Lecture Notes for Mar 29, 2010

Ecosystem Services: things we get from the ecosystem, "free services" Ecosystem service examples: fibers, building materiAls, air and important organisms Decision Theory: a framework for managing individuals to achieve certain objectives. Contraindications to management: high risk or high cost. Precautionary Principle: one should not apply management without knowledge of their direct and indirect effects. Ecosystem Management: aims to conserve the structure, function and species within an ecosystem. Trophic Cascade: goal is to affect the primary producer. Example of managing an entire ecosystem. Conservation of Species: Endangered Species Acts: Providing legal protection to a threatened species. Identifying and protecting critical habitat... 1 more Saving rare species: must understand why species are rare. Population Viability Analysis (PVA): a method for assesing the probability of extinction. IUCN: the world conservation program, has a red list that documents species in need of conservation attention. Conservation Analysis: includes an assesment of different managment techniques and their effect on that species. Red Squirrels in Britian: a shared virus between grey and red squirrels, detrimental to red squirrels but not to grey. Applications of conservation: SLOSS Debate: single large or several small reserve. Single Large Pros: contain more species, less likely to go extinct Renewable resource: replenishes itself that is possible to take sustainable resources from Control: control of invasive species and problem species. Control of invasive species: prevent invader from reaching new enviornments. Reduce fitness or population growth rates. Biocontrol, manipulation of natural enemies. Successful Biocontrol Agents: high attack rates, high intrinsic rates of increase... Drawbacks to biocontrol: non-targeting effects, the biocontrol agent can become invasive itself. Schistosomiasis: human parasite, you can manipulate the enviornment to prevent human infection.