They have subscribed to the myth of the“ecolo-gically noble savage”, which asserts that indige-nous people naturally live in harmony with theenvironment and have developed superior sys-tems of resource management
For anyone interested, the book Ceremony by Leslie Marmon-Silko is a fantastic Indigenous read that actually addresses this topic perfectly
Elephantherds outside of parks and reserves werecapable of decimating a family’s livelihood inan hour by destroying its garden plot. That ledto defensive killing of marauding animals bylocal people.
This is where things get tricky: I don't believe in hunting, but I do believe in protection and preservation and in this case, for the protection of their families, well-being and income, those elephants were a danger that had to be taken care of.
On the other hand, I feel for the elephants because the reason they've had to roam so close to human populations is because humans have depleted almost all of their habitats.
. Since human beings have abroad range of experience, perception is alsohighly variable,
I think this is so important to remember in all subjects, but I think conservation it may be common to see a lot of differing opinions and views and sometimes feel 'shut out' for lack of a better term. Conservation is so important because we can take all of these views and formulate the best plan of action needed while also possibly covering the economic, social, and environmental factors and impacts that other industries don't consider
There are similarities in customary andmarine conservation traditions. Cinner andAswani define six types of restrictions present inboth systems:•Spatial (such as temporary ritualistic reefclosures, or marine protected areas).•Temporal (fishing bans on the Sabbath, orclosed seasons).•Gear (bans on harvesting technologies, orgear prohibitions).•Effort (gender restriction on access to specificareas, or licensing).•Species (class restrictions on particular speciesconsumption, or species‐specific bans).•Catch (avoidance of waste, or quotas).
Setbacks of marine conservation
. At the same time, JohnMuir, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry DavidThoreau came to be known for their highly influ-ential transcendentalist philosophy, which con-templated nature’s capacity for spiritual healing
This just made me think about wilderness literature with Abbey Goode and how Muir and Thoreau are actually kind of the worst. Not mentioned in depth, but their idea of "untouched wilderness" perpetuates the idea that indigenous communities were lesser
How-ever, even species that are usually only found inareas of native vegetation may use agroforests tomove between forest remnants,
Almost like a rest stop!!!
Differences in how forests are managed deter-mine the extent to which logging negatively af-fects wildlife, with impacts felt through changesto the structure and composition of the forestenvironment
This section just reminded me of the large section of forest that was logged on tenney mountain highway. I assume it was for the purpose of new infrastructure but the amount of trees that were cut at still actively sit there could have been put to use in some or simply just not cut that far back.
. Much of the lowland rainforestsof the Congo basin had similarly experienced ex-tensive human habitation, forest clearance, andagricultural activities between3000 and1600years ago, as evidenced by extensivefinds of stonetools, oil palm nuts, charcoal horizons
The historical aspect of this is so intriguing to me personally but also as someone who wants to enter the agriculture industry, I recognize the amount of damage that comes from us infiltrating ecosystems for our own benefit. I'm concerned about how many species were lost or displaced before we even had the chance to document them
Box 13.1(Continued)of exposure have been introduced into thebiosphere in fewer than 200 years. They alterfertility, cognition, immune and cardiovascularfunction, and more. The inescapable prediction,clearly speculative but highly plausible, is that thispast 200 years has been a period of remarkable, ifnot unprecedented speed in the molecularevolution of life on earth.Documented effects ext
While in an evolutionary sense, it's impeccable we've made some of the advancements that we have but those advancements are at a rapid rate with highly detrimental impacts to the genetic makeups of our species.
much workhas been devoted to the measurement of ecosys-tem service value—although surprisingly little toprioritizing its conservation
We know that each species in an ecosystem preforms an ecosystem service for their environment, but also for us as humans! What's insanity to me is that we acknowledge their work but don't do more work in attempts to keep them around.
whether prio-rities for well-known taxa like vertebrates andplants reflect those for the poorly-known, mega-diverse invertebrates, which comprise the bulkof life on earth.
Poorly known or poorly explored? Do more well known taxa come from exploration in comfortable places vs species seen once or twice in a harder to reach area?
Figure 11.1Map
Confused by this:\ anyone mind explaining?
As a result,maybe 90% of theUS$6 billion global conserva-tion budget originates in, and is spent in, econom-ically wealthy countries
Interesting to consider what our imports would look like if we did invest that into countries with lower economic standings. What do their native plants entail? How does pollination happen with those different plants? Also would we possibly be at a better environmental standing if we DID invest that conservation into countries with a better relationship with their environments
more than 90%have been on islands.
Colonization of the islands which results in the extinction
Counting the species known to have and esti-mated to have succumbed tofirst contact sug-gests that between 70 and 90 endemic specieswere lost to human contact in the Hawaiian Is-lands alone,
This number is mind blowing to me that so little human interaction in the past could cause such a catastrophic event for ecosystems. It made me really consider the damage currently being done to the current ecosystems with the amount of tourism, as well as an increasing population in the last years.
Linked is the current species extinction list for Hawaii which includes an intense 97 taxa of plants, and 74 taxa of insects. and 28 species of bird.
