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Conservation Biology:

The science of managing and conserving (analyzing and protecting) our earth’s biological systems

Conservation Biology •  Integrates ecology, population biology

physiology, molecular biology, genetics, evolutionary biology to conserve biological diversity at all levels

•  Sustain ecosystem processes

•  Restoration ecology - rehabilitate degraded systems

Biodiversity

•  Species diversity: number of different species •  Genetic diversity: ensuring a healthy gene pool-

problems with bottlenecks •  Ecological diversity: numbers of ‘habitat types’

- relates directly with species diversity

•  But WHY is it important??

What’s the problem? •  Fisheries crashing •  Resource depletion •  Sustainable harvesting? •  Social/economic problems? •  That global insurance policy? •  Disease •  Unknowns?

4 major threats to biodiversity •  Habitat destruction** •  Introduced species •  Overexploitation •  Ecosystem dynamics disruption (eg. the otters

and the kelp beds) •  Climate change

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Treaties and Laws Endangered Species Act (1973) •  protect critically imperiled species from

extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and development untendered by adequate concern and conservation.”

•  Endangered vrs. Threatened and ‘candidate species’

•  Critical habitat: Critical habitats are required to contain "all areas essential to the conservation" of the target species (Section 3(5) (A)). Such lands may be private or public.

Treaties and Laws •  Marine mammal Protection act (1972) •  Prohibits marine mammal ‘take’ with

exceptions

•  IWC: 1946, 1986, a treaty, under the ICRW –  International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling

Treaties and Laws •  The International Union for Conservation

of Nature and Natural Resources IUCN: 1948, an organization

•  Led to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CITES (1973), a Treaty. One of the largest conservation agreements in existence

http://www.islandconservation.org - Introduced Mammals

Island Conservation: a science based approach to management�

the case of the burros on the loose

Habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation is the separation of a landscape into various land-uses (e.g, development, agriculture, etc.), resulting in numerous small, disjunct habitat patches left for use by wildlife.

Effects on: •  Migratory animals •  Animals with large territories •  Resource availability •  Ecosystem stability

Habitat fragmentation: The Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona on the Mexican boarder

Fence Removal The Refuge is removing or altering barbed wire fences left over from ranching days. This aids the movement of deer and pronghorn. Many volunteers and wildlife organizations assist the refuge in many of the fence removal projects.

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Habitat fragmentation: The Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona on the Mexican boarder

Nearly a mile of national wildlife refuge borderland near Sasabe will be traded to allow completion of border fencing, federal agencies announced Friday. It drew criticism from an environmental group.The Department of Homeland Security will acquire 5.8 acres along the border now part of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge. It needs the land to complete a seven-mile stretch of fencing to slow illegal immigration there.

Refuge land traded for border fence Buenos Aires to give up 5.8 acres; deal upsets environmental group By Arthur H. Rotstein THE Associated Press Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.10.2007

Migration corridors

Approaches to conservation biology

•  Species approach –  Managing for a species, eg. one in critical status: Pandas, California

Condors –  Breeding programs

•  Population approach –  Managing for individual populations, not an entire species. Eg.

Elephants –  Relocation programs

•  Ecosystem approach –  Managing for an interconnected system to preserve diversity

The short-tailed albatross: �species approach

The California Condor: �species approach Condor history

•  1924 last sighting of condor in Arizona •  1926 captive condor - infertile eggs •  1952: San Diego capture and breed condors •  1953 first legal protection •  1965 - 60 birds left in the wild •  1967 - listed as endangered •  1983 - first eggs hatched in captivity •  1992-first wild release •  1993-5 wild condors (of 72) •  2006 - second fledged in the wild! •  2007 - 2 eggs hatched at SD zoo - one released back to parents

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Condor recovery •  Condor sanctuaries and protected areas:

corridors? •  Monitor causes of death (lead) •  Education •  Captive breeding programs** •  Radio-tagging for monitoring •  Control poaching •  Federal listing and State listing as

‘endangered’: legal protection •  Research: life history, behavior •  Translocation

•  Population level management: ESUs or Evolutionarily Significant Units

•  Identify populations (units) that need protection

•  Develop and implement plans

Steelhead: �Onchorhynchus mykiss

Tuna, Manta Rays - a population approach? Yellowfin Tuna - tag data

www.TOPP.org

African Elephants

•  History of •  severe poaching and habitat

fragmentation •  Establishment of protected areas left

some populations expanding and others still in trouble

•  Manage populations separately •  Complex social systems •  Translocation programs •  Induced sterility •  Culling

Population Approach

Ecosystem Approach

•  IUCN - world conservation union: •  The Ecosystem Approach places human

needs at the centre of biodiversity management. It aims to manage the ecosystem, based on the multiple functions that ecosystems perform and the multiple uses that are made of these functions. The ecosystem approach does not aim for short-term economic gains, but aims to optimize the use of an ecosystem without damaging it.

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Management approaches

•  Landscape and regional conservation –  Sustaining biotas - look at past and present patterns

•  Habitat fragmentation –  Corridors –  Metapopulations/subpopulations

•  Establishing protected areas - not an easy process! –  Eg. marine reserves –  Multiple use? –  Zoned reserves

Figure 55.14 The zoned reserve concept of landscape management

West Coast Marine Managed Areas (MMAs) at a Glance

•  269 MMAs exist in west coast waters (0 - 200 m). •  These MMAs cover nearly half (47%) the west coast

waters. •  Almost this entire area (99.9%) allows multiple uses,

such as fishing and recreation. •  A small fraction of the MMA area (0.1%) is no-take. •  Federal MMAs are fewer, but much larger than state

MMAs. •  Fishing is allowed in almost the entire MMA area

(99.9%).･ ･ ･ ･ ･

Marine Protected Areas •  The official federal definition of an MPA is: any area of the

marine environment that has been reserved by federal, state, tribal, territorial, or local laws or regulations to provide lasting protection for part or all of the natural and cultural resources therein. Executive Order 13158 (May 2000)

•  Multiple use! - less than 1% are ‘no take’

•  Designed to set aside critical habitat to ensure ‘breeding stock’ to ‘feed’ the fishery - no use or ‘rotational’ use

•  Designed for territorial or non-migratory organisms

•  A management strategy to help sustain fisheries

Marine Protected Areas classification •  (a) Conservation Focus (one or more)

–  Natural Heritage –  Cultural Heritage –  Sustainable Production

•  (b) Level of Protection Afforded (one attribute) –  Uniform Multiple-Use –  Zoned Multiple-Use Zoned with No-Take Area(s) –  No Take –  No Impact No Access

•  (c) Permanence of Protection (one attribute) –  Permanent –  Conditional –  Temporary

•  (d) Constancy of Protection (one attribute) –  Year-round –  Seasonal –  Rotating

•  (e) Ecological Scale of Protection (one atrribute) –  Ecosystem –  Focal Resource

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Management Protected areas:

The Convention on Biological Diversity defines protected areas as:･ "a geographically defined area which is designated or regulated and managed to achieve specific conservation objectives.”

IUCN the world conservation union defines protected areas as:･"areas of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means."

Species Approach Case Study: The Asian Elephant

•  Elephant and wildlife corridor between park and sanctuary •  Manage human/elephant conflict (elephant deterrents •  Education •  Use domesticated Elephants to help protect •  Radio-tagging elephants outside of protected areas •  Control poaching •  Restore landscapes for elephants •  Ecotourism ($$) •  Breeding •  Monitoring populations •  Research: life history, behavior •  Translocation

And YOU own this one - make good informed decisions about it!