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Conservation Bio test 2
kljlgkd
75
Biology
Undergraduate 2
03/16/2010

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Term
area-sensitive species
Definition
species that avoid small patches because small population causes social or demographic problems
Term
brood parasitism( brown-headed cowbird)
Definition
Cowbirds deposit their eggs in Kirkland's werblers' nests, where their young usurp food and parental attention, causing the death of the warblers
Term
ecosystem services
Definition
insectivores decline, instects will increase and harm plants. frugivores decline, reduce plant reproduction by not dispering seeds, scavengers decline so no longer remove decaying meat.
Term
edge effects( edge vs. interior species)
Definition
edge effects reduce demographic success. microclimate changes, increased exposure to predators and parasites, unfamiliar predators/parasites with which population has no prior evolutionary experience. edge species tolerate edge effects vs. interior species( suseptible to edge effects)
Term
ENSO( El Nino-Southern Oscilation)
Definition
intensification of floods, draughts, and hurricanes. characterized by warming and cooling of water in tropical western pacific. effects include decline in primary productivity along the equator, decline in zooplankton productivity, diminished survival and growth of some fishes
Term
Functional extinction
Definition
1. reduced population no longer plays significant role in ecosystem existence.
2. disappears from fossil record
3.no individuals able to reproduce. ex. La Selva Biological Station
Term
global circulation model
Definition
project both winter and summer rainfall to increase at high latitudes, decrease in tropics(draught)
Term
global warming
Definition
more CO2.. less transpiration. vegetation will change from rainforest and savanna and desert.reduced growth of tropical forests. Amazon changing from rainforest to zeric forest.
Term
global change phenomena
Definition
forest lost, fragmentation, overexploitation of wildlife, invasive species, pollutants other than CO2, overgrazing and desertification, agricultural intensification
Term
habitat fragmentation
Definition
process by which natural landscape broken up into small parcels of natural ecosystems,isolated from each other in matrix of lands dominated by human activities
Term
attrition
Definition
continued loss of natural or critical habitat-- greater patch isolation
Term
dissection
Definition
road, trail bisects habitat
Term
preforation
Definition
openings, such as agricultural fields, forest form, grow-- forest loss
Term
landscape genetics
Definition
Term
latitudinal diversity gradient
Definition
species per unit area peaks near equator
Term
types of overexploitation today
Definition
  • commercial-word trade in endangered species fostered by huge markets
  • substinence- defined as harvest of resources for food, not profit( bushmeat trade)
  • incedental-byproduct of some other form of exploitation
  • recreational-type of extinction resulting from human recreational activities
  • indirect-due to human activities other than direct human exploitation
Term
what is ecosystem management?
Definition
holistic consideration of interactions among components of ecosystem to acheive sustainability thorugh adaptive management
Term
what percentage of global fisheries is fully exploited or worse, what are some fisheries that have collapsed, and why?
Definition
  • 50% of fish stocks are fully exploited
  • sardine stocks off California Japan
  • Anchovy off Peru
  • collapse of Canadian cod fishery
Term
how do fisheries impact marine ecosystems, both directly and indirectly?
Definition

