lecture 8

Question 1

why is variation important in a long term context? what is it important for?

Answer 1

• Genetic variation - importance in a longer time scale context
• Variation is important for long term viability, particularly in the context of adaptation to changes such as climate change
○ Important for both the human centric view + the conservation

Question 2

evolutionary mosaic?

Answer 2

• Evolutionary mosaic - evolution is operating in different ways in different areas
Need to account for localized changes in gene pools

Question 3

what is ex situ (brief)

Answer 3

• Ex siru - off site - zoos, etc, hypothetical ways conservation might progress in the future

Question 4

why cant we just clone animals?

Answer 4

○ Technical challenges - developing technology but its hard,/technically difficult costly, reduces variability - leads to inbreeding unless you take a very detailed approach (which would require knowledge)

Question 5

solutions to • Species w range shift due to climate

• Change in current habitat

Answer 5

1. climate is driving decline of trailing edge pop? if N, continue in situ, if Y, cont step 2
2. population still present? if N, relocate actions within the climate envelope. if Y, cont 3
3. is there a viable habitat within the climate envelope? if Y relocate pop within it. if N, do intensive management in situ

Question 6

what can be done if a sp is reduced in number to a very small population size? ex?

Answer 6

○ Ex. Whooping cranes being bred in captivity and trained to fly
○ Ex. Organisms don’t always know how to survive - pandas in captivity do not know how to mate - had to be trained
○ Skills organisms need to survive are often taught to them by older individuals

Question 7

• How to bring species back from brink of extinction

Answer 7

Reintroduction, reinforcement and introduction programs.
• Ex situ conservation strategies
• Bringing back extinct specie

Question 8

describe reinitroduction programs . red kite ex?

Answer 8

• Reintroduction programs - establishing and reinforcing populations
• Taking individuals reared in captivity and releasing them into their current range or taking individuals from a strong population and reintroducing them into weaker populations
• Ex. Red kite in the UK
• reintroduction into areas they were in historically that are not occupied rn
○ Ex. Yellow stone
○ American burying beetle reintroduced into historical area in OH
• Ex. Of reinforcement

Question 9

lake michigan moose pop ex of reinforcement

Answer 9

• Lake Michigan moose population tracked in long study
  
  • Naturally contained in the area - they do not prefer to cross the water
  • Well studied - as the wolves were introduced, the moose pops. Were controlled
  • Moose had destroyed the vegetation in the constrained area - less sapling recruitment
  • Moose and wolve numbers cycled
  • Ended up having a founder effect bc only a small amount of wolves reintroduced - inbreeding (2 individual wolves added from different populations - managed to bring sufficient genetic diversity to overcome inbreeding)

Question 10

hard vs soft release

Answer 10

• Hard release - take individuals from captivity or a pop and move them into another pop
• Ex. Wolves in michigan
• Soft release - release into protected habitat, usually done for captively bred species - cautious approach
○ Ex. Kestrel

Question 11

describe introduction programs. kakapoo ex? butterfly?

Answer 11

• Introduction of individuals into an area that they did not previously occupy
• Kakapo bird in NZ
○ Moved the birds from mainland to islands where they were not invasive
○ Introduced into new areas bc the pops. Were not viable in their original habitat due to invasive predation
• Quino checkerspot butterfly
○ Meta populations important to the programs (ex. Zoos or breeding programs as artificial meta populations)

Question 12

• Some considerations when establishing and reinforcing populations

Answer 12

• Not as straightforward as breeding and releasing
• Risks w releasing captively bred pops
○ Diseases might be spread from species to species in zoos/captive breeding programs - may lead to devastation of natural pop w reintroduction
○ How the release impacts interactions with humans / other sp.
§ Ex. Loss of livestock from wolves released in yellowstone
• Behavior
• Release of captive individuals requires training to teach them how to survive

Question 13

meads milkweed ex

Answer 13

• Relocation program
We usually focus on larger animals bc easier to track the reintroduction and manage consequences of reintroduction
• Plants have very different issues
○ Sessile in adult form - vulnerable to environment
○ Need to understand the habitat requirements of the plant extremely well
Protecting animals in an unnatural habitat/ out of their natural habitat