exam notes

Seite 1

Wildlife and Conservation 8/27

- Taxonomy: Naming and classification of species

- Domain: 3 domains (Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya)

- Bacteria: Prokaryotes, can make you sick/digest/decompose/as well as fixing nitrogen in soil

- Archaea: different from Bacteria because of DNA structure, also Prokaryotes but have more in common with eukaryotes, known as Extremophiles (extreme condition)

Ex: live in the dead sea even with extreme amounts of salt,

- Methanogens: live in places with very little oxygen, relies on more carbon dioxide, some live inside animals that eat a lot of cellulose like cows or termites

- Thermophiles: live in extreme temps

- Eukaryota: Extremophiles

-Kingdom: Often changing, usually has these 4 subclassifications:

-Protista: very diverse(animal-like,plant-like,fungi-like, etc),

- has autotrophs (makes own food), and heterotrophs (consumes other things for energy),

- most unicellular but some are multicellular,

-some have cell walls but also some don't

-Fungi: Heterotrophs (meaning no photosynthesis)

-Plantae: Autotrophs, mostly multicellular and have cell walls

-Animalia: Mostly multicellular and heterotrophic

-Phylum

-Class

-Order

-Family

-Genus

-Species (Genus + Species=Scientific name: Typing Scientific Name/Writing: Scientific name, Genus will always be capitalized, Species lowercase)

- The farther down you go the more specific you get, Ex: Eukarya (Domain), Animalia (Kingdom), Cnidaria (Phylum), Hydrozoa (Class), Anthoathecata (Order), Hydridae (Family), Hydra (Genus), Hydra Vulgaris (Species)

- Some animals in the Order Carnivora are herbivores. Animals are put in specific orders not based on diet but relatedness

- Order Rodentia: 40% of mammal species (plus 20% combo with bats)

- About 27% of Mammal species are threatened or endangered

- Order Passeriformes makes up MORE than 50% of all bird species

- Approximately 13% of all bird species are threatened or endangered

- Approximately 21% of all reptile species are threatened or endangered

- Approximately 41% of all amphibian species are threatened or endangered.

8/29

- Wildlife: Non-domesticated organisms (animals, plants, fungus, etc)

- About 5,500 Mammal Species in the world

- About 9,900 Bird Species in the world

- about 11,000 Reptile species in the world

- about 8,100 Amphibians species in the world

9/3 (quiz 2)

- Ecology: Ernst Haeckel (1866) from word Oikos (Eco)=home, and Logos (logy)=study, Ecology = home study

- A branch of science concerned with the interrelationships of organisms and their environments

- Ecosystem: biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as non living, physical components of the environment with which then organisms interact such as air, soil, water, and sunlight

- Nutrients cycle through the system (ex: carbon cycle, nitrogen)

- Energy flows through the system (ex: light/sun energy)

-light energy drives photosynthesis, plants are the critical link between the sun and all other life

- 2nd law of thermodynamics: No process is possible in which the sole result is the absorption of heat from a reservoir and it complete conversion into work, the transformation of energy is not 100% consistent

- Pyramid of energy: Producers (10,000 kcal)--> primary consumers (1,000 kcal)--> secondary consumers (100 kcal)-->

- higher we go up, the fewer there are

- Energy moves through the food web and escapes: 10% rule of thumb= only about 10% of the energy used in 1 trophic level is available to the next.

- Detritivores are not exactly part of the food chain, energy availability outside of normal producers/consumers (much like decomposers)

- Communities: living parts of the ecosystem

- Plant/Animal: Biotic community

- has specific groups too (ex: predator community)

- reflect regional climate

- climates are similar in different parts of the world, could have species that are very similar but different adaptations, we groups these similar but different climates together and call them Biomes (ex: Mojave Desert and Sahara desert)

- can vary over time (called Succession), can happen when things like forest fires happen

- Succession: Pioneer Community (1st step of succession)--> Climax Community (final step) both relate to timeline

- Primary succession (occurs when no community previously existed like Volcanic Islands) and Secondary Succession (occurs where there are remnants of a previous community like fires, floods, hurricane, etc)

- Range of Tolerance: how much a species can handle before having to leave an area (temperature, human activity, etc), helps put animals into categories of Generalists (greater range of optimal conditions) vs Specialists (needs more specific things in order to survive)

- Niche: functional role of an organism considered in the environment in which it lives (its “JOB”)

- multidimensional (ex: size of prey, location, times of hunt)

- Competitive Exclusion Theory: no 2 organisms can occupy the same ice at the same time in the same place, the more similar they are the more intense the competition will be, the lesser of the 2 will have to evolve into a different niche/move to a new area or become extinct

9/5 (quiz 2)

- Natural Selection: process that determines which individuals will pass genes to next generation (survival of the fittest)

-The steps of natural selection

-1: individuals within species have genetic variation

-2: organisms reproduce many more offspring than needed to replace parents

-3: excess number of offspring result in shortage of resources

-4: individual variation allows some a greater chance of obtaining resources, and therefore a greater chance of reproducing than others

-5: over time, each generation is subjected to natural selection. The % of individuals showing favorable variations will increase while those with unfavorable variations will decrease

- over time, natural selection can lead to change if characteristic and kinds of species present–) evolution (changes in genes and characteristics)

- Speciation: production of a new species from a previously existed species

- Allopatric Speciation: speciation caused by an natural event (earthquake, hurricane, etc)

- Sympatric Speciation: Same location but became different due to filling different niches

- Extinction: the loss of an entire species (over 500 million species have existed but only 5-10 in existence as of now)

-Mass extinction can lead to explosive diversification

-The 6th Mass Extinction: occurring now b/c of humans (1,000+ species in about 400 years), rate of extinction now is 100 to 1000 times greater than previous ones, does not give remaining species to adapt to missing niches

- Predation: one organism (predator) kills and eats another (prey)

-predators employ strategies to make them more effective at capturing prey and vice versa

- their relationship is constantly evolving

9/10

- For Buffalo Video, Adaptations:

