Chapter 1: What is Conservation Biology • Expanding human demands • Brief history • Guiding principles of conservation biology • Characteristics of conservation biology BioScience (1985) Vol. 35 (11) : 727734 1.1 Estimated global human population size from the last Ice Age to the present During this class period the world population will grow by about 11,000 people! 1.2 United Nations 2004 projections for human population growth to 2050 More than just a problem of numbers 1.3 Number of global hectares per person needed to support current lifestyles www.myfootprint.org Conservation Biology (see definition in textbook Ch. 1) • A multidisciplinary field that applies principles of ecology, biogeography, population genetics, economics, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, and others to the maintenance of biological diversity throughout the world. • The goal of conservation biology is to understand natural systems well enough to maintain their diversity in the face of an exploding human population. The field tries to provide the basis for intelligent and informed management of highly disrupted ecosystems. Brief history of conservation and Conservation Biology (see textbook Chapter 1) • Conservation of the natural environment is a fairly recent effort; Protection of economically-important resources has a longer history • North-American conservation – three philosophical movements – Romantic Conservation Ethic (Emerson, Thoreau, Muir) – Resource Conservation Ethic (Pinchot) – Evolutionary-Ecological Ethic (Leopold) • Emergence of public awareness • Emergence of Conservation Biology as a professional discipline Distinguishing aspects of conservation biology • Multi-disciplinary science 1.9 The interdisciplinary nature of conservation biology Distinguishing aspects of conservation biology • Multi-disciplinary science • Crisis discipline • An inexact and adaptive science • A value-laden science • A science with an evolutionary time scale • Science of eternal vigilance • Legally-empowered science South Florida Everglades • Historically: Free-flowing ‘river of grass’ extending from the Kissimmee chain of lakes to Florida Bay. • Since late 1800s: Construction of some 3,000 km of canals and levees interrupting the Everglades' natural sheetflow and eliminating more than half the Everglades wetlands. SeaWiFS: April 1999 Upper chain of lakes Lake Okeechobee Kissimmee River Water Conservation Areas Mangrove island, Florida Bay Alligator holes Tall-grass wet prairies Cypress swamps Florida Bay Mangroves Everglades Restoration Plan • Restoration of natural hydrological conditions • Restoration of wetland habitat and biological populations • Improved water quality • Enhanced water supply for agriculture and urban use • Continued flood protection • Cost: $7.8 billion • Duration: > 20 years Manatee Mangrove Limpkin Population-level considerations Alligator Littoral zones of lakes Ecosystem-level considerations Cypress swamps Sloughs Tree islands Kissimmee River Restoration Vegetable farming Naturally-occurring brush fires Miami Port St. Lucie