conservationist
A conservationist is someone who advocates or practices the sustainable and careful use of natural resources. Foresters who prudently manage forests, hunters and fishers who harvest wild animal populations sustainably, and farmers who practice the wise use of soil and water are all conservationists. Citizens who are concerned about the use of natural resources are also conservationists and sometimes they assert that the activities of foresters, fishers, farmers, and other natural resource users are not prudent, sustainable, or wise. In theory, arguments over who is, or is not, a conservationist should turn on the issue of what is sustainable. In practice, most foresters, farmers, ranchers, and others –many of whom are careful stewards of the lands and waters they control –have ceded the title “conservationist” to their critics.
Area sensitive
Probability of occurrence increases with size of fragment
Drawbacks of habitat corridors
• Can facilitate movement of pest species, disease
• Potentially greater predation risk to dispersing animals (edge effects, hunters)
• Often expensive (land purchase)
IUCN Protected Area categories
Ia Strict reserve
Ib Wilderness area
II National park
III Natural monument
IV Habitat/species management area
V Protected land/seascape
VI Managed-resource area
Biological consequences of fragmentation
• If no single patch is large enough to meet requirements of an individual or species, need access to other habitat patches in vicinity
• Many species need access to a variety of habitat types (i.e. food sites, nest sites, roost sites)
• Dispersal barriers can cause rapid decline to extinction
• Dispersal barriers are species specific
Roads, some landscape types, fences, pipelines
Carrying capacity (K)
Carrying capacity (K) is the number of individuals the environment can support indefinitely, given fluctuations in resources in the environment. Maximum sustainable yield
Allee effect
The Allee effect is a phenomenon in biology characterized by a correlation between population size or density and the mean individual fitness (often measured as per capita population growth rate) of a population or species.
tragedy of the commons
tragedy of the commons is a metaphoric label for a concept that is widely discussed in economics, ecology and other sciences. According to the concept, should a number of people enjoy unfettered access to a finite, valuable resource such as a pasture, they will tend to over-use it, and may end up destroying its value altogether. To exercise voluntary restraint is not a rational choice for individuals – if they did, the other users would merely supplant them – yet the predictable result is a tragedy for all.
shifting baseline
A shifting baseline (also known as a sliding baseline) is a type of change to how a system is measured, usually against previous reference points (baselines), which themselves may represent significant changes from an even earlier state of the system.
Institutions that govern wildlife trade
The international trade in wild animals and plants is governed by CITES. This global binding agreement ensures that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species.
CITES
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
Appendix I: species threatened with extinction
Appendix II: not threatened, but trade must be controlled
Appendix III: species protected in at least one country
Lumpers and splitters
Lumpers and splitters are opposing factions in any discipline that has to place individual examples into rigorously defined categories. The lumper–splitter problem occurs when there is the desire to create classifications and assign examples to them, for example schools of literature, biological taxa and so on. A "lumper" is a person who assigns examples broadly, judging that differences are not as important as signature similarities. A "splitter" is one who makes precise definitions, and creates new categories to classify samples that differ in key ways.
Ecological restoration approaches
No action
restoration too expensive, or system will regenerate itself
Rehabilitation
replacement of highly degraded ecosystem with a different ecosystem
•Partial restoration
restoring certain (often dominant) native species
Complete restoration
restoring a degraded area to its original composition
Homogenization of habitat
Common species are becoming more common
The population size or range (or both) of the majority of species (less common) across a range of taxonomic groups is declining
homogenization of species
Threats on rainforests
~ 140,000 km2 of rainforest is being lost each year
On a global scale 61% of rainforest destruction results from small scale cultivation
21% results from commercial logging
11% cattle ranching
7% clearing for cash crops, roads, pipelines
Threats of grasslands
from 15 million ha of tall grass prairie to 1400 ha
Impact of fishing
biomass of targeted species reduced by >90% since onset of industrial fishing
average trophic level decreasing
mean body size (for a species) decreasing
Minimum dynamic area
Area of suitable habitat necessary to maintain MVP
Estimation:
home range sizes
consider differential habitat use!
