Conservation Biology
and Landscape Ecology
Lecture 13
Principles of Ecology
College of Forestry, Guangxi University
Eben Goodale
Today and next Tuesday
1. Finish ecosystems
by talking about
nutrient flow.
2. Move to higher
levels: “applied and
large-scale ecology”
3. Introduce
environmental
challenges and
global challenges.
4. Talk about
conservation biology as
one response.
5. Talk about landscape
ecology and
management as
another response.
Today leave 45 minutes for writing.
Tuesday leave 1 hour for review for
Midterm.
Saturday May 16 final exam!
Moving up to the top!
Landscape（景观）
Describes how
Different ecosystems
Are put together in space
We are also going to talk about
environmental problems the earth
faces at a global level.
Some changes we will discuss
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•
•
•
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•
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Habitat loss
Species invasions
Overharvesting
Global climate change
Nitrogen deposition
Toxin accumulation
Ozone hole
Acid Rain
A happy ending?
Conservation Biology
• Mission: to reduce biodiversity loss.
• Why?
– Cultural reasons
– Economic reasons
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Pharmacology（药理学）
Ecotourism（生态旅游）
Small-scale forest livelihoods
Valuing ecosystem services（生态服务系统）
But what do conservation biologists do?
An example of what conservation biologists
do: What is wrong with small populations?
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•
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Loss of genetic variation
Inbreeding
Difficulty to find mates
Susceptibility（敏感的） to demographic
fluctuations
The Extinction Vortex
A small population is prone to positivefeedback loops that draw the population
down an extinction vortex（毁灭漩涡）
Small
population
Inbreeding
Human Allee effect:
Products of harvested
species become more
expensive as the species
become rare
Genetic
drift
Lower
reproduction
Higher
mortality
Reduction in
individual
fitness and
population
adaptability
Smaller
population
Loss of
genetic
variability
Allee effect:
Animals at low
densities can’t
find each other
to mate.
Stopping the Extinction Vortex:
Conservation Genetics (保育遗传学）
Some conservation biologists
are geneticists.
• The case of the Florida
Panther
• Introduction of panthers from
Texas increase genetic
diversity.
Detecting declining populations
and making recovery plans
• Other conservation
biologists make
management plans
（管理计划）for
struggling species.
• Concentrate on the
external environmental
reasons for decline
rather then reasons
internal to the
population.
Red-cockated WP:
What’s wrong?
•Destruction of habitat.
What to do?
•Habitat restoration（栖息地修复） (fire)
•Make nest boxes.
Ex-situ conservation（迁地保护）
• Still other conservation
biologists work with
breeding programs in
botanical gardens or zoos.
• A last resort because
many problems:
– Animals behave
abnormally
– Sometimes unable to
adjust to wild
conditions
New approaches
include having
seed banks and
DNA sequences
from all
known species
Ranking species for protection
• How should we prioritize
（排列） which species
should be saved?
• IUCN (International Union
of Conservation of Nature)
Red-list Criteria.
IUCN is an environmental organization
with 200+ governmental representatives
and 900+ NGOs.
VIP species for conservation
• ‘Flagship’（旗舰）
species:
Well-known and
charismatic (usually
big and furry!).
• ‘Umbrella’（保护）
species:
Preserve their habitat
and preserve many
other species that live
with them
National, International
Protection for Species
• China has list of
threatened species,
and each province
also has a list.
• China also a
signatory to CITES
(Convention on the
International Trade of
Endangered Species)
Today and next Tuesday
1. Finish ecosystems
by talking about
nutrient flow.
2. Move to higher
levels: “applied and
large-scale ecology”
3. Introduce
environmental
challenges and
global challenges.
4. Talk about
conservation biology as
one response.
5. Talk about landscape
ecology and
management as
another response.
Today leave 45 minutes for writing.
Tuesday leave 1 hour for review for
Midterm.
Saturday May 16 final exam!
Landscape Ecology: an
Introduction
• Landscape often
refers to a picture of
natural scenery.
