Conservation Biology Photo from Greg Dimijian

Groom et al. (2006): “An integrative approach to the protection and management of biodiversity…” Primack (2006): Conservation Biology “carries out research on biological diversity, identifies threats to biological diversity, and plays an active role in the preservation of biological diversity” What is Conservation Biology?

Definition of “Science” extracted from Science, Evolution & Creationism (2008) – published by (and freely available through) the National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine of the U. S. National Academies Conservation Biology draws from many disciplines “The use of evidence to construct testable explanations and predictions of natural phenomena, as well as the knowledge generated through this process” Conservation Biology is grounded in Science

Conservation Biology draws from many disciplines Conservation Biology is grounded in Science

E.g., how do we weigh the needs of people against those of nonhuman species? Is a human life more valuable than a tiger’s? E.g., do fleas have intrinsic value (or rights)? E.g., how do we weigh the interests of future generations relative to the present? Should we be concerned that many species of orchid likely will become irrevocably extinct by the time our grandchildren are born? Should we do something about it? E.g., should we restore additional longleaf pine savanna in Louisiana? Conservation Biology draws from many disciplines Conservation Biology also recognizes that not all relevant questions can be answered strictly using scientific tools and methods of inquiry

Biology Biogeography Genetics Ecology * Evolution Fisheries Science Forestry Physiology Wildlife Biology Anthropology Chemistry Economics History Philosophy Physics Political Science Religion Sociology Etc. Conservation Biology draws from many disciplines For ethical, practical & theoretical considerations * “We should not conflate ecology with environmentalism…” (Kingsland, 2005, The Evolution of American Ecology: , pg. 4)

For a more complete explanation of NOMA, read Rocks of Ages (1999) by S. J. Gould; photo from Wikipedia Stephen J. Gould (1941 – 2002) Beliefs Natural laws Theories Testable hypotheses ReligionScience Conservation Biology draws from many disciplines Non-Overlapping Magisteria (NOMA)

What will we do in this course? Course web site Dr. Kyle E. Harms Who is in charge of this course? Teaching Assistants: Becky Carmichael & Metha Klock

1.What is your full name? 2.In which course number and section are you supposed to be enrolled? 3.How many species are there alive on Earth today? 4.How many individual humans were there alive on Earth 100 years ago? 5.How many individual humans are there alive on Earth today? 6.How many individual humans are there likely to be alive on Earth in 2050? 7.Name a prominent Conservation Biologist. 8.List 10 native species found in Louisiana (scientific names are preferred; only use common names if you need to in order to provide 10 species). Use the back of the card for your list. Please answer on a 5x7-inch card

Count off… No. 1 = Plant No. 2 = Fungus No. 3 = Microbe No. 4 = Vertebrate No. 5 = Invertebrate

1.What is your full name? What is your assigned number? 2.In which course number and section are you supposed to be enrolled? 3.How many species are there alive on Earth today? 4.How many individual humans were there alive on Earth 100 years ago? 5.How many individual humans are there alive on Earth today? 6.How many individual humans are there likely to be alive on Earth in 2050? 7.Name a prominent Conservation Biologist. 8.List 10 native species found in Louisiana (scientific names are preferred; only use common names if you need to in order to provide 10 species). Use the back of the card for your list. Please answer on a 5x7-inch card

Guiding Principles of Conservation Biology (1) Evolution is the basis for understanding biology (2) Biological entities are complex and dynamic (3) Humans are a part of the natural world; our activities range from highly destructive, through benign, to ameliorating

Evolution Allele frequency change through time in a population Population – a group of conspecific individuals contemporaneously occupying the same place Some Mechanisms of Evolution Mutation Genetic drift Gene flow via emigration & immigration Artificial selection Natural selection Sexual selection

“Descent with modification” Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882) On the Origin of Species (1859) Photo of Darwin from Wikipedia ; image of “Darwin’s hawk moth” pollinating its Malagasy orchid from

Photo of Dobzhansky from Wikipedia Theodosius Dobzhansky (1900 – 1975) “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution” An architect of the Modern Synthesis

Photos from Wikipedia vs. “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution” E.g., why do all species of the family Felidae look more like house cats than dogs?

Image of spine from Wikipedia “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution” E.g., why do many of us suffer from back pains? See:

National Geographic Magazine – November 2004 “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution” "Evolution is almost universally accepted among those who understand it, almost universally rejected by those who don't." Richard Dawkins

Photo of Hutchinson from Yale Peabody Archives Nature is complex & dynamic E.g., explanations for: “why are there so many kinds of animals?” G. Evelyn Hutchinson (1903 – 1991) The “evolutionary play” takes place in an “ecological theater”

Photo of Ehrlich from Wired Paul R. Ehrlich (b. 1932) The Population Bomb (1968) The Population Explosion (1990, co-authored with Anne Ehrlich )

Human Population Students’ answers (n=34) to questions posed in class on 8/23/11 Log 10 (1,000,000,000,000) = Log 10 (1,000,000) = 6.00 Humans alive 100 yr ago (best estimate) Each student’s answer is represented by a bar in this figure Log 10 (1,750,000,000) = 9.24 Notice that the y-axis is a truncated Log 10 scale

