Non-Native Species Conservation Strategies PDF

Non-native species: organisms brought outside their native range by human activity. Invasive species: non-native species that are harmful to the economy, environment, or human health. Modes of transportation of Non-Native and invasive species: Pet/aquarium trade, Ornamental plants, Food/fur indust...

Non-native species: organisms brought outside their native range by human activity. Invasive species: non-native species that are harmful to the economy, environment, or human health. Modes of transportation of Non-Native and invasive species: Pet/aquarium trade, Ornamental plants, Food/fur industry, Pest control, Stowaways Ballast water can transport millions of organisms across oceans. After translocation, 10% of species appear in the wild and become established, 10% become invasive species Propagule pressure: high number of release-events, large number of individuals released, large genetic diversity of released individuals (e.g., harbors, tourist destinations) Management of non-native species - Prevention (e.g., ballast water treatment, import restrictions, quarantine) - Eradication (for small populations) - Containment (restrict population spread) - Site protection (protect small locations within larger invaded regions). Pest species: organisms whose high abundance result in a strong economic burden. Competitive release Integrated pest management uses multiple techniques to continuously keep pest populations small. - Sanitation (removal pest resources) - Physical pest control (excluding and removing pests) - Biological pest control (introduced, augmented, promoted populations) - Chemical pest control (DDT, neonicotinoids, glyphosate) *In situ* conservation -- onsite conservation efforts - To restore. Make something like it was before. - To protect. Protect something from disturbances. - To maintain. Keep something as it is. - To improve. Make something better (bigger) than it is. - To connect. Improve the connectivity of something. Advantages to in situ: - Applicable to ecosystems. - Cheaper than ex situ. - Conservation of other organisms and habitat. - Potential to engagement local communities. - Higher likelihood of sustainability Disadvantages to in situ : - Little/no control over some variables (storm events, poaching). - Typically, smaller population growth than using ex situ. - Spatial limitations, e.g., only applied to one subpopulation. - Potential for resistance of local communities. Habitat conservation management: - Small spatial scale/Population scale - Patch scale/Community scale - Landscape scale/Ecosystem scale Poaching: the illegal gathering of wild flora or fauna Ex situ conservation -- conservation efforts that include removal of individuals out of their natural range. Advantages to ex situ: - Removal from in situ threats. - Provide effective medical attention. - Produced individuals can be reintroduced elsewhere. - Effective in environmental education Disadvantages: - High, ongoing costs/need a lot of space. - Risks associated with removing organisms. - Small genetic pools. - Altered animal behavior. - Ethical issues with removing animals from the wild for captive programs. Studbooks include the pedigree and location history of the population in a database that provides the basis for the detailed genetic and demographic analyses used for management of captive animal populations Ex situ effects on phenotypic changes - physical and behavioral changes. Preservation: maintain ecosystems and biodiversity balance and integrity without human interference. Conservation: human actions to maintain the integrity and balance of the ecosystems and biodiversity. The minimum viable population (MVP) is the \"smallest isolated population having a 90-99 percent chance of remaining extant for 1000 years despite the foreseeable effects of demographic (fluctuations in population productivity and mortality) and environmental stochasticity (fluctuations in biotic and abiotic environment).\" Populations under the MVP may further decline due to inbreeding, insufficient population densities, low adaptability/genetic diversity, and increased isolation (metapopulations). Extinction vortex: series of linked processes leading to extinction. Due to many factor, i.e., Allee effects, stochasticity, isolation, loss of heterozygosity (trait variation) and increased inbreeding depression (decreased fitness with increased homozygosity) due to population bottlenecks (drastic reduction in population size and therefore genetic variation) -- loss of species adaptability Extinction debt: future extinction of species due to disturbance in the past. Higher population numbers and longer generations times delay extinction. Population Viability Analysis (PVA): is the process by which the MVP for a given species is calculated. In other words, the PVA is the method; the MVP is the answer. (Vortex is a common software for PVAs) Conservation triage -- abandon some populations to extinction and focus resources to populations with higher chances of survival. Single-species focused approach - Keystone species -- species that have disproportionately large effect on their ecosystem -- has community and trophic level effects - Ecosystem engineer -- species that creates or maintains habitat for other species - Umbrella species - Flagship species Protecting umbrella species indirectly protects other species through [shared habitat -- they have large home ranges and/or habitat requirements ] Protecting flagship species indirectly protects other species by generating public awareness and political willingness Global Biodiversity Hotspot -- support an extremely high number of species within a comparatively small area. Example: areas with \>1500 endemic plant species & \> 70% of primary vegetation already lost Crisis ecoregion -- ecoregions