- Buffalo(Prey): Herd protection, swim skills, thick skin, horns, strength

-Lion (Pred): speed, stealthy, claws, jaws, pack

- Predation:

- Prey adapt: increased production rate, tolerate higher level of morality

- Prey that survive pass on survival traits and vice versa for predators and hunting traits

- Competition: 2 organisms strive to obtain the same limited resources (ex Interspecific: Lion vs Crocodile in Buffalo video)

- 2 Types:

- Intraspecific: competition between members of same species (territory, mates, etc)

- Interspecific: competition between different species

- Other Symbiotic Relationships (long standing physical relationship between 2 diff species)

- Parasitism (+/-): when 1 organism (parasite) lives on/in another organism (host) where it derives nutrients from the host damaging them (ex: tape worms, ticks). Ectoparasite ( lives inside host), Endoparasite (lives outside)

- Commensalism (+/0): relationship between organisms where one benefits and the other is not affected (ex: whales and barnacles, livestock and cattle egrets)

- Mutualisms (+/+): relationship between 2 organisms where both benefit, often obligatory (cannot live without each other) (ex: ClownFish and Sea Anemone, Honey Badger and Honeyguide, Shark and Remora)

- Habitat: the physical and biological resources required by an organism for survival and reproduction (basic components: food, shelter/cover, water, space, food and shelter most important)

- Habitat selection: choice of settings that favor survival and reproduction

- Cover: provides protection from elements and predators

- Food: energy that provides metabolic fuel for all processes

- Balance of food & cover: food is important for survival but not if you die

- Digestive adaptations: adaptations for diet, carnivores usually have shorter digestive tracts while herbivores have longer and more complex digestive tracts

- Mammalian Digestive adaptations

- Herbivores: ruminants like cows and moose possess multi chambered stomachs, microbes aid in digestion (mutualism), herbivores with simple stomachs have well-developed cecums (ex rabbits and beavers)

- Avian Digestive Adaptations: specialized bills (ex: large esophagus with extended crip is better for seed storage and milk production)

- 2 Sectioned stomach: proventriculus (chemical digestion), Gizzard (grinds up food with tongue, abrasive lining)

- Adaptations to limits: when food resources are limited animals adapt

- Long Term: hibernation and estivation, Migration

- Short Term: fasting, reduced activity/torpor

- Physiological: storing and using body fat stores

- Excessive food storages can result in: starvation, decreased reproduction and increase death

- Managing habitat is crucial to wildlife conservation (ex fires to wipe out caceres and make room for new life)

9/12

- Population Dynamics: A branch of life science that studies that short or long term changes in the size and age composition of populations and the biological and environmental processes influencing those changes

- Population: a group of individuals of the same species that inhabit a defined area at specific time

-Factors that affect population size:

- Natality: Births over time, added through reproduction, usually higher than needed to replace parents, Fertility (physiological capable of producing offspring), Fecundity (potential # of offspring produced by an individual), Production (the actual number)

- Reproductive Strategies:

- Diff levels of Fecundity and Production

- 2 main strategies (r-Strategist and K-Strategist), some organisms have both

- r-Strategist: small organisms, short-lived, many offspring, limited parental care, high juvenile mortality, exploit unstable environments

- K-Strategist: Large organisms, long-lived, few offspring, extensive parental care, low juvenile death rate, occupy stable environments

- Morality: deaths over time, changes throughout life cycle, often high specifically in young individuals

- Compensatory Mortality: 100 deer, food for 80, 20 could starve but wolves come and eat 15, now 23 die

- Additive mortality: tornado goes through forest, 50% of deer die regardless

- Population Growth: Birth rate - death rate, death>births=declining population and vice versa

- Sex Ratio: # of males and females in population

- typically 50:50 at fertilization of egg, after birth becomes skewed

- female driven, but mating system important as well

- Polygynous: 1 male to many females

- ex: 2 fawns per female, 100 adults, 50 males 50 females (100 offspring), 30-70 (140), 70-30 (60)

- Monogamous: 1 male 1 female

- ex: 2 chicks per pair, 100 adults, 50-50(100), 30-70(60), 70-30(60)

- Age Distribution: # of individuals of each age in a population, reproductive capacity differs, morality differs, important to number of offspring produced

- Dispersal: movement to a new area, emigration (move out), immigration (move in), often results in overcrowding, most often young animals are moving to establish a new home range or become members of a new population (immigration)

- Growth Rate:

- Exponential growth rate: a population that continues to grow without stop (J shape on curve), limiting factors (prevents unlimited growth, may be dependent of population density or unrelated to density)

- Density Dependent Factors: causes higher morality or decreased birth rate as population increases (starvation, diseases, etc)

- Density Independent Factors: causes higher morality or decreased birth rate regardless of population density (draught, cold, etc)

- Carrying Capacity (K): max sustainable population, limiting factors help to define K, may change

- Logistic Growth Rate: some threshold level for population growth to level out (more of S shape on curve), limited by carrying capacity

9/17

- Animal Behavior: the actions or reactions of an organism in response to external or internal stimuli, study of ecological and evolutionary basis for animal behavior, the roles of behavior in enabling animals to adapt to the ecological niches

- Learned Behavior: range from simple behavioral changes to complex problem solving (ex: birds learning their songs from parents or crows solving puzzles for treats)

- combo of innate behavior and experience

- imprinting: learning limited to a specific critical period in life and is generally irreversible

- Circadian Rhythms: about 1 day, daily activity patterns of animals with regular pattern if 24 hrs (feeding, sleeping, singing, etc), adjusted by external cues (sunlight)

- example: Tarsier and Bats (nocturnal), Ostrich and Deer (Diurnal/active in day), Mountain Lion (Crepuscular/active from dawn to dusk)

- Circannual Cycles: about 1 year, seasonal patterns (breeding, hibernation, migration, etc), influenced by day length (photoperiod)

- Migration: periodic movements from 1 location to another (ex breeding areas), responses to changing resources (food, water, etc)

