Week 1 Questions

Question 1

Successfully restoring wildlife populations depends upon knowledge of what?

Answer 1

• ecological principles
  o population ecology and genetics, bioenergetics, etc.
• Hard sciences: geography, chemistry, and physics
• Soft sciences: economics, sociology, and politics
• team approach

Question 2

What are three difficulties with establishing a historic restoration point?

Answer 2

1. We don’t know the historical time period
2. Hard to know what ecological conditions existed during that time period
3. We don’t know If those historical conditions are ecologically appropriate today

Question 3

What is trophic cascade?

Answer 3

When the addition or removal of an organism results in a shift of the trophic food web

Question 4

Reference ecosystems provide four key types of baseline information needed to direct a restoration plan; what are these?

Answer 4

• defining what the original condition was compared to the present (composition, structure, processes, functions),
• determining what factors caused the degradation,
• defining what needs to be done to restore the ecosystem,
• developing criteria for measuring the success of the restoration.

Question 5

Describe the four basic reference ecosystem models

Answer 5

1. Contemporary restoration sites
   - Same location, same time
2. Historic models of restoration sites
   - Same location, different time
3. Contemporary remnants
   - Different location, Same time
4. Historic remnants
   - Different location, different time

Question 6

What is the difference between ‘ecological restoration’ and ‘restoration ecology’?

Answer 6

Restoration ecology = the scientific process of developing theory to guide restoration and using restoration to advance ecology

Ecological restoration = the practice of restoring degraded ecological systems

Question 7

Why is it challenging to identify the ‘natural condition’ (3 main points, explain them)?

Answer 7

• Historical conditions are difficult to define
• We often look at short-term data (unreliable)
• Invasive/alien species - how far back to go in deciding whether a species is native or exotic

Question 8

When developing a restoration plan, one should develop goals based upon what three sources of knowledge?

Answer 8

• (1) historic conditions,
• (2) current regional conditions, and
• (3) species-specific requirements

Question 9

When developing a restoration plan, consider three restoration principles; what are these?

Answer 9

• do not attempt to restore what cannot be achieved.
• Use historical conditions as reference, but be (ecologically) realistic with what can be achieved
• clearly and openly state—and justify goals

Question 10

Under the BC Wildlife Act, what is the formal definition of ‘wildlife’?

Answer 10

‘all native and some non-native amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals that live in B.C.,’

Question 11

Why is an ecosystem approach needed to restore wildlife populations?

Answer 11

• An ecosystem context also necessitates understanding the role of humans in modifying environments, habitats, and wildlife populations
• Understanding wildlife in an ecosystem context requires an understanding of the following:
  o population dynamics,
  o evolutionary context of organisms, populations, and species,
  o interactions between species that affect their persistence,
  o influence of the abiotic environment on the vitality of organisms

Question 12

Given all the uncertainties discussed, how can these be managed when developing a wildlife restoration plan (3)?

Answer 12

• clearly stating specific goals for each restoration project
• providing clear justification for your goals and approaches,
• include a thorough analysis of historical conditions and the role humans played (i.e., thoroughly understand the system)