Conservation Biology

Two major problems

Growth of human population
         Population @ 6.4 billion
         Increasing by about 80 million/year
Human consumption
          USA - 5% of world's population uses 30% of earth's resources
                     produces 72% of all hazardous waste
                     uses 25% of world's total energy - using one million gallons of oil every 2 minutes.

Biodiversity - Fig 55.1

How many species are described in the literature? About 1.5 million are known to science
How many are thought to exist on earth? Maybe 30 million. Estimates range from 10-100 million

Human activities affecting species - (a lecture on environmental problems)

habitat loss and fragmentation - restoration
     deforestation, formation of habitat islands - Fig 55.5 and Fig 55.6 - rainforest clearcut - coniferous forest clearcut
     agriculture - Fig 54.22
     loss of breeding areas, like salmon not being able to swim past dams to spawn
exotic species (introduced species)
     house cats and feral cats - Cats and wildlife - Indoors and neutered only!
     imported red fireants or visit this site: http://fireant.tamu.edu/
stings, mounds, on water, Texas counties with quarantine, as predators, impact on wildlife     
     Chinese tallow trees: http://www.usgs.gov/invasive_species/plw/cogongrass.html and http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/alert/alrtsapi.html
     zebra mussels: http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/greatlakes/glnetwork/exotics.html - Fig 50.8 and WOW!
     Africanized Honey Bees: http://agnews.tamu.edu/bees/ and Fig 50.7
     Kudzu - the vine that ate Georgia: http://www.cptr.ua.edu/kudzu/
Don't release unwanted pets!
    Don't plant invasive plants!
hunting - see the results of bison hunting
     predator control
     illegal harvesting and trade
     overharvesting of fish - Fig 55.9, plants, etc.
     killing of incidental catch, "by-catch"climate change - Driftnets
pollution
     of air, water and soil- ozonelayer - Fig 54.27a - Fig 54.27b - Fig 54.21
     climate change - increasing CO2 levels - Fig 54.26
     poisons in food chain - DDT, lead, arsenic, mercury- Fig 54.24
     biological magnification - Fig 54.25
     acid rain - Fig 54.23

Reasons for preserving species
agricultural importance -
   1. biocontrol agents
   2. soil microorganisms
   3. pollinators
genes for plant breeding and genetic engineering
new food crops
medicines - the rosy periwinkle - Fig 55.3
About 80% of people in LDC's rely primarily on traditional medicines, mostly from plants
   1. quinine
   2. taxol
   3. digitoxin from Digitalis
soil stabilization
aesthetics
because its the right thing to do

Endemic species

Extirpated species

Endangered species

100 Heartbeats club - Fig 55.2 - "a" is a Philippine eagle and "b" is a Chinese river dolphin
black-capped vireo
golden-cheeked warbler - map
Houston toad
Kemp's ridley sea turtle
Gray wolf
ocelot

Threatened species

concho snake
Louisiana brown bear

Metapopulations

Extinction

Mass extinctions occurred in the past; human-caused mass extinction today. Extinction rate is accelerating, 10-140 species a day. Passenger pigeon.
The great auk - Fig 55.8

Some characteristics that may make species prone to extinction.

often K-selected species
low reproductive rate
feed at high trophic level
large body size
very specialized feeding habits
limited distribution
prey on livestock
migratory patterns
desirable to humans

Conserving species, communities and ecosystems

Genetic problems faced by small populations

loss of genetic diversity - little to fall back on in times of environmental change
increase in harmful homozygous recessives

Small population approach

Declining population approach

Landscape Ecology

Restoration Ecology - Fig 55.21

Sustainable Development

Learn more about Texas endangered species here (click on the names in green near the top of the page, i. e., "Mammals": http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/nature/endang/ or here: http://agnews.tamu.edu/graphics/endan/endan.html

Endangered species information from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service: http://endangered.fws.gov

University of Michigan endangered species update: http://www.umich.edu/~esupdate

Bat Conservation International: http://www.batcon.org

Center for Plant Conservation: http://www.mobot.org

Conservation Biology: http://www.conbio.org

Conservation Fund: http://www.conservationfund.org

Conservation International: http://www.conservation.org

Defenders of Wildlife: http://www.defenders.org

Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation: A Geographic Perspective on Natural Resource Use. This site has links to many others. http://www.wiley.com/college/geog/cutter018104/resources/Index.htm

The Nature Conservancy: http://nature.org

National Wildlife Federation: http://www.nwf.org

National Audubon Society: http://www.audubon.org

Nearctica: The Natural World of North America: http://www.nearctica.com/

The Need to Know Library - Ecology and Environment Page: WWW Resources Related to the Science of Ecology and the State of the Environment. Lots more links. http://www.peak.org/~mageet/tkm/ecolenv.htm

Predator Conservation Alliance: http://www.predatorconservation.org

Rainforest Action Network

Sierra Club: http://www.sierraclub.org

Texas Parks and Wildlife: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us

Wild Birds Conservation: http://www.wildbirds.org

Wildlife Conservation Society: http://wcs.org

World Wildlife Fund: http://worldwildlife.org

The Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov

Population Connection: http://www.populationconnection.org

Negative Population Growth: http://www.npg.org