Barbara K. Jones
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781683401049
- eISBN:
- 9781683401728
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9781683401049.001.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
How we determine what is nature, what is wild, or even what in nature is worth protecting occurs through our human perspective. Whether it is a charismatic manatee or a majestic redwood, we care ...
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How we determine what is nature, what is wild, or even what in nature is worth protecting occurs through our human perspective. Whether it is a charismatic manatee or a majestic redwood, we care about and protect the things we love because they offer us something we value. To make this value relevant in the economic marketplace of competing choices, Wild Capital: Nature’s Economic and Ecological Wealth relies on the ecosystem services model, where nature’s value is determined through the services intact ecosystems provide to our well-being. As one of the recreation components of this model, this book uses ecotourism and the changing tourist dynamic, as well as our evolving relationship with nature, to demonstrate how we can assign a measurable worth to natural resources. If a developer or a policy maker can more equitably compare the capital asset value of development with that of wild nature, better decisions regarding economic and ecological trade-offs can be made. Wild Capital then incorporates the cultural bias we have for charismatic megafauna to link policy decisions regarding biodiversity and habitat conservation to those charismatic animals we care about so intensely. The five megafauna case studies provide solid evidence of the role charismatic species can play in protecting our planet’s biodiversity and ensuring our well-being long into the future.Less
How we determine what is nature, what is wild, or even what in nature is worth protecting occurs through our human perspective. Whether it is a charismatic manatee or a majestic redwood, we care about and protect the things we love because they offer us something we value. To make this value relevant in the economic marketplace of competing choices, Wild Capital: Nature’s Economic and Ecological Wealth relies on the ecosystem services model, where nature’s value is determined through the services intact ecosystems provide to our well-being. As one of the recreation components of this model, this book uses ecotourism and the changing tourist dynamic, as well as our evolving relationship with nature, to demonstrate how we can assign a measurable worth to natural resources. If a developer or a policy maker can more equitably compare the capital asset value of development with that of wild nature, better decisions regarding economic and ecological trade-offs can be made. Wild Capital then incorporates the cultural bias we have for charismatic megafauna to link policy decisions regarding biodiversity and habitat conservation to those charismatic animals we care about so intensely. The five megafauna case studies provide solid evidence of the role charismatic species can play in protecting our planet’s biodiversity and ensuring our well-being long into the future.
Ramprasad Sengupta
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780198081654
- eISBN:
- 9780199082407
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198081654.003.0011
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
The chapter explains the concept, measurement and utility of bio-diversity as a resource and its intricate relationship with forest. It discusses the issues of economics of choice and economic ...
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The chapter explains the concept, measurement and utility of bio-diversity as a resource and its intricate relationship with forest. It discusses the issues of economics of choice and economic valuation of biodiversity at conceptual level. It describes also the empirical situation in respect of biodiversity outlining both the global and the Indian scenario. In this context it explains the extent, causes and impact of the biodiversity loss in India due to the limit of eco-capacity. It further discusses the biodiversity conservation policy of India including India’s heritage of biodiversity conservation and traditional knowledge system associated with the bio-diversity resource of forest. Finally, the chapter ends with a discussion on how the anthropogenic stress on ecosystem is captured by the loss of bio-diversity which is represented by indicators like living planet index among other measures.Less
The chapter explains the concept, measurement and utility of bio-diversity as a resource and its intricate relationship with forest. It discusses the issues of economics of choice and economic valuation of biodiversity at conceptual level. It describes also the empirical situation in respect of biodiversity outlining both the global and the Indian scenario. In this context it explains the extent, causes and impact of the biodiversity loss in India due to the limit of eco-capacity. It further discusses the biodiversity conservation policy of India including India’s heritage of biodiversity conservation and traditional knowledge system associated with the bio-diversity resource of forest. Finally, the chapter ends with a discussion on how the anthropogenic stress on ecosystem is captured by the loss of bio-diversity which is represented by indicators like living planet index among other measures.