Speciesextinction is irreversible, is progressing at a highrate and is poised to accelerate.
I think this is most important to note. While we can have similar species that've adapted to environmental factors, there is the lack of that original species that preformed a vital role or function for that ecosystem. When one species from an ecosystem disappears, it's safe to assume that the remaining species in that habitat will follow not long after.
Forexample,fire activity typically increases in arid en-vironments after a wet period because of the build-up offine fuels. Conversely,fire activity increasesafter a long drought period in moist forests.
So realistically, we cant stop naturally occurring forest fires
For example, in manyfire-prone environments, seeds are often contained inwoody fruits that only open after afire event, afeature known as serotiny.
Amy V took us on a hike to Welch and Dicky I believe and at the summit were pinecones that actually opened when lit at the center with a lighter. I remember being so intrigued because would they have to do planned fires to keep reproduction of the species going?
“Balance ofNature”
I just find this interesting in general because if ecologists, naturalists, and conservationists use this "view" but if that were the case, why are we so persistent on messing with the actual balance of nature? We too often let our curiosity get in the way of our natural environment I think
Inaquatic ecosystems the two most important aretemperature and pH. Drying trends are alreadyaffecting Australia, the Argentine pampas, theAmerican southwest and the prairie potholeregion of the upper Midwest northward intoCanada. Prairie potholes are a critical landscapefeature supporting the great centralflyway ofmigratory birds in North America
Interesting; I wonder if the birds can sense this causing them not to migrate, or will it just cause future migration issues?
here is a statistically significantincrease in wildfires in the American West be-cause longer summers and earlier melt of thesnow pack have led to dryer environments andhigherfire vulnerability
While we know that some species of plants are adapted to fires, I think it's safe to say that no species is adapted for the amount of wildfires that are occurring as of late due to human activity and climate change. We forget most times that that ice is there as a habitat and without it, many species will lose their protection and become extinct. Species extinction directly correlates with habitat degradation
AtEagle Borax Spring in California, Mediterraneansalt cedars (Tamarixspp.) dried up a large marsh(McDanielet al.2005), while in Israel, Australianeucalyptus trees were deliberately introduced todrain swamps (Calder 2002). By fertilizing nitro-gen-poor sites, introduced nitrogen-fixing plantscan favor other exotic species over natives.
This was actually a point I wanted to make; I know to some extent there is "good" ideas in introducing new species to existing habitats, But I wonder when that good intention becomes something that could deplete an entire species. How do we introduce invasive species that can aid in some ecosystem issues, while ensuring the safety of the already existing inhabitants?
Thegreatmajorityofsuchinvasionsarebyspeciesintroduced from elsewhere
Interestingly, I grew up surrounded by Candlewood Lake which if I can recall correctly, is where Zebra Mussels began their invasion. I find it so interesting that simply not cleaning off your boat after a day in the water can cause such issues for preexisting species.
An estimated 14million metric tons of fuel was consumed by thefish-catching sector at a cost equivalent to US$22billion, or ~25% of the total revenue of the sector.
Not only is the fishing industry depleting the ecosystems, but also the environment through it's consumption of natural resources- on top of it's emissions into the atmosphere. You have to consider if the 0.2 Billion jobs are worth this.
but low intensity logging of broadleafmahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), the most valu-able widely traded Neotropical timber tree, isdriven by the extraordinarily high prices in inter-national markets, which makes it lucrative forloggers to open-up even remote wildernessareas at high transportation costs.
Where industrialization and capitalism proves its issue again. The logging/timber industry knows that this timber tree has a high demand, despite its remoteness so they'll continue to deplete the surrounding environment to retrieve it for the profit.
Human exploitation of biological commoditiesinvolves resource extraction from the land, fresh-water bodies or oceans, so that wild animals,plants or their products are used for a wide vari-ety of purposes ranging from food to fuel, shelter,fiber, construction materials, household and gar-den items, pets, medicines, and cosmetics.
Similarly to Abbey, I find it so interesting how we've shifted from taking what you need to taking too much. It's also intriguing on whereItalic**that line is actually drawn. Is it more of a moral issue of overexploiting our environment?
Managing individual fragments is rarely effectivebecause even well managed habitats can be de-graded by land uses in the surrounding environ-ment.
Relates back to our previous chapter and how sometimes we have good intentions for our environment, but too much of our interaction with habitats can cause issues for those species.
Manipula-tion of edges is used to enhance the abundanceof game species such as deer, pheasants andgrouse (see Box 1.1). In England, open linear“rides”in woods may be actively managed toincrease incident light and early successional habi-tat for butterflies and other wildlife
Like Dr. Jolles discussed, there are many positives to humans interacting with the habitats edge, but there are also a plethora of human impacts that can degrade the integrity of the habitat as a whole. With the habitat's edge, there is concern for storm runoff, erosion impacts, wind fluctuation, lack of coverage for the species, etc.
It predicted that species rich-ness on an island represents a dynamic balancebetween the rate of colonization of new species tothe island and the rate of extinction of speciesalready present.
