Conservation Biology and Restoration Ecology

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Chapter 55

• Conservation Biology and Restoration Ecology

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I. Humans Threaten Biodiversity

• Three levels of Biodiversity
• Genetic
• Species
• Ecosystem
• Major Threats
• Habitat destruction
• Introduced species
• Overexploitation
• Disruption of Interaction Networks

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LE 55-2
Genetic diversity in a vole population
Species diversity in a coastal redwood ecosystem
Community and ecosystem diversity across the
landscape of an entire region
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Figure 55-05
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LE 55-6
Brown tree snake, intro- duced to Guam in cargo.
Introduced kudzu thriving in South Carolina
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Figure 55-08
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II. Population Conservation

• Small population approach
• Extinction vortex
• Minimum Viable Population size
• Effective Population size
• Declining-Population Approach

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LE 55-9
Small population
Genetic drift
Inbreeding
Lower reproduction
Higher mortality
Loss of genetic variability
Reduction in individual fitness
and population adaptability
Smaller population
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LE 55-10
200
150
Number of male birds
100
50
0
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
Year
Population dynamics
100
90
80
70
Eggs hatched ()
60
50
40
30
199397
197074
197579
198084
198589
1990
Years
Hatching rate
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Figure 55-11
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LE 55-12
150
Females with cubs
Cubs
100
Number of individuals
50
0
1973
2000
1982
1991
Year
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LE 55-13
A red-cockaded woodpecker perches at the entrance
to its nest site in a longleaf pine.
Forest that cannot sustain red-cockaded
woodpeckers has high, dense undergrowth that
impacts the woodpeckers access to feeding
grounds.
Forest that can sustain red-cockaded woodpeckers
has low undergrowth.
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III. Sustaining Biotas

• Landscape Structure
• Fragmentation, edges and corridors
• Protected Areas
• Actual evapotranspiration

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LE 55-14
Natural edges. Grasslands give way to forest
ecosystems in Yellowstone National Park.
Edges created by human activity. Pronounced edges
(roads) surround clear-cuts in this photograph of
a heavily logged rain forest in Malaysia.
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Figure 55-15
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Figure 55-16
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LE 55-17
Terrestrial biodiversity hot spots
Equator
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LE 55-18
0
50
100
Kilometers
43
Yellowstone R.
Gallatin R.
Madison R.
Montana
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Wyoming
Yellowstone National Park
Shoshone R.
Montana
Idaho
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Grand Teton National Park
Snake R.
40
Wyoming
Idaho
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LE 55-21
104
Natural disasters
Human-caused disasters
Natural OR human- caused disasters
Meteor strike
1,000
Groundwater exploitation
Industrial pollution
Salination
Urbanization
Recovery time (years) (log scale)
100
Modern agriculture
Volcanic eruption
Acid rain
Flood
Nuclear bomb
Forest fire
Tsunami
Slash burn
Oil spill
Land- slide
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Tree fall
Lightning strike
1
1
103
101
102
104
1,000
100
10
Spatial scale (km2) (log scale)
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IV. Restoration Ecology

• Bioremediation
• Biological augmentation
• Sustainability