Download or read book THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INTRASPECIFIC DIVERSITY FOR THE CONSERVATION OF AN IMPERILED FISH SPECIES written by Shannon L White and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Improved understanding of eco-evolutionary dynamics can help predict species response to current and future disturbance and aid in the development of more effective conservation strategies. However, incorporating eco-evolutionary dynamics into our understanding of species ecology is complicated by the need to unite individual molecular and behavioral ecology with population vital rates, and understand how those relationships interact with both fine- and broad-scale habitat features. These cross-scale interactions among biotic and abiotic features are critical for explaining patterns in population demography and predicting future evolutionary trajectories; however, they are often overlooked when conducting population-level analyses because individual variation is presumed to represent random variance around a mean population-level response. My dissertation sought to understand how individual variation in habitat use and phenotypic and genotypic diversity influence population demography and evolutionary potential in brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). Brook trout is a species of concern throughout their native range in the eastern United States. Climate change, habitat loss, and competition with nonnative species are the leading causes of brook trout populations declines, and many state and federal organizations prioritize brook trout restoration and conservation initiatives. However, the efficacy of present-day management objectives, which largely focus on increasing population size and habitat availability, will continue to decline as climate change outpaces restoration efforts. Accordingly, management must become more forward-thinking and include the identification and conservation of the fine-scale properties that naturally increase population resiliency and promote future adaptive capacity. In my first chapter I developed a novel framework for the analysis of riverscape genetics and apply this framework to understand population connectivity in brook trout in the Loyalsock Creek watershed, Pennsylvania. Population isolation is associated with low genetic diversity, reduced resiliency to disturbance, and overall higher probabilities of local expiration. Accordingly, understanding how environmental covariates influence migration and gene flow herein riverscape genetics is critical for identifying movement corridors and maintaining population connectivity. Quantitative methods commonly used for the analysis of riverscape genetics are unable to quantify bidirectional gene flow or account for the spatial autocorrelation structure in stream networks which can lead to incorrect conclusions about how riverscape covariates influence gene flow. I presented a novel bidirectional gene flow in riverscapes (BGFR) model that addresses these issues by using principles of isolation-by-resistance to quantify the effects of environmental covariates on genetic connectivity, with spatial covariance defined using simultaneous autoregressive models on a spatially structured ecological network and the generalized Wishart distribution to model pairwise distance matrices arising through a random walk model of gene flow. Using the BGFR model, I determined that temporally stochastic habitats, including the mainstem river and seasonally intermittent stream channels, influence gene flow for brook trout in the Loyalsock Creek watershed. This finding has significant potential to inform brook trout management, as climate change and future anthropogenic disturbance are expected to influence stream flow hydrology which could result in decreased gene flow and increased rates of population isolation.My second chapter further explored concepts in riverscape genetics to investigate the potential negative consequences that can arise when there are unrecognized patterns of connectivity. For this chapter, I implemented a novel quantitative method for estimating introgression between wild and hatchery-stocked brook trout in Loyalsock Creek. Hatchery stocking is an important management tool that increases recreational opportunities and reduces angling pressure on wild populations. However, interbreeding among wild and hatchery fish can reduce wild population fitness and survival by introducing genotypes that are maladapted to the wild environment. I determined that hatchery-wild introgression in Loyalsock creek brook trout was minimal; however, I also found that introgression was occurring at sites that are several kilometers from the nearest source of stocked fish. This suggests that hatchery stocking may currently have a minimal effect on wild brook trout in Loyalsock Creek, but that movement of hatchery fish through the mainstem may have unintended and undesirable effects on wild populations. My third chapter combined concepts in habitat connectivity with fish behavior to explore individual variation in thermal refuge use during periods of stream temperature rise. Areas of thermal refugia are common in mountain streams and occupancy of refugia by obligate coldwater species is associated with increased population survival, genetic diversity, and reproduction. However, the long-term conservation potential of thermal refugia is unclear, as studies have consistently shown high immigration into and emigration out of thermal refugia suggesting the population-level effects may be minimal. Within an experimental stream, I investigated thermal and forage habitat use in brook trout during periods of thermal stress. I determined that larger fish became more restricted to areas of thermal refugia and decreased agonistic activity when ambient temperatures approached the species critical thermal maximum. However, even at thermally stressful temperatures, all fish still vacated the area of thermal refuge and spent extended time foraging. This finding suggests that individuals frequently leave thermal refugia to seek additional resources, and that the location of a refuge within the larger habitat mosaic may regulate the ability of the refuge to increase population survival during periods of thermal stress. It also suggests that larger individuals may be the most susceptible to the negative consequences of stream temperature rise, possibly due to increased metabolic rates at higher temperatures. My fourth chapter focused on individual response to disturbance and investigates the influence of personality on spatial learning ability. While the prevalence of individual behavioral phenotypes herein personality has been well documented in the literature, the ecological significance of personality has been underexplored. In this chapter, I showed that fish with bolder personality types have reduced spatial learning capacity in a laboratory environment. In particular, I demonstrated that bold individuals were less successful at finding a hidden food source in a maze staged with spatial cues. This finding suggests that personality may modulate how individuals respond to environmental stochasticity, with some being more prone to move to new locations following a disturbance and others more likely to stay in a localized area and use spatial cues to adopt new strategies for microhabitat use. Understanding and predicting adaptive capacity requires a better understanding of individual-level properties and phenotype-by-environment interactions that contribute to eco-evolutionary dynamics. I provided quantitative tools that can be used to help understand patterns of population connectivity, which can be informative for understanding population vulnerability and predicting the radiation of adaptive regions of the genome. I also highlighted the significance of individual-level phenotypic diversity when predicting how populations will respond to future disturbance and the importance of considering interspecific diversity in conservation actions.

