Questions and Answers of An Introduction To Conservation Biology

Consider the public land management and private conservation organizations with which you are familiar. Do you think their guiding philosophies are closest to the resource conservation ethic, the
How would you characterize your own viewpoint about the conservation of biodiversity and the environment? Which of the religious or philosophical viewpoints of conservation biology stated here do you
Consider the natural resources that people use near where you live. Can you place an economic value on those resources? If you can’t think of any products harvested directly, consider basic
Why should conservation biologists, or anyone else, care if a species goes locally extinct if it is still found somewhere else?
Choose a threatened species in your region. Weigh the merits and limitations of a species-centered approach, an ecosystem approach, a wilderness approach, and a hotspot approach for protecting it.
Would it be a good idea to create new wild populations of African rhinoceroses, elephants, and lions in Australia, South America, the southwestern United States, or other areas outside their current
Would biodiversity be adequately protected if every species were raised in captivity? Is this possible? Is it practical? How would freezing a tissue sample of every species help to protect
What methods and techniques could you use to monitor and evaluate the success of a restoration project? What timescale would you suggest using?
What do you think are some of the easiest ecosystems to restore? The most difficult? Why
Aldo Leopold encouraged humans to “keep every cog and wheel” in order to maintain healthy ecosystems. Is it necessary, or even possible, to return every missing species back into a restored
What are the roles of government agencies, private conservation organizations, businesses, community groups, and individuals in the conservation of biodiversity? Can they work together, or are their
How is conservation biology fundamentally different from other branches of biology, such as physiology, genetics, or cell biology? How is it similar to the science of medicine? How is it different
What do you think are the major conservation and environmental problems facing the world today? What are the major problems facing your local community? What ideas for solving these problems can you
How many species of birds, trees, and insects can you identify in your neighborhood? How could you learn to identify more? Is it important to be able to identify species in the wild?
What are the factors promoting species richness? Why is biological diversity diminished in particular environments? Why aren’t species able to overcome these limitations and undergo the process of
Conservation efforts usually target genetic variation, species diversity, biological communities, and ecosystems for protection. What are some other components of natural systems that need to be
Find a recent large development project in your area, such as a dam, office park, shopping mall, highway, or housing development, and learn all you can about it. Estimate the costs and benefits of
Imagine that the only known population of a dragonfly species will be destroyed unless money can be raised to purchase the pond where it lives and the surrounding land. How could you assign a
Do living creatures, species, biological communities, and physical entities, such as rivers, lakes, and mountains, have rights? Can we treat them any way we please? Where should we draw the line of
Human population growth is often blamed for the loss of biological diversity. Is this valid? What other factors are responsible, and how do we weigh their relative importance? Is it possible to find
Consider the most damaged and the most pristine habitats near where you live or go to school. Why have some habitats been preserved and others fragmented and degraded?
Learn about one endangered species in detail. What is the full range of immediate threats to this species? How do these immediate threats connect to larger social, economic, political, and legal
Consider one of the species that has gone extinct in the last two centuries. Did it fall into one of the categories of extinction vulnerability listed in this chapter? What other biological or
Find out about a species that is currently endangered in the wild. How might this species be affected by the problems of small populations? Address genetic, physiological, behavioral, and ecological
How might you monitor populations of a species of fish over time? Would your methods differ if the fish was a freshwater species or a marine species? Why or why not?
A wide range of laws protect endangered species. Why don’t species covered by such laws quickly recover?
How do you judge whether a reintroduction project is successful? Develop simple and then increasingly detailed criteria to evaluate a project’s success.
Obtain a map of a town, state, or nation that shows protected areas (such as nature reserves and parks) and multipleuse managed areas. Who is responsible for each parcel of land, and what is the
If you could protect additional areas on the map, where would they be and why? Show their exact locations, sizes, and shapes and justify your choices.
Think about a national park or nature reserve you have visited. In what ways was it well run or poorly run? What were the goals of this protected area, and how could they be achieved through better
Can you think of special challenges in the management of aquatic preserves such as coastal estuaries, islands, or freshwater lakes that would not be faced by managers of terrestrial protected area?
Consider a national forest that has been used for decades for logging, hunting, and mining. If endangered plant species are discovered in this forest, should these activities be stopped? Can logging,
Do you think that trophy hunting on private reserves is a good means by which to preserve species? Why or why not? On what basis should this decision be made: economic, ethical, past success, or
Choose a large aquatic ecosystem that includes more than one country, such as the Black Sea, the Rhine River, the Caribbean, the St. Lawrence River, or the South China Sea. What agencies or
Restoration ecologists are improving their ability to restore biological communities. Does this mean that biological communities can be moved around the landscape and positioned in convenient places
How can conservation biologists provide links between basic science and a public environmental movement? What suggestions can you make for ways in which conservation biologists and environmental
Do you believe that we will be successful in reaching the global targets established by the Earth Summit (for biodiversity) or the Paris Accord (for global warming)? Why or why not? If they are not
Consider a current conflict over conservation of biodiversity in the news. Does it fit into one or more of the problem/ solution pairs provided in this chapter? What are some possible solutions to
As a result of studying conservation biology, have you decided to change your lifestyle or your level of political activity? Do you think you can make a difference in the world, and if so, in what