ecology in the anthropocene

Ecology in the Anthropocene

Advanced Topics in Ecology (BLGY3133) Submodule E

School of BiologyFACULTY OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

Outline of this lecture

Ecology in the Anthropocene Lecture 1 (06/11/12)

Introduction to the submodule• Times, locations• Assessment

Short overview of human impactsImpacts of removing taxonomic diversity

• Trophic cascades• Ecological networks

Impacts of removing genetic diversity• Harvesting• Hunting

Timetable for the submodule

Three lectures• 06/11/2012, 2pm-4pm – Worsley Dental LT (6.142) • 08/11/2012, 3pm-5pm – Roger Stevens LT 15 (11.15) • 13/11/2012, 1pm-3pm – Worsley Dental LT (6.142)

One mid-module session of formative feedback• 20/11/2012, 2pm-6pm – Worsley SR (8.43M) Y

Two sessions of presentations• 04/12/2012, 1pm-5pm – Michael Sadler SR (LG.10)• 06/12/2012, 1pm-5pm – Worsley SR (8.43N) Y


• 20/11/2012, 2pm-3pm – Worsley SR (8.43M) Y3pm-6pm – by appointment in Manton

8.04

Assessment


Grant application• Topic: Human impacts and ecology• Background knowledge• Identify gaps in knowledge• Plan study to fill that gap• Present the project to a scientific audience...• ...with a “lay summary”• Guidance docs on VLE:

• Ecology in the Anthropocene Written Assessment• Ecology in the Anthropocene Oral Assessment

Groups of three, everybody speaks!

www.vimeo.com Link will be emailedLectures with audioTry to edit within a day

Password is:“dragonfly”

Lecture recordings (hopefully)


Please let me know if it is useful for you in the module feedback!

Readings

Leopold (1949) Sandy County Almanac• 4 copies in library, only £5 to buy online

Caughley and Gunn (1996) Conservation Biology in Theory and Practice• 10 copies in library

Primack (2010) Essentials of Conservation Biology• 3 copies in library (of different editions)

Sodhi and Ehrlich (2010) Conservation Biology for All• Freely available online: http://www.conbio.org/publications/free-textbook

Primary references throughout the course (watch the bottom of each slide)


http://www.conbio.org/publications/free-textbook

Making ourselves at home


Nasseri, N. A., McBrayer, L. D. and Schulte, B. A. (2011). African Journal of Ecology, 49: 133–140.

Elephant damage > increased frog

diversity

Sanders, D. and van Veen, F. J. F. (2011). Journal of Animal Ecology, 80: 569–576.

Ant presence > increased arthropod

diversity

Photo: Felagund

Green plants > oxygen-rich atmosphere

Bendall et al. (2008). Phil Trans Roy Soc, 363: 2625-2628.

The “Anthropocene”

The Anthropocene is defined not just by climate change or extinctions, but by a linked set of effects on Earth and its biosphere, from perturbations in the nitrogen cycle to the dispersal of species around the globe. Official recognition of the concept would invite cross-disciplinary science. And it would encourage a mindset that will be important not only to fully understand the transformation now occurring but to take action to control it.

Nature Editorial 473 (19 May 2011)


Eugene Stoermer (1934-2012)

6000 BCE

Present day

Habitat-level effects• Habitat destruction• Pollution• Climate change

Ecological effects• Addition of invasive species• Removal of species

Species-level effects• Over-harvesting• Selective harvesting

Overview of human impacts


Habitat destructionOil sands, Alberta• 1719 – First discovered by Europeans• 1888 – Large oilfield announced• 1967 – Commercial exploitation begins• 141,000 km2 of boreal forest and peat bogs• 19km from Wood Buffalo National Park

• UNESCO World Heritage Site• RAMSAR Site

Public domain



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Athabasca_Oil_Sands_map.png

Habitat destruction

Ancillary buildings

Difficult to calculate the area affected



Area = 112.1 km2

Road

CITY “Access”

Water extraction Area =

5.6 km2

Pollution

Before

After

Point pollutione.g. landfill



Diffuse pollution e.g. eutrophication

Diffuse pollution e.g. acid rain

Climate change From NASA

Public domain

Public domain



http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_America_satellite_orthographic.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bufo_periglenes2.jpg

Invasive speciesEvaluating human impacts

Conservation Biology – BIOL 3602Lecture 1 - 09/01/2012

Map from IUCN Red List

Cane toad (Bufo marinus)Public domain

Argus monitor (Varanus panoptes)photo by Greg Hume

Northern Quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus)

photo by Wildlife Explorer

http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/41065/0

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bufo_marinus_1.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ArgusMonitorCincinnati.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dasyurus_hallucatus_-Queensland-8.jpg

Sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus franciscanus)Giant kelp

Photo by Stef Maruch

Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris)

Evaluating human impacts

Conservation Biology – BIOL 3602Microteaching Lecture

Over-harvesting

graph from Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)

Selective harvesting

1. Demographic effects2. Ecological effects3. Evolutionary effects

1957

1980

2007

McClenachan, L. (2009) Documenting loss of large trophy fish from the Florida Keys with historical photographs. Conservation Biology, 23, 636-643.

