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conservation biology
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| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is conservation biology? | Conservation biology is an integrated, multi-disciplinary science (pure and applied) that aims to prevent the loss of biodiversity by preserving species and ecosystems |
| What are the 3 goals of conservation biology? goal 1 | To document the full range of biodiversity on Earth |
| What are the 3 goals of conservation biology? goal 2 | To investigate human impact on species, genetic variation, and ecosystems |
| What are the 3 goals of conservation biology? goal 3 | To develop practical approaches to prevent the extinction of species, maintain genetic diversity within species, and protect and restore biological communities and their associated ecosystem functions |
| What 3 factors does conservation biology regard? | Social, economic and political factors |
| Why is conservation biology referred to as a crisis discipline? | Crisis discipline because of the nature in which decisions are made, often they are time pressured,research limited thus thorough investigation of issues is often not possible. |
| How is conservation biology different from other disciplines in biology, such as genetics and physiology? | Conservation biology is a multidisciplinary approach and science, it represents a synthesis of basic sciences (genetics and physiology are a basic science and are limited in their adaptability to resource management) |
| What is the difference between conservationism and preservationism? | Conservationism is research heavy and lies in the realm of academia and the goal is still to provide practical solutions that managers can use in real situations. Its not directly preventative |
| How does conservation biology differ from environmentalism? | Environmentalism based around concerned about action that is aimed at protecting the environment, which is like conservation biology. But it is more of a socialogical term. |
| What are the various hierarchical levels for studying conservation biology? | Genetic material, gene pools, populations, species , habitats, communities, ecosystems, biosphere. |
| What are the underlying principles of conservation biology, outlined by Michael Soulé? | Compared conservation biology to global warfare regarding the crisis discipline and acting before having all information available |
| What are soules five postulates? | 1.The diversity of organisms is good 2.The untimely extinction of populations and species is bad 3.Ecological complexity is good 4.Evolution is good 5.Biological diversity has intrinsic value |
| Discuss the scientific method as it applies to conservation biology | Scientific method normally is based upon systematic, observation measurement and experimentation to prove or disprove hypothesis based upon observations and measurements. Conservation biology lacks the ability to properly research. |
| Who is Rachel Carson? | Rachel Carson (1907 – 1964) wrote the book Silent spring (1962), documented role of pesticides and the chemical industry and relation to losses in bird population. |
| What is biological diversity? | Is the variety of all living organisms that occur on the planet, this can be split into three groups to which biological diversity is based |
| Define species diversity? | Species diversity: All species on Earth, from single-cell bacteria to blue whales |
| Define genetic diversity? | Genetic diversity: The genetic variation within species, both among geographically separate populations and among individuals within single populations |
| Define ecosystem diversity? | Ecosystem diversity: The different biological communities and their associations with the chemical and physical environment (the ecosystem |
| Biodiversity is often considered in terms of numbers of species. How else can biodiversity be evaluated? | Genetic diversity, and comunity/ ecosystem diversity |
| What is the biological species concept? | •Two taxa are considered distinct species, if they do not interbreed•Reproductive isolation is the key to the BSC•BSC works well for defining species when taxa are sympatric (occur together in an area) |
| What is phylogenitic species concept? | Populations of one species share a common ancestor•Taxa are distinguished on the basis of one fixed character •PSC resolves the allopatric taxa problem |
| How can species concepts influence conservation? (Biological species concept) | Does not capture true diversity, because it relegates allopatric species to being subspecies•(Sub) species go extinct, because they are “below the radar” of conservation |
| How can species concepts influence conservation? (Phylogenetic species concept) | Creates many new species (subspecies become species), no longer able to interbreed with its common ancestor.•Which gene sequence or trait characteristic should be used to determine monophyletic groups? |
| How does speciation occur? | Typically starts with one whole ancestral population, Geographical isolation can form separate populations so contact barrier of some form. Hybridisation (population split and remerged, time dependant), Reproductive isolation |
| Distiguish between alpha, beta and gamma diversity? (Alpha) | Number of species in a certain community or designated area eg Species per mountain |
| Distinguish between alpha, beta and gamma diversity? (Beta) | Links Gamma/Alpha diversity. It represents the rate of change of species composition along an environmental or geographical gradient. Compares variety of birds or fish for example in separate neighbouring locations (eg mountains or lakes) |
| Distinguish between alpha, beta and gamma diversity? (Gamma) | Provides a sense of how 'unique" an area is, provides a measure of endemism. |
| What are trophic levels and trophic cascades? | Trophic levels is a organised system whereby the categorisation of energy flow is obtained from the environment |
| What are the trophic levels? | Primary producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, decomposers and detritivores, disease- causing organisms. |