Richard Frankham, Jonathan D. Ballou, Katherine Ralls, Mark Eldridge, Michele R. Dudash, Charles B. Fenster, Robert C. Lacy, and Paul Sunnucks
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- November 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198783411
- eISBN:
- 9780191826337
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198783411.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of wild animal and plant populations decreases and ...
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The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of wild animal and plant populations decreases and fragmentation increases, inbreeding reduces fitness and loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment. Many small isolated populations are going extinct unnecessarily. In many cases, such populations can be genetically rescued by gene flow from another population within the species, but this is very rarely done. This book provides a practical guide to the genetic management of fragmented animal and plant populations.Less
The biological diversity of the planet is being rapidly depleted due to the direct and indirect consequences of human activity. As the size of wild animal and plant populations decreases and fragmentation increases, inbreeding reduces fitness and loss of genetic diversity reduces their ability to adapt to changes in the environment. Many small isolated populations are going extinct unnecessarily. In many cases, such populations can be genetically rescued by gene flow from another population within the species, but this is very rarely done. This book provides a practical guide to the genetic management of fragmented animal and plant populations.
Kemi Fuentes-George
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780262034289
- eISBN:
- 9780262333924
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262034289.001.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
When are transnational networks likely to convince policymakers in developing countries to adopt potentially costly environmental regulations for the good of managing biodiversity? Since most of the ...
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When are transnational networks likely to convince policymakers in developing countries to adopt potentially costly environmental regulations for the good of managing biodiversity? Since most of the world’s remaining biodiversity is found in developing countries, identifying the pathways through which policymakers in these states are incentivized to engage in conservation is critical. This book argues that networks of nonstate experts are most likely to convince policymakers to address an emerging environmental problem if three conditions are met: First, network members must have a scientifically validated consensus about the cause-and-effect relationships and parameters of the problem, since a consensus about the science delegitimizes competing arguments and strengthens the authority of a network’s arguments. Second, networks must build mechanisms for socialization with policymakers in domestic regulatory agencies. Doing so promotes norms of shared ownership and responsibility for knowledge claims about conservation. Third, networks will have to make scientific arguments for conservation consonant with local environmental justice claims by communities residing in and around areas of globally important biodiversity. Networks can do so by arguing for policies that would protect biodiversity in a way that ensures continued, if environmentally sustainable, access for low-income populations that may otherwise be excluded from natural resources. If these three conditions are not met, conservation efforts are likely to face resistance from groups of local actors, policymakers, or both, who cannot reconcile global claims for biodiversity conservation with their immediate demands.Less
When are transnational networks likely to convince policymakers in developing countries to adopt potentially costly environmental regulations for the good of managing biodiversity? Since most of the world’s remaining biodiversity is found in developing countries, identifying the pathways through which policymakers in these states are incentivized to engage in conservation is critical. This book argues that networks of nonstate experts are most likely to convince policymakers to address an emerging environmental problem if three conditions are met: First, network members must have a scientifically validated consensus about the cause-and-effect relationships and parameters of the problem, since a consensus about the science delegitimizes competing arguments and strengthens the authority of a network’s arguments. Second, networks must build mechanisms for socialization with policymakers in domestic regulatory agencies. Doing so promotes norms of shared ownership and responsibility for knowledge claims about conservation. Third, networks will have to make scientific arguments for conservation consonant with local environmental justice claims by communities residing in and around areas of globally important biodiversity. Networks can do so by arguing for policies that would protect biodiversity in a way that ensures continued, if environmentally sustainable, access for low-income populations that may otherwise be excluded from natural resources. If these three conditions are not met, conservation efforts are likely to face resistance from groups of local actors, policymakers, or both, who cannot reconcile global claims for biodiversity conservation with their immediate demands.
Barbara K. Jones
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781683401049
- eISBN:
- 9781683401728
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9781683401049.003.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
By looking at nature through a social science lens, we can begin to see the natural world as an asset critical to our well-being and from that learn to appreciate its value. This appreciation can ...