(partial) migration
Five/six mass extinctions
average extinction rate
9% of species per Million years
1 species per 5-27 years
Current extinction rate: 1,000-10,000 times as much (1 species an hour)
Causes of extinction and endangerment
habitat destruction
habitat fragmentation
habitat degradation
pollution
overexploitation
invasive species
disease
Extinction vulnerability: Major factors
Narrow geographical range
Small # of populations
Small population size
Negative population size trends
Harvested/hunted species
that need large home range
w/large body size
w/low genetic diversity
w/specialized niche requirements
found in pristine environments that form (temporary) aggregations
w/ no prior human contact
w/close relatives that went extinct
Earths energy budget
Correlation between CO2 and temperature
positive radiative forcings
Processes that
warm the Earth’s surface and
atmosphere
greenhouse gases
direct solar radiation
deforestation
negative radiative forcings
Processes that cool the Earth’s surface and atmosphere
aerosols (small particulates suspended in the atmosphere) reflect solar energy back into space and lower Earth’s temperature
SO 2 (car exhaust and coal powered electrical plants) forms aerosols
Strength of radiative forcings
IPCC
The IPCC is a scientific intergovernmental body set up by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Climate Change: Predicted impacts on the physical environment
• Rising temperatures
• Variable precipitation trends
• More extreme weather (heat waves, flooding, drought, storms)
• Sea level rise (e.g. glacier melting)
Aichi biodiversity targets
Die Aichi-Ziele (Aichi Biodiversity Targets) sind Zielerklärungen für den weltweiten Biodiversitätsschutz. Sie wurden bei der 10. Vertragsstaatenkonferenz der Biodiversitätskonvention im Jahr 2010 in Nagoya, Präfektur Aichi, verabschiedet. Die Ziele sollten bis 2020 erreicht werden.
Im September 2020 wurde durch den vom Sekretariat der Konvention veröffentlichten fünften „Global Biodiversity Outlook“ („5. Globaler Bericht zur Lage der biologischen Diversität“) bekannt, dass keines dieser Ziele bis zum Fristende vollständig erreicht werden wird.[1] Auf der 15. Vertragsstaatenkonferenz (COP15) der UN-Konvention vom 17. bis 30. Mai 2021 in Kunming, Volksrepublik China, soll eine Nachfolge-Rahmenvereinbarung (Global Biodiversity Framework, ‘A New Deal for Nature and People’) beschlossen werden
Net primary productivity (NPP)
Net primary production (NPP) is the amount of biomass or carbon produced by primary producers per unit area and time, obtained by subtracting plant respiratory costs (Rp) from gross primary productivity (GPP) or total photosynthesis.
preservationist
A preservationist advocates allowing some places and some creatures to exist without significant human interference. Most people accept the idea that conservation encompasses setting aside certain areas as parks and protecting certain species without harvesting them. The divisive issues are: how many and which areas, and which species. Many resource users believe that enough areas have already been closed to economic use, and they use “preservationist” as a negative term for people they consider to be extremists. Ironically, in the case of some set asides, like marine reserves, their preservation boosts fish harvests in surrounding areas. Nevertheless, because of this pejorative use, relatively few people call themselves preservationists. People who find themselves labeled preservationists by others usually prefer to think of preservation as just one plank in their platform as conservationists.
environmentalist
An environmentalist is someone who is concerned about the impact of people on environmental quality ingeneral. Air and water pollution are often the proximate concerns; human overpopulation and wasteful use of resources are the ultimate issues. There is enormous overlap between environmentalists and conservationists. Many environmentalists would say that environmentalism encompasses conservation, while many conservationists would say the reverse. The difference is a matter of emphasis. By focusing on air and water pollution and their root causes, environmentalists often emphasize urban, suburban, and agricultural situations where human‐induced problems and human well‐being are paramount. Because conservationists focus on natural resource use, they tend to emphasize the rural areas and wildlands where natural resources are most abundant, as well as associated ecosystems and organisms, including people who might live there.
ecologist
Traditionally, an ecologist is a scientist who studies the relationships between organisms and their environments. However, in the 1970s when concern for the environment first bloomed widely around the planet, the term developed a second meaning when the public failed to distinguish between environmentalists (activists) and the scientists (ecologists) who provided the scientific basis for the environmental movement. Now “ecologist” is often used in the popular press as a synonym for “environmentalist.” Given this, a broader definition of an ecologist is a person who is concerned about the relationships between organisms (including people) and their environments.
Net Primary Productivity (NPP)
NPP is the energy from the sun transformed into plant biomass
NPP is the base of entire food web
Humans use 20 30% of all NPP globally
.....
Ecological Footprint
Quantifies the area of biologically productive land and water use to supply human resource needs (crops, fish, meat, forest products, energy and built up lands) and, to some extent, to absorb its wastes.
Importantly, ecological footprint analyses indicate which activities generate the greatest demands on Earth's biocapacity
Conservation biology as a modern discipline
Synthetic discipline
ecology, biogeography, population genetics, evolutionary biology, population biology, economics, anthropology, philosophy, sociology, public health, mathematical modeling, etc.
Combines traditionally academic fields (population biology, genetics) with applied fields (fisheries, wildlife biology, land management)
Focus on combining scientific research with real world problems to develop pro active solutions
Three guiding principles of conservation
Evolution is the basic axiom that unites all of biology (the evolutionary
The ecological world is dynamic and largely nonequilibrial (the ecological
The human presence must be included in conservation planning (humans are part of the play)
Goal of conservation biology
Not to stop evolutionary change
Not to maintain the status quo
Ensure that populations may continue to respond to environmental change in an adaptive manner
Why should we care about genetic variation?
