Announcements Exam on Tuesday On Thursday, we begin a series of classes on pollution! Study guide for exam two posted on lecture notes page Review for exam at end of class today Regulating fisheries Keys to sustainability Eliminate gear that destroys fish habitat (Bottom trawls, dynamite, cyanide) Limit access to sensitive fisheries and habitats Reduce bycatch Maximize economic value of catch Address conflicts of interest Internalize externalities Analysis of catch data supports the use of individual transferable quotas Note Y-axis is upside down No ITQ By 2003, 27% of fisheries had collapsed (dropped 90%) With ITQ Number of ITQ fisheries Pros and cons of ITQs Pros Incentive to fish near maximum economic yield Reduced capitalization Longer fishing seasons with higher-value catch Cons Consolidation (ITQs purchased by large firms) Can still be mismanaged leading to overfishing Difficult to allocate ITQs catch history, politics Science 2008 1
Clear-cutting the seafloor One third of primates risk extinction Primates In Peril: The World's Top 25 Most Endangered Primates ( Report by Conservation International and the IUCN). Primates die as forests shrink Only humans are increasing Decline in frog populations worldwide Number of populations studied Houlahan et al. Nature 2000 By the end of class today Understand the primary causes of extinction Recognize some of the costs and benefits of species conservation Know the role of the Endangered Species Act in preserving and restoring species at risk Consider what determines global patterns of species diversity 2
Passenger Pigeon How many extinct species can you name? In 19th century, the most numerous bird on the planet. (More than one billion in the U.S. ) Fly at speeds > 60 MPH. Flocks darkened the skies for miles. Last sighting in the wild in 1900. In 1914, at 1 PM, the last one died in a zoo in Cincinnati. Reasons for extinction (50y): 1: Hunting for meat (passenger pigeons were very tasty) 2: Hunting for sport (Record: >30,000 pigeons in one competition) 3: Deforestation 4: Federal government had no constitutional power to regulate state hunting practices (Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918) Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago Endangered species of WA http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/diversty/soc/ soc.htm 29 species listed as endangered ~372 species listed as either endangered, threatened, or as candidates for ESL Species currently under review by WA Dept. Fish & Wildlife American white pelican Bald eagle Columbian sharp-tailed grouse Common loon Fisher Green sea turtle Gray whale Humpback whale Leatherback sea turtle Loggerhead sea turtle Mazama pocket gopher Oregon silverspot butterfly Oregon spotted frog Peregrine falcon Sandhill crane Sperm whale Upland sandpiper 3
Oregon silverspot butterfly Habitat: salt-spray meadows or coastal dunes Larvae feed on western blue violet Adults feed on wildflowers Reasons for decline: -Reduced fires loss of meadows (succession) -Invasive plants replace violets -Herbicides and pesticide use Solutions: -Mowing -Regulation of coastal development -Control spread of invasive plant species Primary causes of extinctions: 1: Habitat loss 2: Hunting 3: Introduced species Most at-risk habitats: Freshwater ecosystems Threatened in WA Projected costs through 2019: $14,000,000 Japanese knotweed Japanese Knotweed Invading throughout Skagit and Whatcom counties 18 feet tall with pizza-sized leaves Hard to kill ornamental introduced in 1800s Current distribution Photos from Skagit Valley Herald 4
Spartina anglica and Spartina alterniflora Changing coastal ecosystems in WA Mudflats marshes Reduces wave energy Reduces mudflat habitat used by birds Massive 5-y effort removed from 20,000 acres in Willapa Bay (~$30,000,000) Photo: WA State Noxious Weed Control Board Application of glycophosphate Photo Kim Patten Endangered Species Act "Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed." Richard M Nixon Endangered Species Act (1973) Coordinated by the USFWS and NMFS (Constitutionality given by Commerce Clause ) 1982 amendment to ESA: Habitat Conservation Plan 1,800 species now listed as threatened or endangered in US Consistently under attack in congress and in the courts (e.g., Prairie dog case in Utah) Questions Why should we protect endangered species? Biodiversity, intrinsic value, instrumental value, human activities lead to declines, etc. Should the Federal gov t protect species that only occur within one state? What kinds of habitats are most important to restore? 5
Biodiversity Estimates of species diversity What is it? Biodiversity vs. species diversity Species richness Evenness What determines species diversity? Why is it important? 7.8 million species? From Gaston 2010 Latitudinal gradients in diversity (birds) Bird species richness Latitudinal gradient in diversity Diversity of bird genera Diversity of bird families Diversity of bird orders From Gaston 2010 Butterfly species richness (Pearson and Cassola 1992) 6
Latitudinal gradient in diversity Species richness of deep-sea clams, snails, and isopod crustaceans (Rex et al. PNAS 2000) Determinants of species diversity Productivity? Habitat heterogeneity? Food resource diversity? Geographic area? Habitat age and stability? Disturbance? Total available energy? Depth gradient in deep-sea diversity Bathymetry off MA Region of peak species diversity Depth (m) 0 500 1000 1500 2000 Continental shelf Continental slope 2500 3000 Abyssal plain Maciolek and Smith, Deep-Sea Research (2009) Distance offshore 7
Value of biodiversity? Value of biodiversity? Biodiversity increases invasion resistance in marine bottom communities. (Stachowicz et al. 1999) (From Tilman et al. 2006) ESA success story Gray Whale History 45 coastal whales Feed on benthic organisms 10,000 mile migration (Longest any mammal) Atlantic population extinct by 1700 Two Pacific populations nearly exterminated Placed on Endangered Species List 1995: Removed from ESL (population > 20,000) ESA success story Eastern Pacific Gray Whale delisted from ESL in 1995 Photo from NOAA 8
Makah Treaty of 1855 Hunted Gray whales for 2000 y 1920s: hunting ceased 1995: Gray whale removed from ESL 1998: Makah granted permission to take 5 whales per year 1999: Killed a 2-y old Gray whale 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act whaling halts 2005: Makah apply for MMPA waiver to continue hunting 2007: Five rouge Makah kill Gray whale without permission Endangered species Habitat alteration is the number one reason for extinction ESA protects species in the US Biodiversity enhances ecosystem function Given increasing human population size, how can we prevent extinction? 9