Species & Landscape Approaches to Conservation

1. Species & Landscape Approaches to Conservation “The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: ‘What good is it?’ If the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not. If the biota, in the course of aeons, has built something we like but do not understand, then who but a fool would discard seemingly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.” Aldo Leopold (1949, A Sand County Almanac)

2. Species-Level Conservation Most conservation efforts target species (or populations), usually through conservation of habitat (Groom et al. 2006) Image of manatees from Wikipedia

3. Species-Level Legislation (U. S. Federal) E.g., U. S. Endangered Species Act – 1973 Cartoon from: www.caglecartoons.com

4. Species-Level Legislation (U. S. Federal) E.g., U. S. Endangered Species Act – 1973 Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction owing to “economic growth and development untendered by adequate concern and conservation” Administered by two federal agencies: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Association (NOAA; Dept. of Commerce) marine organisms U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS; Dept. of Interior) freshwater fishes, terrestrial organisms, etc. Logos from: www.fws.gov; www.noaa.gov

5. Species-Level Legislation (U. S. Federal) E.g., U. S. Endangered Species Act – 1973 Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction owing to “economic growth and development untendered by adequate concern and conservation” Administered by two federal agencies: Both NOAA (through the National Marine Fisheries Service - NMFS) and FWS can directly list a species through their candidate assessment programs; alternatively an individual or organizational petition may request that FWS or NMFS list a species Logos from: www.fws.gov; www.noaa.gov

6. Species-Level Legislation (U. S. Federal) E.g., U. S. Endangered Species Act – 1973 A success story: Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) Photo & range map from Wikipedia

7. Species-Level Legislation (U. S. Federal) E.g., U. S. Endangered Species Act – 1973 A success story: Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) Photo & seals from Wikipedia

8. Species-Level Legislation (U. S. Federal) E.g., U. S. Endangered Species Act – 1973 Chronology for the lower 48 U.S. states: 1700s ~400,000 birds Habitat loss, hunting, DDT 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty 1940 Bald Eagle Protection Act 1950s 412 pairs 1967 Declared endangered 1972 DDT banned in U.S. 1973 ESA A success story: Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 1992 Re-classified as threatened (> 100,000 birds) 2007 De-listed Photo from Wikipedia

9. Species-Level Legislation (U. S. Federal) E.g., U. S. Endangered Species Act – 1973 Bill Clinton (D) 42nd Potus January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001 George Bush (R) 43rd Potus January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009 65 ESA listings per year 8 ESA listings per year(through 5/24/08) Photos from Wikipedia ; data from Greenwald et al. (2006)

10. Species-Level Legislation (International) E.g., International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’ (IUCN’s) Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) – 1973 Mandated to ensure that international trade in wild animals & plants does not threaten their survival Especially focuses on IUCN Red List of Threatened & Endangered Species Accords varying degrees of protection to more than 33,000 species Logo from Wikipedia

11. Species-Level Legislation (International) E.g., International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’ (IUCN’s) Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) – 1973 Severe population declines owing to hunting & trapping (for the international pet trade), habitat destruction, and invasive Africanized bees Last known wild bird died in 2000; only 120 in captivity A sad story: Spix’s Macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii) Considered the only CITES species to have gone extinct in the wild as a result of trade since 1975 Photo from Wikipedia

12. Species-Level Conservation Efforts World Wide Fund for Nature (Formerly the World Wildlife Fund) World’s largest conservation non-governmental organization (NGO), by membership 5 million members Operating budget > $100,000,000/yr Initially focused on endangered species, but its mission has expanded Logo from: www.worldwildlife.org

13. Species-Level Conservation Efforts World Wide Fund for Nature (Formerly the World Wildlife Fund) Feb. 14, 2010 began the Year of the Tiger, according to the Chinese lunar calendar WWF launched a major campaign for tiger conservation Logo from: www.worldwildlife.org

14. Species-Level Conservation Efforts Corporate Logos & Mascots Tigers for Tigers

15. Species-Level Conservation Efforts Corporate Logos & Mascots Logos from: www.saveyourlogo.org and www.bacardi.com; www.hypestudios.co.uk; www.lacoste.com; www.lsu.edu

16. More Population Biology… Species often occur in nature as networks of populations whose temporal and spatial dynamics are interconnected by dispersing individuals (Groom et al. 2006) Pop. B Pop. A Pop. D Pop. C

17. More Population Biology… Species often occur in nature as networks of populations whose temporal and spatial dynamics are interconnected by dispersing individuals (Groom et al. 2006) The populations inhabit habitats of differing quality Pop. or Habitat B Pop. or Habitat A Pop. or Habitat D Pop. or Habitat C

18. More Population Biology… Source & Sink Habitats or Populations Source  (b-d)>0 Sink  (b-d)<0 The populations inhabit habitats of differing quality Pop. or Habitat B Pop. or Habitat A Pop. or Habitat D Pop. or Habitat C