- Courtship: physical characteristics and display with ritualized and behaviors to increase intraspecific recognition, visual or auditory (ex: Bowerbirds, Clark’s Grebe),

- Polyandry: type of polygamy where a female mates with multiple males (ex: Red-necked Phalarope)

- Polygyny: when males mate with several females, can lead to territorial behavior (ex: Red Deer)

- Social Behaviors: behavior directed towards/taking place between to members of the same species that's not courtship

- communication: provokes a response without acting directly on receiver

- Habitat Selection: choosing a place offering best success, some defend areas better than others

- Home Range: area included in daily, seasonal, and annual travels of an animal

- Territory: area defended by an individual/group against intrusion by others of the same species (smaller than home range)

Group Behavior

- Kin Selection: natural selection operating on the interactions between closely related cooperating individuals, call more when they are close to relatives

- Territorial: have a group defending territory and resources, most often pack animals like Lions and Wolves

- Thermoregulation: ability to keep warm in groups banded together, if group becomes to large then you are more vulnerable to predators

- Predator Avoidance: one way is confusion (ex: group of Zebras or other patterned animals), other way is Dilution (the larger the group the less likely you’ll be singled out)

- Predator Detection: “many eyes” hypothesis, group predator vigilance increases = faster predator detection

- Finding Food: group searches for food, cooperation among members (predators)

- Biodiversity: diversity of the genes, species, and ecosystem of a region, higher the biodiversity the more stability you have/just generally better ecosystems services, organisms have an intrinsic value to exists, has 3 hierarchies

- Genetic diversity: # of different kinds of genes in a population or species (how different they could look), size of population could determine diversity (ex: Cheetahs and Florida Panthers)

- mutations: could be harmful or helpful

- immigration: introduces a new genetic material to population

- sexual reproduction: generates a new genetic combination that may be more successful in the long run

- Species Diversity: the measure of different species present in an area, some area are normally high in species diversity while others are normally low (ex: coral reef vs desert)

- History of region: poles vs tropics

- immigration: may introduce species to an area where they were not present previously

- size of area: the larger the area considered, the higher the species diversity will be

- human activity:

- Ecosystem: the number of kinds of ecosystems present in an area, the larger the area studied, the more ecosystems that will be present

- Ecosystem Services: 4 categories

- Provisioning: providing something we use (food, timber, fuel, fibers, soil, water, etc)

- Regulating: climate regulation, water purification, carbon sequestration, Pollination, etc

- Supporting: maintain the provisioning and regulating services, nutrient cycling, seed dispersal

- Cultural: recreation, spiritual, cultural

9/26

- History of wildlife in North America:

- Before Man: lots of megafauna, herbivores, 3 different species of elephants, mesocarnivores like Short-Faced Bear, Sabertooth Cats, Jaguars, Lions. had a series of Ice Ages which created the Bering Land Bridge which allowed humans to move into North America

- Pre-european Era: Clovis (one of the 1st humans in NA) had spears and arrows and stated to hunt (The Pleistocene Overkill) made major decline in the large herbivores and that meant a decline in the large carnivores, Native American Agriculture helped become less dependent on hunting, about 18 million people in NA before the europeans came

- Columbus/Early Explorers: Brought many diseases (wiped out over 90% of natives), with some of those agricultural places are left behind they become early successions and the game life increased

- Era of Abundance: Plaines had about 60 mil bison, streams were filled with salmon, sea life was thriving, 230-430 mil Ducks (about 50 mil today), Steller Sea Cow (bigger Manatee), Carolina Parakeet

- Era of Overexploitation (1850-1900): during the time of railroads and the western expansion, passenger pigeons went extinct (Martha at Cincy Zoo was the last 1 in 1914), Bisons population continued to drop (1894 was the last free roaming Bison outside of yellowstone was shot), Stellar Sea Cow went extinct 27 years after Europeans came (thought they tasted better than beef), Carolina Parakeet hunted to extinction for more agricultural land and for fashion (Angus at Cincy Zoo was also the last one in 1914), market hunting (large # shot and then sold at stores), The Millinery Trade (the trade of feathers from bird to use in hats and clothing), many bounties on predators like Cougars and Red Wolves, some species that went extinct: Labrador Duck, Heath Hen, The Great Auk, The Hawaiian Rail, in 1859 Charles Darwin mad “The Origin of Species” Game Commissions were formed, Wardens were hired, some states had bag limits for hunts

- Era of Protection (1900-’30): The Lacey Act (limits trade of illegal wildlife across state boundaries), Pres Teddy Roosevelt knew the importance of wildlife (the “Golden Age of Conservation”), tripled size of national forests and created forest services, established Wildlife Refuges (1st one is Pelican Island in FL), 84 Mil acres as oil and coal reserves, mil of acres as national monuments, made more National Parks and beefed up enforcement to protect them, Gifford Pinchot appointed head of Forest Service, coined the term “conservation”, John Muir founded the Sierra Club (worked to protect nature outside of the Gov), responsible for protecting the Yosemite. During the era: science is lacking, predator control/bounties is still happening, humans believe they can improve nature

- Era of Game Management: driven by Aldo Leopold (“father of Wildlife Management), report of the committee on NA Game Policy (1930), 1st Professor of Game Management in Uni of Wisconsin, founded the Wildlife Society, wants to make sure humans keep nature intact. new awarnesses: other creatures protected, parks more restrictive, maintain healthy ecosystem, primary focus on game animals, passed Pittman-Robertson Act (‘37) & Dingell-Johnson Act (‘50): taxes on ammo and fishing supplies and put into funding for wildlife. “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson in 1962 became popular by telling the public about what humans are doing to the environment

- Era of Environmental Management (1966-’79): increased national awareness, Endangered Species Act, Earth Day 1970, and many more acts (Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Air act, etc),

- Era of Conservation Biology (1980-Now): Anti-environmental policies during Reagan administration, Alaska National interest Lands Act (101 mil acres), human populations still climbing, atmosphere warming, tropic/temperate rainforests being cut at high rates, major pollution is worse than previously admitted, recognition = chance of remedy, Era of Extinction???