Structure of the submodule


Exploitation of resources

Intentional modification of the

environment

Accidental modification of the

environment

Climate changeHabitat destruction

Agricultural ecology

Urban ecology

Range shifts

Phenology

Reducing diversity

Genetic Taxonomic Invasive species

History of human impacts on the world

LECTURE 1 LECTURE 2 LECTURE 3

Resource exploitation


Western black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis longipes)

Humans RhinoPOACHING



Eastern cougar (Puma concolor couguar)

Humans CougarPOACHING

REMOVAL OF PREY

HABITAT LOSS



Aloatra grebe (Tachybaptus rufolavatus)

Humans GrebeFISHING BY-CATCH

HABITAT LOSS

SNAKEHEAD MURREL

• Established 1872• Area is 8,983 km2

• Largest intact ecosystem in the northern temperate zone

• Last wolf killed 1944

Map by Karl Musser

Map

by

Finn

rind

Wolves in Yellowstone


Mission of YNP:The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the

enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations

1944 Wolves extirpated from YNP1974 Wolves listed under Endangered Species Act and Montana leads

wolf restoration projects. YNP is obvious candidate location1978 Recommendation of reintroduction of wolves from BC or Alberta1988 US Congress investigates possibilities (“Wolves for Yellowstone?”)1990 Formation of Wolf Management Committee1992 Public consultation, 180,000 public responses1995 First YNP reintroduction: “experimental, non-essential” populations

per article 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA)



US National Parks Service, http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/wolves.htm



66 wolves reintroduced 1995/6

325 wolves as of 2005


Ripple, W.J. & Beschta, R.L. (2012) Trophic cascades in Yellowstone: The first 15 years after wolf reintroduction. Biological Conservation, 145: 205–213

Trophic cascades



Ripple, W. J. & Beschta, R. L. (2004). Wolves and the ecology of fear: can predation risk structure ecosystems? Bioscience, 54, 755-766.

Fear of wolves affects ecosystems


Wilmers, C.C. & Getz, W.M. (2005) Gray wolves as climate change buffers in Yellowstone. PLoS biology 3 (4) p. e92

Warmer wintersFewer animals dying late in winterScavengers need winter mortality

Wolf kills provide additional carrion

Wolves as climate change buffers



Wolves eradicated from Scotland in 1769Red deer (Cervus elaphus) in high densities

Hinder plant recruitmentExpensive cullsGeneral public support


NILSEN, E. B., MILNER-GULLAND, E. J., SCHOFIELD, L., MYSTERUD, A., STENSETH, N. C. & COULSON, T. 2007. Wolf reintroduction to Scotland: public attitudes and consequences for red deer management. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 274, 995-1003.



NILSEN, E. B., MILNER-GULLAND, E. J., SCHOFIELD, L., MYSTERUD, A., STENSETH, N. C. & COULSON, T. 2007. Wolf reintroduction to Scotland: public attitudes and consequences for red deer management. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 274, 995-1003.

NFUS, National Farmers Union for Scotland; SCA, Scottish Countryside Alliance; NTS, National Trust for Scotland; MTUK, Mammals Trust UK; SWT, Scottish Wildlife Trust; TfL, Trees for Life

Public attitudes to wolf reintroduction in Scotland

A note on trophic cascades


Knight, T. M., Mccoy, M. W., Chase, J. M., Mccoy, K. A. & Holt, R. D. 2005. Trophic cascades across ecosystems. Nature, 437, 880-883.



Letnic, M. and Dworjanyn, S. A. (2011), Does a top predator reduce the predatory impact of an invasive mesopredator on an endangered rodent?. Ecography, 34: 827–835.

dingo Canis lupus dingo red fox Vulpes vulpesdusky hopping mouse Notomys fuscus

Karen Johnson



More often than not, a “trophic trickle”?

Montoya, J. M., Pimm, S. L. & Solé, R. V. 2006. Ecological networks and their fragility. Nature, 442, 259-264.

Ecological networks

Keystone species


Paine, R. T. 1966. Food web complexity and species diversity. American Naturalist, 100, 65-75.Paine, R. T. 1969. A note on trophic complexity and community stability. American Naturalist,103, 91-93.

Lack of good data, lack of appropriate methods for analysis

Ecological networks

Food webs and ecological networks


Broadstone Stream

Woodward, G., Thompson, R., and Townsend, C.R. (2005) Quantification and resolution of a complex, size-structured food web. Adv. Ecol. Res. 36, 85–135.

