquotes carrying malaria) *Malaria is more severe

Answer 166

DDT is banned for agricultural use, but residential use is on the rise in some countries. – South Africa – 60-80g is sprayed in treated houses each year. – 2007 study found a link between high exposure and male infertility. – Some suggest that exposure from living in DDT-sprayed houses may increase infant mortality but up to 9%. • Bottom line – fierce debate – Can be tough to separate fact from pseudoscience…. – Where does one put the burden of proof? (if dealing with the precautionary principle it should be on the ones promoting the use) ->Ideally malaria will be controlled without DDT, but until then?

Answer 167

Deforestation, agriculture and mining can dramatically increase sediment load in lotic (running water systems) ecosystems - >In this case, a country club coupled with heavy rainfall - sediments can choke fish to death

Answer 168

- Reduced water clarity, reduces photosynthetic activity (blocks light penetration) - Increased abrasion - Reduction of solid substrate for algal attachment

Answer 169

- Reduction in suitable substrate - Clogs respiratory structures - Clogs filter-feeding apparatus -starve to death

Answer 170

- Respiration hindered (gill rakes and gill filaments covered in sediment) - Deterioration of spawning areas (eggs will choke and die) - Reduce ability of visual feeders (cant see the food they need to eat) - Reduction in food availability *Very similar effects are observed in coral reef communities (massive amounts of coral are dying)

Answer 171

- Excessive nutrient input (nitrate and phosphates) from fertilizers, sewage and detergents (result in algal blooms) - Humans are responsible for releasing as much nitrogen in the environment as all the natural sources In the worst cases: results in cyanobacterial (blue-green algae) blooms. Are toxic… kill fish, dogs and humans. In the best cases, rapid increase in zooplankton populations and can knock down phytoplankton) ->Followed by rapid decomposition of plant and animal material. Leads to hypoxic conditions. ->Combination of toxins and anoxia can have dramatic consequences (many fish can die) ->can get Sudden bloom of dinoflagellate algae. Many of which are toxic Results in contamination of shellfish (people can get shellfish poisoning when they consume them) ->nutrient input dead zones

Answer 172

Any human impact that does not completely destroy a habitat but has negative consequences on organisms -habitat degradation Light pollution: results from artificial lighting. Poorly understood… but influences natural behaviours Air pollution: mostly the result of burning different organic materials. Results in killing or reduced performance of organisms (e.g. Ozone). Transfers to aquatic systems through acid rains. Water pollution: many contaminants (pesticides, medication, heavy metals) that disrupt vital rates (survival, growth, fecundity) and tend to accumulate in higher trophic levels Sediments reduce primary productivity and reduce performance of consumers Excess nutrients result in uncontrolled primary productivity. Eventually decays and produce hypoxic conditions

Answer 173

``` yes Why wouldn’t there be a limit? 1) Substitutability of resources 2) Increasing productive efficiency due to technological invention and innovation ``` *Technology allows us to accelerate consumption of natural capital (ex. we can get logs from places where we previously couldn’t) Why would there be a limit? 1) Carrying capacity 2) Thermodynamics-The amount of energy for economic production is limited 3) Trophic levels Undeniable link between economic growth and loss of biodiversity

Answer 174

An area of economics that studies the economic impact of environmental policies. Environment economists perform studies to determine the theoretical or empirical effects of environmental policies on the economy. This field of economics helps users design appropriate environmental policies and analyze the effects and merits of existing or proposed policies.

Answer 175

• an increase in the production and consumption of goods and services • a function of population and per-capita consumption • Typically expressed in terms of GDP • agricultural-extractive, manufacturing industrial, and services -As previously identified, increased growth or GDP is closely linked with degradation of natural systems

Answer 176

• A measure of the value of goods and services produced in a year • Quantifies the size of the economy GDP = C + G + I + NX, or (consumption + government spending + investment + net exports) Excludes the following in calculation: 1) environmental costs 2) loss of natural resources Result: countries that appear economically prosperous may actually be running at a loss

Answer 177

The population of a given species that can be supported indefinitely in a defined habitat without permanently damaging the ecosystem upon which it is dependent ``` • Consumers (the population) • Production and storage facilities • Byproducts -> Assimilative capacity of the environment for pollutants ```

Answer 178

As K-selected growth gets to top it levels out and hits K (it is sustainable). R-selected growth= you will pass K and whole system/species will crash. ->The American economy looks like it represents R-selected growth and will succeed its carrying capacity. We can turn this curve into a K-selected growth though. *For the sake of wildlife conservation, it’s not enough to hope we’re a K-selected economy

Answer 179

To conserve wildlife, maintain steady state | economy sufficiently below K.

Answer 180

• Fixed amount of energy, matter (E =mc2) – Ceiling on the amount of material/energy available for economic production • law of Entropy (degree of disorder within a system) – No production process may achieve 100% efficiency (because you never have 100% efficiency, you have a negative energy system)

Answer 181

