Download Lecture 1 - Introduction

Introduction to Wildlife & Fisheries Conservation
WFSC 304
LAND
Instructor
Dr. Thomas J. DeWitt
Authority: Biodiversity at genetic and phenotypic levels,
ecosystem function, predation, freshwater
Office: 110i Old Heep Lab Bldg.
Office hours: “casual”
AIR
organisms
WATER
Course content
This course covers major issues in environmental biology and presents discipliness that collectively make up the applied
field of conservation biology. We explore the major conceptual paradigms associated with both wildlife and fisheries
conservation. We examine current issues and perspectives relevant to modern conservation. The course includes
graded, written and oral assignments that foster growth in creative and integrative ability and communication skills.
Instructor philosophy
 Unconnected facts are boring; they gain meaning through Synthesis
 Memorizing information is not learning in a meaningful sense
 Learning concepts (integration and organization of information) is meaningful
 Learning to reflect, to twist facts and concepts into new syntheses that solve problems… that is the goal
 This requires building a conceptual framework to accommodate interrelated information
(the larger the framework the more complete and useful it will be)
 Concept rotation / lateral thinking
you write a definition:
Learning goals
Understand the nature, magnitude and context of environmental problems
Understand the multidisciplinary framework of conservation biology
 Ecology
 Genetics
 Toxicology
 Evolution
 Resource and land use
 Politics
 etc.
And more abstract skills…
Learn to think conceptually
Learn to think integratively (build conceptual framework with information from different domains)
Learn to think creatively (come up with ideas no one else has thought)
Learn to think thoroughly (carry through logical scenarios to distant yet probable ends)
Learn to think about connectedness of disciplines and entities
(e.g. interactions of physics, ecology, infrastructure, stakeholder values)
Learn to think globally/internationally
Learn to think quantitatively (e.g. understand research and modeling)
Practice group communication (practice preparing and giving oral presentations; practice group work)
Read scientific literature (gain information & facility in extracting information)
Practice participation in scholarly oral discourse
Spark and feed your sense of wonder about the world
NOT LEAST: Apply understanding and synthetic skills to solve problems in conservation and sustainability
Why focus on the abstract skills?
Because you think you are better at these things than employers think you are:
Source: Inside Higher Ed
Course structure
Website: http://people.tamu.edu/~tdewitt/wfsc304/index.html
“The primary goal is to reduce suffering, and to do that one must understand the world.”
—The Buddha
Mankind has done a fair job of discerning the nature, workings, and history of the physical
world. Here’s what we have been able to piece together:
 14 bya the universe was formed
 4.5 bya our planet was formed
 contained key ingredients for emergence and maintenance of life
 photosynthesis changed the biogeochemistry at planetary scale
 life was mean for the first humans—disease and predators and climatological
vulnerability kept us down. But we were clever monkeys… masters of water
o irrigation, water wheel, noria, sanitation, steam engine, seafaring…
Homo sapiens – 200,000 BP
 The earliest modern humans are from Omo, Africa and are dated to 195,000 years ago (YA)
 Molecular coalescence suggests the origin of humans 200,000 YA
 Humans are known in the Middle East from about 100,000 YA
 India 65,000 YA
Alemseged Z, Coppens Y, Geraads D (2002) Hominid cranium
 Australia 50,000 YA
from Homo: Description and taxonomy of Homo-323-1976 Europe 40,000 YA
896. Am J Phys Anthropol 117: 103–12.
 Siberia 30,000 YA
Stoneking M, Soodyall H (1996) Human evolution and the
mitochondrial genome. Current Opinion in Genetics &
 North America 20 – 15,000 YA
Development 6: 731–6.
 South America 14,000 KYA
Increased human population results in increased demands on earth.
Humans have contributed to the decline and extinction of many species, the disruption of
natural, hydrological, and chemical cycles. Consequently, biological diversity is rapidly
declining (Barnosky et al. 2011, cited in your text).
From an older edition of your book—note the projection accuracy (blue lines added).
How many humans are there now? (link)
Even now, the human population is unevenly distributed across the planet:
83% of the land surface is influenced by one or more of the following:
 human population density greater than 10/km2
 agricultural land use
 urban/suburban areas
 access within 15 km of a road
 major river or coast
 night light enough to be picked up by satellite sensors
Resource use is not geographically homogeneous. Also not homogeneous per-capita:
This graph is about consumption. It shows the land area it takes to support a person from
different countries.
 Consider the US/India contrast. It would take 3 billion Indians to register the same
impact as we the people of the US, 300 million strong.
 The U.S. contains 4% of the world population, yet, it accounts for 30% of the world’s
daily oil consumption (250 times as much as India).
 It would take 4 Earths to support the world’s population at the level of consumption
typical in the US.
 An “ecological footprint” calculates how much land and water resources we consume
to grow our food, support our lifestyles, and assimilate our wastes.
 Our demands continue to increase for energy, food, and forests.
 The obvious problem is…
The footprint of man’s “progress”, in terms of natural resource issues, includes
 Overexploitation
 Invasive Species
 Spread of Diseases
 Habitat Degradation
 Contamination/Pollution
 Deforestation/Desertification
 Habitat Loss/Fragmentation
 Extinctions/Extirpations
Thousands of species are threatened with extinction at present.
