1What are the three main questions (according to your textbook) that relate to the urgency of conservation plans for a population (or a species)?
How many individuals make up the population currently?
What is the trend in population size (e.g., declining, increasing, or stable?)
What is the likelihood of extinction (i.e. the populations viability)?
2What are some of the reasons (we covered three in lecture) why it is generally difficult to obtain an estimate of the number of individuals in a population for most species?
Time consuming
Expensive
Scientifically challenging
3What are some characteristics that make a species particularly hard for us to census the number of individuals in a population?
Aquatic, subterranean, or otherwise inaccessible
4Be able to explain the quadrat method for estimating the population size for a species.
Place X quadrats, count the plants in each quadrat, and use data to estimate number of plants in field
5For what kind of species are quadrats most useful?
Plants
6Be able to provide (or at least recognize) some examples of methods for estimating the relative abundance of animal populations.
Mark-Recapture, photography, and signs of presence
7What are some examples of signs that surveyors can use as evidence of an animal’s presence?
Footprints, scats, nests, burrows, vocalizations
8How does “unit of effort” play into assessing relative abundances?
Relative abundance is number of individuals spotted or trapped standardized per “unit of effort"
9Be able to explain the mark-recapture technique for estimating the population size for a species.
Mark-Recapture/Lincoln-Petersen (m/N=r/s) where N=tot.pop, m= first capture, s=second capture, r= recaptures
10For what kind of species is the mark recapture method most useful?
Mobile animals
11Be familiar with the six assumptions we covered regarding the validity of population-size estimates that come from the mark-recapture approach.
Marking does not affect survival of individuals.
Marking does not affect probability of recapture.
Upon release, marked individuals mix with entire population.
Captured individuals are representative of the whole population.
The population is closed and stable.
The marks are not lost.
12How will violations of the assumptions affect the population-size estimate (e.g., underestimate or overestimate)?
Marking affects survival of individuals. – reduced survival=overestimate
Marking affects probability of recapture. – overestimate if harder, underestimate if easier
Upon release, marked individuals don’t mix with entire population. – underestimate
Captured individuals are not representative of the whole population. - overestimate
The population isn’t closed or stable. – can cause a lot of error
The marks are lost - overestimate
13In very general terms, why/how can estimates of a population’s genetic diversity be used as an indication of past population sizes of that species?
If a small population has an inordinately large amount of genetic diversity then it probably had a larger population in the past, and if it doesn’t have a lot of genetic diversity then it probably had a similarly small population in the past
14Be able to recognize, understand, and apply the discrete time model of exponential change in a population size.
Pop in a year=per capita pop growth rate X current pop
15Formula for discrete time model
Nt+1= λNt
16Understand what lambda (λ) represents in the discrete time model
Per capita pop growth rate
17Calculate geopmetric mean formula?
formula in phone
18What is meant by the term habitat fragmentation?
Habitat fragmentation is the transformation of contiguous habitat into a patchwork of small, isolated remnants
19What is the focus of the scientific discipline called landscape ecology?
Landscape ecology focuses on effects of spatial patterning on interactions among species and their environment
20Where does landscape ecology fit within the hierarchy of levels at which ecology is studied?
between biodiversity of communities and functioning of ecosystems
21In lecture (and in the textbook), the planning of an “ideal” network of protected areas was said to consist of what four fundamental questions about the individual areas that make up the network?
How many protected areas should there be?
How big should each one be?
What shape should each one be?
How near to other protected areas should they be?
22The equilibrium theory of island biogeography is based on a balance between the rates of which two processes regarding habitat patches? (i.e., the number of species predicted to occupy a patch is determined by the rate of ____ and the rate of _____.)
Colonization and extinction
23According to the equilibrium theory of island biogeography, the rates of extinction and colonization depend on which two main characteristics of a patch of habitat?]
Size and distance from the mainland
24To what phenomenon does the term faunal relaxation refer?
The decrease in diversity following the reduction in habitat area (or “patch size”)
25To what phenomenon does the term extinction debt refer?
The number of species predicted to become extinct after a reduction in patch size
26What does the abbreviation SLOSS stand for?
Single large or several small debate
27How does the phenomenon of species nestedness relate to the SLOSS debate?
The number of species predicted to become extinct after a reduction in patch size
28Why does the SLOSS debate tend to be moot (i.e., not of practical importance) in real-world cases of designing a network of protected areas?