Genetic variation is the material for future adaptation
Genetic variation is essential for the ability to respond to environmental change
Rate of change in a population is proportional to the level of genetic diversity available
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms
Als Single Nucleotide Polymorphism, kurz SNP, werden in der Genetik verschiedene Variationen einzelner Basenpaare (single nucleotids) an einer bestimmten Stelle des Genoms bezeichnet.
levels of genetic diversity pools
Heterozygosity: Variation within individuals
Inter-population variation: Genetic difference among populations
Intra-population variation: Genetic difference among individuals within a population
Inbreeding coefficient F
likelyhood of two alleles being the same by decent
depends on di/tri-ploidie
Heterozygosity
refers to having inherited different versions (alleles) of a genomic marker from each biological parent. Thus, an individual who is heterozygous for a genomic marker has two different versions of that marker.
one way to measure genetic variation within individuals.
Genetic Variation within individuals
Mutation is the ultimate source of all genetic variation
Each (diploid) individual two alleles per locus (except some sex chromosomes)
Mutations occur when DNA is changed (error in replication)
Can alter expression of genes causes changes in functionality or even morphology
Specific consequences of inbreeding depression
Increased degrees of developmental asymmetry (general measure of developmental stability)
Declines in metabolic efficiency
Decreased growth rate
Negative impact on reproductive physiology
Decreased disease resistance
Genetic Variation among individuals
Allele frequencies change over time
Mutation
Natural selection
Genetic drift
Gene flow
Changes in population size
Non-random mating (some individuals reproduce more than others)
locus
Locus (lat: Ort pl.: Loci) bzw. Genlocus (Genort) nennt man die physikalische Position eines Gens im Genom. Besteht das Genom aus mehreren Chromosomen, ist die Position innerhalb des Chromosoms gemeint, auf dem sich das Gen befindet.
Drift
loss of genetic variation within populations (not everyone reproduces)
increase of difference between populations
Change in gene frequency due to chance
Can be an important evolutionary force
Small vs. large populations
Population bottlenecks
Founder events: Small group from a larger population start a new one
Examples of Drift
PereDavid’s Deer
Major genetic bottleneck
Originally from China; now extinct
Only known in zoos
Northern Elephant Seal
Population size reduced significantly due to hunting
Less genetic variation than southern elephant seals
Human examples:
Dutch settlers in South Africa, Afrikaners
Kuna Indians of San Blas Islands off Panama
Genetically effective population size (Ne)
not all individuals have the same likelihood of contributing genes to the next generation
generally smaller than the census population size (N)
Relationship of N: Ne influenced by sex ratio, changes in population size, taxonomic group
(Genetic) Selection
Selection pressure causing change in allele frequencies
Can also be an important evolutionary force
Environmental selection
Sexual selection
Genetic Variation among populations
Species don’t generally occur as panmictic populations spread across the landscape
Usually genetic differences between populations isolated across the landscape
Metapopulation:
A group or network of populations, each somewhat isolated from each other that are connected by migration (gene flow).
A population within the metapopulation can go extinct and be recolonized from another population.
greater life expectancy (i.e. probability of survival) than a single, isolated population
Degree of genetic similarity among populations depends on level of gene flow (frequency of movement of individuals among populations)
Vulnerable to perturbations of core populations
Habitat corridors
Strips of suitable habitat running between larger tracts of protected habitat
Promoting dispersal suitable for movement; not necessarily for all other activities
Even more important now, in the face of climate change
Can be as small as 50-200 m wide!
• Potentially greater predation risk to dispersing animals (edge
effects, hunters)
Steps in corridor design
• Define study area
• Identify reserves to connect
• Identify focal species
• Is there any evidence for historical connectivity?
• Determine habitat suitability for focal species
• Identify threats and opportunities e.g. encroachment, poaching vs. restoration
• Should core habitat patches be designed along the corridors? (distance vs vagility
• Determine least cost paths / resistances and combine them with known dispersal routes
• Design corridors along suitable/restorable habitat along least cost paths and/or known dispersal routes
Reintroduced:
Intentionally released individuals of a native
species that was locally endangered or extinct.
core population
population within a meta population network that is reproductively connected to multiple others
if lost network might fail
Allel
Ein Allel ist eine Variante eines Gens, welche die Ausprägung eines Merkmals steuert.
Microsatellites
Mikrosatelliten (synonym Simple Sequence Repeats, SSR, short tandem repeats, STR) sind kurze, meist nichtcodierende DNA-Sequenzen von zwei bis sechs Basenpaaren Länge, die im Genom eines Organismus oft wiederholt werden. Oftmals konzentrieren sich viele Wiederholungen am selben Locus (Position einer Sequenz).
