monitoring ecosystem health - granger school …€¢used as an early warning system = canary in the...

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Monitoring Ecosystem HealthESRM 150

Autumn 2015

What is a healthy ecosystem?

“We propose that a healthy ecosystem is one that is sustainable – that is, it has the ability to maintain its structure (organization) and function (vigor) over time in the face of external stress (resilience).”

Costanza and Mageau (1999)

Ways to monitor ecosystem health

• Monitor all species in a system

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What potential problems may accompany this approach?



Simplifies it to focus on a specific species or suite of species or monitor the habitat itself

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• Keystone species

• Umbrella species

• Indicator species

• Remote sensing

What do you need to know to select the correct species?• Usually need long term data sets

• Life-history and basic biology • Reproduction

• Lifespan

• Trophic level

• Etc.

• Population dynamics and BIDE• Source-sink

• The connections between species in the system

• Top down versus bottom up and trophic cascades

r (fast species)Unstable environment,

density independent,

quantity

K (slow species)Stable environment,

density dependent,

quality

Life History Traits

An organism's life history is the sequence of events related to survival and reproduction that occur from birth through death.

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r (fast species)

K (slow species)

Organism size Small Large

Energy used to make each individual Low High

# Offspring produced Many Few

Timing of maturation EarlyLate

(much parental care)

Life expectancy Short Long

Lifetime reproductive events Few Many

Are endangered species often r or K? What about successful invasive species?

Population Dynamics

B I D E

Population Dynamics

B I D E

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Population Dynamics

• Need to know about movement and dispersal between populations

• Can be difficult to study

• Metapopulation or an Isolated Population?

Population Dynamics: Source-sink dynamics

Think about a faucet. You have the spout (source) and the drain (sink). Water moves from the spout to the drain.

Source-sink dynamics

Source

Can be large areaLots of breeding

Animals leave this area and move to other habitats (often smaller)

Sink

Often smaller areaAnimals moving to this area from the

source populationOften high levels of mortality here

Something attractive about this habitat (excess resources, unused

space, etc.)

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Source-sink dynamics

Interspecific Connections: Top down versus bottom up control

TOP DOWN

Apex Predator

Meso-carnivores

Prey Species

Structure

Str

uctu

res

BOTTOM UP

Apex Predator

Meso-carnivores

Prey Species

Ongoing debate

Most likely often a mixture of both in many systems

Top down

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Bottom Up

Large Fish(Eat Small Fish)

Small Fish(Eat Zooplankton)

Zooplankton(Eat Phytoplankton)

Phytoplankton(Primary Producers)

Time

Ab

un

dan

ce

Trophic Cascades

• Addition/removal of predators alters entire ecosystem structure

• Classic examples (sea otters, wolves)

http://themetapicture.com/when-they-brought-these-wolves/

Good Morning!

• Come and pickup a notecard

• Only one per student

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Quiz #3

• Put your name on your note card

• You get credit for being here whether you get the question right or not

• This is quiz 3 out of 4

Quiz #3

1. Name two of the four major types of pollution?

2. Do endangered species tend to be r species or k species?

Quiz #3

1. The four major types of pollution

1. Solid waste

2. Chemical waste

3. Noise pollution

4. Light pollution


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Quiz #3

1. The four major types of pollution

1. Solid waste

2. Chemical waste

3. Noise pollution

4. Light pollution


k-species

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/whale_beluga

Beluga whale(Delphinapterus leucas)



• Keystone species

• Umbrella species

• Indicator species

• Remote sensing

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Keystone Species

Term coined by R Paine (1969)

“A keystone species is a species that exerts an impact on its community that is both strong and disproportionate to its abundance. The keystone analogy refers to the architectural element at the apex of an arch that locks the other pieces into position, and is used colloquially to refer to the supporting element of a larger structure.”

Encyclopedia of EarthWhat are some examples of keystone species?

Keystone species characteristics

• Historically a top predator

• Now include species which exert influence through other interactions• Competition (apex predators control on mesopredators)• Mutualism (birds and fruit)• Pollination (honey bees)• Dispersal (elephants and grasslands)• Etc.

• Any species that’s presence or absence affects the composition of the rest of the ecosystem

• Removal or addition often leads to trophic cascades

Keystone Species – Sea Otters

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Keystone Species – Sea Stars

• What influence on a system does Pisaster, a top predator, have?

• Removed Pisaster from some intertidal areas but maintained other areas as a control

• Monitored species diversity in areas with Pisaster and in areas where it was absent.

• What do you think they found in terms of biodiversity?

Keystone Species – Sea Stars

Why might it be difficult to use keystone species to monitor ecosystem health?

Keystone species difficulties

• Intensive to determine which species are a keystone

• Requires an understanding of the system as a whole

• The absence of that species may be one of the few ways to determine a true keystone species

• Other than assuming it’s a top predator, difficult to target

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What is an umbrella species?

“The concept of an umbrella species has been used by conservation practitioners to provide protection for other species using the same habitat as the umbrella species. As the term implies, a species casts an “umbrella” over the other species by being more or equally sensitive to habitat changes. Thus monitoring this one species and managing for its continued success results in the maintenance of high quality habitat for the other species in the area.”

Encyclopedia of Life

What is an umbrella species?

Umbrella species characteristics and uses

• Usually have large home ranges

• Cover multiple habitats

• Usually large species, often mammals

• Select a wide-ranging species and determine how much habitat it requires.

