Chapter 22 Outline
Case Study: Can Birds and Bombs Coexist?
Conservation Biology
CONCEPT 22.1 Conservation biology is an integrative discipline that applies the principles of ecology to the conservation of biodiversity.
- Protecting biodiversity is important for both practical and moral reasons
- The field of conservation biology arose in response to global biodiversity losses
- Conservation biology is a value-based discipline
Declining Biodiversity
CONCEPT 22.2 Biodiversity is declining globally, and Earth’s biota is becoming increasingly homogenized.
- The rate at which Earth is losing species is accelerating
- Extinction is the end point of incremental biological decline
- Earth’s biota is becoming increasingly homogenized
Threats to Biodiversity
CONCEPT 22.3 The primary threats to biodiversity are habitat loss and degradation, invasive species, and overexploitation.
- Habitat loss and degradation are the most important threats to biodiversity
- Invasive species can displace native species and alter ecosystem properties
- Overexploitation of species has large effects on ecological communities
- Pollution, climate change, and disease erode the viability of populations
Approaches to Conservation
CONCEPT 22.4 Conservation biologists use many tools and work at multiple scales to manage declining populations.
- Conserving current genetic diversity enables future evolution
- Demographic models can guide management decisions
- Ex situ conservation is a last-resort measure to rescue species on the brink of extinction
- Legal and policy measures support biological methods of protecting species and habitat
Ranking Species for Protection
CONCEPT 22.5 Prioritizing species helps maximize the biodiversity that can be protected with limited resources.
- The rarest and the most rapidly declining species are priorities for protection
- Protection of surrogate species can provide protection for other species with similar habitat requirements
Case Study Revisited: Can Birds and Bombs Coexist?
Connections in Nature: Some Burning Questions