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By looking at nature through a social science lens, we can begin to see the natural world as an asset critical to our well-being and from that learn to appreciate its value. This appreciation can inspire more of us to protect nature as we pursue our own self-interests. Pairing anthropology with economics encourages people to see the connection between sound environmental stewardship and the flow of benefits we receive from that stewardship, ultimately challenging cultural attitudes towards biodiversity, ecotourism, and our natural heritage. To make these connections, this book relies on five North American animals to demonstrate how, by assessing their role as keystone species and assigning nature a value, people can change their own relationships with our natural world.Less
By looking at nature through a social science lens, we can begin to see the natural world as an asset critical to our well-being and from that learn to appreciate its value. This appreciation can inspire more of us to protect nature as we pursue our own self-interests. Pairing anthropology with economics encourages people to see the connection between sound environmental stewardship and the flow of benefits we receive from that stewardship, ultimately challenging cultural attitudes towards biodiversity, ecotourism, and our natural heritage. To make these connections, this book relies on five North American animals to demonstrate how, by assessing their role as keystone species and assigning nature a value, people can change their own relationships with our natural world.
Barbara K. Jones
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781683401049
- eISBN:
- 9781683401728
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9781683401049.003.0002
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
By failing to assign nature value in our current Anthropocene, the opportunity costs of diminishing biodiversity are not recognized in the marketplace, leading to significant negative consequences ...
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By failing to assign nature value in our current Anthropocene, the opportunity costs of diminishing biodiversity are not recognized in the marketplace, leading to significant negative consequences for both nature and humanity. Polluting water, destroying habitats, or exterminating species should each lessen nature’s value, but if nature has never been assigned a value, that loss is not recognized and development becomes the default. The words “wild capital” remind us that nature should be viewed as an asset like any other, and that in doing so we are better equipped to appreciate its long-term worth. Since the ecosystem services model (ES) ties together the ecological, social, and economic needs of human well-being, it is well situated to assign nature value and from that make a case for nature as natural capital. To assist in policy decisions, ES has offered a path based on the language of economics, making it appealing to economists, while to conservationists, it has turned an argument about the negative effects of development on wildlife into a more fruitful dialogue about how beneficial conservation is for human well-being. ES is also compatible with efforts at sustainability and the goals of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.Less
By failing to assign nature value in our current Anthropocene, the opportunity costs of diminishing biodiversity are not recognized in the marketplace, leading to significant negative consequences for both nature and humanity. Polluting water, destroying habitats, or exterminating species should each lessen nature’s value, but if nature has never been assigned a value, that loss is not recognized and development becomes the default. The words “wild capital” remind us that nature should be viewed as an asset like any other, and that in doing so we are better equipped to appreciate its long-term worth. Since the ecosystem services model (ES) ties together the ecological, social, and economic needs of human well-being, it is well situated to assign nature value and from that make a case for nature as natural capital. To assist in policy decisions, ES has offered a path based on the language of economics, making it appealing to economists, while to conservationists, it has turned an argument about the negative effects of development on wildlife into a more fruitful dialogue about how beneficial conservation is for human well-being. ES is also compatible with efforts at sustainability and the goals of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.
Tammy L. Lewis
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780262034296
- eISBN:
- 9780262333382
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262034296.001.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
Ecuador is biologically diverse, petroleum rich, and economically poor. Its extraordinary biodiversity has attracted attention and funding from such transnational environmental organizations as ...