 12% of all birds
 12.5% of all plants
 23% of all mammals
 32% of all amphibians
 34% of all fish
 20% - 42% of all reptiles
If we do nothing, these numbers will get worse and reify.
If we act to conserve nature and its resources, the numbers could abate.
The root of most current conservation problems is of course (in case you missed it!) too
many humans. Some governmental policies are effective in reducing population growth
(e.g. demographic transitions, one-child policies). Perhaps water disparity will become
limiting as well, opening the door to interaction with other forces like conflicts, disease,
famine, etc. But it is a good bet we will hit 9 billion people and we have to plan for it.
demographic transitions:
one-child policies:
Consequences are rife
Arguably the most dire:
EXTINCTIONS
One recent study (Burkhead M, 2012, Extinction rates in North American freshwater fishes, 1900–2010. Bioscience)
 USGS researchers examined contemporary (1900-2010) extinction rate for
freshwater fish in North America
 They compared contemporary extinction with rates derived from examination of
freshwater fish in the fossil record
 Fossil record showed approximately 1 extinction/3 million years
 The contemporary rate was 877 times higher
 Not surprising since NA wetlands are literally under human assault. In the US for
example 50% of our historic wetlands have been destroyed.
Humans are impacting the globe so drastically there is a massive campaign in effect to name a
new geological era, the Anthropocene
Why so much green in Siberia and the arctic and N. Africa?
So this says it all.
The other instructors have a slide:
Reasons for optimism
1. World population growth has slowed substantially
Brazil in 1960 – birth rate of 6.4
In 2010 – 1.9
(compare to US at 2.0)
2. We all have the potential to change how much and what we consume
Let us accept these statements optimistically but cautiously. The Brazil scenario was cherrypicked before Brazil entered a new period of political turmoil. And although we all can decide
about consumption, we always seem to choose more. More is better. Much better.
So assuming consumption will increase (it will), we should concern ourselves with
sustainability and conservation as much as reducing consumption, perhaps more.
Contrast two views of natural resources (both actually from Pinchot, advisor to TR; ):
1. "the art of producing from the forest whatever it can yield for the service of man"
2. "the greatest good for the greatest number for the longest time"
Pinchot G (1914) The Training of a Forester. Philadelphia: JB Lippincott Co.
Can the two views reconcile?
Here are Pinchot’s core principles:
 Development: "the use of the natural resources now existing on this continent for the
benefit of the people who live here now. There may be just as much waste in neglecting
the development and use of certain natural resources as there is in their destruction. …
The development of our natural resources and the fullest use of them for the present
generation is the first duty of this generation."
 Conservation: "…the prevention of waste in all other directions is a simple matter of
good business. The first duty of the human race is to control the earth it lives upon."
 Protection of the public interests: "The natural resources must be developed and
preserved for the benefit of the many, and not merely for the profit of a few."
Pinchot, Gifford (1910). The Fight for Conservation.
Contrast discussion USFS v. NPS
Conservation Biology
There is a famous article with this title from 1985 by Soule, and a followup 15 years later by
Kareiva (I may post one or both). Another article argues there are so many definitions of
Conbio there is no definition.
For purposes of being on the same page:
Conservation biology is a response by the scientific community to the biodiversity crisis.
(Environmentalism is the public’s response)
Conservation biology merges applied and
theoretical biology and incorporates ideas and
expertise from a broad range of fields outside
the natural sciences, toward the goal of
preserving biodiversity.
Conservation biology represents a synthesis of
many basic sciences that provide principles
and new approaches for the applied fields of
resource management:
It applies principles of:
 Natural Science
 Social Science
 Policy and Governance
 Humanities (e.g. aesthetics, ethics…)
 It is becoming an increasingly applied (meaning utilitarian; not used) field
One attempt to put all this together is a highly successful program here at TAMU:
What is Biodiversity?
The complete range of species and biological
communities as well as the genetic variation within
species and all ecosystem processes.
This includes:
 Species diversity
 Genetic diversity
 Phenotypic diversity?
 Community diversity
 Ecosystem diversity
 Both pattern and process***
Species diversity—
Big picture
(ignore numbers in the pie chart except
to contrast with the modern numbers
below, and for the proportional
representation of varied taxa)
 The diversity of organisms and plentitude of species we see today have been and are
being evolved. We will explore evolution later in the course but a brief definition is
change in gene frequencies through time. This process is readily observed and happens
at a rate that has shocked us (the scientific community).
 Many processes create evolution but among the strongest driving forces is ecology and
environmental change.
 The goal of conservation biology is not to stop genetic change, nor to conserve the
status quo, but rather to ensure that populations may persist by continuing to respond
to environmental change in an adaptive manner.
 Ecological systems are not in stable equilibria. A sort of stochastic-dynamic equilibrium,
mixed with some chaos, is a better mental model. Therefore adaptability is needed by
organisms.
 Ecosystems consist of patches and mosaics of habitat types, not of uniform and clearly
categorized communities. And patches change. Again, organisms must be able to
persist by evolutionary or physiological adaptation and migration.
 Humans are and will continue to be a part of both natural and degraded ecological
systems. Their presence must be included in conservation planning.