Download or read book Fish Conservation written by Gene S. Helfman and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2007-07-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fish Conservation offers, for the first time in a single volume, a readable reference with a global approach to marine and freshwater fish diversity and fishery resource issues. Gene Helfman brings together available knowledge on the decline and restoration of freshwater and marine fishes, providing ecologically sound answers to biodiversity declines as well as to fishery management problems at the subsistence, recreational, and commercial levels. Written in an engaging and accessible style, the book: considers the value of preserving aquatic biodiversity offers an overview of imperiled fishes on a taxonomic and geographic basis presents a synthesis of common characteristics of imperiled fishes and their habitats details anthropogenic causes of decline examines human exploitation issues addresses ethical questions surrounding exploitation of fishes The final chapter integrates topics and evaluates prospects for arresting declines, emphasizing the application of evolutionary and ecological principles in light of projected trends. Throughout, Helfman provides examples, explores case studies, and synthesizes available information from a broad taxonomic, habitat, and geographic range. Fish Conservation summarizes the current state of knowledge about the degradation and restoration of diversity among fishes and the productivity of fishery resources, pointing out areas where progress has been made and where more needs to be done. Solutions focus on the application of ecological knowledge to solving practical problems, recognizing that effective biodiversity conservation depends on meeting human needs through management that focuses on long term sustainability and an ecosystem perspective.

Download or read book Battle Against Extinction written by W. L. Minckley and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2017-08-15 with total page 538 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1962 the Green River was poisoned and its native fishes killed so that the new Flaming Gorge Reservoir could be stocked with non-native game fishes for sportsmen. This incident was representative of water management in the West, where dams and other projects have been built to serve human needs without consideration for the effects of water diversion or depletion on the ecosystem. Indeed, it took a Supreme Court decision in 1976 to save Devils Hole pupfish from habitat destruction at the hands of developers. Nearly a third of the native fish fauna of North America lives in the arid West; this book traces their decline toward extinction as a result of human interference and the threat to their genetic diversity posed by decreases in their populations. What can be done to slow or end this tragedy? As the most comprehensive treatment ever attempted on the subject, Battle Against Extinction shows how conservation efforts have been or can be used to reverse these trends. In covering fishes in arid lands west of the Mississippi Valley, the contributors provide a species-by-species appraisal of their status and potential for recovery, bringing together in one volume nearly all of the scattered literature on western fishes to produce a monumental work in conservation biology. They also ponder ethical considerations related to the issue, ask why conservation efforts have not proceeded at a proper pace, and suggest how native fish protection relates to other aspects of biodiversity planetwide. Their insights will allow scientific and public agencies to evaluate future management of these animal populations and will offer additional guidance for those active in water rights and conservation biology. First published in 1991, Battle Against Extinction is now back in print and available as an open-access e-book thanks to the Desert Fishes Council.