| What are trophic cascades? | Trophic levels is a organised system whereby the categorisation of energy flow is obtained from the environment |
| What are flagship taxa? | Commonly known species which is often a large “charismatic megafauna” species which creates symbolic value and acts as an ambassador to an ecosystem, or environmental issue. |
| What are indicator species? | Is a species that is associated with an endangered biological community or a set of unique ecosystem processes. For example, when the red-cockaded woodpecker in the south eastern US |
| What are extinction trajectories? | They are the prediction of extinction rates well into the future based upon current human activities. Generally these have a best and worst case scenario. |
| What is an extinction vortex? | The smaller a population becomes the more vulnerable it is to demographic variation, environmental factors and genetic factors tend to lower reproduction, increase in mortality rates all reducing the population more driving a species towards extinction. |
| What are the 3 aspects of small-population paradigm? | Demographic stochasticity, environmental stochasticity, genetic effects |
| What is demographic stochasticity? | In small populations the dynamics of the entire population is driven by the specific fates of each of its few individuals•In contrast, the dynamics of large populations are governed by the law of averages |
| What is environmental stochasticity? | Relates to the impact of environmental affects on a population, it is normal for populations to vary in abundance, however, a small population is more vulnerable to extinction due to the inability to cope with environmental factors. |
| What are the three different ways in which species can be rare and how should conservation efforts be modified to reflect these differences? | 1.Narrow geographical range (island populations)2.Specific habitat requirements3.Small population size |
| What makes rare organisms difficult to study? | Rarity, geographical location home range, migrations, and accessibility |
| Why might range-size not be a reliable estimate of conservation status? | Some species may not be restricted in their distribution range but are still very rare (e.g. night parrot). Broken down small numbers over a large area. Rare is abundance, endemism is the range of geographic habitat |
| What does endemic mean? | Means a species is only found in a single geological location. In turn, unique to that location |
| What characteristics of species make them particularly vulnerable to extinction? | 1 – large home range2 – Animal species with large bodies3 – Species that are not effective dispersers4 – Seasonal migrants5 – Species with little genetic variation6 – Species with specialised niche requirements. |
| What are the main roles of lists of rare or endangered species? | Identifying those species most vulnerable to extinction is essential for protecting biodiversity and how categorise how rare they are |
| What are the five measures which were introduced by the IUCN in 1994 to infer conservation status and extinction probability? | 1. Species with a narrow geographical range2. Species with only one or few populations3. Species in which population size is small4. Species in which population size is declining5. Species that are hunted or harvested by people |
| What is an open population? | A population that is freely exposed to gene flow |
| What is a closed population? | one in which there is a barrier to gene flow. |
| What are some of the main factors driving colonization and local extinction of populations? | tthe establishment rates of migrant species is higher for large island then it is for small islands as dispersal to find habitat is more likely rather then creating a localised population. Population size and size of the area. |
| How can population size be estimated | Measured by number of individuals and population density. |
| Why is population size an important measurement? | it allows a general estimation of population to be obtained and from that an understanding of what some of the extinction pressures are present within a population. Eg small population size and genetic drift et |
| What is habitat fragmentation? | Uneven loss of habitat, many species are now confined to small remnants of formally continuous habitat. Prevents speceis movement between habitat patches. |
| What effects need to be considered for conservation of remnant vegetation? | Edge effects, elevated tree mortality. |
| What is maximum sustainable yield? | The largest yield that can be taken from a species stock over an indefinite period. |
| Problems with MSY? | Used extensively in fisheries management, ignores the size and age of the animal being taken and reproductive status, ignores damage to ecosystem and ignores bycatch. |
| Explain the extinction vortex part 1. | The smaller a population becomes the more vulnerable it is to demographic variation, environmental factors and genetic factors tend to lower reproduction, increase in mortality rates all reducing the population more driving a species towards extinction |
| Explain the extinction vortex part 2 | These are all aspects that create an extinction vortex. Whereby Once caught within ‘extinction vortex’ it is hard for a species to recover to a sustainable state. |
| Explain the extinction vortex part 3 | It is deemed an extinction ‘vortex’ as once one of these aspects is met with a small population size often the process towards extinction is set in motion and be it quickly or gradually onceall aspects are met then it has reached the point at the eye. |
| Main points of extinction vortex | Path to extinction accelerates as population size decreases. Population size fluctuated widely closer to extinction. |
| What is the small population paradigm | The tendency in conservation biology to study those largely stochastic factors that can result in the extinction or degradation of small populations |
| What is the declining population paradigm | Focuses on the factors that make large populations small. The study of deterministic factors that cause population decline. |
Created by:
Christopher Sundblom