Genuine progress indicator
a national-level measure of economic growth and prosperity. GPI is an alternative metric to GDP but which accounts for externalities such as pollution. As such, GPI is considered to be a better measure of growth from the perspective of green or social economics.
alpha Biodiversity
biodiversity richness (of an area)
beta diversity
difference of biodiversity between regions
Bray-Curtis-Index
β diversity-index
Why preserve gradients?
1) Natural selection along gradients is a powerful driver of adaptive variation
2) Given climate change preserving them may offer a bet hedging approach
3) Transitional environments may harbor many rare species, in addition to high richness
Ecoregions
• Distinct assemblage of natural communities & ecological conditions
• Characteristic group of dominant & widespread species
• 867 terrestrial ecoregions
• Comprehensive descriptions of higher level landscape diversity
gamma biodiversity
biodiversity indice in larger areas
evenness
measure of biodiversity eqality between populations in different areas
Simpson Index
α diversity index
shannon index
α-diversity index
Gross domestic product
GDP per capita is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes (less subsidies) not included in the valuation of output, divided by mid-year population.
biodiversity
The variety of living organisms considered at all levels of organization, including the genetic, species, and higher taxonomic levels; and the variety of habitats and ecosystems, as well as the processes occurring there in.
keystone species
Certain species or resources may be more important than others with respect to ecological function
Why high diversity in tropics?
• High amount of solar energy
• Long periods of relative climatic stability
• Favorable conditions for growth and survival of many species
• Conditions also favorable for large number of different niches
• Large continuous areas of favorable habitat
Non consumptive use value of biodiversity
• ecosystem services e.g. wetlands, protection of water and soil resources, regulation of world climate, e.g. plants fix carbon and produce the oxygen
• recreation and ecotourism
• education and scientific value (estimated value of $72 trillion per year)
Prospecting for nature’s chemical riches
Most medical prescriptions are formulations based on plant or microbial products or derivatives
New therapies for major diseases such as AIDS or cancer may be found in tropical forests
WHO estimate: 2 4 billion people worldwide use traditional medicines as primary care
gene flow
individuals of one populations meate within another one
increase of genetic variation within populations
decrease of genetic variation between populations
might both de- or increase fitness of populations (positiv/negative alleles relative to environment)
Threats of introduced species
Predation
Competition
Spread of disease
Genetic and evolutionary impacts
Invading species characteristics
High fecundity
Ability to spread vegetatively
Parthenogenetic reproduction
Hermaphroditic reproduction
Broad physiological tolerance
Broad diet
But this doesn’t explain all successes or
failures...
Species based control
Physical control: trapping, digging up, or otherwise removing (generally by hand) individual invaders
Works if the invasion is relatively limited (geographically) and contained
Chemical control: pesticides, herbicides, etc.
Can be used if invasion is on a broader scale
Potential problems
effects on non target, native taxa
creates a disturbance that could increase
invasibility of the community
Biological control: release of a predator, parasite, or pathogen to reduce the population of the invader
May have negative effects on native species!!
Ia Strict reserve Scientific:
research; outstanding ecosystems/species
Ib Wilderness area:
Pristine habitat, managed to keep them that way
II National park:
Ecosystem protection, managed to exclude exploitation, provide recreational opportunities that are sustainable/compatible
III Natural monument:
Conservation of specific natural features of outstanding or unique value
IV Habitat/species management area:
Conservation through management intervention to ensure requirements for particular species
V Protected land/seascape:
Conservation of landscape features, providing for recreation; also cultural landscapes
VI Managed resource area:
Managed for sustainable use; protection of biodiversity, while also meeting human needs
Theory of Island Biogeography
Number of species on an island reflects a balance between the rate at which new species colonize it and the rate at which populations of established species become extinct.
Relaxation
Loss of species from an island once it has become isolated from the mainland
• Some species are more extinction prone than others
• Relaxation has been dominated in areas that were previously connected to extensive wild areas
• One of the most common patterns recovered is of (1) crowding followed by (2) relaxation
Minimum viable population
MVP––“smallest pop in isolation with 99% chance of surviving 1000
what to consider when creating a protected area
Threats of introduced species (Interference competition)
directly between individuals via aggression, interfering with activities (e.g., foraging, reproduction) or preventing establishment in habitat.
Threats of introduced species (Exploitation competition)
indirectly through a common limiting resource (e.g., food, space).
Quantifying a species’ impact (formula)
I = R x A x E
R = Range occupied by the species
A = Abundance across the range
E = “per capita effect”; amount of change caused by single individual
Last changed5 months ago