The SLOSS debate often become moot of the priority is not just to preserve the greatest number of species
29How does the phenomenon of species nestedness relate to the SLOSS debate?
ask wise:*\
30What geometric property of habitat patches does fragmentation affect? (Hint: Think in terms of edge and interior.)
It increases edge habitat to interior habitat
31Be able to provideecognize examples of edge effects that are due to abiotic environmental conditions as well as to changes in interspecific interactions.
Increased exposure to predators and wind etc
32Be familiar with avian examples of increased predation and brood parasitism that often occur on the edges of forest patches.
Blue jays/magpies etc
33For a patch of a given area, what shape will have the smallest edge-to-interior area ratio?
A circle
34What do ecologists mean by the term metapopulation?
A collection of spatially isolated subpopulations species that interact at some level is called a metapopulation
35In a metapopulation model, the extinction risk of an entire metapopulation depends on a balance between the rates of which two factors?
Loss from local extinction and gain from colonization
36• Be familiar with the four major simplifications that are inherent in most models of metapopulation dynamics (as listed in lecture and detailed in the textbook).
Patches are considered as either “occupied” or “unoccupied”
Complexities of population growth within subpopulations are typically ignored
Probability of colonization does not differ among patches
Probabilities of extinction does not differ among patches
37What do the variables f and f* refer to in a metapopulation model?
f=fraction of patches occupied, f*=equilibrium fraction of patches occupied
38• In terms of a metapopulation model, in order for f* to be greater than zero, the probability of which factor has to be greater than the probability of which other factor?
The probability of patch colonization (c) must be greater than the probability of patch extinction (pe)
39In the language of a metapopulation model, why does the destruction of habitat increase the probability of extinction? (Hint: think in terms of colonization success.)
Destroying habitat increases the distance between patches, thereby reducing colonization success (c)
40 Make sure to be familiar with the four “important lessons” that metapopulation models have taught conservation scientists.
1. Sites that are currently unoccupied may be essential for the long-term persistence of the metapopulation.
2. Reduced dispersal success can cause a metapopulation to become extinct.
3. A metapopulation can become extinct long before all of the habitat patches are destroyed.
4. The absolute amount of habitat that remains is of primary importance, but the arrangement and connectivity of patches can also matter.
41What do conservation scientists mean by the term dispersal corridor?
Strips of habitat that link larger habitat patches
42Be able to provideecognize the benefits that dispersal corridors can provide to species.
Provides organisms access to more (and better) habitat
Provides more opportunities to find mates
Results in larger total (and effective) population sizes
Increase heterozygosity (genetic variation) within populations
43Be able to provideecognize the cons (i.e., drawbacks or risks) that can come as side-effects of dispersal corridors.
Poorer quality habitat
Edge effects
Facilitate movement of non-native species
Facilitate movement of pathogens
Facilitate spread of fire
May serve as ecological traps
Outbreeding depression (“bad” gene flow)
Can be expensive to purchase and maintain and protect
44Be at least a little familiar with the case of the golden lion tamarin as it relates to the topics of habitat fragmentation and dispersal corridors.
They’re restricted to a few remaining fragments, 4 species, been trying to connect corridors etc
45What can heterozygosity differences among subpopulations tell us about the degree of connectedness or isolation among the subpopulations that make up a metapopulation?
Differences in heterozygosity among subpopulations indicate their degree of connectedness/isolation. A greater difference in heterozygosity GENERALLY indicates a lower degree of connection
46Real (or expected) heterozygosities within subpopulations as well as across subpopulations (HS and HT) that make up a metapopulation.
(portion of a pop that’s heterozygous), Hs (average heterozygosity of multiple pops), Ht = 2pq (p= frequency of allele p, q same thing but for q)
47In particular, make sure that you are able to interpret the value of FST to make an inference about whether conservationists ought to consider building a habitat corridor to connect subpopulations.
Higher Fst than similar species=more likely to need connection/intervention
48• What is the general definition of ecological restoration?
Assisting the recovery of habitats that have been degraded or destroyed
49• What are the three main aspects of an environment (or habitat, or area) that restoration activities will most commonly target?
Soil, hydrology, and vegetation
50• What is meant by the term remediation in the context of ecological restoration?
The active removal of pollutants from the environment
51o What is likely involved in remediating the soil of an area?
Collecting the pollutant soil and transporting it to a toxic waste facility
52• What is meant by the term bioremediation in the context of ecological restoration?