19. More Population Biology… Source & Sink Habitats or Populations Source  (b-d)>0 Sink  (b-d)<0 The populations inhabit habitats of differing quality Which may change from year to year Pop. or Habitat B Pop. or Habitat A Pop. or Habitat D Pop. or Habitat C

20. More Population Biology… Meta-Population Dynamics As originally conceived by Levins (1969), many populations or suitable habitat patches are connected by dispersal across intervening matrix of unsuitable habitat (i.e., no necessary variability of habitat quality among patches) Pop. or Habitat B Pop. or Habitat A Unoccupied Habitat D Pop. or Habitat C

21. More Population Biology… Meta-Population Dynamics Finite chance of extinction in all patches; at any given time some are occupied and some are unoccupied; meta-population is maintained by dispersal and recolonization of temporarily empty patches Pop. or Habitat B Unoccupied Habitat A Pop. or Habitat D Pop. or Habitat C

22. More Population Biology… Meta-Population Dynamics Extinction of a small local subpopulation can also be prevented by the rescue effect (Brown & Kodric-Brown 1977), i.e., immigrants that arrive from neighboring patches Pop. or Habitat B Pop. or Habitat A Pop. or Habitat D Pop. or Habitat C

23. Population Viability Analysis (PVA) “The use of quantitative methods to predict the likely future status of a population or collection of populations of conservation concern” (Morris & Doak, in Groom et al. 2006) MVP for long-term survival (N=500) MVP for short-term survival (N=50) Image from Campbell & Reece (2008) Biology 8th ed., Benjamin Cummings Pubs.

24. Population Viability Analysis (PVA) Often computer-intensive simulation estimates of Minimum Viable Population Sizes (MVPs) MVP for long-term survival (N=500) MVP for short-term survival (N=50) Image from Campbell & Reece (2008) Biology 8th ed., Benjamin Cummings Pubs.

25. Population Viability Analysis (PVA) “… for declining species, spatially explicit individual-based models can be used to understand both population demography and the impacts of habitat destruction, and to guide management practices to increase the chances of species survival.” “Mean (solid line) and 95% CI (dashed lines) for a single set of 150-year simulation runs (n = 100) using the field-derived estimates of the base model parameters… Simulation results prior to the dark grey line in the figure constitute the burn-in phase of the model and were discarded.” Photo of Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow – Wikipedia; fig. & quotes – Elderd & Nott (2008) J. Applied Ecology

26. Ecologically Functional Populations (EFPs) As density of a species decreases, so does its “functionality,” i.e., its interactions with other species Some have criticized the focus on MVPs, arguing that we should be concerned about EFPs, and only focus on MVPs as a last resort Redford (1992) The Empty Forest Argued that a forest may still look like a forest soon after its mammals & birds have been lost, but without pollinators & seed dispersers the forest’s foundation species (the trees) and ecosystem services are doomed Redford (1992) BioScience 42:412-422

27. Ecologically Functional Populations (EFPs) It can get complicated… e.g., Conservation Conflicts Photos of Doñana Nat’l. Park, Spain from http://pixdaus.com; White Stork & Eurasian Spoonbill from Wikipedia

28. Ecologically Functional Populations (EFPs) “Conservation management conflicts frequently arise when an overpopulation of a protected organism has negative effects on other valuable elements in the same ecosystem.” Photos of Doñana Nat’l. Park, Spain from http://pixdaus.com; White Stork & Eurasian Spoonbill from Wikipedia

29. Ecologically Functional Populations (EFPs) 7 species of protected wading birds nest in & cause increased mortality in a remnant population of cork oaks Photos of Doñana Nat’l. Park, Spain from http://pixdaus.com; White Stork & Eurasian Spoonbill from Wikipedia

30. Ecologically Functional Populations (EFPs) “… a challenging trade-off exists between preserving the relict trees, which have a high genetic diversity and a key ecological role in these savannah-like ecosystems, and maintaining the current nesting area for these protected, but expanding, wading birds.” Photos of Doñana Nat’l. Park, Spain from http://pixdaus.com; White Stork & Eurasian Spoonbill from Wikipedia

31. Landscape-Level Conservation Wild organisms do not recognize anthropogenic borders Wild organisms often require more than one habitat type These and other considerations motivate landscape-level conservation Map from www.united-states-map.com; satellite image from NASA

32. Landscape-Level Conservation Efforts The Nature Conservancy U.S.’s largest conservation non-governmental organization (NGO) – by revenue Operating budget > $1,000,000,000 / yr Especially well-managed charitable organization, ~ 88% efficiency (i.e., 88% of $$ go to conservation, as opposed to overhead and fundraising) Logo from: www.nature.org

33. Landscape-Level Conservation Efforts The Nature Conservancy Has protected 69,000 km2in U.S. Approx. area of WV Has protected 473,000 km2 internationally Approx. area of Cameroon Logo from: www.nature.org; Maps from Wikipedia