10/1

- Exploitation: living off the land and sea

- Overexploitation: living off the land and sea in a manner that can't be sustained (hunting/trapping/collecting/fishing of wildlife at unsustainable levels)

- biggest threat to marine systems and 2nd to habitat loss

- Most hunting in US is considered exploitation and well-controlled (altered vegetation, limited diseases, removed predator species)

- examples of overexploitation in US are Prairie Dog hunts and Rattlesnake roundups

- Hunting in other countries sometimes well controlled but not always (ex: Songbird poaching in Cyprus, people living in mountains that Snow Leopards live and kill them)

- This trade (pelts, bones, etc) feeds into local and international markets

- Tropical Terrestrial Systems (40-60% people): where most of developing countries are and most of biodiversity

- Timber extraction: overtaking trees in forest can lead to pollution, more competitions between species, habitat loss, and more roads that lead to more people coming in (access)

- The Bushmeat Trade: local consumption to regional markets, no longer sustainable hunting

- Medicine Trade: destruction of wildlife for medicinal purposes

- Pet Trade: taking of wildlife for purpose of entertainment (most of Tiger population live in captivity in the United States)

- The US has a high import of poached trade (over $2.8 billion worth): most are coming from Mexico usually into Texas or Florida (mostly Reptiles or Mollusks)

- Marine Ecosystems

- Fishing Down the Food Web: started by fishing for the biggest, than began focusing on smaller and smaller fish (ex: Bluefin Tuna is the most overfished species, usual price is $10-20k)

- Factory Trawler invented in 1962, increased fishing efficiency and numbers by thousands, leads to eventual crash in industry in 1992

10/6

- Degradation: Impacts many but not all species (ex: oil spill, livestock grazing, invasive species)

- Fragmentation: Reduction in the area covered by habitat, change in configuration division of a large area into a smaller,

- smaller patches = less population stability and less biodiversity ( regular shape more edge, less interior per km^2, irregular shape = more edge, less interior per km^2)

- Edge Effects: air and soil temperature/moisture/light, vegetation density, predator intrusion, community composition, etc, not all equal

- The Matrix: surrounding landscape of fragmented habitat

- Fragmentation examples: Interior forest birds & nest parasitism (laying eggs in another bird's nest and having them raise the young, occurs more often in edge habitats), Florida Panther (used to range from entire US southeast but now only at bottom of Florida)

- sometimes we make small pockets to connect habitats or habitat corridors

- Habitat loss: impacts so severe that almost all species are affected, almost impossible to get back to what it was before, 2 min types

- Urbanization: unplanned/uncontrolled spreading of urban development to areas adjoining cities

- Conversion: when human activities transform 1 habitat into another (native habitat to agriculture/pasture, management like damming or fire suppression) ex: Greater Prairie Chicken, another example is the Wetlands (water quality/quantity, bank stabilization, wildlife habitats like fish nurseries, 60% loss)

- thresholds in response to habitat loss are likely, difficult to predict

10/8

- Wildlife Disease: connected to conservation of threatened/endangered species, recreational use of wildlife, public health/loss of life (pet and human), agriculture and livestock

- Basic Disease Vocab:

- disease: a disturbance to the norm function or structure of an organism (ex: mange to a bear, white-nose syndrome to a bat (white fungus on body due to extensive mortality in bats, messes with bats routine and hibernation times), starvation, trauma or a broken limb)

- Epizootic: disease that appears at an unexpected rate (similar to a epidemic in humans)

- Infectious: viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites(internal/external), etc

- Pathogen: disease-causing agent (ex of infectious pathogen: Chronic Wasting Disease CWD)

- Non-infectious: toxins (manmade, plant, fungal, or bacterial), physiological, nutritional, congenital, degenerative, cancer

- Mercury Poison ex: product of coal and other fossil fuels, heavy metal toxin→ methyl mercury, also emitted when items with mercury are incinerated (thermometers, batteries, light switches, fluorescent bulbs)

- Disease Dynamics:

- Reservoir: any living or nonliving substance that may perpetuate a pathogen in nature

- Reservoir Host: a hosts that acts as a reservoir for the pathogen, but does not suffer ill effects from the disease

- Host: an organism on or in which another organism lives (ex: Dog to a tick)

- Vector: an organism that carries pathogens from one host to another, or from a reservoir to a host (ex of biological vector internally: Mosquito and Tick, ex of mechanical vector externally: flys)

- Disease and Agriculture Examples:

- brucellosis and livestock: can be transmitted from wildlife like Elk, often test livestock to see if they can catch it before it could spread to herd

- Avian Influenza: contaminated poultry farms, wild birds move a lot which will cause many problems

- Disease and Endangered Species Examples:

- Botulism: Avian Botulism type-E, Quagga and Zebra Mussels clean the water to well which allows sunlight to go further into the water making algae blooms, they then start to overshadow themselves and make more algae, fish swim through birds pick them up spreads the disease

- Lions: 33% decline in 90’s from lions in serengeti and spreaded north, picked up disease because of pets (rabies serious threat to lion population)

- Increasing Disease Emergence:

- Why are there so many more diseases recently?: more people→more habitat alteration→ more stress on animals→more human/wildlife interaction→ increase in diseases

- ex Sea Otters: after oil spill in alaska, Laten Heroes became more prevalent, became so bad they couldn't hunt or eat and would eventually die of starvation

- Zoonosis: diseases that are transmitted from animals to humans (we are not necessary), opposite is called Anthroponosis, humans usually considered Dead End Host

- examples:

- Lyme Disease: caused by bacteria and transmitted by Deer Ticks, symptoms like rash fever swollen lymph nodes, left untreated further complications may arise like meningitis facial palsy heart abnormalities and arthritis

- West Nile Virus: caused by virus transmitted by birds or mosquitoes usually, most people do not develop any type of illness (1 in 5 develop west nile fever, 1 in 150 develop severe infection), no specific treatment

- Avian Influenza: only transferred to people with direct contact to sick bird

10/15

- Introduced Species:

- Shakespere responsible to bringing Starlings into US (100 then now over 200,000)

- Conservation implications: 20% of endangered species are threatened by an introduced species, happenes over large scale, both positive and negative effects (usually more negative). ex: Zebra Mussel, over $1 bil in zebra mussel control in 1st 10 years of invasion, $200 mil in shipworms, $45 mil on Purple Loosestrife

-Some invasive species are “good”, example Chickens, Potatoes and Cows for Industrialized Agriculture, 100s of billions of $ a year in the US alone.

