Biodiversity – Putting Concept to Practice with Ecosystem ManagementJohn Herron The Nature Conservancy – Texas Chapter

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conserveThe Nature Conservancy

lands and waters

The mission of

is to

the

on which

depends.

Biodiversity and The Nature Conservancy

all life

TNC Conservation Tools

• Land acquisition• Conservation

easements• Habitat restoration

• Prescribed fire• Demonstration

projects• Species surveys• Policy

Ecology - defined

• The study of Nature that deals with inter-relationships, or the dependence of all living things on all other living things and their surroundings.

• The study of the relationships of organisms to their environment and to one another. (Brewer 1994)

• The word ecology derives from the Greek words oikos, which means “house,” and logos, which means “discussion or study.”

‘Ecology’ Encompasses…Physical environmentOrganisms – species, populations, communities,

ecosystemsInter-relationships

– Predator-prey; consumers– Competition

Nature is dynamic– Change, flows, cycles, adaptation, selection,

evolution.– Balance

Includes humans

Environment = Physical Factors

• Sun– Weather/Climate– Wind– Currents– Temperature/Heat

• Moon - Tides

• Water

• Minerals/Soils

= ‘Abiotic’

Laws of Ecology

• All things are interconnected

• Everything goes somewhere

• There’s no such thing as a free lunch

• Nature bats last

Callenbach, E. 2008. Ecology: A pocket guide.

Understand the 7 Principles of Ecology

1. The plan or producer, the grazing animal or consumer and the intrinsic value of a healthy ecosystem needs to be looked at together, not separately.

2. The natural resource manager should understand the change and know it has an influence on all of his management decisions.

 3. For every action on the land there are multiple reactions.  4. Nature abhors a void and provides plants through the process

of primary and secondary succession to fill the openess.  5. Humans have found that nature knows best. Organisms

which are suited and adapted to change occupy the site.  6. Everything must go somewhere.  7. There is no such thing as a free lunch.  

• Landscape Structure and Function • Biotic Diversity• Species Flow • Nutrient Redistribution • Energy Flow • Landscape Change • Landscape Stability • Biotic Diversity

Sandor, M. 2004. http://quizlet.com/2659795/7-principles-in-landscape-ecology-flash-cards/

Seven Principles of Landscape Ecology

• Laws of thermodynamics • Basic principles of ecology • Carrying capacity • Energetics • Least-cost, end-use analysis • How to live well in a place • Limits of technology • Appropriate scale • Sustainable agriculture and forestry • Steady-state economics • Environmental ethics

Orr, 1991

Key Principles of Ecology

Habitat

Habitat – Provides what all living things need

• Food

• Water

• Shelter / Cover

• Space

Scale – Levels of organization in ecology

• Individuals

• Populations

• Communities

• Ecosystems

• Biosphere

Population - A group of organisms of the same species occupying a particular space at a particular time

What is a species?

• Same appearance, morphology

• Breeds true – capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring

• Genetics

Population Dynamics

Population growth &Dispersion and Movement

– Immigration– Emigration– Mortality– Reproduction

Growth rateDensityCarrying capacity

Communities

• Structure• Composition• Energy Flow• Production• Nutrient Cycles

Communities

Populations of different species occupying a certain area (i.e. plants, birds, fish, insects, etc.)

Community Structure

Elements of a food web on a native grassland.

SunRed-tailed hawk

Wolf

Fox Jackrabbit

Bison

Decomposers

MouseGrass

GrasshopperPrairie chicken

Ecological Succession

Gradual progression of plants that colonize a site over time.

Succession

Texas Birds and their Habitat

Above Canopy SpeciesVultures Hawks Swallows Swifts

Canopy

Owls Woodpeckers Vireos ThrushesNuthatches Tanagers Warblers Creepers

Midstory

Warblers Jays Vireos

Chickadees Cardinals Kinglets

Understory

Mockingbirds BluebirdsWrens Doves

CanopyJunipers HickoriesPines OaksCedars ElmsMaples Pecans

MidstoryAshMaplesSweetgumHackberries

UnderstoryTall Shrubs Low ShrubsDogwoods AgaritasViburnums YauponsHawthorns Wax Myrtles

Ground CoverPrairie WetlandGramas SedgesBluestems RushesPaspalums Cattails

Ground CoverSparrows ShorebirdsWaterfowl Wadingbirds

Ecoregions and Landscapes

Interacting ecosystems acrossa relatively small geographic scale

Natural Regions of Texas

Hydrologic Cycle

Carbon Cycle

Earth atmospheric gases

N = 78%O2 = 21%H2O– < 2All others = 1%

Argon 0.9%CO2 = 0.04%Neon, Helium, Methane, Krypton, Hydrogen

Lutgens & Tarbuck, 2010

Nitrogen Cycle

Nitrogen Cycle

When we contemplate the whole globe

as one great dewdrop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through space with all other stars all singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty.

John Muir (1838-1914)Founder, Sierra Club

Biodiversity

John HerronThe Nature Conservancy

Austin, TX

Biological Diversity

The variety of life forms: the different plants, animals and microorganisms, the genes they contain, and the ecosystems they form. It is usually considered at three levels: genetic diversity, species diversity and ecosystem diversity.

Kinds of Biodiversity

Species– Species numbers– Species richness– Taxonomic diversity

GeneticEcologic

TNC 5 Major Habitats

Species Diversity

Mammals – 4,000Birds – 9,040Amphibians – 4,184Reptiles – 6,300Fish – 19, 056Plants – 248,428Insects – 751,000

Relative Biodiversity

Univ. of Sydney http://bugs.bio.usyd.edu.au/Entomology/importance/imagePages/speciesScape.html

Species-scape

Univ. of Sydney http://bugs.bio.usyd.edu.au/Entomology/importance/imagePages/speciesScape.html

Biodiversity because ….