``` • Stable production and consumption of goods and services • Indicated by stable GDP • Stabilized: – population – per capita consumption – “throughput” (the amount of energy and materials used in the production process) • Allows for sustainable development or “development without growth” ```

Answer 182

* Qualitative process (vs. the quantitative process of economic growth) * Evolution of goals, politics, institutions * Changes in the production process * Economic growth and development may or may not occur together

Answer 183

* We know that there will be conflicts when decisions involving multiple stakeholders and their differing agendas are being made * How do we compare the importance of different goals or objections? doing a cost benefit analysis of the particular activity

Answer 184

``` • Economists have suggested giving monetary value to all costs and benefits of any project • Typically, environmental costs are not factored into decisions or substantially undervalued • How much is biodiversity and its various functions worth and how much will it cost to protect it? ```

Answer 185

• Environmental damage that results from the consumption and/or production of a good or service that is not directly reflected in the price charged for the good or service or compensated for in some other, nonprice way • Environmental externalities usually exist because relatively open access to the environment (air, water, land) means that it can be treated as a free receptacle for the wastes of production and consumption • e.g., Reduction in air quality due to vehicle

Answer 186

* When the price of goods and services do not reflect the true costs of producing and consuming those goods and services * In the context of environmental externalities, a market failure occurs when the price of goods and services does not reflect full societal costs (conventional financial costs + environmental externalities) * Result: market prices are too low and more of the good or service is likely to be consumed than would be the case if all costs were taken into account * Many argue, therefore, that environmental externalities need to be included in the cost of producing and consuming goods and services in order for society to make better decisions about how much of the good or service to produce and/or consume.

Answer 187

• Goal: Force decision makers (both in government and business) to consider the environment in their decision making and project analyses • Otherwise, they may be excluded from decision making or their value trivialized

Answer 188

``` • 42 million litres of oil spilled • 2000 km of coastline spoiled including three national parks, three national wildlife refuges, and one national forest • Billions of dollars in clean-up costs • Not large compared to others, but one of the world's most ecologically devastating disasters The victims: • 250,000 seabirds • 2,800 sea otters • 300 seals • 250 bald eagles • up to 22 killer whales • Billions of herring and salmon eggs ``` Exxon paid: • $2.2 billion to clean up Prince William Sound • $300 million in voluntarily compensation • $1 billion to state and federal governments *Recorded as a net economic gain because cleanup costs increased America's GDP and provided employment (because they didn't factor in the cost of Environmental Externalities) Continuing environmental, social and economic hardship: - Native inhabitants - Up to 40% drops in fisheries were observed in the following years - Tourism - Oil still seeps out of the beaches • In 1994, a federal judge in Alaska ordered Exxon to pay $5 billion in damages to local people • July 2008: Exxon ordered to pay only $507 million in damages; equivalent to actual harm caused by spill according to judges (Exxon earnings in 2007: $40.6 billion)

Answer 189

crude oil pouring into the water, 11 men died on oil rig

Answer 190

Use values - the values that come as a result of contact with or use of natural resources 1) Direct-use values – associated with the direct use of products – Can be consumptive (extraction/harvesting) or non-consumptive (appreciation of landscape) 2) Indirect use values – A service provided by the environment via normal functioning (ecosystem services) 3) Option value – Value placed on environmental assets to secure for future use Non-use values - correspond to those benefits that do not imply contact between the consumers and the good 1) Existence values - values that derive simply from the knowledge that a good exists - E.g., the existence of some species is important to us. Does this mean those species have greater monetary value? dont know 2) Bequest values - Values that we receive from knowing that we will hand something on to future generations (will save biodiversity for my kids)

Answer 191

• The sum of all use and non-use values • Many decisions have been made that do not recognize all of the different values (e.g., not all marine fisherman recognize the value of the benthic habitats that they trawl) • To make future rational decisions that will benefit conservation all values must be recognized and quantified in monetary terms