that are highly converted with little protections Ecosystem service conservation -- marine protected areas: - Protect and maintain habitat and biodiversity - Improve ecosystem stability and resiliency - Support surrounding fisheries Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) limit/prohibit removing or disrupting marine organisms. Ecosystem focused approach - Ecosystem biodiversity - Global Biodiversity Hotspot - Ecosystem condition - Crisis Ecoregions - Ecosystem service sustainability -- e.g., MPAs conservation translocation is any release to the wild of wild or captive bred individuals for conservation purposes Rewilding is restoring a large habitat area to its natural, self-sustaining state. Rewilding usually includes restoring habitats with conservation translocations of species to restore ecological interactions, natural processes (via ecosystem engineers, keystone species, etc.), and food webs. Translocation Pros and Con Arguments for... - Can be important for species survival by increasing global numbers and number of populations to prevent human-accelerated extinction. - Species belong in the wild, not in captivity, so the ultimate aim of ex situ conservation should be reintroduction. - Can restore natural and self-regulating ecosystems and benefit multiple other species, especially why keystone or ecosystem engineers are involved. - Can be an economic benefit (restoration of ecosystem services, ecotourism potential). - Ethical responsibility. - Has education potential and engaging people with nature and the natural world **Arguments against...** - Can be very expensive---the same money could be better spent conserving species already present in an area to prevent further decline (potentially bigger 'bang for the conservation buck'). - Relatively high failure rate. - Can negatively affect other species, especially if the ecosystem has changed between original extirpation and reintroduction, and previously co-occurring species have adapted accordingly. - Difficult to monitor and define 'success' Headstarting is the ex situ and translocation conservation technique where individuals are brought into captivity only during a certain vulnerable stage of life and then translocated back to the wild Soft release: individuals are acclimatized to their new environment rather more slowly, possibly using temporary enclosures at the release site, or installing refugia, nest sites, or hibernacula, or providing supplemental food for the initial post-release phase Hard release: individuals are taken to the release site and released straight into their new environment. Week 12 conservation translocation is any release to the wild of wild or captive bred individuals for any purpose false A benefit to using captive-bred animals for translocations is that their genetic history is known true Release sites need to be suitable for all stages of the species' life cycle and in all seasons of the year True (even migratory species?) A soft release includes acclimating individuals to their release site in an enclosure at the release site pre-release. true Translocated populations may introduce diseases or parasites to the release sites, and therefore, disease screenings are needed pre-release. true Birds and reptiles are the most translocated species False A Population restoration reinforcement is the release of individuals into an area with the species' historical range and into an area with an existing population of conspecifics The three main issues to consider when considering a release site are suitability of the release site, carrying capacity, species interactions, and socioeconomic acceptability. Headstarting is when you bring a population into captivity to rear them only during a vulnerable stage of their life and then translocate them back to the wild The release of individual into an area outside of the species' historical range to fill an ecological niche left vacant is called a: A. Assisted colonization B. Reintroduction C. Ecological Replacement D. Reinforcement Which of the following is an argument against doing a conservation translocation (select all that apply): A. It can be very costly B. There is a high failure rate (especially for captive-raised populations) C. ~~Species belong in the wild, not in captivity~~ D. It is difficult to define 'success' of these programs Which of the following is NOT a reason to use wild individuals for translocations: A. They are less likely to be inbred B. Quarantine period may be required C. They are more likely to display natural behaviors D. None of the above Soft release technique includes: A. Providing nest sites B. Providing supplementary feed C. Acclimating individuals to release site via on-site enclosures D. All of the above Which of the following are methods to decrease the dispersal of individuals that are released? A. Providing supplementary feed B. Acclimating individuals to release area C. Release into an area with conspecifics present D. All of the above Week 10 and 11 Extinctions are natural and there is always a background rate of extinction true One of the contributors to the extinction vortex is loss of heterozygosity from inbreeding depression and population bottlenecks True Conservation triage is when we use all of our resources to save as many populations as possible False From this graph, you can see that boreal forests are a crisis ecoregion False Marine protected areas cover about 8% of the ocean currently True All marine protected areas prevent the exploitation and taking of its natural resources False varies based on country Protecting a species with CITES, i.e., making it illegal to trade the species or any part of the species, is a form of ex situ management False studbook is primarily focused on the behavioral aspects of managing captive animal populations False Week 9