-The “bad”: unplanned introductions, all that succeed have some ecological impact and some have dramatic impact.

- The “ugly”: example is the Lionfish

- Impacts of invasion:

- Introduced Predators:

- Brown Tree Snake (Boiga irregularis): invasive in Guam, arrived by cargo ships shortly after WW2, slowly spread over island, population increase in 60s, 15 bird species extirpated, 5 subspecies of bird endemic to Guam extinct (more bird species threatened), about 5,000/km^2 per snake, as snake population increases and others decline, those niches they had are slowly disappearing (seed dispersal, etc), major fear is that the snakes will leave Guam and have the same impact on other islands

- Rosy Wolfsnail: 15 endemic snails extinct, 56 of 61 partulid snails on French Polynesia

- Normal House Cat that's allowed to roam outdoors: highest effect on wildlife because of population and spread,

- Introduced Competitors: some are both predators and competitors, sometimes an invader interacts to increase the effect of another invader, sometimes an invader reduces impact of other invaded

- Argentine Ant: eat other insects including different types of ants, competitor of other predators that eat ants,

- Impact of invaded Cod decreasing affect invading Sea Urchins (decreased population of cod), humans created a fishery/harvesting for the Urchins, even so Kelp did not increase because 2 new invasive species came (Bryozoan which weakens kelp and Codium Fragile which out competes weakened kelp)

- Black Sea and Carnivorous Jelly: Carnivorous Jelly only eats Warty Comb Jelly which caused its own population to decrease, Planktivourous Sprat recovered

- Morphological Changes: some natives will respond with morphological changes or behavioral, ex:

- Gulf of Main: European Green Crab and Local Snail

- Europe: Asian Flowering Plant and Bumble Bees: Bees like these plant specifically so will visit these more often than other plants

- Genetic and Evolutionary Impacts:

- hybridization and introgression affects genetics (ex: Mallard with the Hawaiian Duck, New Zealand Grey Duck, and Florida Mottled Duck, females of other duck species are attracted to the green head of the Mallard which causes a lot of cross species)

- Ecosystem Impacts: any invader affects the ecosystem, some have much larger/more noticeable impacts

- Nutria: escaped from Fur Farms, South American Native, eats native vegetation, erosion

- Beaver: escaped from Fur Farms, North American Native, eats native vegetation, erosion

- What determines whether a species becomes invasive?:

Criteria for successful invasion:

1. Pathway of invasion (boat, lumber, planes, cargo ships, new roads in forests, etc) any path that can transport species beyond native range

- Propagule Pressure: Quantity of arriving organisms, Quality of arriving organisms, Frequency of arriving organisms

- High fecundity, dispersal ability, generalists (broad tolerance), and just luck (free of disease/genetic mutation that limits them to their native area)

- How Species are introduced: Unintentional (ex: soil ballast), International (ex: Burmese Python, people letting them go after keeping them as pets),

- 372 invasive species in New Castle County, 219 in Sussex county, 193 in Kent county, examples: Spotted Lanternfly, Nutria, Sika Deer, Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, northern snakehead (can last 4 days out of water),

10/17

- Agriculture Pollution: production/processing/marketing and use of foods/fibers/byproducts from crops and animals,

- Fertilizer: nutrients are removed, fertilizers supplements, consists of macronutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, K) micronutrients (B, Zn, etc), has allowed the semi-viable land to be farmed, 100 mil tons/yr of nitrogen fertilizers, 40 mil ton/yr of phosphate fertilizer, high nitrate levels can causes comas and death, heavy metal accumulation (uranium, cadmium, arsenic, etc)

- Eutrophication: excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and earth of animal life from lack of oxygen

- Methane Production: methanogenesis (creation of methane), fertilizer stimulates methanogenesis, methane contributes to climate change,

- Pesticides: a chemical used to kill or control unwanted populations of fungi animals, or plants (insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides, herbicides), DDT (used in WW2 to control malaria and typhus, 1962 Rachel Carson wrote “Silent Spring”, DDT infected fish which became a problem especially for birds of prey b/c they're eggs would be to soften and be crushed, still is out there even though we don't use it, DDT linked to things like diabetes/premature birth/parkinson's/asthma and cancer)

- Organophosphates and Carbamates: interfere with the function of nervous system, non specific, high toxicity, do not persist in environment

- Herbicides: overuse/exposure can lead to things like cancer and reproductive effects and genetic damage

- Rodenticides: use to prevent rodents and other small mammals to get into crops, Warfarin (causes internal bleeding in any animal that consumes it)

- Water Pollution: 70-95% of cellular mass is water, Jellyfish 95% water, 45% of streams in the US are polluted, 2 types of pollution: Point Source (single location that you can point to for cause of pollution, ex: Factory dumping into river, oil spill, etc) and Nonpoint Source (cannot pinpoint pollution source) both can be from agricultural, industrial and municipal

- industrial: chemical contamination and radioactive materials, mining industries are particularly prone to pollution, thermal pollution

- municipal: developed areas like city and towns, Seattle has highly caffeinated water, fecal coliform bacteria and human pathogens, soaps/detergents, antibiotics, hormones, fire retardants and other chemicals in waters by municipal areas,

