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Bird Trip: Email Me

Join us on a bird trip to explore community ecology, invasive species, and ecosystem services. Learn the importance of biodiversity and risks of biological control while discovering the new paradigm in ecology. Dive into the conservation of species interactions and ecosystems of special concern. How risky is biological control? Find out more about biodiversity indices and measuring techniques.

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Bird Trip: Email Me

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  1. Bird Trip: Email Me Sunday April 29 or May 6? Need binoculars? Transportation?

  2. Outline • Community Ecology • Indirect effects, Keystone species, Invasive species • Biodiversity: importance and evaluation • The new paradigm in ecology: communities in flux • Conservation of species interactions • Ecosystem Ecology • Ecosystem services • Biodiversity and ecosystem services • Ecosystems of special concern (Marine and Tropical)

  3. Purple Loosestrife • Benefits of Biological Control • Mediate spread • Restore interactions • Conserve endangered species • Risks of Biological Control • Unintended ecological consequences

  4. How Risky is Biological Control? • 800 spp. of snails have evolved in Hawaii islands. • Rosy Wolf-Snail introduced to control Giant African Snail. • 50-75% of native land snails extinct. Simberloff, D., and P. Stiling. 1996. How risky is biological control? Ecology 77:1965-1974.

  5. Gypsy Moths:Entomophaga maimaiga

  6. Island Communities • Some of the “best” examples of invasive species come from island communities • Brown tree snake on Guam • Rosy wolf-snail in Hawaii • Possible reasons • Low Diversity (1° factor: discuss later) • Relaxed selection (2° consequence of low diversity)

  7. Biodiversity (1) (2) (3)

  8. Biodiversity Shannon-Wiener Endemicity Simpson’s Richness 6 1.35 2.67 1 5 1.35 7.58 0 4 1.38 4 2 *In nature, different “diversity indices” typically give similar results

  9. Biodiversity Richness: Total number of spp. Evenness: The distribution of individuals among spp.

  10. How do we determine species richness? BIOBLITZ:http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues00/apr00/interest_apr00.html Total species found in 695 acres over 24 hours - 1,369

  11. Measuring Biodiversity: Extrapolation • ~ 1200 beetle spp. in canopy of Luehea seemanii. • ~ 13.5 % (163 spp.) of beetles are specialists. • ~ 50,000 tropical tree spp. • Beetles ~ 40% of insect diversity. • ~ 2/3 insects found in canopy, 1/3 on ground • ~30 million insect spp.

  12. Measuring Biodiversity: Estimators For more info, see: Colwell, R. K., and J. A. Coddington. 1994. Estimating terrestrial biodiversity through extrapolation. Phil.Trans.R.Soc.Lond.B. 345: 101-118. Species Goal: sample here, extrapolate there Samples NOTE: Species richness increase with sampling effort

  13. ALAS “How many arthropod species are there in a tropical rainforest? . . . Systematists use a "find them all" approach . . . Community ecologists, in contrast, use a "sample and estimate" approach. Project ALAS combines both traditions in an assessment of arthropod diversity. "Sample and estimate" methods are used to sample a set of broad "survey taxa," while "find them all" methods are used to sample much more thoroughly a set of smaller "focal taxa." The known focal taxa are then used to calibrate and evaluate and compare the sampling and estimation methods.” http://viceroy.eeb.uconn.edu/ALAS/ALAS.html

  14. Is Biodiversity Important? • Conservation Biology Perspective • Inherently valuable • Utilitarian Perspective • Natural resources: Genetic libraries; natural design • Ecological Role • Invasibility • Stability • Ecosystem Function

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