direct-population collapse

indirect- destruction of coral reefs, trophic web interaction

Term
what are some of the effects of the physical environment on marine ecosystems in general?
Definition
regime changes- huge changes in temperature, circulation patterns, can cause a failure in fisheries. effect inherent productivity of fishery
Term
ratchet effect
Definition
the pressure to increase the number of fish caught, political pressure
Term
how do Botsford propose to take greater Holism into sustainable fisheries management?
Definition
  • developing models taht are explicitely, multiple species
  • look at results and modify based on adaptive mgmt
  • use moratorium and change season when one can fish
  • better science leads to better politics
Term
What is the central assertion of the Jackson et al. paper, and what is its relevance to conservation?
Definition
As human population and technology has increased, we have caused coastal ecosystem collapse. Historically, humans have been causing damage to these ecosystems for many years
Term
what is meant by retrospective data, and what are the different sources and kinds of retrospective data?
Definition
actual historical accounts, archeological remains help us see what kinds of species were present, sediment records
Term
what are the components of ecosystem collapse, or ecosystem change according to the authors?
Definition
increas of diseases, increased hypoxia( deprived of oxygen supply), reduction of productivity, disruption of trophic biology, loss of kelp
Term
what is the role of overfishing, or resource overexploitation in the ecosystem changes discussed?
Definition
removal of trophic levels causes imbalances
Term
how have major near-shore marine ecosystems changed from pre-historical to modern times in terms of trophic structure?
Definition
all have changed radically. big collapses have already taken place
Term
how do authors link overfishing to "dead zones" in Chesapeake Bay, Pamlico Sound, and even the mouth of the Mississippi River?
Definition
enormous oyster beds were filtering huge volumes of water and taking out tons of microbes. possible cause of dead zones b/c of depleted organisms.
Term
Mesopredator-release hypothesis
Definition
loss of top predators in temperate forests allows increase in "mesopredators" like raccoon, skunk, squirrels, which are important edge species and nest predators on birds
Term
patch isolation
Definition
  • reduces demographic success
  • reduced dispersal reduces re-colonization of empty sites
  • limited gene flow--- reduced genetic diversity, increased inbreeding
  • dificulty locating members of opposite sex
  • some species may not disperse outside preferred habitat at all

 

Term
specialization( diet, foraging substrate, habitat)
Definition

specialized diets of large-beaked insectivores of specific insects

  • many tropical insectivores specialized on foraging "substrate" ex. Bicolored antbird- professional army follower
  •  select habitat with dense lianas
Term
species-area relationship
Definition
forest loss threatens biological diversity
Term
top down effects
Definition
  • organisms hihger in trophic web control populations of those that are lower
  • fragmentation causes loss of top predators, which can change local communities and ecosystems due to trophic cascades( top-down effects)
Term
tipping point
Definition

hard to predict. familiar example: heating item to point of combustion

reduced tree productivity in Amazon forests= climate tipping point

Term
trophic cascade
Definition
occur when predators in a food web suppress the abundance of their prey, thereby releasing the next lower trophic level from predation 
Term
acid precipitation
Definition
  • low pH in rain, snow, fog, rime ice ultimately affecting ecosystems via soils and waters
  • caused by sulfur and nitrogen oxides
  • inhibits calcium uptake in plants
  • damages gills in fish
  • soil depletion
Term
bioaccumulation
Definition
accumulation of non-biodegradable chemical substance in animal tissue via both biocencentration and ingestion to levels that are higher than in environment
Term
bioconcentration
Definition
passive entry of chemical into bodies of organisms following concentration gradients- via gills, skin
Term
biomagnification
Definition
increased concentration( body burdens) of persistant substances via consumption across multiple trophic levels
Term
built structures
Definition

cover 1.4% of land surface

 

Consequences of built structures

  • roads form barriers to movement
  • road kills
  • roads allow people access to areas where sensitive wildlife often disappear
Term
chlorinated hydrocarbons( DDE, DDT, PCBs)
Definition
  • chlorinated hydrocarbons are pesticides persistent to break-down in environment, soluble in animal fats

birds of prey acquired high concentrations of DDT and its metabolites- populations declined throughout US due to eggshell thinning and other reproductive problems

Term
chlorofluorocarbon( ozone hole)
Definition

relatively inert gases produced in large quantities by humans as refrigerants, aerosols in deodorants, etc.

 

effects: cuase of ozone hole. reduced egg survival. may contribute to amphibian declines

Term
cumulative impacts
Definition
additive deletrious effects on BioD of pollutants, and other causes of ecosystem degradation
Term
deforestation
Definition

greatest threat to bioD today. deforestation is root cause of forest fragmentation.