Answer 192

- Utility = a measure of “well-being” - Any development will influence utility of different people in different ways - factor in Cost-benefit analyses - Putting a $-value on biodiversity and the different ways ecosystems serve us People give little thought to how dependent they are on the proper functioning of ecosystems and the crucial services for humanity that flow from them – “conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems, and the species that make them up, sustain and fulfill human life” (Daily 1997) – “the set of ecosystem functions that are useful to humans” (Kremen 2005) – This ranges from the microscopic to the global scale

Answer 193

-Products directly harvested by people either for their own consumption (consumptive use value; does not appear on GDP calculations) or to be sold in markets (productive use value) -Include: timber, fuelwood, meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, medicine, etc… -Fairly easy to quantify monetary value (number or quantity used x market value)

Answer 194

``` Direct consumption (or trade) of harvestable goods and foods is very important at the local level especially in developing countries ``` Example: fuelwood is the main source of heat for 2.6 billion people throughout the world ->In 2000, a total of 1 791 000 000 cubic meters of wood were burned for heat and cooking in Africa alone 1.05 million m3= $-value calculated by estimating what local populations would have to pay to obtain from somewhere else, or in other forms

Answer 195

- $-value estimated fairly easily: sum of what people | pay on their trips. E.g. ecotourism $120 billion a year

Answer 196

Can be assigned to aspects of biodiversity – such as environmental processes and ecosystem services – that provide both present and future economic benefits without being harvested or destroyed during use Total of $33 000 000 000 000 per year ex. Carbon sequestration (CO2 -> Biomass) Important carbon sinks: peat bogs and open oceans ex. Wetlands and forests act as buffers of water levels (prevent flooding) ex. Protection of soils-Vegetation increases soil structural integrity ex. Water treatment- Pollutants like pesticides and heavy metals broken down and stored. Excess nutrients (sewage and fertilizers) are stored and recycled. Again mostly wetlands and coastal areas. Annual equivalent of 15 trillion dollars in water treatment plants ex. Species relationships- A cave in San Antonio, Texas, saves cotton farmers $ 740 000 a year in pesticides ex. Pollination by wild insects- • About 150 crop plants in NA require insect pollination by wild insects • Value can be assigned by calculating what it would cost to manually pollinate these crops in the absence of natural pollinators (estimates: $20-40 billion/yr)

Answer 197

• A species’ potential to provide an economic benefit to human societies at some point in the future • Stereotypical annoying example: what if in 50 years from now we discover “insert species name” can cure cancer? =Source of genetic improvement for domesticated species ex. Zea perennis: ->A recently discovered perennial corn. Could be used to develop new crops. No need to replant seeds every year. Potentially worth billions. ->Option value is very difficult to calculate. Typically involves extrapolating from recent trends, in terms of $-value of species just starting to be used. Average $-value of species?

Answer 198

-These types of surveys, in non-biological fields, involve questions like: How much money would you need to accept this change? -People usually refuse to accept money for the extinction of a species… compensation does not work here. -Questions are thus rephrased: How much would you be willing to pay for species X not to go extinct? ->On average, Americans said $114.67 X 300M = $34.4 billion but 2010 donations to Nature Conservancy= 0.4 billion worldwide ->Many factors influence people’s answers: education really increases how much people are willing to pay… ->subjectivity of surveys *looking at Public opinion only… not always a good indicator

Answer 199

1) Uncertainty in estimates of physical costs and benefits - e.g., Many projects cost more than predicted; how would this have affected decisions? 2) Uncertainty in our valuation of environmental C&B 3) Issues associated with the distribution of C&B among the population 4) Use of discount rates 5) Irreversible actions (e.g., extinction) do not receive greater penalties in CBA 6) Varying discount rates and project boundaries slightly can change outcomes of CBA (i.e., easily manipulated) 7) Project-oriented so no sustainability-related criteria for a series of projects for example

Answer 200

1) Environmental impact assessment (EIA) - The process of identifying the potential impacts of a project or policy before it goes ahead - Are the environmental impacts of a project acceptable? - Fieldwork, modeling and expert opinion - Can be used in combination with or independent of CBA - Currently a legal requisite of projects in many countries (including Canada) - Poor EIA standards and enforcement - More weight placed on financial aspects of decision making 2) Risk assessment and management - R = P X M (where R = risk, P = probability of the risk and M = magnitude of the consequence) - What constitutes an acceptable level of risk? - Human decisions also factor in perceived benefits; risk to benefit ratio used in decision making