Download or read book Biodiversity Conservation Using Umbrella Species written by Futoshi Nakamura and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-02-11 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on Blakiston’s fish owl and the red-crowned crane as umbrella species. Healthy river, riparian and wetland ecosystems are necessary to maintain the populations of the two species. Both species have been revered by people since ancient times, but both are currently listed as endangered because of their small population sizes. The population decline of the two species can be mainly attributed to the degradation of the natural riparian and wetland habitats, which is associated with land use development. The populations of the two species are now recovering in Japan due to recent conservation and reproduction efforts, but the genetic diversity of the two species are still low due to previous bottleneck effects. To develop conservation and dispersal plans to establish the species over the East Asian mainland and on the island of Hokkaido, basic information, such as their regional distribution, genetic diversity, food availability, reproductive traits, and nesting, breeding, rearing, and commuting habitat, is essential. The intensive, collaborative studies conducted in Japan and Russia has clarified the status quo and the ecology of the two species. This is the first book that comprehensively compiles the above information for the mainland and island populations. In addition, it verifies their suitability as umbrella species of an ecosystem and the possibility of their future population expansion, taking into account changes in land use in Hokkaido, which is about to experience a dramatic decline in human population. As such, the book provides valuable information for students who wish to learn about these beautiful symbolic creatures, for NGOs engaged in conservation activities, and for managers who are involved in creating conservation plans and implementing restoration projects.

Download or read book Action Before Extinction written by World Fisheries Trust and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Precious Heritage written by Bruce A. Stein and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2000-03-16 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the lush forests of Appalachia to the frozen tundra of Alaska, and from the tallgrass prairies of the Midwest to the subtropical rainforests of Hawaii, the United States harbors a remarkable array of ecosystems. These ecosystems in turn sustain an exceptional variety of plant and animal life. For species such as salamanders and freshwater turtles, the United States ranks as the global center of diversity. Among the nation's other unique biological features are California's coast redwoods, the world's tallest trees, and Nevada's Devils Hole pupfish, which survives in a single ten-by-seventy-foot desert pool, the smallest range of any vertebrate animal. Precious Heritage draws together for the first time a quarter century of information on U.S. biodiversity developed by natural heritage programs from across the country. This richly illustrated volume not only documents those aspects of U.S. biodiversity that are particularly noteworthy, but also considers how our species and ecosystems are faring, what is threatening them, and what is needed to protect the nation's remaining natural inheritance. Above all, Precious Heritage is a celebration of the extraordinary biological diversity of the United States.

Download or read book Centrarchid Fishes written by Steven Cooke and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2009-09-08 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Centrarchid fishes, also known as freshwater sunfishes, include such prominent species as the Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass and Bluegill. They are endemic to Eastern North America where they form part of a multi-million dollar sports fishing industry, but they have also been widely introduced around the globe by recreational anglers, in aquaculture programs and by government fisheries agencies. Centrarchid Fishes provides comprehensive coverage of all major aspects of this ecologically and commercially important group of fishes. Coverage includes diversity, ecomorphology, phylogeny and genetics, hybridization, reproduction, early life history and recruitment, feeding and growth, ecology, migrations, bioenergetics, physiology, diseases, aquaculture, fisheries management and conservation. Chapters have been written by well-known and respected scientists and the whole has been drawn together by Professors Cooke and Philipp, themselves extremely well respected in the area of fisheries management and conservation. Centrarchid Fishes is an essential purchase for all fish biologists, ecologists, fisheries managers and fish farm personnel who work with centrarchid species across the globe.