• Landscape ecology
the study of the
spatial arrangement
of ecosystems.
• Can have a varying
scale.
Landscape architecture focuses on the
design of gardens
Landscape Ecology:
Revolutionized by GIS
• GIS = Geographic
Information Systems.
• Ability to integrate
different kinds of
information on maps.
• Use of satellite
imagery, aerial
photography, ground
data.
• Use of GPS and radio
telemetry.
Landscape Ecology:
• Important Words in measuring:
• Resolution = grain（收获）. Extent （程度）= area
covered.
Changing
Changing
Extent
Grain.
Landscape Ecology
• Landscape elements:
- Patch（斑点）:
relatively
homogenous area
that differs from its
surroundings.
- Matrix（基质）:
surrounds patches.
- Corridors（廊道）:
links patches.
Landscape Structure
Patches
Corridors
Matrix
Landscape Ecology
What is measured:
• What kinds of patches
are there?
• How big?
• How isolated from
each other?
• What is their shape
(circular or linear)?
• How fragmented?
Landscape Ecology is important
to how organisms move
• Remember the idea of a
metapopulation
（集合种群）?
• A big population is made
up of many small
populations, continually
going extinct and
recolonizing.
Remember that while usually we
think of animals moving, plant
seed and gametes (pollen) move,
too.
Movements are essential for persistence
of metapopulation, and the spatial
configuration of the landscape will
influence these movements.
Landscape Ecology is essential to
understanding human disturbance
• How does
fragmentation effect
organisms?
• Remember we can
think about these
remaining patches as
islands (big, small;
close, far).
Fragmentation: other effects
Edge effect（边缘效应）:
• At forest edge, the forest
may be structurally different
(more sunlight, warmer,
more wind, etc.)
• Some species prefer or
avoid edges.
Matrix effect（基体效应）:
• How well can organisms
move through the matrix?
The smaller a patch is the bigger its edge: volume ratio.
Another reason why small patches may not retain biodiversity well.
Using landscape ecology to
design parks
Use principles of island
biogeography to
prioritize large,
connected areas.
A corridor built across a highway.
Park design
• Some conservation
biologist are landscape planners.
• Reserves are still
being created
throughout the world.
• Need to think about
the people as much
as the other
organisms.
A new reserve in Madagascar.
Buffer areas（缓冲区） are places
were some human activities are allowed.
Conservation Priorities: Biological
Hotspots（生物学热点）
What happens
when they
are?
What happens when these
hotspots are not in your country?
http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/Pa
ges/default.aspx
Key concepts
• Conservation biologists
combat the problems of
small populations through
genetics, management
plans, and ex-situ
breeding.
• Species can be ranked
on how endangered they
are and laws can made to
protect the most
endangered.
• Landscape ecology is the
study of how ecosystems
are arranged in space.
• In combination with island
biogeography theory, it
can be used to plan how
we can respond to habitat
fragmentation.
Midterm review
• Bring with you:
• Calculator (phone OK)
• One A4 sheet of paper with notes (front
and back OK).
Big picture ideas
(1) It is a science
about many
different levels of
organization（生态
水平的组织）
From Molles (2008)
Big picture ideas
(2) It is a science that
spans a huge
range of spatial
and temporal
scales.（跨越时间
和空间的尺度）
The Sahel
A hive
Big picture ideas
(2) It is a science that
spans a huge
range of spatial
and temporal
scales.
Diurnal vertical migration
occurs in ocean every day
Some ecologists are paleobiologists
Big picture ideas
(3) It is an
applied
science
（这是一
门应用科
学）, and
it must be
applied,
NOW
A restoration ecology class
Some changes we will discuss
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Habitat loss
Species invasions
Overharvesting
Global climate change
Nitrogen deposition
Toxin accumulation
Ozone hole
Acid Rain
These are big challenges
But they are addressable.
A happy ending?
What becomes of life on earth
during your lifetime?