Answer 201

• Using and preserving natural capital are both essential to human well-being – How much is needed? – What aspects are critical? – Which have human-derived substitutes? • Critical natural capital (CNC): natural assets that are irreplaceable and cannot be substituted by anything else – Difficult to define which parts of the environment are expendable – Ozone is considered CNC but many countries still refuse to reduce atmospheric pollutants due to impacts on traditional industries • Perhaps an option is to allocate a certain land base as CNC that cannot be touched – Problems with this idea? yes

Answer 202

• March 2008: British Columbia introduced NA’s first tax on the purchase or use of almost all fossil fuels with the goal of reducing GHG emissions – Increased prices should result in reduced consumption • October 2007: Quebec implemented a narrower tax aimed at certain corporations use of specific fossil fuels • Many European countries have seen substantial reductions under similar taxes

Answer 203

• Throughout the 1960s and 70s governments and banks of developed countries lent money at low or variable interest rates to less-developed countries • LDCs borrowed heavily because their commodities were doing well economically • 1981 start of the recession saw increased interest rates and commodity prices plummet thus initiating the “debt crisis” • LDCs forced to try to increase exports (largely agriculture-, forestry- and mining-based) further increasing pressure on the natural environment

Answer 204

The most important benefit of biodiversity is maintenance of environment services which includes: (i) Carbon dioxide fixation through photosynthesis. (ii) Maintaining of essential nutrients by carbon (C), oxygen (O), Nitrogen (N), Sulphur (S), Phosphorus (P) cycles. (iii) Maintaining water cycle and recharging of ground water. (iv) Soil formation and protection from erosion. (v) Regulating climate by recycling moisture into the atmosphere. (vi) Detoxification and decomposition of waste.

Answer 205

• 1984: Thomas Lovejoy (WWF) proposed that “debtor nations willing to protect natural resources could be made eligible for discounts or credits against their debts” • 1987: Conservation International, the Government of Belize and Citicorp bank concluded the first such swap • DFNS: an agreement whereby debt in hard currency is forgiven by the owner of the debt in exchange for commitments to support conservation on the part of the borrower – Financial commitments to fund conservation activities – Actions that the debtor government promises to take

Answer 206

1) Debtor: - reduces foreign liability - Funds environmental projects that otherwise would not have happened 2) Creditor (typically rich country): - Makes the best of a bad situation by cancelling debt that would otherwise not have been repaid in exchange for environmental action desired by its citizens 3) Local conservation groups - receive funds from creditor to undertake environmental action US $1 Billion of funds have been allocated to conservation through this mechanism

Answer 207

Total value of an area = direct use value + indirect use value + option value + existence value Is an ecosystem worth exploiting ? Yes, if productive use value > consumptive + non-consumptive + indirect use value + option value + existence value ex. Bacuit Bay, Palawan, Phillippines guardian.co.uk - >looked at CBA for 3 development options: 1. intensive logging until depleted 2. logging banned; protected area established 3. sustainable logging (get the most from tourism and fisheries) * allows you to look at true cost of doing something

Answer 208

* Proposed by William Rees in 1992 * EF analysis attempts to measure human demand on nature * Estimates the amount of biologically productive land and sea area needed to regenerate the resources the human population consumes and to absorb and render harmless the corresponding waste, given prevailing technology * The largest components in EF calculation are the land used for crops and trees, areas of ocean used for fishing, and land required to support the plant life needed to absorb and sequester CO2 emissions from fossil fuels • Accounts for the fact that in a global economy people consume resources and ecological services from all over the world – e.g., Chiquita plantation in Costa Rica will not count towards Costa Rica’s EF, but rather towards the EF of those countries where the bananas are consumed. For this reason, a country’s EF can be significantly larger than its actual biocapacity

Answer 209

• The human population is currently overshooting the Earth’s carrying capacity by 20-30% • We maintain this overshoot by liquidating the planet’s ecological resources • By calculating the ecological footprint, the extent to which a person or country is utilizing more or less than their sustainable share of the world’s resources can be shown

Answer 210

* GDP is a function of population size and per capita consumption; the ecological footprint allows us to assess differences in per capita consumption * Ecological footprint increases exponentially with development indices (and GDP)

Answer 211

