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Bisc 309 – Conservation Biology
Bisc 309 – Guests + Assignment
Managing Species at Risk
Court case: Failure of Dept Fisheries and Oceans to
identify critical habitat for nooksak dace
Lawsuit launched by Ecojustice
May 4-7, 2009 10am onwards
3rd Floor, 701 West Georgia Street, Vancouver
Freshwater water fish
in lowland streams of the Fraser Valley
Bisc 309 – Lectures
From molecules to landscapes
in 13 weeks
or 40 minutes
Conservation of
molecules or genetic diversity
WHY is this important?
Loss of genetic variation may
Reduce individual survival/productivity
Reduce populations ability to adapt
increase extinction risk
Habitat loss
Pollution Overexploitation Invasive species
Small fragmented
isolated popn’s
Reduced N
An
Extinction Vortex
Inbreeding
Loss of genetic
diversity
Reduced survival and reproduction
Reduced ability to adapt
Examples
Low genetic diversity reduces reproductive output or survival
Conservation of
molecules or genetic diversity
How big is big enough?
5000 individuals?
What are the issues?
Genetic processes are slow
Purging may counter inbreeding
We don’t measure variation for selected traits
Other factors are more immediate/important
Recovery targets are rarely based on genetics
March 2008: Panda genome to be sequenced
in a bid to conserve species
“ the giant panda is a global conservation symbol and
deserving of such an effort”
Oliver Ryder, endangered species biologist
Conservation of
Small populations
Why are small populations a concern?
Small populations are especially vulnerable to
stochastic processes
allee effects
that reduce population growth
---> an extinction vortex
Environmental stochasticity
EG Onager
Strong effects on λ in all populations
Demographic stochasticity
EG Dusky seaside sparrow
Strong effects on λ in small
populations
Managing small populations
Population viability analysis
a tool to assess extinction risk
Questions/Issues
How do they work?
What are the problems?
What else can you use them for?
Managing small populations
Reintroductions
Key questions
When do they work best?
What other factors need to be considered?
Conservation concerns
Habitat loss, Degradation and Fragmentation
habitat
Edge effects
Primates
634 species
50% on IUCN Red List
Major threat – habitat loss
Africa – red colobus
Asia – Grey shanked douc langur
Conservation concerns
Habitat loss and degradation
Can produce
edges
sink habitat
ecological traps
population declines
Managing habitat loss and degradation
Establishing reserves
Restoring habitat
Conservation concerns
Habitat loss and Fragmentation
Patches, area/isolation effects
Patches, area/isolation effects
Area
Isolation
Metapopulations and the matrix
Managing patches and metapopulations
Corridors
Simberloff asked question
CONSERVATION BARGAINS OR POOR INVESTMENTS?
We evaluated evidence that
animals/plants use corridors
corridors influence demography
corridors influence genetic structure
corridors influence diversity
Gilbert et al. 1998 ProcRSoc 265: 577-82
do corridors influence species diversity?
Expt with
Moss micro-arthropod communities on rocks
Conservation concerns
Invasive species
Pine trees in Africa
African dung beetles in Australia
Australian Possum in New Zealand
New Zealand snails in North America
Invasive species
KEY QUESTIONS
What characteristics of a community favour invasions?
Can we predict which species have large impacts?
Do invasions lead to community meltdown?
How will removal impact the current community?
Managing invasive species
Biological Control “is the only long term solution”
to invasive weeds/pests
Judy Myers (UBC)
Purple loosestrife control
Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit 1992
United Nations Convention
on Biological Diversity
Each party must as far as possible
1. Establish a system of protected areas or
areas where special measures need to be
taken to conserve biological diversity
2. Develop where necessary guidelines for the
selection, establishment and management of
protected areas
Percent natural vegetation
Do protected areas work?
Amazon
Congo forest
Joppa et al PNAS 2008
Atlantic coast forest
West African forest
Do protected areas work?
A + B Brazil C Nigeria D Ghana
Do marine protected areas work?
Overall effect of 12 reserves around the world
6
Response
5
ratio
4
More fish 3
in reserve 2
1
More fish
0
out of
-1
reserve
(541)
(236)
(110)
Target
species
Non-target
species
Overall
Mosqueira et al. 2000
Animal Conservation
How do you design a reserve system that
includes and sustains all biodiversity and
ecosystem processes of the region?
What features can be used as
surrogates for overall biodiversity?
Reserve networks – case studies
Cape Floristic Region
Phillipines
Different approaches
- what lessons were learnt
Conservation concern – climate change
Climate change is having detectable effects
Loss of sea-ice reduces
access to prey and has led
to a decline in body
weights and reproductive
success
Could adapt by switching
to snow goose eggs
Climate change, by improving
conditions for chytrid fungus, is
implicated in extinctions of 74
harlequin frog species
The main message
Humans
Climate
Biodiversity
Adaptation and mitigation are necessary
Biodiversity/conservation plays a role in
climate regulation
Biodiversity/conservation is central to
tackling climate change
Climate change
If we act as if it’s too late, then it will be
However, unlikely success might be we can’t
abandon efforts to cut carbon emissions – we
don’t have a better option
George Monbiot
Rich nations have promised $18 billion to help
poor nations with climate change but they have
disbursed only 5% of that
Guardian
Conservation Biology
“do you build models or actually do something”
Kathy Martin (CWS, UBC, forest ecologist)
Biology
provides the tools to help identify trends,
evaluate data, test hypotheses and suggest
solutions
Economics, Development and Politics
are critical for their implementation and success
Your job
Spread the word
Use the biology
Build models
And
Actually do something