 

causes deforestation ranked by importance

  • substinence farming
  • cattle ranching
  • logging
  • mining
  • residential development

 

Term

desertification

Definition

land degredation( and consequent loss of productivity, species diversity) in arid and semiarid ecosystems due to human activities

 

Causes of destertification

  • overgrazing
  • withdrawal of water
  • cutting of woodland vegetation, climate change

consequences of destertification

  • loss of unique habitat, rich in endemics
  • many desert-adapted species sensitive to loss of habitat
  • deserts and woodlands vulnerable to desertification relatively poorly protected by parks

 

Term
endocrine disruption
Definition

these chemicals operate primarily as estrogen mimics.

examples: pesticides like DDT, dioxins, PCB's( whose action mimics sex hormones functionally)

Term
eutrophication
Definition

defines as increased ecosystem productivity due to enhancement of planting nutrients.

cause: nitrates, phosphates( agricultural runoff from fertilizers, urban runoff), which enhance growth of phytoplankton and other plants

consequences: dead zones, replacements in impoundments of oligotrophic species by eutrophic ones, increased frequency red tides

 

Term
habitat, habitat quality
Definition

habitat- the physical and biological surroundings of an organisms

 

habitat can by described in terms of both quantity, quality( quality determined by how well a species does demographically) source habitats have higher quality than sink habitats

Term
heavy metals
Definition
  • include Hg, Pb, Cd, Al, all generally toxic, depending on form
  • sublethal effects in colonial wading birds: little blue herons
Term
smog
Definition
  • mixture of fog and smoke that undergo photochemical reaction of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides

Effects:

  • kills native vegetation
  • affects coniferous vegetation in mountains surrounding LA basin
  • likely cause of declining mushroom forming fungi in Europe
Term
soil erosion
Definition

cascades into effects on rivers, coral reefs

occurs as a result of overgrazing and unsuitable cultivation practices

Term
source vs. sink habitat
Definition

 source- high quality habitat that on average allows the population to increase

 

sink- very low quality habitat that cannot support a population

Term
wetland loss: filing
Definition
depressions filled until surface of water table is below ground
Term
wetland: draining
Definition
loss by moving water, often with ditches and channels
Term
wetlands: dredging
Definition
digging up the bottom( river channels, sea botttoms due to recent fishing practices)
Term
wetlands: channelizing
Definition
making streams and rivers straighter, wider, deeper, replacing river edge with stone and concrete( often for flood control)
Term
wetlands: diking( leveeing)
Definition
contruction of earthen banks
Term
wetlands: damming
Definition
impounding body of water
Term

biotic homogenization

Definition
model of speices loss by biotic homogenization predicts 50% reduction of mammals from 4,200 down to about 2,000 species, based on species- area curve
Term
exotic species
Definition

non-indiginous species

any species outside its native( non human influenced) geographic range.

 

Term
invasive species
Definition
one that expands aggresively in its new ecological community, often at expense of populations of native species
Term
promiscuous boating
Definition

the sequential use of multiple water bodies by boaters

demonstrated to spread Eurasian water milfoil among northern lakes

policies to check boats for aquatic weeds, clean them off, and reduce lake-hopping are underway

 

Term
habitat/species management area
Definition
conservation through management intervention water levels managed to help seed plants used for duck food during migration and winter
Term
island biogeography theory
Definition
 Larger islands contain larger habitat areas and opportunities for more different varieties of habitat. Larger habitat size reduces the probability of extinction due to chance events. Habitat heterogeneity increases the number of species that will be successful after immigration.
Term
managed resource protected area
Definition
management primarily for sustainable use of natural ecosystems
Term
national park
Definition
for ecosystem protection and recreation( yellowstone)
Term
natural monument
Definition

protection of specific natural and/or cultural features

ex. Chalmette battlefield=natural history unit

Term
Nature reserve/ wilderness area
Definition

managed mainly for science/wilderness

( Adirondack park)

Term
protected landscape/seascape
Definition
for conservation/ recreation( Gulfcoast National Seashore)
Term
Definition
area in which native ecosystems or habitats are protected from most forms of human use
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