BIOL378 EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS GRADED A++ LATEST UPDATE
Four potential ways that biodiversity impacts EF
Sampling effect (increased chance of helpful spp)
Facilitation (interactions allow increased performance)
Insurance (spp that seem unimportant are not)
Complementarity (more niches filled)
Ecological extinction
the reduction of a species to such low abundance that, although it is still present in the
community, it no longer interacts significantly with other species
Ecosystem function
the physical, chemical, and biological process or attributes that contribute to the self-
maintenance of the ecosystem
Ecosystem resilience
the maintenance of EF and ES under substantial predicted future environmental change
Four hypotheses for effects of spp diversity on EF
Diversity-stability hypothesis
Ecosystem resistance hypothesis
Ecosystem redundancy hypothesis
Insurance hypothesis
Diversity-stability hypothesis
,more niches filled, better function, each additional spp adds equal value to ecosystem
performance
Ecosystem resistance hypothesis
ability of system to absorb changes in spp will decline with spp loss, with potential
sudden and drastic consequences as some threshold has passed
sudden drop may occur when keystone spp is significantly affected
Ecosystem redundancy hypothesis
species within similar functional groups are more expendable in terms of EF
once you have certain number of spp, increasing spp does not affect EF
Insurance hypothesis
high species richness is a buffer against the disruption of function in response to future
environmental change
could fit w ecosystem redundancy & ecosystem resistance
some spp don't play large role until another is lost
Conservation implications of species diversity-EF relationship
EF increases slowly at low richness and rapidly at maximum richness
initial extinctions often lead to rapid large functional loss
need to protect most sensitive species lost to disturbance first
NSPs
provisioning (food, raw materials)
supporting (maintenance of genetic diversity, soil formation)
regulating (pollination, carbon sequestration)
cultural (aesthetics, tourism)
,Cultural ecosystem services (CES) framework
CES are not a one-way relationship
"we define CES as the ways place-based and indigenous groups interact with their
surroundings to derive all forms of sustenance and maintain connection to place."
must consider CES valued by community, not easiest to value
Hawai'i based CES framework
knowledge: Opportunities to learn place-based practices by actually doing them
spirituality: Presence and recognition of familial guardians/ancestors; resources
themselves recognized as kin
social interactions: Opportunities to share traditional/local knowledge and values
physical and mental wellbeing: Availability and access to subsistence resources rich
enough for people to thrive
Māori example of CES framework
kaumātua identified many more cultural health indicators for waterways than MfE
Species triage
approaches which abandon some species or subpopulations to extinction, in order to
focus resources on others with higher chances of survival
Considerations in species triage
- effect of resources on rate of decline/recovery
- availability of resources
- public valuation of species
declining population paradigm
, identifying problems before they develop into crises; before populations are about to
completely disappear
the goals are more on keeping ecosystems intact, maintaining abundant populations of
common species by preventing declines, and understanding the ultimate reasons why
species are disappearing
The declining-population paradigm, on the other hand, is that relevant to most problems
of conservation. It summons an investigation to discover the cause of the decline and to
prescribe its antidote. Hence, at least at our current level of understanding, it evokes
only an ecological investigation which, although utilizing the rigour of tight hypotheses
and careful experimentation, is essentially a one-off study of little theoretical interest
small population paradigm
focuses a lot of attention on highly endangered species and the persistence of
populations
extinction prevention
a crisis-driven approach
eg conservation genetics, population viability analysis, captive breeding
The small-population paradigm has not yet contributed significantly to conserving
endangered species in the wild because it treats an effect (smallness) as if it were a
cause. It provides an answer only to a trivial question: how long will the population
persist if nothing unusual happens? Rather, its major contribution has been to captive
breeding and to the design of reserve systems.
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS GRADED A++ LATEST UPDATE
Four potential ways that biodiversity impacts EF
Sampling effect (increased chance of helpful spp)
Facilitation (interactions allow increased performance)
Insurance (spp that seem unimportant are not)
Complementarity (more niches filled)
Ecological extinction
the reduction of a species to such low abundance that, although it is still present in the
community, it no longer interacts significantly with other species
Ecosystem function
the physical, chemical, and biological process or attributes that contribute to the self-
maintenance of the ecosystem
Ecosystem resilience
the maintenance of EF and ES under substantial predicted future environmental change
Four hypotheses for effects of spp diversity on EF
Diversity-stability hypothesis
Ecosystem resistance hypothesis
Ecosystem redundancy hypothesis
Insurance hypothesis
Diversity-stability hypothesis
,more niches filled, better function, each additional spp adds equal value to ecosystem
performance
Ecosystem resistance hypothesis
ability of system to absorb changes in spp will decline with spp loss, with potential
sudden and drastic consequences as some threshold has passed
sudden drop may occur when keystone spp is significantly affected
Ecosystem redundancy hypothesis
species within similar functional groups are more expendable in terms of EF
once you have certain number of spp, increasing spp does not affect EF
Insurance hypothesis
high species richness is a buffer against the disruption of function in response to future
environmental change
could fit w ecosystem redundancy & ecosystem resistance
some spp don't play large role until another is lost
Conservation implications of species diversity-EF relationship
EF increases slowly at low richness and rapidly at maximum richness
initial extinctions often lead to rapid large functional loss
need to protect most sensitive species lost to disturbance first
NSPs
provisioning (food, raw materials)
supporting (maintenance of genetic diversity, soil formation)
regulating (pollination, carbon sequestration)
cultural (aesthetics, tourism)
,Cultural ecosystem services (CES) framework
CES are not a one-way relationship
"we define CES as the ways place-based and indigenous groups interact with their
surroundings to derive all forms of sustenance and maintain connection to place."
must consider CES valued by community, not easiest to value
Hawai'i based CES framework
knowledge: Opportunities to learn place-based practices by actually doing them
spirituality: Presence and recognition of familial guardians/ancestors; resources
themselves recognized as kin
social interactions: Opportunities to share traditional/local knowledge and values
physical and mental wellbeing: Availability and access to subsistence resources rich
enough for people to thrive
Māori example of CES framework
kaumātua identified many more cultural health indicators for waterways than MfE
Species triage
approaches which abandon some species or subpopulations to extinction, in order to
focus resources on others with higher chances of survival
Considerations in species triage
- effect of resources on rate of decline/recovery
- availability of resources
- public valuation of species
declining population paradigm
, identifying problems before they develop into crises; before populations are about to
completely disappear
the goals are more on keeping ecosystems intact, maintaining abundant populations of
common species by preventing declines, and understanding the ultimate reasons why
species are disappearing
The declining-population paradigm, on the other hand, is that relevant to most problems
of conservation. It summons an investigation to discover the cause of the decline and to
prescribe its antidote. Hence, at least at our current level of understanding, it evokes
only an ecological investigation which, although utilizing the rigour of tight hypotheses
and careful experimentation, is essentially a one-off study of little theoretical interest
small population paradigm
focuses a lot of attention on highly endangered species and the persistence of
populations
extinction prevention
a crisis-driven approach
eg conservation genetics, population viability analysis, captive breeding
The small-population paradigm has not yet contributed significantly to conserving
endangered species in the wild because it treats an effect (smallness) as if it were a
cause. It provides an answer only to a trivial question: how long will the population
persist if nothing unusual happens? Rather, its major contribution has been to captive
breeding and to the design of reserve systems.