Main goals of nature reserves: 1) Separate elements of biodiversity from processes that threaten their existence. 2) Represent the full variety of biodiversity, ideally at all levels of organization. *goal to have the full level of biodiversity at all levels of organization 3) Promote the long-term survival of the species and other elements of biodiversity by maintaining natural processes and viable populations.

Answer 212

With limited funding, what should be protected? Get the most bang for the buck! 1) Distinct ecosystems and species: unusual geological attributes, endemic species (to small areas) and genetically distinct species 2) Endangered ecosystems and species 3) Ecosystems or species providing services

Answer 213

1) Species approach 2) Ecosystem approach 3) Hotspot approach 4) Landscape approach

Answer 214

Endangered species for which sufficient information is available: 1) Gather available information on biology to identify key components (critical habitat, food sources, etc…) 2) Locate areas with adequate conditions 3) Conduct surveys of population status * get enough info about species to figure out how we can protect spaces of these species

Answer 215

Red-cockaded woodpecker: -Listed as endangered in US in 1970, 1% of original population remaining -Feeds on insects -“Colonial” species -Builds clusters of nesting cavities -Depends completely on mature pine forests ->In Virginia (northern limit of species range), Nature Conservancy evaluated several pine forests ->Located only one viable population so bought the land to protect the species *Same was done in other states, several pine forests are protected (Other species also benefit from this -> Flagship species)

Answer 216

Many argue that money is better spent protecting ecosystems than individual species (e.g. captive breeding and stocking programs) Argument for this approach is easy when ecosystem services are obvious Protecting and managing a functioning ecosystem protects de facto all the species it contains Again, priorities must be set: Largest most pristine patches = most important - Local level “alpha” diversity (expressed by number of species/sp. richness in ecosystem) - All representative species present - Preserving a wide range (all) of ecosystems - more habitat has been protected rather than converted in areas where humans are not as dense

Answer 217

Bouctouche dune

Answer 218

Greenland north east national park… ~ 1 million km2 of snow

Answer 219

Identifying and protecting areas with extremely high | number of species (Madagascar has high sp. diversity and should be protected)

Answer 220

Selecting areas with a concentration of different ecosystems/ communities: high β-diversity (Gamma/Alpha= Beta diversity)

Answer 221

Everything else being equal, a larger reserve is always more efficient than a smaller one… (because of larger populations) ->small parts have a higher extinction rate

Answer 222

Depends on what you're trying to conserve: ->(small herbivore vs large herbivores/carnivores) *need to move from smaller to larger areas to protect a larger proportion of the population ->figure out how much area the individuals require: To do this-> Minimum viable population / density estimates ex. 1367 / 1.4 = 976.4 ha

Answer 223

Everything else being equal, a large reserve is always more efficient than a smaller one… (because of ecosystem processes) ex. better to protect the whole system (ex. river) then part of it ->The scale at which processes operate is very difficult to estimate and causes problems determining appropriate area

Answer 224

Minimizing edge effects seems like a good idea… but at the expense of: Habitat quality? Community diversity? Ecosystem processes? ->reserve shape closer to round = fewer edge effects)

Answer 225

One thing is for sure, you do not want to make several small reserves within a large reserve! ->Roads are awful at fragmenting a landscape… stay away (you'd only do this if species require edges but this usually is not the case) All comes back to Island biogeography vs metapopulation theory Island biogeography theory says that risk of extinction decreases with increasing patch size. Thus more species in large patches. -Metapopulation theory says, persistence time of a species can be increased by colonization/extinction dynamics

Answer 226

depends on funding and objectives asspocaited with approach (be it species, ecosystem(s) or landscape) It all comes down to the biology of your species: -Are separate patches big enough to sustain viable populations? -Does your species move a lot or is a poor disperser? -Will it migrate through the matrix/landscape? -Is there any evidence for metapopulation dynamics? ->Remember the 4 essential conditions for metapopulations? If A LOT of information is available, modeling can answer these questions. These include: local (within-patch) dynamics, current and future conditions, probability of colonization in relation to patch size and isolation… -My humble opinion: when in doubt… go large -Some of your species may be good candidates for metapopulation dynamics

Answer 227

-Not always possible to buy large contiguous patches of habitat -Efficient planning can make several smaller reserves act as a larger one (not necessarily through metapopulation dynamics) -Connectivity is never a bad thing… corridors (allow easier migration/movement between patches)

Answer 228