Download or read book Red cockaded Woodpecker written by and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 2 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Endangered Species Act written by Daniel J. Rohlf and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Conservation of Fish and Shellfish Resources written by John E. Thorpe and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 1995 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fish and shellfish comprise annually nearly 70-million tons of the world's edible animal protein. However, because of this demand, previously vast stocks have often been exhausted to the point of near extinction. The first book of its kind in the area of freshwater/marine biodiversity, this extensive work reviews the present status of genetic resource management, its needs and constraints, various intervening human factors such as pollution and overfishing, and problems posed by different species and life-styles. This discussion of the conservation of fish and shellfish resources is illustrated by four diverse groups: Atlantic salmon, cupped oysters, common and Chinese carp, and Nile tilapia. These results, produced by the collaboration of nine leading population and production geneticists, aquaculturists, and behavioral and developmental ecologists should become a fundamental resource useful to biologists, scientists and advisors exploring current issues in the fishery sciences. Key Features * Four page color plate section * Database of key organizations for contact purposes * Foreword by Dr. Mike Strauss, Am. Assoc. for the Advancement of Science; and Dr. Peter Day, Rutgers University * Four in-depth case studies by international experts * Editors are major names in marine/freshwater fisheries science * Originally sponsored and reviewed by U.S. National Academy of Sciences

Download or read book The Causes and Consequences of Intraspecific Variation in Freshwater Fishes of California s Eastern Sierra Nevada written by Henry K. Baker and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Classical ecological theories emphasized species as the fundamental units at which ecologically relevant traits vary. Yet, within the species classification (and even within a single population) hides extraordinary variation in ecologically relevant traits, including diet, morphology, dispersal ability, habitat preferences, and behavior, to name a few. Ecologists are only beginning to scratch surface of what this variation means for population, community, and food web dynamics, and key knowledge gaps remain unfilled. In addition, explaining how this variation arises and is maintained presents a unique challenge in evolutionary biology. My research seeks to develop our understanding of the causes and consequences of intraspecific variation from both ecological and evolutionary perspectives. I study these topics in aquatic ecosystems of California's eastern Sierra Nevada with a particular emphasis on fish. The eastern Sierra is a veritable natural laboratory where exceptional natural environmental heterogeneity coincides with severe anthropogenic disturbance and rapid environmental change. I use natural history to inform my research questions and design, and employ both experimental and observational methods in my work. In Chapter 1, I investigated how the shared evolutionary history between predator and prey assemblages affects the magnitude and pathways of top-down control in lake food webs using a mesocosm experiment. In Chapter 2, I identified the mechanisms by which introduced predators use the full suite of resources in their environment and used this information to show how individual specialization in diet arises. In Chapter 3, I studied how introgressive hybridization between an introduced and native subspecies of the minnow Tui Chub has affected fish body shape in lake versus stream habitats to test whether hybridization has facilitated or eroded local adaptation. In Chapter 4, I characterized the distribution of behavioral variation in Tui Chub both within and between populations and showed that nearly all the variation in behavioral traits is contained within single populations, and that individuals exhibit consistent behavioral differences over time. Finally, in Chapter 5, I used a mesocosm experiment to show that intrapopulation behavioral variation is likely maintained by frequency-dependent selection, and that the behavioral composition of mesopredators affects the strength, pathway, and spatial distribution of trophic cascades.

Download or read book Eco Evolutionary Dynamics written by and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2014-08-12 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The theme of this volume is to discuss Eco-evolutionary Dynamics. - Updates and informs the reader on the latest research findings - Written by leading experts in the field - Highlights areas for future investigation

Download or read book Conservation by Proxy written by Tim Caro and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2010-06-23 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The vast scope of conservation problems has forced biologists and managers to rely on "surrogate" species to serve as shortcuts to guide their decision making. These species-known by a host of different terms, including indicator, umbrella, and flagship species-act as proxies to represent larger conservation issues, such as the location of biodiversity hotspots or general ecosystem health. Synthesizing an immense body of literature, conservation biologist and field researcher Tim Caro offers systematic definitions of surrogate species concepts, explores biological theories that underlie them, considers how surrogate species are chosen, critically examines evidence for and against their utility, and makes recommendations for their continued use. The book clarifies terminology and contrasts how different terms are used in the real world considers the ecological, taxonomic, and political underpinnings of these shortcuts identifies criteria that make for good surrogate species outlines the circumstances where the application of the surrogate species concept shows promise Conservation by Proxy is a benchmark reference that provides clear definitions and common understanding of the evidence and theory behind surrogate species. It is the first book to review and bring together literature on more than fifteen types of surrogate species, enabling us to assess their role in conservation and offering guidelines on how they can be used most effectively.

