Marine Conservation Biology
ESP 198-024 Fall 2007
Marine Conservation Biology
• ESP 198-024
• CRN 54650 - 3 units
• Lecture: Tues. & Thurs. 1:40-3:00 p.m.,
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Olson 217
Instructor: Ted Grosholz, Department of
Environmental Science and Policy
Office and Hours: 3114 Wickson Hall, 7529151, Office Hours: Tues. 3-4 pm or by
appointment
Marine Conservation Biology
• Lecture Format:
– The period of 1.5 hours
– Lecture will generally be followed by
questions and discussion
– Five minute break mid-lecture
Marine Conservation Biology
• Grading:
– Final Exam (35%) (Dec. 14)
– Midterm Exam (25%) (Oct. 30)
– Two Essays (15% each, 30% total) (Nov. 15,
Dec. 6)
– Attendance and Participation (10%)
Marine Conservation Biology
• Essays:
– Two essays due during the quarter
– Essays are no more than two pages
– Issues and/or controversies in marine
conservation biology
– Read two short papers discussing different
perspectives on each issue
Marine Conservation Biology
• Course Philosophy:
– Many ways to approach science and conservation
science
– Although scientific method is objective, scientists and
users of science are generally not
– Questions asked, methods used, and interpretations
of data are subjective
– Try not to defend positions, but try to provide
evidence and discuss controversies where applicable
– Need to understand limits of science and its use
Class Information
• Name
• Year and Major
• Classes taken
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Ecology and evolution
Fisheries, conservation, wildlife management
Marine sciences, oceanography, limnology
Statistics, math, computer science
• Email/contact information
• Three most important issues in Marine
Conservation
Defining Marine
Conservation Biology
• Marine Conservation biology is the science of
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conserving marine biodiversity
“Biological diversity” or “biodiversity” was first
used in the context of conservation around 1980
Diversity occurs at many levels from genes to
species to ecosystems
Marine systems have much greater diversity at
higher taxonomic levels
32 of 33 animal phyla are in the oceans
15 phyla are exclusively marine
Defining Marine
Conservation Biology
• Marine Conservation Biology occurs at the
interface of the scientific study of marine
systems and the public policy goal of
conserving marine resources
• Focus on the science of marine
conservation, although occasional discuss
how science is used in policy
Defining Marine
Conservation Biology
• “Marine systems” will be a shorthand for a
wide range of coastal and marine systems
– Open oceans and deep oceans
– Coral reefs and temperature reefs
– Sea grasses and sandflats
– Coastal bays and estuaries
– Polar oceans and polynyas
Reasons for Conserving
Marine Biodiversity
• Important source of protein
– Some countries (Indonesia, Japan,
Philippines) more than 50% of the protein
comes from ocean
• Unique pharmaceuticals
– Anti-tumor compounds like Didemnin b (from
tunicates) and Bryostatin (from bryozoans)
and Dolastatins (from sea hares)
– Carrageenan and agar from red algae
Reasons for Conserving
Marine Biodiversity
• Ecosystem services provided by coastal and
marine systems
– Mangroves, marshes, sea grasses help buffer coastal
areas from wind and waves
– They stabilize sediments and prevent erosion of
coastal areas
– Corals literally create new land masses, many topical
islands are entirely coral
– Global climate is regulated by the oceans (CO2)
exchange, ocean is a large sink for atmospheric CO2
Reasons for Conserving
Marine Biodiversity
• Aesthetics
• Recreation
• Marine wilderness
• Value of life
Why Marine Conservation Biology
• Reasons for conserving diversity are generally
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similar to terrestrial systems
Significant differences in the habitats, organisms
and compared with land and traditional
conservation biology
Also many differences in legal structures,
governance and policies
Conservation biology in marine systems does
build on conservation efforts in terrestrial
systems, but must reflect realities of the oceans
Differences Between Marine and
Terrestrial Systems
• Oceans are physically different
– Water is 850 times denser and 60 times more
viscous
– Greater buoyancy for organisms
• Organisms can be much larger
• Larger size usually influences life history
– Sound and electricity conducted more
efficiently
• Communication pathways differ, subject to human
impacts
Differences Between Marine and
Terrestrial Systems
• Oceans are physically different
– Light absorption
• Majority of ocean is light limited
– Steeper pressure gradient
• Can restrict distribution of organisms
– Greater thermal stability
• Temperature changes slowly
• Many tropical organisms live near their thermal
limit
Differences Between Marine and
Terrestrial Systems
• Ocean habitats are much more 3-dimensional
• Ocean systems have boundaries defined by
temperature, light, salinity, depth, wind,
currents, upwelling, etc.
– Boundaries shift on scales of hours to days
• Vertical gradients of temperature, light, pressure
change rapidly near the surface but more slowly
with depth
– Biological zones are more compressed near the
surface
Differences Between Marine and
Terrestrial Systems
• Organisms are different
– Large diversity of planktonic organisms
(holoplanktonic=entire life or meroplanktonic=part of
life)
– Much more diverse and permanent than aeroplankton (seeds, spores, spiders, flying insects)
• Species on average have larger ranges
– Populations are more “open”
• Large numbers of sessile animals
– Filter and suspension feeders
Differences Between Marine and
Terrestrial Systems
• Marine primary producers are smaller relative to
consumers
– Important marine plants are small and short-lived
(phytoplankton)
– Important terrestrial plants are larger and longer-lived
(trees)
• Food chains in the oceans are longer on average
– Average of 6-7 links
Differences Between Marine and
Terrestrial Systems
• Threats are different
– Loss of habitat generally not a critical issue
(IMPORTANT exceptions: coral reefs, sea
grasses, salt marshes, mangroves)
– Overexploitation of non-target species is a
primary issue
– Extinction (so far) is rare outside of birds and
mammals in marine systems
Differences Between Marine and
Terrestrial Systems
• Much of the world’s oceans are subject to
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international law
Majority of open ocean and deep ocean habitats
are less well studied than terrestrial habitats
Observation of many species, let alone
identification is difficult
Diversity hot spots and patterns are less clear
Similarities Among Terrestrial
and Marine Systems
• There are threatened and endangered
species, even invertebrates
• Species have been driven extinct and this
continues
• There are particular high priority areas
– Islands with high endemism (unique species)
• Ascension Isl., Easter Isl., Galapagos Islands
– Isolated seas and oceans
• Baltic Sea, Adriatic Sea, Black Sea, Sea of Cortez
Similarities Among Terrestrial
and Marine Systems
• There are particular high priority areas
– Spawning grounds and nursery areas
• Coral reef fishes
• Sea grasses and estuaries
– Areas of high productivity
• Upwelling zones, polar ice edges
– Migration stopover areas
• Birds and mammals
Similarities Among Terrestrial
and Marine Systems
• There are high priority species
– Taxonomically distinct
– Species with limited distributions or small
population size
– Species with life histories low recruitment
(slow to recover)
– Restricted habitats
– Exploited species