protected areas-habitat primarily managed to maintain biodiversity
-protecting intact biological communities is the most effective way to
protect biodiversity and are established in three ways:
1) government action
2) purchase of land by private organizations Ex. Nature Conservancy
3) traditional societies wishing to preserve lands to maintain their way of
life
-80 % established since 1962 and currently cover about 13% of earth’s
surface Figure 15.1, 15.5
15.1 The world’s terrestrial (green) and marine (blue) protected areas
Figure 15.5 80 % pna established since 1962 and currently cover about 13% of earth’s surface
IUCN Classification of Protected Areas
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has developed
the following system of classification for protected areas:
1) strict nature reserves and wilderness areas
-protect natural organisms and processes in an undisturbed state
-for scientific study, education, environmental monitoring, and
maintenance of genetic variation
-wilderness areas may also be maintained for sustainable recreational and
economic activities
Ex. parts of Padre Island National Seashore and other large protected
areas
2) national parks
-large areas of outstanding scenic and natural beauty of international and
national importance
Ex. Big Bend National Park, Guadalupe Mountains National Park
IUCN Classification of Protected Areas
3) national monuments
-smaller areas designed to preserve unique natural areas of special national
interest
Ex. San Antonio Missions National Historic Park
4) Habitat/species management areas
-similar to strict nature reserves, but some human manipulation may be
needed and some controlled harvesting may be permitted
-National Wildlife Refuge system and in Texas, Aransas National Wildlife
Refuge
1-4 are strict protected areas as their primary mission is protection
biodiversity (6% earth’s surface)
IUCN Classification of Protected Areas
5) Protected landscapes and seascapes
-areas that allow for interaction of people and the environment through
traditional nondestructive use of natural resources while providing
chances for tourism and recreation
-grazing land, orchards, or fishing villages
Ex. Big Bend Ranch Natural Area
6) Managed-resource protected areas
-allows for sustained production of natural resources in a manner that
ensures the preservation of some aspects of biodiversity
-most of the national forests located in Texas
-there were 160,000 IUCN I-VI protected areas worldwide covering about
30 million square kilometers on land and two million at sea (13 % of
earth's total land surface but only 6% in strict protected areas)
Table 15.1
-even less area in marine protected areas with most being small with less
than 2% protected and as much as 10% may be needed Figure 15.3,
Read Box 15.1, The rise of giant marine protected areas
-Recent studies from Brazil and West Africa show that protected areas are
effective in keeping land intact by preserving natural vegetation
Figure 15.4
15.3 The proportion of the continental shelf covered by marine protected areas
Figure 15.4 Protected natural areas are able to prevent damage to the natural forests
Three main criteria used to set priorities for creating a protected area:
1) distinctiveness
Does it contain rare endemics? unique ecosystems?
2) endangerment
Does it contain vulnerable, threatened, or endangered species?
communities?
3) utility
Are the species/communities beneficial to man?
Ex. The establishment of Komodo National Park in Indonesia Figure
15.7 (=Malaysia; island archipelago off SE coast Asia)
1) distinctiveness -largest lizard
2) endangerment -occur only on a few small islands
3) utility -major tourist attraction
15.7 The Komodo dragon of Indonesia is the largest living monitor lizard
Species approaches to establish pnas
1) species approaches
-species are referred to as focal species- species that provide impetus to
protect an area
-may be rare, endangered , keystone, or culturally significant species
-two types:
a. indicator species- a species associated with an endangered biological
community or set of unique ecosystem processes
Ex. spotted owl in the U.S. Northwest is an indicator of old growth forest
Ex. red-cockaded woodpecker is an indicator for old-growth, longleaf
pine forest in U.S. Southeast
b. flagship species or charismatic megafauna- species that capture public
attention, have symbolic power, and are crucial to ecotourism
-helped in the establishment of many national parks
Ex. 18 Project Tiger Reserves established in India where tigers serve as
an umbrella species as these pnas extend protection to other species
15.8 The northern spotted owl is an indicator species for old-growth forest
Biologivcal diversity indicator approaches to establish pnas
2) Biological diversity indicator approaches
-certain organisms used as indicators when specific data about whole
communities is lacking
-plant and bird diversity are often good indicators of diversity in a
community
- may include data from Centers of biodiversity
-key areas of the world with high biodiversity and endemism and are
under immediate threat of species extinctions and habitat destruction
-often called hot spots for preservation
Figure 15.9, Table 15.2, Figure 15.10
15.9(A) Sixteen tropical rain forest hot spots of high endemism and significant threat of imminent
extinctions (B) Eighteen hotspots in other ecosystems. Yellow dots indicate armed conflicts .
15.10 Peaks of species richness (red=most) in the mainland USA. Hawaii has the greatest.
Ecosystem approaches to establish pnas
3) Ecosystem approaches
-protects species, community members, and ecosystem services
-easier to demonstrate value to policy makers
-goal is to represent as many different communities as possible
-uses data like that in Figure 15. 11for 13 major terrestrial biomes
-sometimes gap analysis is used in determining pnas
15.11 For 13 major biomes, percent of the area converted to other uses, and that of the area
protected from conversion. C:P is ratio of percent converted to the percent protected.
Gap Analysis
Six steps in gap analysis:
1) Conservation units are established. These include data on species,
ecosystems, and physical features of a region.
2) Conservation goals are determined for the units.
Ex. How much area or rare species will be protected?
3) Existing protected areas are reviewed to identify gaps in coverage.
4) Additional areas are identified to meet the conservation goals or fill
the gaps.
-often uses GIS data and census data for rare or endangered species
Figures 15.13 & 15.14
5. These additional areas are acquired for conservation and a management
plan is developed.
6. New conservation areas are monitored to determine if they are
meeting their goals or whether management plans need to be modified.
15.13 The imminent extinction of 794 animals and plant species is mapped at 595 sites
15.14 Geographic Information Systems (GIS) integrates data for display on maps.