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Bird Trip: Email Me. Sunday April 29 or May 6? Need binoculars? Transportation?. 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
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Bird Trip: Email Me Sunday April 29 or May 6? Need binoculars? Transportation?
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)
Purple Loosestrife • Benefits of Biological Control • Mediate spread • Restore interactions • Conserve endangered species • Risks of Biological Control • Unintended ecological consequences
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.
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)
Biodiversity (1) (2) (3)
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
Biodiversity Richness: Total number of spp. Evenness: The distribution of individuals among spp.
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
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.
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
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
Is Biodiversity Important? • Conservation Biology Perspective • Inherently valuable • Utilitarian Perspective • Natural resources: Genetic libraries; natural design • Ecological Role • Invasibility • Stability • Ecosystem Function