Introduction to Ecology

CERC Certificate Program

Columbia University

Session 5 – Conservation Biology

 Conservation Biology
Goals for the day
• Why now?
• Definition of Conservation Biology
• Habitat Loss and Fragmentation
• Invasive Species
• Disease Ecology
• Ecotoxicology
• What Can We Do?
 Introduced Species Summary
Project
• What species did you do?
– Responses?
– Why did you choose the species you did?
– Should your species be controlled? Why?
 Conservation Biology
Goals for the day
• Why now?
• Definition of Conservation Biology
• Habitat Loss and Fragmentation
• Invasive Species
• Disease Ecology
• Ecotoxicology
• What Can We Do?
 Global Changes
• What processes are at work at present in the
planet?
• Examples
– Global Climate Change
– Acid Rain
– Spread of Pollution and Toxins
– Spread of Biotic Pollution
• How are these occurring?
– What is the generative force behind them?
 Global Change Cause

• What is the Generative

Force behind these
changes?

US!
 Human Impact
• We have altered nearly all of the Earth that it is
profitable for us to do so
 Why Now?
• Why has human
population growth so
escalated recently?
• What has happened to
cause this?
– When was the last large
dip in world population?
 Conservation Biology
Goals for the day
• Why now?
• Definition of Conservation Biology
• Habitat Loss and Fragmentation
• Invasive Species
• Disease Ecology
• Ecotoxicology
• What Can We Do?
 Definition of Conservation
Biology
• Applied ecology
… but with an agenda!
• Is this truly scientific?
– Why or why not?
 Agenda Items

• Why should we care about conserving biodiversity?

– Ecosystem Function
– Direct Economic Uses
– Indirect Economic Uses
– Ethical Reasons
– Aesthetic Reasons
 Agenda Items

• Nearly all of these are

subjective and involve
value judgments
– Not everyone values
biodiversity vs.
– Short-term gain may
outweigh these
considerations
• Financial, Survival
• Respect others’ views?
 Conservation Biology
Goals for the day
• Why now?
• Definition of Conservation Biology
• Habitat Loss and Fragmentation
• Invasive Species
• Disease Ecology
• Ecotoxicology
• What Can We Do?
 Habitat Loss
• Single greatest threat to biodiversity
– Approx. 50+% of all species extinctions have
been involved habitat loss
– Island biogeography theory predicts that around
50% of species are lost with 90% habitat loss
Impacts of Habitat Modification
• Loss of Habitat
• Habitat Alteration
• Fragmentation
• Increased Human Presence
• Introduced Species
Impacts of Habitat Modification
• Loss of Habitat
– Occasionally completely
• Paving - 377,810 miles in US forests
only plus 44,000 m highways, plus ? m
suburban, etc.
– Usually remaining habitat in altered
areas is suboptimal
– Remaining individuals are stressed
and have decreased fitness
Impacts of Habitat Modification
• Habitat Alteration
– Remaining surrounding habitat
is impacted due to use of altered
habitat
– E.g., fumes, pollution, from cars
 Impacts of Habitat Modification
• Fragmentation
– Key component: Edge Effects
– Impacts of fragmentation
percolate into interior
–  aridity,  wind,  openness, 
heat, change in water patterns, 
noise, etc.
– These impacts often permeate in
several hundred meters
• Distance is species specific
• Birds in Australia = 200+ m
Impacts of Habitat Modification
• Increased Human
Presence
– Alteration leads to
more alteration
– People arrive, then
their influence
expands and
intensifies
 Impacts of Habitat Modification
• Introduced Species
– Other species come with
us as we fragment
– Intentionally
– Unintentionally
– Thought to be the
second strongest force
behind only
fragmentation
– More about these
 Conservation Biology
Goals for the day
• Why now?
• Definition of Conservation Biology
• Habitat Loss and Fragmentation
• Invasive Species
• Disease Ecology
• Ecotoxicology
• What Can We Do?
 Invasive Species
• Intentional Introductions
– Crops, pets, ornamentals, ranching, etc.
• Unintentional Introductions
– Everything else
– Majority of Introductions are these
 Invasive Species
• Impact on other species through many ways
– Competition, predation, parasitism, herbivory,
parasitoidism
– Species need resources to survive and
propagate
– What does this view assume about community
structure and niche availability?
 Rule of Tens
• Not all species that are
introduced are
successful
• Stages of Invasion
1. Introduction
2. Establishment
3. Integration
4. Dominance (or Pest
status or invasiveness)
 Rule of Tens