• Maintain that habitat and you should protect other species

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Why might umbrella species not be effective in monitoring ecosystem health?

Umbrella species characteristics and uses

• Usually have large home ranges

• Cover multiple habitats

• Usually large species, often mammals

• Select a wide-ranging species and determine how much habitat it requires.

• Maintain that habitat and you should protect other species

Umbrella species challenges

• Disagreement on characteristics

• It’s habitat may not overlap or encompass that of other species

• May only show larger, landscape wide processes and miss fine scale

What is an indicator species?

• “An indicator species is an organism whose presence, absence or abundance reflects a specific environmental condition. Indicator species can signal a change in the biological condition of a particular ecosystem, and thus may be used as a proxy to diagnose the health of an ecosystem. ”

-Encyclopedia of Life

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Indicator Species - Canary in the Coal Mine

Why use an indicator species?

• Allow measurements of complex systems

• Can tell us about the health of an entire ecosystem (terrestrial, ocean, freshwater, etc.)

• Used as an early warning system = canary in the coal mine

Indicator Species Use

• Been used to monitor:

• Toxic gasses (mosses and lichens)

• Water quality (amphibians)

• Old growth habitat (spotted owls)

• Overall ecosystem health (Magellanic penguins)

• Many others

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• What type of species would be best to focus on?

• Highly sensitive or adaptable

• Widespread or localized

• Feed on specific species or opportunistic

• Charismatic or unknown

• What do you think?

• Why might indicator species not work well for monitoring overall ecosystem health?

Indicator Species Characteristics

Pitfalls of indicator species

• Can be difficult to pinpoint actual cause of declines

• If the wrong species is chosen could miss a trend

• If a species doesn’t have the right characteristics you may not see impact on ecosystem until it is too late

• Correlation ≠ causation (must be careful of this)

Keystone versus umbrella versus indicator• A single species can be all three if it has significant effect on the structure of

the system, is wide ranging, and is a good indicator of ecosystem health

• Umbrella species may not be good indicators of overall ecosystem health since often they are resilient, adaptable, and may not represent the whole system. If you protect this species you protect all that rely on parts of its range.

• Indicator can be highly sensitive (water/air quality) or less sensitive. Research on this species should “indicate” something about the ecosystem as a whole

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What is remote sensing?

“Remote sensing is the science of obtaining information about objects or areas from a distance, typically from aircraft or satellites.”

-NOAA

Remote sensing applications

• Can be used to establish and monitor protected areas

• Traditionally done in terrestrial systems

• May be applicable in aquatic systems

• Can also be used to predict areas of importance for species

• Useful to assess areas where it is difficult to collect data

• Useful for monitoring anthropogenic pressure

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/deadliest-jesus-christ-lizard

Basilisk Lizard(Basiliscus sp.)

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Remote sensing in terrestrial systems

• Using reflectance, you can assess the amount and distribution of primary producers

• Imagery allows the monitoring of overall habitat size

• Can monitor habitat conversion/burning

• UAV’s may allow real time counting of animal species

• Usually combined with on the ground work for max efficiency

Remote sensing and cross-river gorillas

• Cross-river gorilla (Gorilla gorilladiehli)

• Most endangered African ape

• Habitat loss and bushmeat hunting primary reasons

• Are there possibly more populations out there than currently known?

• Can remote imaging predict areas where one might find gorillas?


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Used landsat images to categorize habitat

Identified potential corridors and gained an understanding of fragment sizes

Found what appeared to be corridors and determined areas where previously unknown populations may exist

Went out and surveyed


Ground surveys found previously unknown populations by checking areas found using remote sensing

Increased the estimated population

Genetic samples showed there was connection between populations previously thought isolated so corridors existed

Remote sensing in marine systems

Chlorophyll concentration and primary producers

Bathymetry

Sea Surface Temperature

Wind Speed

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Remote sensing in marine systemsAnthropogenic effects

High versus low resolution

Developing countries often are areas of low resolution. Why is this particularly problematic?

Shortcomings of remote sensing

• Can be only surface level (difficult to penetrate canopies or deep into oceans)

• Often very expensive

• Problems with resolution

• Complicated to work with

• Without people on the ground may only show general patterns

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgLoM9BbaYo

Why should you care about healthy ecosystems?

Why should you care about healthy ecosystems?

Why should you care about healthy ecosystems?• Intact ecosystems are tied to food security

• Sufficient water and soil for agriculture

• Help regulate climate

• Provide food from terrestrial and marine systems

• Prevents soil erosion

• Provides pollination, natural fertilization, and pest control

• Source of biopharmaceuticals

• 20 new natural drugs between 1998-2007

• Chemical in bee venom recently found to fight HIV

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Why should you care about healthy ecosystems?• Can help protect from extreme events

• Counter climate change

• Mangroves and coral protect against storm surge

• Communities near mangroves did better during 2004 Asian Tsunami

• Keep soil intact, avoid landslides

• Improved mental health

• Greener environment=better mental health

• Decreased anxiety and depression

• Can decrease prevelance of communicable diseases

• Past disease outbreaks tied to habitat loss

• Lyme disease actually lower infection rate in conserved habitats = “dilution effect”

Take home messages

• Multiple methods exist for monitoring ecosystem health

• Best method is probably system dependent

• Best overall approach is often a combination

• If you understand the biology of species in a system and the dynamics, focusing on a single species can save time and manpower

monitoring ecosystem health - granger school …€¢used as an early warning system = canary in the...

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