From Ia: Strict nature reserve: Areas of extremely high importance. Everything is strictly controlled. Areas completely unmodified. Used as “control sites”. To VI: Protected area with sustainable use of natural resource (Note there are also Marine Protected Areas)

Answer 229

One reserve can only do so much good… but still can be very important ex. Kihansi spray toad -Extinction in the wild could have been easily prevented by appropriate protection Often single protected areas not large enough to preserve representative samples of the biodiversity of a region ->Need for several reserves to “work together” ->Success depends on identifying the most cost effective areas to preserve. Cutting-edge conservation techniques: -Gap analyses -Systematic conservation planning

Answer 230

A systematic way to identify “GAPS” in our current protected areas ->Necessary as past protected areas seemed to miss the points: -lot of overlap between reserves -range of threatened species not included -large discrepancy in biome protection

Answer 231

• Representation gaps: – either no representatives of a particular species or ecosystem in any protected area – or not enough examples of the species or ecosystem represented to ensure long-term protection. • Ecological gaps: – either occurrence of species or ecosystem is either of inadequate ecological condition, – or the protected area(s) fail to address species movements or specific ecological conditions needed for long-term survival or ecosystem functioning. • Management gaps: – protected areas exist but management regimes do not provide full security for particular species or ecosystems given local conditions – E.g. management objectives, governance types, or management effectiveness. ex. On the Island of Hawaii, existing reserves did not include the range of any threatened finches (Clearly a gap) ->Small adjustments were made

Answer 232

1. maps existing vegetation 2. maps predicted distribution of native species 3. amps land ownership for public lands and land management status for all lands 4. shows the current distribution for protected areas 5. compares distribution of any species, group of species or vegetation types of interest with the conservation network 6. provides an objective data set for local, regional, state and national interests to make decisions regarding conservation of species, ecosystems Gap Analysis accuracy depends on precision of maps, but advances (GIS and satellite imagery) are making analyses better! From the various layers piled up on top of each other, quantitative assessments can be made on: - Proportion of biomes protected - What species are currently not protected Objective->quantitative assessment of gap species and ecosystems that can dictate conservation priorities

Answer 233

Provincial, national and international targets are set in % But is this the correct approach? -people pat themselves on the back because they exceeded the % target goals but is it the correct approach? is it the percent thats important or is it the particular habitat -Areas set aside for conservation are often useless desolate areas of little commercial value ex. Plan-Nord in Quebec: By 2015, 12% of land set for conservation and by 2035, 50%... But the extra 38% in non-claimed areas (areas that you dont really need to protect because there's no one there to begin with) Major gaps exist in the tropics (although targets were met) simply because diversity is higher - Many island-endemic species are missed - Many species with really small ranges are often missed - Gap analyses is useful to show us where the problems are.

Answer 234

Complex algorithms are used to minimise the costs / benefits ratio Based on: a) Well-defined quantitative goals and objectives b) Existing geographical and biological information c) Available $ resources Spits out a solution (if any) with the cheapest scenario meeting the goals

Answer 235

Cape Floristic Region of South Africa: Global hotspot of biodiversity. Smallest biome in the world (Fynbos) 70 % of its plants are endemic. 1406 threatened plant species. 30 % converted… accelerating ->Quantitative targets were set with levels of priority based on gap analyses. No monetary constraints. ->Target units: divided over 3000 3900-ha squares overlaid on map ->Gathered all available information on GIS layers ->Vegetation cover, animal populations, distribution of plant species, ecosystem processes, land use, existing reserves, etc… ->Based on satellite imagery and expert knowledge 7-stage selection process: Stage 0: sort of a gap analysis, existing protected areas Stage 1: areas essential for ecosystem processes Stage 2: irreplaceability (species and vegetation types found in only one square) ->After these 3 stages: target was met for 53, 97 and 97.5 % of vegetation types, proteaceae and vertebrates respectively Stage 3: mammals (an extra 16% of the total area) Etc… Final plan says: they can achieve all conservation goals set with 52.3% of the total area - >This translates into $912 M for land acquisition and $592M for maintenance of reserves - >But the general approach can, more realistically, include a monetary component. BUT… even the most complex algorithms based on current distributions don’t account for climate change *Many highland plants face severe range reduction/ disappearance

