Conservation Biology Questions. Bring on the tough stuff 1. What are three categories into which biodiversity can be divided and that conservation biologists work to preserve? Biodiversity can be divided into organismal diversity (species, genera, and so on), ecological diversity (populations, communities, habitats, ecosystems and biomes) and genetic diversity (nucleotides, genes, chromosomes, genomes, individuals and populations). Invasive species can threaten native species through hybridization, but sometimes conservation biologists purposely hybridize endangered species with other species or subspecies, like the Florida and Texas panthers. Why is hybridization okay sometimes but not others?

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When an invasive species hybridizes with a native species, the concern is that the native species will lose its genetic identity and the other species or subspecies' genes will inundate the native species' genome. When conservation biologists breed endangered species with closely related species (or subspecies, in the case of the panthers) they are trying to avoid inbreeding depression. The genome of the endangered species has lost so much genetic variation that it impacts survival and reproduction, and the species might go extinct. A key difference is that hybridization with invasive species just happens out in the wild. Small amounts of hybridization might not harm the native species (after all, that is one way evolution works) but rates of hybridization with invasive species have to be tested and monitored by scientists. Hybridization or interbreeding of endangered species is only used in a few cases when scientists recognize inbreeding depression as a severe threat to a species. It only works when the organisms in question can and will actually mate.

How does conservation biology take evolution into account? Experiments test the evolutionary consequences of small populations. Conservation planning tries to protect evolutionary processes such as gene flow. Isolation, small population sizes and inbreeding depression are avoided if possible.

Name the biggest threats to biodiversity. Habitat loss. Invasive species.

Overexploitation. Climate change (You could also say pollution, though currently climate change is the pollution problem that is most threatening to biodiversity) 5. What are a few ecosystem services mangroves provide? Nurseries for commercially important fish, filtration of run-off from land before it enters the ocean, protecting coastal areas from storms, and storing carbon.

Study guide for Principles of Conservation Biology Third Edition by Groom, Carroll, and Contributors CHAPTER 3 – THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY 1. Major Threats to Biodiversity and Their Interaction. What are the major types of threats to biodiversity?

What are the common origins of all these threats?. How are these threats synergistic and how would that ultimately impact biodiversity?.

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Provide some examples of synergistic threats. How do contaminants bioaccumulate in the environment and what effects can they have on wildlife high in the food chain, such as marine mammals?

Also see page 66, Essay 3.1. Read Essay 3.2. This essay is related to our discussion on ecosystem services ( specifically role of biodiversity and natural systems in regulating diseases). How does the diversity of birds and mammals in an ecosystem affect the rate of transmission of Lyme’s disease and West Nile virus? This essay has some interesting ideas on how the removal of scavengers may have promoted emergence of prion diseases such as chronic wasting disease.

Check this out! Be able to discuss how biodiversity (and maintenance of natural habitats) may contribute to regulation of infectious diseases. Anthropogenic Extinctions and their Community and Ecosystem Impacts. How is ecological extinction different from local or global extinction? How can all of these types of extinctions impact other species at a community level?. What were the contribution of climate change and humans (and the combination of these factors ) to extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna?

Indirect impact of extinctions on animal and plant communities. Explain cascade effects of species extinction (e.g., what are cascade effects? Provide some examples.) See text and Box 3.1. Depletion of top predators can cause ecological release of prey species. What is ecological release and how might this contribute to cascading effects resulting from predator extinction? (See glossary in back of book for definition of ecological release).

What are keystone and dominant species and ecosystem engineers? Why are each of these types of species important in plant and animal communities? What are some examples?

Provide examples of each. We will return to this topic in lecture 17.

Current Patterns of Global Endangerment. What is the IUCN Red List?

How do you think this information could be used in global conservation planning? Also see page 76-77, Box 3.2.

Florida food handlers study guide for 2018. • Concentrating Your Study - As you take more and more sample tests you begin to get a feel for the topics that you know well and the areas that you are weak on. As you take practice ServSafe tests you will become comfortable with the format of the actual ServSafe test. Once the test day arrives you will have no surprises!

How does the proportion of species for different taxa (vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants) that have been evaluated for conservation status compare to the number of described species in each taxon (i.e., have all groups been evaluated equally well)? See page 75, Table 3.2. What are the leading causes of species endangerment in the US and how does this compare with leading causes in China?

(Thought question: What do you expect the most important threats to be by 2050?). Discuss the leading hypotheses to explain world-wide amphibian declines. Case Study 3.1, pages 93-98. Lincoln Brower describes an endangered biological phenomenon Essay 3.3. What is this phenomenon?

Can you think of other species where this same biological phenomenon might be endangered?. Generally, how does the number of endangered species in the United States compare with that of other countries? What do Ecuador and the US have in common that, in part, explains the high number of endangered species in these countries?. What species groups in the US are most threatened by extinction (e.g., what are the top four species groups?) (See text and Fig.

(A thought question: How much do you know about these species groups?). Describe some reasons that estimating extinction rates is difficult. What Types of Species Are Most Vulnerable to Extinction?. Describe how ecological specia lization can put a species at risk of extinction or increase vulnerability.

What characteristics are typically associated with a “K-selected species” and how do these traits influence vulnerability to extinction?. Discuss three key traits that can be used to describe the rarity of a species. Describe ways these traits could put a species at risk for extinction. What is extreme endemism and how is it related to island communities?.

What is the difference between artificial rarity and evolutionarily adapted to rarity?. How are current economic and social changes impacting biodiversity in poverty stricken areas and those with rapid economic growth? Responses to the Biodiversity Crisis. What are ways that national and international agreements are used to help the slow biodiversity loss?

Specifically (Case Study 3.3, pages 104-10),. What does CITES regulate? How do species get on the CITES list?. Generally, what are the obligations of less developed and developed countries that signed the Convention on Biological Diversity? (Thought question: Why did the US not sign the convention?). UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Program, Ramsar Convention, and UNEP Regional Seas Initiative are important international conservation tools.

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You should have some general knowledge of these three programs. Endangered Species Act - Thought question: What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of the Endangered Species Act?. What is the National Forest Management Act? How has the interpretation of this act differed between presidential administrations? Thought question: What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of the National Forest Management Act?. What are Magnusun Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act?

How successful have these acts been in ensuring conservation of marine organisms? Case Study 3.2: Hope for a Hotspot; preventing an extinction crisis in Madagascar - Read this case study for an example of integrated approaches to conservation of a highly threatened biodiversity hotspot.