Download or read book Conservation Biology written by Scott P. Carroll and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2008-09-15 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The main goal of this book is to encourage and formalize the infusion of evolutionary thinking into mainstream conservation biology. It reviews the evolutionary foundations of conservation issues, and unifies conceptual and empirical advances in evolutionary conservation biology. The book can be used either as a primary textbook or as a supplementary reading in an advanced undergraduate or graduate level course - likely to be called Conservation Biology or in some cases Evolutionary Ecology. The focus of chapters is on current concepts in evolution as they pertain to conservation, and the empirical study of these concepts. The balanced treatment avoids exhaustive reviews and overlapping duplication among the chapters. Little background in genetics is assumed of the reader.

Download or read book Freshwater Biodiversity written by David Dudgeon and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-05-21 with total page 517 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Growing human populations and higher demands for water impose increasing impacts and stresses upon freshwater biodiversity. Their combined effects have made these animals more endangered than their terrestrial and marine counterparts. Overuse and contamination of water, overexploitation and overfishing, introduction of alien species, and alteration of natural flow regimes have led to a 'great thinning' and declines in abundance of freshwater animals, a 'great shrinking' in body size with reductions in large species, and a 'great mixing' whereby the spread of introduced species has tended to homogenize previously dissimilar communities in different parts of the world. Climate change and warming temperatures will alter global water availability, and exacerbate the other threat factors. What conservation action is needed to halt or reverse these trends, and preserve freshwater biodiversity in a rapidly changing world? This book offers the tools and approaches that can be deployed to help conserve freshwater biodiversity.

Download or read book Encyclopedia of Ecology written by Brian D. Fath and published by Newnes. This book was released on 2014-11-03 with total page 4292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The groundbreaking Encyclopedia of Ecology provides an authoritative and comprehensive coverage of the complete field of ecology, from general to applied. It includes over 500 detailed entries, structured to provide the user with complete coverage of the core knowledge, accessed as intuitively as possible, and heavily cross-referenced. Written by an international team of leading experts, this revolutionary encyclopedia will serve as a one-stop-shop to concise, stand-alone articles to be used as a point of entry for undergraduate students, or as a tool for active researchers looking for the latest information in the field. Entries cover a range of topics, including: Behavioral Ecology Ecological Processes Ecological Modeling Ecological Engineering Ecological Indicators Ecological Informatics Ecosystems Ecotoxicology Evolutionary Ecology General Ecology Global Ecology Human Ecology System Ecology The first reference work to cover all aspects of ecology, from basic to applied Over 500 concise, stand-alone articles are written by prominent leaders in the field Article text is supported by full-color photos, drawings, tables, and other visual material Fully indexed and cross referenced with detailed references for further study Writing level is suited to both the expert and non-expert Available electronically on ScienceDirect shortly upon publication

Download or read book Global Re introduction Perspectives written by Pritpal S. Soorae and published by IUCN. This book was released on 2010 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This is the second issue in the Global Re-introduction Perspectives series and has been produced in the same standardized format as the previous one. The case-studies are arranged in the following order: Introduction, Goals, Success Indicators, Project Summary, Major Difficulties Faced, Major Lessons Learned, Success of Project with reasons for success or failure. For this second issue we received a total of 72 case-studies compared to 62 in the last issue. These case studies cover the following taxa as follows: invertebrates (9), fish (6), amphibians (5), reptiles (7), birds (13), mammals (20) and plants (12) ... We hope the information presented in this book will provide a broad global perspective on challenges facing re-introduction projects trying to restore biodiversity."--Pritpal S. Soorae.