Answer 236

Current predictive models do a questionable job at very large spatial scales… no predictions for local changes and microclimates (protected area may become outside species range over time) Best ideas: 1) Creation of dynamic rather than static conservation plans with regular re-assessment 2) Concentrate on other problems (e.g. invaders) to alleviate potential multiplicative effects 3) Set up new reserves with an escape plan in mind e.g. Protected land in areas currently outside range with efficient corridors

Answer 237

Once a reserve has been set, you may think the story is over… but: Meeting the goals (long-term persistence of biodiversity by separating it from threats) requires a lot more work - Regulations need to be enforced - Ecosystem and population processes may need help - Reserves are permeable to some threats - Individuals do not only occur in reserves - Parts of the reserve may need to be restored

Answer 238

- There will always be conflicts between reserves and some people. If regulations are not enforced, we have a paper park. - Effectiveness of tropical parks compared to Western Parks is not good. We can easily see why. - >Another key aspect of reserve success is level of support from local communities (If at all possible, public needs to be informed of benefits and engaged in the decision-making process)

Answer 239

-In terms of managing ecosystem processes, we have learned from our mistakes: -Managing for game species (e.g. removal of predators) does not work. -Gardening does not work -Overprotection does not work (e.g. forest fires) ->For years, fires were seen as the enemy in Yellowstone National Park. But they are part of natural processes (regeneration, germination, etc…) ->Controlling small fires lead to a massive increase in standing burnable biomass

Answer 240

- Whole idea started with feral horses in the mid-west - Culling was made illegal - Public did not like the contraception idea at all!! Population tripled in 10 years, and outcompeted commercial cattle Loophole: still allowed to be sent to slaughter (they could harvest the house meat)

Answer 241

Elephants in South Africa: population explosions due to water holes and farming— Conflict with local human populations and changes in plant community structure -Culling (up to 400 individuals a year in some reserves) does not make animal right activists happy -Dart guns and helicopters are used to inject birth control substances Pros: - population growth rate can be tightly controlled - who reproduces can be controlled - keeps everyone ‘happy’ Cons: - very expensive - works only on small populations - long-term effects… can’t stop reproduction completely Future: (neither happened) - large-scale oral contraception programs - development of targeted substances

Answer 242

The boundary of a reserve are permeable to some threats to biodiversity (e.g. introduced species) ex. Petite Manan Island, National Wildlife Refuge off the coast of Maine - >Historical nesting ground for endangered (COSEWIC) roseate terns-> “Invaded” by herring gulls

Answer 243

ex. Beautiful Restigouche River in NW NB: - >Salmon population has been declining - >Cold rapid waters are good habitat for juveniles - >But not found everywhere so people are trying to change the habitat to allow greater chance/circumstances for juveniles to exist

Answer 244

Reserves are generally too small to encompass the full range of a species or an ecosystem process However-- A successful reserve will actually become a source population with individuals “spilling over” -Management outside reserves can play an important role in the overall conservation of biodiversity

Answer 245

Often if threats to biodiversity are removed, natural ecosystems will recover on their own. But… other cases require major human intervention ex. alberta oil sands, or dumps

Answer 246

Rehabilitation: Transforming degraded habitat into functioning ecosystem (without considering original state) -Wasteland to wetland after gravel pit closure. Improved ecosystem services.

Answer 247

Complete restoration: Bring everything back to original state. No action: if there is evidence that all the original species will recolonize and structural components are still there… doing nothing is a good option But in most cases, serious actions need to be taken -Most important step… stop further degradation by restoring ecosystem processes Could include: - replanting to stabilize shore and reduce erosion - remove a polluted layer of soil - removal of man-made structures such as tidal barriers, dams, roads, etc…

Answer 248

Kissimmee watershed restoration project: Initially, 7700 km2 basin and 216 km river ->Flood control program led to drastic changes in the 50s and 60s "with our arrogance.." -Several dams were built -Massive channel dug up in the middle of formally meandering river - 60 km of river and 40 000 acres of flood plains lost - Increase nutrient load to the Everglades Lead to: - 92% decrease in use by waterfowl - Wading birds replaced by cattle egret - Low/no flow resulted in lower oxygen levels - Replacement of sport-fishing species by eutrophic specialists - Switch in invertebrate community Billion-dollar restoration project started: -Channel refilled with original dirt -Dams and water control removed -Hydrology returned to natural state Response of living things? -Game fish doubled, Wading birds tripled, Ducks… 30 X increase However natural plant community is not recovering as well: -Many dominant plant species are not expanding -Several local extinctions -The idea of using seed bank (from original soil) did not work -Future efforts will be put in reintroductions

