Conservation Eco.- Exam 2

Front 1

Landscape

Back 1

a heterogeneous area containing a mosaic of patches

Front 2

Patch

Back 2

size varies depending on the needs of each organism

-dynamic

Front 3

Corridor

Back 3

facilitates movement, defined by form and function

Front 4

matrix

Back 4

the biggest component of the habitat

Front 5

What 4 things influence landscape?

Back 5

1. Physical template
2. Sum of small-scale events
3. Biotic interactions
4. Disturbances

Front 6

1. Physical template -

(4 things influence landscape)

Back 6

-abiotic environment
- soil type
-nutrient availability
-rainfall
-temperature

Front 7

2. Small-scale events-

(4 things influence landscape)

Back 7

- things are in a 'steady state' that is shifting and dynamic
-events cause changes

Front 8

3. Biotic Interactions-

(4 things influence landscape)

Back 8

- competition
-predation
- inter and intra-species dynamics

Front 9

4. Disturbances -

(4 things influence landscape)

Back 9

-frequency
-predictability
-magnitude
-synergisms
-spatial extent
--> all of these factors of a disturbance contribute to the overall landscape and landscape change

Front 10

Disturbances

(define)

Back 10

relatively discrete events that disrupt ecological processes and/or changes niche characteristics
-influences and maintains landscape
-dynamic

Front 11

Anthropogenic disturbance

(different in 3 main ways)

Back 11

1. can cause permanent changes
2. Introduces novel or unprecedented distributions to a system
- system hasn't evolved to deal w/ these
3. Can be in the form of disturbance suppression
-fire, flood suppression

Front 12

Disturbance suppression

(why can it be bad?)

Back 12

absence of a disturbance can be problematic for maintaining natural status
- fire-obligate species
- African water hole example

Front 13

fragmentation and disturbance

Back 13

synergistic effects - stronger, more negative effects when occurring together
- increased edges from fragmentation lead to an increase in disturbance

Front 14

positive effects of disturbance

Back 14

-creates and maintains landscape patterns
- important for species diversity

Front 15

Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis (IDH)

(main theory)

Back 15

biodiversity peaks under intermediate disturbance regimes
- too much and long-lived species can't survive
- to little allows a competitive dominator to take over

Front 16

Important contributions of landscape ecology...

Back 16

- understanding of spatial patterns and function
-provides new tools
- incorporates humans and human impacts
- acknowledges spatial heterogeneity

Front 17

Applying landscape approaches to conservation

Corridors...

Back 17

- understanding if they will facilitate movement
other issues: will they spread disease or increase predation
- are genes actually being dispersed (Riley et al)
- understanding connectivity and core areas

Front 18

Applying landscape approaches to conservation

Population levels...

Back 18

- a landscape model can help explain how to choose important habitat or required habitat levels
- defining population parameters
- understand landscape features
- develop spatially-explicit population models

Front 19

Spatially Explicit Population Models (SEPM)

What are they?
What do they incorporate?

Back 19

Population model that incorporates landscape configuration and composition, connectivity and resistance
- population parameters go into the model
- incorporates landscape features AND understands their importance

Front 20

Spatially Explicit Population Models (SEPM)

Benefits

Cons

Back 20

- provide a more realistic understanding of an organism's needs
- leads to better management

-difficult to make, hard to interpret how an organism sees the landscape

Front 21

Biogeography

Back 21

study of the distribution of species and dynamics of diversity

Front 22

Island Biogeography Theory (IBT)

Back 22

- islands have less species than mainlands but the rate of increase (species:area) is greater
- smaller islands have an increased risk of extinction
- basis for SLOSS

Front 23

relationship between area and species diversity

Back 23

on a log scale there is a linear, positive relationship between area and species richness
- increase in area = increase in richness
- rate of increase varies btwn taxa

Front 24

Equilibrium Theory (of IBT)

Back 24

the # of species is balanced between rate of immigration and extinction
- rates are influenced by the distance to mainland

Front 25

SLOSS

Back 25

single large vs several small

- application of IBT to the mainland
- what is the ideal reserve design: shape, size, clumping, spread, connectivity

Front 26

Historical reserve design

Back 26

main motivators for the selection of protected areas were aesthetics and politics
- areas with less people were chosen
-science and biodiversity considerations played a minor role

Front 27

3 (4) Approaches to Reserve Design

Back 27

1. Ad hoc - random, non-scientific
2. Gap analysis method - spatial + species
3. Optimal reserve design - based on theory

4. Algorithms - use optimization techniques to prioritize land

Front 28

1. Ad hoc

(3 approaches to reserve design)

Back 28

areas chosen based on non-scientific factors
- factors like: hunting preserves, special-interest groups, other goals (like preventing soil-erosion)
- biased in the areas they represent

Front 29

2. Gap analysis method

(3 approaches to reserve design)

Back 29

compiles layers based on spatial data (land info) and species info to identify gaps

gap - area with lots of important species that are not protected

Front 30

3. Optimal reserve design

(3 approaches to reserve design)

Back 30

based on theoretical concepts of landscape ecology
- IBT, SLOSS, metapop, connectivity
-considers importance of reserve shape

Front 31

Benefits of SL (single large) patches

Back 31

-less edge
- allows for larger population sizes
- ecological processes are better preserved

Front 32

Benefits of SS (several small) patches

Back 32

- possible to provide more habitat (large patches are hard to find)
- more communities and species
- protects against catastrophes that would destroy a patch
- less competition

Front 33

What drives conservation designs?

Back 33

practical considerations like cost, availability, usage patterns

Front 34

6 Steps to Conservation Planning

Back 34

1. Measure and map biodiversity
2. Identify conservation goals
3. Review existing reserves
4. Select additional reserves
5. Implement conservation actions
6. Maintain conservation areas

Front 35

1. Measure and map biodiversity

(steps to conservation planning)

Back 35

Measuring biodiversity is difficult- what is the best way to quantify it?
- surrogates or indirect measures (species assemblage, community, indicator species) are often used
-requires the identification of threatened, flagship, umbrella or otherwise important species

Front 36

2. Identify conservation goals

(steps to conservation planning)

Back 36

goals are hard to define and are required before the science comes in
- often based on: important principles, target levels of representation or theoretical practices

Front 37

4. Selection of additional reserves

(steps to conservation planning)

Back 37

criteria includes: biodiversity, economic yield, threats, culture, irreplaceability, adjacency and complementarity

-often driven by practical considerations (cost, available land)

Front 38

6. Maintain conservation areas

(steps to conservation planning)

Back 38

an interdisciplinary perspective
-incorporate new threats and best current science
-social and cultural contexts

Front 39

Adjacency -
Complementarity -
Vulnerability -

Back 39

- contiguity, landscape scale
- extent to which an area contributes to the biodiversity of an existing area
- level of threat

Front 40

How will climate change affect reserves?

Back 40

Species in reserves have limited ranges and are at risk of physiological intolerance to environmental changes
-may cause local extinctions
- poor dispersers, annuals, arctic and coastal species are high risk