Conservation Biology and Restoration Ecology

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Equator

Terrestrial biodiversity

hot spots

Marine biodiversity

hot spots

Slide 33

Philosophy of Nature Reserves

Nature reserves are biodiversity islands in a sea of habitat degraded by human activity.

Nature reserves must consider disturbances as a functional component of all ecosystems.

Slide 34

An important question is whether to create fewer large reserves or more numerous small reserves.

One argument for extensive reserves is that large, far-ranging animals with low-density populations require extensive habitats.

Smaller reserves may be more realistic, and may slow the spread of disease throughout a population.

Slide 35

Zoned Reserves

The zoned reserve model recognizes that conservation often involves working in landscapes that are largely human dominated.

A zoned reserve includes relatively undisturbed areas and the modified areas that surround them and that serve as buffer zones.

Zoned reserves are often established as “conservation areas.”

Costa Rica has become a world leader in establishing zoned reserves.

Slide 36

Zoned reserves in Costa Rica

Nicaragua

Costa

Rica

CARIBBEAN SEA

PACIFIC OCEAN

Panama

National park land

Buffer zone

(a) Zoned reserves in Costa Rica

(b) Schoolchildren in one of Costa Rica’s reserves

Slide 37

Some zoned reserves in the Fiji islands are closed to fishing, which actually improves fishing success in nearby areas.

The United States has adopted a similar zoned reserve system with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Slide 38

A diver measuring coral in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

FLORIDA

GULF OF MEXICO

50 km

Florida Keys National

Marine Sanctuary

Slide 39

Restoration ecology attempts to restore degraded ecosystems to a more natural state

Given enough time, biological communities can recover from many types of disturbances.

Restoration ecology seeks to initiate or speed up the recovery of degraded ecosystems.

A basic assumption of restoration ecology is that most environmental damage is reversible.

Two key strategies are bioremediation and augmentation of ecosystem processes.

Slide 40

A gravel and clay mine site in New Jersey before and after restoration