Answer 249

involve breeding or rearing in artificial conditions followed by release in the wild through: 1) Reintroduction: establishing a new population where once naturally existed 2) Restocking: helping natural populations by increasing number of individuals, or by preventing bottleneck 3) Introduction: establishing a new population outside of natural range *important implications for climate change (photoperiod temp) ex. Seed banks throughout the world hold 10% of plant species -Kept for a long time at very cold temperature -Switch from domesticated to wild endangered species

Answer 250

-Necessary when conditions in nature make extinction highly likely -Rather than leaving the last individuals die, they are captured ->Zoos, aquaria and botanical gardens have come a long way and are now plays roles actors in ex situ conservation program

Answer 251

For various reasons, some species reproduce poorly in captivity ->Recent progress in human fertility and veterinary science are helping: in vitro fertilization, hormone treatments and surrogate parents

Answer 252

ex. Przewalski’s horses, native to Asian’s steppes - Went extinct in the wild in late 60s - One captive population remained (after problems with the Ukraine population during WW2) - Reintroduction worked, but…problems with inbreeding. ex. 300 lions in zoos around the world Virtual population: frozen sperm and artificial insemination ->Good documentation of genetics

Answer 253

Like in nature, aggregations make captive populations more vulnerable to catastrophes E.g. Miami zoo aviary (hurricane caused species grief)

Answer 254

ex. Mallorcan midwife toad--Alytes muletensis: - Endemic to Majorca Island - Populations mysteriously declined - Breeding program was started and was successful - But… in only 12 generations, they adapted to easy captive life (no predators)

Answer 255

Many crucial behaviours are not innate… learned from social interactions -Food recognition, migrations, hunting, predator avoidance (you need parents or other individuals to teach you) ex. operation migration

Answer 256

- Close proximity of conspecifics (same sp) - Close proximity of heterospecifics - Possibility of infecting wild populations if released -> novelty ex. Whooping crane: In 1983, important mortality due to eastern equine encephalitis virus

Answer 257

Costs of raising animals (especially large ones) is often more than land conservation approach -Black rhino = 50 times more But… 200 million people visit zoos and aquaria annually =Great opportunity for raising conservation funds ->Amazing opportunity to educate the public and ally them to the cause (however we are not the masters of environment and we do not want to engrain this into the public)

Answer 258

- should extinct animals like the wooly mammoth be cloned? | - tedtalk

Answer 259

- Last resort… should not be done without absolute necessity - Care needs to be taken to keep many populations and manage genetic diversity - Organisms should be kept in conditions as natural as possible - If done properly, can be extremely beneficial: saves species from extinction and increases public awareness

Answer 260

A reintroduction will not succeed if problem leading to initial extirpation is not fixed ->Sometimes released individuals need a little help at first ->Involving the public greatly increase chances of success and general awareness

Answer 261

Source of individuals: individuals from original population | not always available

Answer 262

-Helping natural populations by increasing number of individuals, or by preventing bottleneck -Same considerations as for reintroduction -Biological information often enables to identify demographic bottlenecks -When possible, the effect of the bottlenecks can be reduced artificially

Answer 263

Spiny soft-shelled turtle in Québec and Ontario: -A few small populations, endangered (COSEWIC) -Mostly adults, juveniles almost absent -Nesting habitat (sandy beaches) are being destroyed or disturbed by human activity -Nest predation by racoons is high -Frequent flooding of nests in agricultural areas -Hatchling predation by birds (herons) -Clearly a problem with survival from egg to juvenile stages -> bottleneck SO Eggs collected from natural nests, and hatched in laboratory (zoos) and then released as juveniles -> bypassing bottleneck

Answer 264

-Establishing a new population outside of natural range when conditions in historical range are no longer adequate -Invasive predator is well established, original habitat is completely destroyed, etc… -Options: keep ex situ population forever or release somewhere else -Suitability of introduction sites -Potential effects on ecosystems of introduction site -Work needs to be done quickly to understand factors affecting success / risk of becoming invasive -More and more introduction programs are likely to be needed with the increasing effects of global warming

Midterm 1 Flashcards

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