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