Log 10 (1,000,000,000,000) = Log 10 (1,000,000) = 6.00 Humans alive today Human Population Students’ answers (n=34) to questions posed in class on 8/23/11 Each student’s answer is represented by a bar in this figure Log 10 (6,960,000,000) = 9.84 Notice that the y-axis is a truncated Log 10 scale

Log 10 (1,000,000,000,000) = Log 10 (1,000,000) = 6.00 Humans alive in 2050 (best guess) Human Population Students’ answers (n=34) to questions posed in class on 8/23/11 Each student’s answer is represented by a bar in this figure Log 10 (9,000,000,000) = 9.95 Notice that the y-axis is a truncated Log 10 scale

Log 10 (1,750,000,000) = 9.24 Log 10 (6,960,000,000) = 9.84 Log 10 (9,000,000,000) = 9.95 Log 10 (1,000,000,000,000) = Log 10 (1,000,000) = 6.00 Each student’s answer is represented by a bar in this figure Human Population Students’ answers (n=34) to questions posed in class on 8/23/11 Notice that the y-axis is a truncated Log 10 scale

A.D A.D A.D B.C B.C B.C B.C B.C B.C B.C. 1+ million years Old Stone Age New Stone Age Bronze Age Iron Age Middle Ages Modern Age Black Death—The Plague A.D A.D A.D ? Future Billions of People Image from the Population Reference Bureau © 2006 Human Population

Number of years to add each billion All of Human History (1800) 130 (1930) 30 (1960) 15 (1975) 12 (1987) 12 (1999) 14 (2013) 14 (2027) 21 (2048) Image from the Population Reference Bureau © 2006 (Year a particular population size was reached) Human Population

Less Developed Regions More Developed Regions Image from the Population Reference Bureau © 2006 Billions of People Human Population

Image from the Population Reference Bureau © 2006 Human Population Projected % Population Change,

% Population Living in Urban Areas Image from the Population Reference Bureau © 2006 Human Population Urbanization in Central America

Millions Millions Less Developed Regions More Developed Regions MaleFemaleMaleFemale Age Image from the Population Reference Bureau © 2006 Human Population Age distributions, 2005

~ 10,000 new babies will be added to the population during the course of this class period Human Population Population Counter (“Clock”)

Original range map & color-enhanced old photo from Gymnosperm Database; other map from Keddy et al. (2006) Humans are globally significant consumers of natural resources

Original range map & color-enhanced old photo from Gymnosperm Database; other map from Keddy et al. (2006) Humans are globally significant consumers of natural resources

Image from Vitousek et al. (1997) Science “Between one-third and one-half of the land surface has been transformed by human action”, i.e., human enterprise (Vitousek et al. 1997, Science) Humans are globally significant consumers of natural resources At least 83% of the Earth’s land surface has been transformed by human activities (Sanderson et al. 2002, BioScience)

Image from NOAA Humans are globally significant consumers of natural resources Collateral impact (not just consumption per se)

Quote from Palumbi (2001) Science E.g., consider antibiotic resistance of Staphylococcus Penicillin 1946 Methicillin 1961 Vancomycin 1986 Zyvox 1999 Humans are globally important agents of natural selection “Humans are the world’s greatest evolutionary force”

Newsweek – Jan. 12, 2009 – “It’s Survival of the Weak & Scrawny” + = Increases in tuskless adults: A Zambian population – 2% to 38% A South African population – 2% to 98% The Sri Lankan population of Asian elephants – 45% to 90% Humans are globally important agents of natural selection

Photo from Wikipedia Coined “conservation ethic” Conservation Biologists / Environmentalists in the U. S. Gifford Pinchot (1865 – 1946) First Chief of the U.S. Forest Service (1905 – 1910) Resource Conservation Ethic Utilitarian, anthropocentric “natural resource” philosophy; “the greatest good of the greatest number for the longest time”

Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862) Walden (1854) John Muir (1838 – 1914) Founded Sierra Club (1892) Image of Emerson, photos of Thoreau and T. Roosevelt with Muir from Wikipedia Conservation Biologists / Environmentalists in the U. S. Romantic-Transcendental Conservation Ethic “Nature has uses other than human economic gain;” biophilia Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882) Nature (1836)

Photo of Leopold from Oregon State University Evolutionary-Ecological Land Ethic Arose together with the Modern Synthesis and maturing ecological theory; recognizes the complexity, interconnectedness (including humans) and dynamism of Nature Conservation Biologists / Environmentalists in the U. S. Aldo Leopold (1887 – 1948) A Sand County Almanac (1949)

Photo of Carson from Wikipedia Conservation Biologists / Environmentalists in the U. S. Rachel Carson (1907 – 1964) Silent Spring (1962) – motivated creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Conservation Biology is a “crisis discipline” Photo of Soulé from hawaiiconservation.org Conservation Biologists / Environmentalists in the U. S. Michael Soulé Co-founder of the Society for Conservation Biology (1985)