Conservation Biology:
scope and meaning
Bio 415/615
Objectives
• Understand ecological science
underlying conservation: population
dynamics, island biogeography, etc.
• Understand why conservation is an
important human endeavor
• Understand why conservation involves
probability, uncertainty, good data
• Gain facility with scientific literature
Grading
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Four in-class quizzes (5% each, best 3)
Writing assignment (15%)
Midterm Exam (35%): March 7
Final Exam (35%): May 7
Reading Assignments
• Required scientific papers for each class
• Consult the course webpage frequently:
plantecology.syr.edu/conbio/conbio.html
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Sometimes just for background
Often to stimulate class discussion
Stay on top of the reading!
Quizzes will focus on content of readings
Participate in class discussion!
Writing assignment
• Narrative response to a primary
research paper, chosen by you
• 3 pages
• Consult syllabus for where to find papers
• Due on or before April 2
Extra credit
• Attend a research seminar that relates
to conservation biology, ecology, or
environmental science (with 1-paragraph
synopsis)
• Each synopsis counts ½% final grade
(2% max)
• Many biology seminars this semester
Questions to start each class
TODAY:
1. Why are you in this class?
2. Why does this course exist?
3. How old are concepts of ‘conservation’
and ‘biodiversity’?
4. How much of the world’s land area is
managed by people?
5. What is Nero’s Dilemma?
Why are we here?
Why are we here?
World population growth
10,000 BC: 4 million
1 AD: 200 million
1750: 760 million
1950: 2.5 billion
NOW
2050: 9-12 billion?
(UN)
(1986)
• Direct (food, fuel, fiber, timber): 3%
• + Co-opted (cleared forests, ag
byproducts, etc): 30%
• + Foregone (lost due to overuse:
farmland to cities, desertification,
overgrazing, etc): 40% (terrestrial), or
28% when marine systems added
(1996)
• Less than 1% of all water on earth
potentially accessible
• How much water needed to support the
biomass figures of Vitousek et al.?
(2g biomass per kg water)
• 26% runoff and 54% ET (rain) used in
1997… total of 70% of available runoff
by 2025?
How much land to humans use?
FAO: Food and Agricultural Organization (UN)
• Urban/settlement: 3%
• Cropland: 12%
• Pasture: 27%
• Forest plantation: 2%
• Managed forests: 20%
– TOTAL: About 64% global land area used directly by
people
Compare to:
• ‘Unfavorable land’ (desert, tundra, alpine): 30%
• ‘Undisturbed’ forest (WRI 1997): 7%
Is the Earth described by these
biomes…
Or these anthropogenic biomes?
Ellis and
Ramankutty
(2008) Frontiers
in Ecology and
the Environment
In 2013, the Earth:
1.
Is populated by 7 billion humans, or 1 for
every 150x150m land area (~campus quad).
Note 30% of that land is ‘barren’.
2. Is almost completely transformed by human
culture (<7% of ‘pristine’ ecosystems remain).
3. Has about half of its incoming solar energy
trapped by plants used by humans, and even
more of its freshwater.
There are anywhere from 2 to 100 million
additional species on Earth. Where do they fit?
Conservation Biology
• Science necessary to make decisions
about preserving the structure and
function of the Earth’s biodiversity.
• BUT proper decisions also require
knowledge of economics, development,
policy, law, sociology, psychology
Conservation Biology
• “Conservation biology” gained use in the
early 1980s (along with “biodiversity”).
• Society of Conservation Biology founded
in 1985: www.conbio.org
• Antecedents older, but not that old:
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Island biogeography: 1967
Population biology: mid-20th century
1st National Park (ever!): 1872
Wildlife management: early 20th century
Course themes
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Small, declining populations
Fragmented habitats
Metapopulations
Genetics
Communities, ecosystems, landscapes
Rapid environmental change
Conservation biology: a ‘crisis
discipline’?
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Driven by events (crises)
Value-laden
Mission-driven
Advocacy-oriented
Risks of inaction may be greater than
inappropriate action. (eg, warfare)
Nero’s Dilemma
“Nero fiddled while Rome burned”
Michael Soule (1986)
• As threats to biodiversity increase,
managers are being asked to make
important and irreversible decisions
based on very limited information.
“In conservation, dithering and
endangering are often linked.”
Leopold’s First Law of Tinkering
“To save every cog
and wheel is the
first precaution of
intelligent
tinkering.”
Course format
• Ecology 101: biodiversity, biogeography,
relative abundance, population biology
• Ethics and history
• Advanced topics: spatial processes,
decision theory
• Threats and mitigation: habitat loss,
invasive species, climate change,
restoration