• Only 10% make it Transportation

through each stage
– 10,000 in a source area Establishment
– 1,000 introduced
– 100 established Integration
– 10 integrated
– 1 pest Dominance
– Empirical observation (or Pest status)
 Invasive Species
• Why can invasive
species quickly explode
in population size?
• Ecological Release
– The restrictions on pop
growth are removed in
the novel location
 Invasive Species
• This phenomenon can also be used to our
benefit
• Can you think of examples?
• Biological Control of pest insects
– Parasitoid wasps
• Erosion Control
– E.g., Kudzu
• CAUTION
 Heaviest Hit Location
• Hawaii
– Comprises < 0.2% of total US land area
– Has more than 25% of US endangered species
– Approximately 72% of recorded extinctions are in Hawaii
– Hawaii has more endangered species (per area) than
anywhere else on the planet
 Conservation Biology
Goals for the day
• Why now?
• Definition of Conservation Biology
• Habitat Loss and Fragmentation
• Invasive Species
• Disease Ecology
• Ecotoxicology
• What Can We Do?
 Disease Ecology
• Essentially a subfield
within invasion biology
– The pest is usually an
introduced species
– Bacteria, viruses, fungi,
protists, etc.
• Responsible for tracking &
controlling the spread of
novel diseases
 Disease Ecology
• Examples of this
locally?
• West Nile Fever
• Malaria
• Chestnut Blight
• Dutch Elm Disease
 Disease Ecology
• Novel feature here:
– Need a vector (as with other
Invasives)
– Also need host(s)
• Harder to introduce
diseases as a consequence
than other species
• Rule of tens overestimates
Emerging Infectious
Diseases (EIDs)
 Conservation Biology
Goals for the day
• Why now?
• Definition of Conservation Biology
• Habitat Loss and Fragmentation
• Invasive Species
• Disease Ecology
• Ecotoxicology
• What Can We Do?
 Ecotoxicology
• Definition: Spread of the scientific study of
harmful effects caused by manmade chemicals
to the natural environment
• Of particular interest are the effects on
populations, communities, and ecosystems
From Dictionary.com
 Ecotoxicology
• An essential part is
the study of the
movement of
potentially toxic
substances through
food webs and
through the water
cycle
Dictionary.com
 Ecotoxicology Example
• Floridian Feminized Feral Alligators
• First found in early 1990s
• Due to estrogen-like pollutants from sewage effluent
• Main chemical culprits: pesticides, industrial compounds,
dioxins, & ingredients of plastics and detergents
– Act to either mimic estrogen or block testosterone receptors
– Suppress reproduction, by reducing their effective population size
– Possibly also occurring in Humans?
 Conservation Biology
Goals for the day
• Why now?
• Definition of Conservation Biology
• Habitat Loss and Fragmentation
• Invasive Species
• Disease Ecology
• Ecotoxicology
• What Can We Do?
 What Can We Do?
• Prioritize areas for conservation
• Restore already damaged areas
– Called Restoration Ecology
• Land-for-debt swaps
• Ecosystem valuation
• Captive breeding programs
• Reducing our footprint
• Many others….
 Ecological Pyramid
• Trends down pyramid:
Population

– Increase in geographic scale

Community

– From single species to multiple

species Ecosystem

– Increasing number of ecological Biome

factors that may be influential
Biosphere
– Decreasing certainty in results
 The Tour of Ecology Has
Concluded
• General Ecology

• Population ecology

• Community ecology

• Ecosystem ecology

• Conservation Issues
– Is there any hope for the
future?
– You determine the answer…