- Air Pollution: 2 types Primary (substances directly emitted from process like vehicles and power plants) Secondary (form in the air where primary pollutants react or interact like smog), carbon monoxide/particulate matter, sulfur dioxide (primary), nitrogen oxides (primary), lead, ozone, Acid Rain (secondary air pollution, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides released into air and dissolve into rainwater and form into sulfuric and nitric acids), effects on wildlife: alters pH of aquatic environments, range of tolerance, trees and embryos die, removed essential nutrients like calcium and magnesium

- Light Pollution: having lights when there should be (left on, city lights, etc), birds become disoriented/exhausted (estimate range from 4 mil- 40 mil), Sea turtle hatchlings,

- Trash: 1 million years for a plastic jug to fully “go away”, plastic bags 20-1000 years, diapers 550 years, cardboard 2 months, photodegrade(instead of returning to basic elements it just gets smaller and smaller),

10/24

- Climate vs Weather: Climate: weather over a longer period of time, exists for years/trends

- Greenhouse effect: greenhouse gasses surround earth, most of heat that bounces off the earth goes pass the greenhouse gasses but some bounce back which warms our planet, greenhouse gasses are increasing which is causing more heat to bounce back to earth

- Cretaceous Time Period: very wet period, flowering plants were spreading and evolving, evolution added by appearance of bees, when those plants start to die in the wet environment the decomposition is not fully complete and the carbon is now decreasing, as well as a lot of dinosaurs and plants becoming extinct and volcanoes erupting, causing a major increase in carbon

- Carbon Sinks: holding carbon for a long time (usually trees)

- industrial revolution (150 years): humans started using oil and coal for energy, causing higher release of carbon increasing levels of greenhouse gasses which increases global temperatures, all volcanoes in the world put out less than 1% of the carbon that humans do

- Rising temps can cause:

- loss of species and habitat: one example is Coral bleaching, water being too warm for too long, causing it to stress out and spit out the algae which is its nutrients, causing the color to bleach white. Another is the range of tolerance, Moose are a cold adapted species but when it warms it has to deal with more ticks

- shifts in time and space among species: Phenology (study of behavior for when things occur, ex: when leaves are supposed to change), changes in spring times will disturb many animals like ones that hibernate.

- Mismatched Phenology: some things happen earlier but not all, ex: English Oak leafs out earlier→winter moth hatches out earlier→ but the Pied Flycatcher (who eats the moth) is not migrating back earlier because it relies on daylight not temp for migration and now not enough moths for the flycatcher to have as a food resources), another examples is how a Hummingbird can consume flowers when they're supposed to flower at the same time but now are different

- Space Shifts: ex: Polar Bears and Brown bears would usually not interact often but now that the earth is warming more often Polar Bears would move down or brown bears would move up, losing a speciation

- Decreasing of ice: The less ice there is, the more the sun hits the water, which causes warmer water which melts more ice. Gray Whales once hunted to extinction in the Atlantic but with Ice melts it has now returned.

- Precipitation: Lake Mead (on Colorado River) draws majority of water from snow melt but its water level has been decreasing but the demand by humans in the area has been increasing.

-Change to disturbance patterns: affects animals with more common droughts or floods or erosion (losing habitat)

- Habitat and species loss: more droughts cause loss of freshwater habitats, flooding areas cause more space to be loss

- Sea Level: sea levels are rising, at least 26-82 cm rise, why do we care?:

Loss of Land: ex, Key Deer (subspecies of whitetail deer in Florida Keys) will go extinct as well as all of the other land animals in the area.

Salt Water Intrusion: places like the Delaware Bay will be infected with more saltwater which will disturb its ecosystem

Erosion and Plovers: water taking over more and more parts of shores, when high tide comes in in Florida towns, more streets are becoming flooded

-Ocean Acidification: changes in the PH of the Seas Surface, everything becoming more acidic, because of Carbonic Acid, calcium is becoming less available due to the acidification which affects the ocean food chain.

10/29

- Extinction:

- Anthropogenic (human) Causes: overexploitation, habitat degradation, introduced species, disease, pollution, climate change

- Type of Extinction:

- Ecological: low density, no longer interacts, not enough of the population to fill niche

- Local: species lost in only a specific area or region (extirpation)

- Global: all of earth

- some extinctions can lead to others (Cascade effect): example is when Sea Otters were being hunted to near extinction, urchin population grew which caused kelp population to go to near extinction

- some extinction can have larger effects than others: Dominant Species (common/large effect, ex: White Tail Deer), Ecosystem Engineers (modify habitats, ex: Beaver), Keystone Species (greater impact than expected, ex: Grey Wolves and how they impact Elk population and behavior),

- Species most vulnerable with attributes like: rarity, narrow range, large area requirements, low reproduction, specialization

- Patterns of endangerment: International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN)

- Red List: Systematic Listing, different from Endangered Species List (Just USA)

1. Least Concern: example: Grey Wolf (globally)

2. Near Threatened: Declining trend but not yet concerned, ex: Maned Wolf

3. Threatened: 3 subcategories, Vulnerable (ex: Manatee), Endangered (Ethiopian Wolf), and Critically Endangered (Cuban Crocodile)

4. No date/not evaluated: usually smaller species like the Luzon Broad-toothed Rat or the Sumatran Striped Rabbit.

- As people continue to increase, more and more species will continue to become extinct

11/7

- Increasingly there is a balance between economic considerations, ethical considerations, and sustainability considerations (Values)

- Value Types: Ethics about our natural world

- Instrumental/Utilitarian: Related to goods (lumber, food, cotton, etc)/services (pollination, wetlands, decomposition)/information (using animals/plants to gather info, ex: Armadillos used to study Leprosy, Poison Dart Frogs and their toxins, etc)

- Indistinct/Inherit: No real reason for value, just instinctual

- Ethics: “A limitation on freedom or action”. “Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land”. “We can be ethical only in relation to something we see, feel, understand love, or otherwise have faith in.” - Aldo Leopold

- Constrain self serving behavior, helps to define what is right and wrong and why