Highlights the natural process of natural selection and competition. Everything needs balance for the sake of stability and the species that do experience extinction allow for new species to attempt at thriving and creating new biodiversity.
The world’s agroecosystems deliver a numberof key goods and services valued by society suchas food, feed,fibre, water, functionalbiodiversity, and carbon storage.
Flood mit-igation is particularly crucial in tropical areaswhere downpours can rapidly deposit enormousamounts of water that can lead to increased ero-sion,floods, and deaths if there is little naturalforest to absorb the rainfall
interestingly, flood mitigation, while beneficial for the land, can also be turned GREEN! Moss gardens, native plant gardens and rain gardens are all simple additions for our environment
Changes in one component canhave drastic effects on another,
A reminder of the domino effect. We may not think we impact something personally, but if enough people do it then that small impact becomes greater. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUyD7nZxQqE Linked is a video that explains the domino effect in marine ecosystems; ultimately if we lose one ecosystem, we can assume there are more to follow.
Earth wouldnot befit for our survival if it were not for plantsthat have created and maintained a suitable at-mosphere
This reminds me so much of a time during Botany with Dr. Jolles when she said something along the lines of, "plants dont need us, we need them. they would do much better without our help". I think that goes to say something about humans in general that we try to hard to put our touch on things and make them "better", when realistically, they thrive much better without our "Help"
Awidearrayoftechniquesisnowbeingemployedto gain access to some of the environments thathave been less well explored, including ropeclimbing techniques, aerial walkways, cranesand balloons for tropical forest canopies, andremotely operated vehicles, bottom landers, sub-marines, sonar, and video for the deep ocea
While I love the idea of trying new ways to experience the unexplored, I'm curious about the impact that some of these techniques actually have? Another point to pose to those who are exploring is, is that area better left to function without any human interaction- even if it's above the tree canopy? We know for a fact that ecosystems thrive without man interrupting that process, so while it can be educational, is it worth it?
The scale of the variety of life is difficult, andperhaps impossible, for any of us truly to visua-lize or comprehend
I really love this quote. This truly illuminates how all of our working systems rely on other parts to continue to function. We take grass as something unimportant, but that grass feeds our primary consumers which feed our secondary, and so on, but all coming back to something as minuscule as a mushroom to break down all of that matter to put it back into the earth.
a burgeoning human population.
What's so interesting is that no matter what subject you look at, the human population is the largest stressor to that topic. Why havent we taken that large population and shifted that stress into doing our part to do better.
The principles of conservation biol-ogy have spawned creative applications amongconservation visionaries, practitioners, planners,and policy-makers (Nosset al.1997; Adams 2005).To safeguard biological diversity, larger-scaleand longer-term thinking and planning had totake hold.
Like I mentioned in the previous highlighted quote response; when one person sees that drive and push for something they're passionate about, it creates the domino effect where now many people want to take action.
As thefield grew, com-plaints came from various quarters. Conservationbiology was caricatured as a passing fad, a re-sponse to trendy environmental ideas (and mo-mentarily available funds).
What's so interesting about this quote is that is applies to so much more in our world today, then just conservation biology. Any time someone tries to do good, or create an impacting change, an opposing side will always call it a "fad" or make it as if it's something that will be gone as soon as it arrived. What's so important is that those who've created that change kept pushing for it
colonialism, theIndustrial Revolution, human population growth,expansion of capitalist and collectivist economies,and developing trade networks transformedhuman social, economic, political, and ecologicalrelationships ever more quickly and profoundly
the colonization of our natural lands, while has had its positives, like developments for the agriculture industry, new ways of preserving our energy, etc. But we forget that the reason we need these products to now protect our environment is because of the depletion that man has caused.
It's great that we're tryin to help now...but if we didn't overstep then were wouldnt be anything to fix.
Anyone seeking to understand thehistory and growth of conservation biology thusfaces inherent challenges. Thefield has formedtoo recently to be viewed with historical detach-ment, and the trends shaping it are still toofluidto be easily traced.
This reminds me of Dr. V and her views on entering any ESP related field. We have the ability to implement change and positivity to our natural world, but we also see A LOT of negativity that could turn one away from wanting to help.
Conservation in the old sense, of this or thatresource in isolation from all other resources, isnot enough.
I personally love that Dasmann is calling to our old ways, and how they've continued to harm our environment and that we need to update and do better.
Having one’s own domain means that students have much more say over what they present to the world, in terms of their public profiles, professional portfolios, and digital identities. Students have control over the look and feel of their own sites, including what’s shared publicly.
Is it always a good thing to publish our raw, uncensored thoughts, even when it's educational purposes?
a growing number of other schools believe that students need a proprietary online space in order to be intellectually productive.
Do all students know the "agreement" they sign, to lose their privacy when creating public accounts?
fail to give students themselves a voice, let alone some assistance in deciding what to share online. Students have little agency when it comes to education technology – much like they have little agency in education itself.
If students are posting publicly, even for educational purposes, could this effect them in the future?
make it easier to gather evidence and quotes for analysis in a final paper.
Helpful in the long run