Using living organisms that can storeemove pollutants
53o What four groups (taxa) or organisms are most often applied for bioremediation projects?
Bacteria, plants, fungi, and algae
54o What kinds of organisms are used in the remediation of aquatic areas after oil spills?
Nanoparticles + bacteria (nano-enhanced bioremediation)
55• In terms of the relative productivity and stress levels of damaged areas, which combinations of factors are predicted to require active restoration, as opposed to letting spontaneous succession occur?
anything but middle
56• Historically, what plant traits were considered when choosing species to revegetate an area for ecological-restoration purposes?
The ability to control soil erosion
57o What problematic side-effect often occurred as a result of prioritizing the ability to control soil erosion above all else
Allowing invasive species such as Kudzu to take over everything
58• What is the drawback of using commercial seed mixes to revegetate an area for ecological-restoration purposes?
Non-locally sourced seeds result in poorly adapted plants and outbreeding depression with local plant species
59• In general, what is now considered the best strategy of plant choices for revegetating an area when simultaneously trying to maximize genetic variation while avoiding the risk of outbreeding depression and the creation of invasive-species problems?
To collect seeds from as many individuals as possible from a single nearby population.
60• What is meant by the nickname nurse plant?
Plant species that increase the survial of newly germinated seedlings (Mesquite trees nurse saguaro Cati)
61o What potential role can nurse plants play in ecological restoration?
Protecting developing plants and other species by making the environment safer
62o In what sort of habitat (or biome) are nurse plants especially important?
Desert climates
xeric
63• What do community ecologists mean by assembly rules, and how might that concept apply to ecological restoration?
In what order do species tend to occupy a community.
64• Why is it important that conservations describe specific reference states in the planning process for an ecological-restoration project?
It's important to define the goal of the restoration because it allows you to view that research to their overall success
65• What is meant by the phenomenon of shifting baselines in the context of planning ecological-restoration projects?
expectations for a healthy habitat shift generationally based on what people were used to in their time
66• What is the specific meaning of reintroduction in the context of the protection of a threatened or endangered species?
Re-establishing of a population that is considered extirpated (locally extinct)
67o How did the reintroduction of grey wolves in the Greater Yellowstone Region in 1995 lead to a trophic cascade? (Was this a good thing?)
It restored the ecosystems functionality because the wolves are considered the top predator of this food chain (wolves balance deer, deer dont eat all the plants, other animals come back etc
68• What is the specific meaning of translocation in the context of the protection of a threatened or endangered species, and how does it differ from reintroduction?
Introducing a species into a habit it wasn't in before
69• What does it mean that a species’ existence has become conservation reliant?
Species are reliant on continuous support from humans for survival
70o Be able to provide and/or recognize the examples we covered about species being conservation reliant
California Condor and Kirtland’s Warbler
71• What is the specific meaning of rehabilitation in the context of conservation of animals?
restoring individuals health with hopes of rereleasing
72• What is meant by ex situ conservation?
The protection of a species outside its natural habitats ie zoos etc
73o What are the four examples of types of institutions/places where ex situ conservation is practiced? (Hint: one of them is zoos.)
Zoos, Aquariums, botanical gardens and arboretums
74• What are the two strategies for banking of genetic material that were covered in lecture (and the textbook)?
Freezing/storing species seeds and individuals DNA (sperm/egg)
Ex: The Millenium seed bank (Sussex, England) & The Frozen Zoo (San Diego)
75o Identify a local place that is involved in several SSP’s.
Mill Mountain Zoo
76• Be familiar with the story of the American chestnut tree as an example of potential conservation by “de-extinction.”
Potential to crossbreed with the Chinese chestnut and select the American genes to be present thanks to C.R.I.S.P.R.
77• What is involved in a species survival plan (SSP) for an animal?
tracking mating, captive breeding to maximise genetic variation and minimize harmfull alleles, goal of restoring wild population
78o What is the main benefit of adaptive management?
The ability to learn by doing
79o What is the main reason that most conservation projects use a passive management strategy?
Lack of funding (they cannot continue the study)
80• Be familiar with the Red Knot example, particularly in terms of how it might illustrate the three different management strategies.
Go through slides:*\
81• What is meant by the term evidence-based conservation?
Decisions are based on scientific evidenceesearch, local knowledge, and value
82o How would a meta-analysis play a role in evidence-based conservation?
o Form a plan using data from many papers.
83• What does a meta-analysis consist of?
Evaluating data from several studies