- Anthropocentrism: All environmental responsibility is derived from human centered ethics and done in the interests of human benefit. Antro=People. Usually in Instrumental/utilitarian values

- Biocentrism: Life centered on environmental ethics. Beyond human impact, the forest and what lives in it. Usually in intrinsic values

- Ecocentrism: environment deserved direct moral consideration not consideration derived from human or animal interest. Whole environment. Usually in intrinsic values

- Ethics can differ for everyone based on culture or environment. But some should all be agreed on (right to life, liberty, security etc), Global Environmental Ethic? NO

- Leopold’s Land Ethic (Ecocentric): Next step in the evolution of ethics, “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise”

- Individuals Environmental Ethics: Individuals want the environment to clean up bit won't change lifestyle

- Laws: laws should match the communities ethics, may change if they don't (ex: endangered species act, plastic bag law in delaware)

- not all ethical issues can be legislated, many environmental ones are not, difficult “win-win” situations

11/14

- 1900: Lacey Act, 1929: Migratory Bird Conservation Act, 1937: Treaty on Gray and Right Whale harvest, 1940: Bald Eagle Protection Act

- Endangered Species Act (1973): To protect fish, wildlife, and plants listed as endangered or threatened and identify critical habitat

- arguably the most biocentric piece of legislation ever enacted by congress

- 4 primary actions: Conservation of species, Cooperation among agencies, prevent habitat destruction, prevent taking of species

- 11 sections lay out the law, implemented by United States Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries

- Philosophy (section 2): provide a means for conservation, detail a program, hold federal agencies accountable

- Definitions (section 3): Threatened: likely to become an endangered species within foreseeable future, Conserve: the use of all necessary means to bring any E or T species to the point at which the measures under the act are no longer necessary

- Determination of Endangered Species (Section 4): species listed as endangered if threatened by: habitat destruction/modification, disease or predation, commercial overutilization, inadequacy of existing regulation, other “man made factors” . Recovery Plans like: habitat manipulation/rehabilitation (consider habitat, limiting factors, reintroductions)

- International Species (section 8): encourages the conservation of endangered species worldwide, CITES (Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species), lists organisms into 1 of 3 Appendices (Appendix 1: Snow Leopard/Central Asia, 2 Bay Cat/Borneo, 3 Black Buck/Nepal)

- Prohibited Acts (Section 9): Government must work to protect T and E species, also illegal for anyone to “take” (harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect/attempt to engage in any such conduct) T and E species

- Is it working?: Yes: 49 species have recovered, 42 have been down-listed from E to T. No: 11 species have gone extinct, 9 have moved from T to E

- Why do some recover while others decline: Overexploitation and pollution are relatively easy to deal with. Habitat destruction and nonnative species are much more difficult

- Spotted Owl Controversy: Late 80s, large controversy over old growth timber harvest and spotted owl listing

- There must be no reasonable alternative to the agencies action

- the benefits of the action must outweigh the benefits of an alternative action where the species is conserved

- action is of regional or national importance

11/19

- Protected areas help prevent/limit overexploitation, pollution, or invasive species

- Yellowstone Park 1st national park (1864)

- Not all national parks in US preserve wildlife/not main goal (Africa more focused on animal preservation, Europe more focus on landscape preservation)

- Protected Areas: critical to conserving many species, a component of most national or regional strategies for conservation, and a requirement of various agreements/conventions

- IUCN Classification of Protected Areas:

- Category 1: Primary Focus is biodiversity, ecosystem processes/services, 2 subcategories

- A: Strict Nature Reserves: research purposes ONLY

- B: Wilderness Areas: slightly less protected, Public allowed to extent, no motor vehicles or bikes allowed , Pets must be on leashes, limited primitive actives like backpacking allowed

- Category 2: National Parks: Motor vehicles allowed, more recreational activities/tourism, dual mandate (ecosystem preservation & recreational activities), No hunting or fishing allowed in areas

- Category 3: National Monuments: Natural features & recreation (smaller scale than Nat Parks), focuses on specific part of area (ex: Rainbow Bridge National Monument in Utah)

- Category 4: Habitat Management Area: active management/intervention (ex: feeding Elk to help maintain herd)

- Category 5: Protected land/sea-scapes: Natural/Cultural areas of distinct values (ex: Migratory Bird Flyway in Philippines), balance between people and nature

- Category 6: Managed Resource Protected Area: Sustainable use (ex: Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area being protected because of grazing used for cattle)

11/21

- NGO = Non-Governmental Organization: no government status, wide social aim (ex: AARP, Wildlife Conservation Society, Oxfam International), provides a structured means for concerned citizens to take action, even if only through donations

- Primary Methods: Public Relations/lobbying, Projects and Activities

- Funding: private donors, membership dues, sales of goods, grants (often from gov)

- 3 levels:

- Local: local areas like Clay Creek

- National: Audubon Society, “benefit of humanity and earths biological diversity”, Sierra Club

- International: Wildlife Conservation Society, “wildlife and humans living in harmony”, WWF, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy

- NGOs are critical at every level of conservation, allows people to put $ to what they value, can work where others cannot, and are a realization of the needs of people

- Toolkit for ethics/values, Endangered Species Act/Protected areas

- Incentive Programs and Sustainable Use: protected areas/regulations not enough to protect wildlife sometimes (marginalized areas, living side-by-side with wildlife, compete for resources), Economic Opportunities like poaching and illegal trade

- recognize that most conservation will have to be achieved through conservation in human social space (Incentive Driven Conservation), make wildlife valuable “Alive” rather than “dead”

- Social Incentives, Economic Incentives

- Negative incentives: arrested (social), fined (economic)

- In developing world: both Positive and Negative incentives require money

- Livestock Insurance, Livestock vaccination programs, education/health, handicraft/goods sales, livestock/crop protection, many more strategies

- Snow Leopard Ex: $25 income for wool before conservation bonus, $70 income with incentive of not killing Snow Leopard

- High costs not always sustainable in long term, Governments often not able to provide finances