Cordulegaster boltonii (photo by Albano Soares)

Ecological networks

Food webs and ecological networks


Broadstone Stream

Analyse gut contents to calculate interaction strengths

Woodward, G., Thompson, R., and Townsend, C.R. (2005) Quantification and resolution of a complex, size-structured food web. Adv. Ecol. Res. 36, 85–135.

Networks Ecology

Node Species

Path Interaction

Ecological networks


1

1 1

1

2

2

223

38

Solé, R. V. & Montoya, J. M. 2001. Complexity and fragility in ecological networks. Proceedings of the Royal Society: Series B (Biological Sciences), 268, 2039-2045.

Ecological networks



Small world behaviour

Ecological networks



Scale-free networks Histogram of c(1, 3, 3, 2, 1, 8, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2)

c(1, 3, 3, 2, 1, 8, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2)

Freq

uenc

y

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

02

46

8N

umbe

r of l

inks

(k)

Number of species with that number of links (P)

Power law: Pk ~k-y

Many species with few interactions, few species with many

Ecological networks



Complexity (mean no. links)

1

1 1

1

2

2

223

38 5

5 3

5

4

4

544

39

Complexity = 2.36 Complexity = 4.67

Ecological networks



Connectance (links/species2)

1

1 1

1

2

2

223

38 5

5 3

5

4

4

544

39

Connectance = 0.215 Connectance = 0.421

Ecological networks



Sub-domains (compartmentalisation)

Ecological networks



What happens when you remove species?

Ext

inct

ion

rate

Proportion species removed

Ext

inct

ion

rate

Random removal(arbitrary node)

Selective removal(best-connected node)

Proportion species removed

Ecological networks



What happens when you remove species?

Biodiversity and human impacts


Summary

• Humans often remove or reduce species in food webs• The result is almost entirely unpredictable

• “Trophic cascade”• “Trophic trickle”

• Increases in the availability of good data and analytical methods

Evolution and conservation

1957

1980

2007

McClenachan, L. (2009) Documenting loss of large trophy fish from the Florida Keys with historical photographs. Conservation Biology, 23, 636-643.

Recognised for >100 years

1977: management was “seriously deficient in [its failure] to take into account the possibility of adaptive genetic change in exploited stocks of fish.”

Managers focus on demography not genetics


Fisheries


Quinn, T. P., McGinnity, P. and Cross, T. F. (2006), Long-term declines in body size and shifts in run timing of Atlantic salmon in Ireland. Journal of Fish Biology, 68: 1713–1730. doi: 10.1111/j.0022-1112.2006.01017.x

Photo by R

upert Fleetingly Ecology in the Anthropocene Lecture 1 (06/11/12)


Traits affected are correlated:• Size• Growth rate• Fecundity• Boldness• Catchability• Activity

Difficult to tease apart ecological and

evolutionary trends using temporal

phenotypic changes


Fisheries

Evolution and conservationEvolution and conservation

Also emphasises demographyHunters select against the traits they want (genetic over-exploitation)

Three main genetic effects:• alteration of population structure• loss of genetic variation• evolution resulting from selection

Hunting


Hunting

Pho

to b

y C

henu

syin

Undesirable evolutionary consequences of trophy hunting. David W Coltman, Paul O'Donoghue, Jon T Jorgenson, John T Hogg, Curtis Strobeck, Marco Festa-Bianchet (2003) Nature 426 : 655-658

Males contributing to large horns die earlier and have fewer offspring

A role for sexual selection

Human-induced evolution caused by unnatural selection through harvest of wild animals. Fred W Allendorf, Jeffrey J Hard (2009) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106 Suppl (Supplement_1) p. 9987-94



A role for sexual selectionSexual selection: big bodyUnnatural selection: small body

Sexual selection: big antlers, big bodyUnnatural selection: small antlers, small body

Sexual selection: big horns, big bodyUnnatural selection: small horns, small body



A role for sexual selectionEvolution and conservation


Body size

Metabolism

Thermoregulation

Metabolic rates

Trophic interactions

Difficult to eat Easier to eat others

Eat more

Eat different

Movement

Disperse further

Greater survival during dispersal

Sexual selection

Greater mating success Greater

fecundity



Summary

• Species do not have to be removed entirely to have an ecological impact

• Changes in the genetics of a population can lead to substantial ecological changes

• Human harvesting is often focused on body size, which is among the most important ecological parameters

• Human harvesting rarely considers ecological/evolutionary impacts

ecology in the anthropocene

Documents

anthropocene lecture

pm worsley sr

pm worsley dental lt

anthropocenethe anthropocene

pm michael sadler sr

pm roger stevens lt

slide ecology

african journal of ecology