A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.

Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, 1948

Biodiversity is determined by ….

• Latitude• Elevation• Patch size

Texas Vertebrate Diversity by Region

TNC 5 Major Habitats

From: http://botany1.bio.utk.edu/botany120lect/Biomes/biomemap.htm

NA Biomes

Biomes ‘mountain’

From: Taggart, R.E., http://taggart.glg.msu.edu/bs110/biomes.htm

Sky island

Species Diversity by State

NatureServe, States of the Union

Island Biogeography

The number of species on any island reflects a balance between the rate at which new species colonize it and the rate at which populations of established species become extinct.

McArthur and Wilson (1967)

Island Biogeography

Size of island &Distance between islands

Determines

»Species diversity»Extinction rates»Immigration/Emigration ability

McArthur and Wilson (1967)http://www.labiotheque.org/2011/07/biodiversity-on-islands-ii-island.html

Island Biogeography - Carribbean

Biodiversity and Habitat Fragments

• Island biogeography applies to terrestrial habitat ‘islands’ too!

• Small habitats hold fewer species, smaller populations

• Small populations are vulnerable to local extinction due to:– environmental changes– natural disasters– random chance

‘Island’ examples

http://hosho.ees.hokudai.ac.jp/~tsuyu/top/dct/island.html

Edge Effect and Fragmentation

Edge Effect and Fragmentation

•Increased edge effect•Increasing generalists•Increased parasitism•Increased predation•Specialists lost•“Ecological trap”

FRAGMENTATION AND EDGE EFFECT

Edge Effects on Wildlife

May benefit– White-tailed

deer– Some game

birds– Small mammals– Predators– Invader Species

May harm– Interior forest

species– Grassland

species– Habitat

specialists– Threatened or

endangered species

Managing for Edge Species

Leopold, A. 1933. Game Management.

Texas Birds and their Habitat

Above Canopy SpeciesVultures Hawks Swallows Swifts

Canopy

Owls Woodpeckers Vireos ThrushesNuthatches Tanagers Warblers Creepers

Midstory

Warblers Jays Vireos

Chickadees Cardinals Kinglets

Understory

Mockingbirds BluebirdsWrens Doves

CanopyJunipers HickoriesPines OaksCedars ElmsMaples Pecans

MidstoryAshMaplesSweetgumHackberries

UnderstoryTall Shrubs Low ShrubsDogwoods AgaritasViburnums YauponsHawthorns Wax Myrtles

Ground CoverPrairie WetlandGramas SedgesBluestems RushesPaspalums Cattails

Ground CoverSparrows ShorebirdsWaterfowl Wadingbirds

Invasive Species

• Predators (cats, feral hogs, fire ants)• Competitors (chinese tallow, feral hogs,

exotic ungulates, water hyacinth, KR Bluestem, guinea grass)

• Native invasives (deer, mesquite, juniper/cedar, deer, grackles)

Carrying Capacity - The maximum number of individuals of a given species that a habitat can sustain indefinitely.

Carrying Capacity

Population Growth

Carrying Capacity (K)

Exponential vs. Logistic growth

Deer Island

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1 2 3 4

Exp25%50%

K??

P 1,500,000

H 200,000

C1 90,000C2=1

Grassland (Summer)

(Individuals per 0.1 hectare)

General pattern in nature: there are many more plants than herbivores, greater numbers of herbivores than carnivores, seldom more than a few top carnivores.

Pyramid of Numbers

Management Implications

• Conserve all habitat/eco-system types• Larger and more intact ‘is better’• Conserve ‘all the pieces’• Promote plant diversity• Promote native species• Realize genetic diversity is also important• Re-establish natural processes (flood, fire,

buffers)• Consider edge effects

Interdependence ----------- Sustainability

Ecological Restoration

- Restore natural processes- Prescribed burning- Selective mowing- Managed grazing- Seasonal water flows

"…game can be restored by the creative use of the same tools which have heretofore destroyed it - ax, plow, cow, fire, and gun."

Aldo Leopold, Game Management, 1933.

Ecosystem management

Invasive & Exotic Species

Niche - Competitive Exclusion

Corridors

• To allow interspersal among islands and fragments

• Width is important• Corridor must be appropriate habitat type• Results still somewhat theoretical

Worst Better Even Better Best

Connectivity

Ecological Restoration

- Restore natural processes- Prescribed burning- Selective mowing- Managed grazing- Seasonal water flows

Prescribed burning

Grazing management

River fragmentation

© Mark Godfrey

Salmon ] | | Water, sediment, and nutrients

Development of Flow Recommendations

Water Use in Texas

Edwards Aquifer

The first requisite of intelligent tinkering is to save all the pieces.

Aldo Leopold (1947)

When we contemplate the whole globe as one great dewdrop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through space with all other stars all singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty.

John Muir (1838-1914)Founder, Sierra Club

The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy's efforts to preserve the diversity of life on Earth depends solely on the support of its members.

nature.org/texas

www.facebook.com/natureconservancytexas

“There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot. ... Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them. …

…Now we face the question whether a still higher ‘standard of living’ is worth its cost in things natural, wild, and free. For us of the minority, the opportunity to see geese is more important than television, and the chance to find a pasque-flower is a right as inalienable as free speech.”

Aldo Leopold1887 - 1948

It Ain’t Easy Being Green

…When green is all there is to be It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why? Wonder, I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful! And I think it's what I want to be.

Joe Rapposo, 1970 (Oh, and Kermit the Frog, too)

The End