- Typically there is a large leakage of tourism and wildlife trade dollars:

- 0.1-1% stays directly in area

- 10% to local economy

- 20-40% in national economy

-

- Need to shift profit to put into local communities more

- Campfire Program (Zimbabwe): Communal Area Management Program for Indigenous Resources, founded 1989, revenues from program used to provide schools, electricity, clean water,, road building,

- 90% of revenue comes from hunt (60% of that is Elephants), also sells no-hunting tours

- Worked well for about 20-25 years, the Government started taxing more, which caused more Elephant hunts, USA bands trophy hunting imports from Zimbabwe

- Non-consumptive us possible depending on regional constraints

- “Milking the Rhino” documentary

12/3

- Ecological Restoration: the process of intentionally altering a site to establish a defined/indigenous historic ecosystem, can occur at any scale, most often vegetation but occasionally animals

- Some people think of it as inspiring and important others think that its expensive/inefficient/or that funds are better spent somewhere else

- Rehabilitation: improve the habitat from a degraded state

- Reclamation: often undertaken in lands that were mined. Prioritizes the stabilization of the terrain, removal of pollutants, re-vegetation, aesthetic improvement and assurance of public safety

- Re-creation: returns a habitat to a particular historic condition, but not necessarily a native condition (ex: a historic battlefield)

- Replacement: specifies a community type to be created on a site, but this community was most likely not present previous to human disturbance

- Enhancement/Augmentation: aims to only add or increase 1 or a dew ecosystem functions, not to return all ecosystem functions to a specific level

- Cost of Restoration: as much as $3 per square foot- 130,000 per acre, a lot of $ for an ecologically meaningful scale

- Side effects: prime commercial site (lets just restore wetlands elsewhere)

- Reality: not 100% restored, ecological restoration is a complement to protection of intact ecosystems

- Steps of Ecological Restoration:

- Site Assessment: what is there (soil type, water, weather etc)? (present), what was there (old photos, plant samples, old journals, etc)? (past), what could be there (similar regions in areas)? (future)

- Setting Goals: very subjective (who’s is charge of restoration), beyond values you must also consider (infrastructure, available resources, funding, stakeholder interest)

- Design: know what it is/was/could be and goals, must have multidisciplinary team (botany, ecology, hydrology, etc),

- Implementation: doing the planting, moving soil, etc, involving volunteers (sense of connection/long term devotion), conclusion of construction (map everything out)

- Monitoring and Adaptive Management: how did we do/what needs to be fixed

- although expensive, restoration is considered important and required by various laws

- Clean Water Act (‘72): to restore and maintain… integrity of nations waters, no net loss of areas and or functions of water (including wetlands), must restore unavoidable loss

- Endangered Species Act (‘73): minimize impact of endangered species, restoration may be required

- Surface mining control and Reclamation act (‘77): prevent adverse environmental effects of surface mining and restore lands which are disturbed,

- Convention on Biological Diversity (‘92): signatories are required to restore degraded

12/5

- Reintroduction: primary goal is to establish a viable, free-ranging population

- Conservation Translocation Specialists Group (formally the Reintroduction Specialist Group): To combat the ongoing and massive loss of biodiversity by using re-introductions as a responsible tool

- Steps to Maximize Success of Reintroduction

1. Feasibility Study: Biology of the species (life history, etc), availability of individuals?has the vacant niche been filled?

2. Select and Evaluate Sites: within historic range, suitable habitat? (ex: national wildlife refuge), Threats Removed?, protected status?

3. Evaluate Stock: health/genetics/fitness, cannot jeopardize/stress source population, surplus animals, genetic variability

- 210 Red Wolves at 40 captive breeding sites across US (goal is 330)

4. Determine Social, Political, and Economic conditions at site: long term support?, how can we minimize conflicts? (ex: wolves hunting livestock, wolf-car collisions, placing tracking on wolves is 1 solution)

5. Plan/Implement Reintroduction:

- Release Considerations: number of animals per releases, number of releases per year, number of years of releases, timing of releases

- Animal Preparation: Hard releases, soft releases (acclimation, behavioral training, socialization, etc)

6. Post Release Monitoring: Adaptive Management Coyote ex: Coyote inbreeding → sterilized coyotes as placeholders in population → no longer can inbreed

- Final Thoughts: Reintroduction

- Needed, Expensive, Can it be avoided?

- Toolkit NGO and Education are parts of → Ethics/Values/Attitudes, Endangered Species Act, Protected Areas, Incentive Programs, Ecological Restoration, and Reintroduction all are parts to Wildlife Conservation

12/10

- Ecosystem Conservation: To truly protect biodiversity we must work at really large scales, a scale at which humans will be involved and human use may be heavy

- Umbrella Species: a species whose conservation benefits many other species that share the same habitat or ecosystem (ex: Tiger), other species will be protected indirectly due to the protection of one

- The Ecosystem Approach: an approach to maintaining or restoring the composition, structure and function of natural and modified ecosystems… integrates ecological, sociological, and institutional perspectives

- Elements of “Ecosystem Management”:

- Goals: not just goods, but processes and services

- Sustainability/Biodiversity: Ensure resources for the future

- Sound Ecology: Emphasizes

- Connected and Complexity: increases resistance and disturbance allows for adaptations

-Dynamic: Change can be good

-Adaptability: current approaches can change

- Scale: landscape approach: wide spatial and temporal scales

- Humans are a part of the ecosystem: cause disturbances, involved in solutions, identify and engage stakeholder

- Ecosystem management is a broad and often complex approach to conservation, idea young so results are limited but the idea is sound

- Education: Environmental education needed at all levels (K-University, Social Media, Internationally, etc)

- Challenges:

- People passionate but not well informed

- attractive species get all the attention

- ultimate issues not being addressed (ex: human population growing)

-Why is education so important?:

- increases public knowledge and support

- fosters a conservation ethic

- alters consumption patterns

- incorporates resource management into the private sector

- Talloires Declaration: based on environmental education at the College Level, University of Delaware is one