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Ecuador is biologically diverse, petroleum rich, and economically poor. Its extraordinary biodiversity has attracted attention and funding from such transnational environmental organizations as Conservation International, the World Wildlife Fund, and the United States Agency for International Development. In Ecuador itself there are more than 200 environmental groups dedicated to sustainable development, and the country’s 2008 constitution grants rights to nature. The current leftist government is committed both to lifting its people out of poverty and pursuing sustainable development; but petroleum extraction is Ecuador’s leading source of revenue. While extraction generates economic growth, which supports the state’s social welfare agenda, it also causes environmental destruction. Given these competing concerns, will Ecuador be able to achieve sustainability? In this book, Tammy Lewis examines the movement for sustainable development in Ecuador through four eras: movement origins (1978–1987), neoliberal boom (1987–2000), neoliberal bust (2000–2006), and citizens’ revolution (2006–2015). Lewis presents a typology of Ecuador’s environmental organizations: ecoimperialists, transnational environmentalists from other countries; ecodependents, national groups that partner with transnational groups; and ecoresisters, home-grown environmentalists who reject the dominant development paradigm. She examines the interplay of transnational funding, the Ecuadorian environmental movement, and the state’s environmental and development policies. Along the way, addressing literatures in environmental sociology, social movements, and development studies, she explores what configuration of forces—political, economic, and environmental—is most likely to lead to a sustainable balance between the social system and the ecosystem.Less
Ecuador is biologically diverse, petroleum rich, and economically poor. Its extraordinary biodiversity has attracted attention and funding from such transnational environmental organizations as Conservation International, the World Wildlife Fund, and the United States Agency for International Development. In Ecuador itself there are more than 200 environmental groups dedicated to sustainable development, and the country’s 2008 constitution grants rights to nature. The current leftist government is committed both to lifting its people out of poverty and pursuing sustainable development; but petroleum extraction is Ecuador’s leading source of revenue. While extraction generates economic growth, which supports the state’s social welfare agenda, it also causes environmental destruction. Given these competing concerns, will Ecuador be able to achieve sustainability? In this book, Tammy Lewis examines the movement for sustainable development in Ecuador through four eras: movement origins (1978–1987), neoliberal boom (1987–2000), neoliberal bust (2000–2006), and citizens’ revolution (2006–2015). Lewis presents a typology of Ecuador’s environmental organizations: ecoimperialists, transnational environmentalists from other countries; ecodependents, national groups that partner with transnational groups; and ecoresisters, home-grown environmentalists who reject the dominant development paradigm. She examines the interplay of transnational funding, the Ecuadorian environmental movement, and the state’s environmental and development policies. Along the way, addressing literatures in environmental sociology, social movements, and development studies, she explores what configuration of forces—political, economic, and environmental—is most likely to lead to a sustainable balance between the social system and the ecosystem.
Rafi Youatt
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780816694112
- eISBN:
- 9781452950617
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816694112.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
Three decades of biodiversity governance have largely failed to stop the ongoing environmental crisis of global species loss. Yet that governance has resulted in undeniably important political ...
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Three decades of biodiversity governance have largely failed to stop the ongoing environmental crisis of global species loss. Yet that governance has resulted in undeniably important political outcomes. In Counting Species, Rafi Youatt argues that the understanding of global biodiversity has produced a distinct vision and politics of nature, one that is bound up with ideas about species, norms of efficiency, and apolitical forms of technical management. Since its inception in the 1980s, biodiversity’s political power has also hinged on its affiliation with a series of political concepts. Biodiversity was initially articulated as a moral crime against the intrinsic value of all species. In the 1990s and early 2000s, biodiversity shifted toward an association with service provision in a globalizing world economy before attaching itself more recently to the discourses of security and resilience. Even as species extinctions continue, biodiversity’s role in environmental governance has become increasingly abstract. Yet the power of global biodiversity is eventually always localized and material when it encounters nonhuman life. In these encounters, Youatt finds reasons for optimism, tracing some of the ways that nonhuman life has escaped human social means. Counting Species compellingly offers both a political account of global biodiversity and a unique approach to political agency across the human–nonhuman divide.Less
Three decades of biodiversity governance have largely failed to stop the ongoing environmental crisis of global species loss. Yet that governance has resulted in undeniably important political outcomes. In Counting Species, Rafi Youatt argues that the understanding of global biodiversity has produced a distinct vision and politics of nature, one that is bound up with ideas about species, norms of efficiency, and apolitical forms of technical management. Since its inception in the 1980s, biodiversity’s political power has also hinged on its affiliation with a series of political concepts. Biodiversity was initially articulated as a moral crime against the intrinsic value of all species. In the 1990s and early 2000s, biodiversity shifted toward an association with service provision in a globalizing world economy before attaching itself more recently to the discourses of security and resilience. Even as species extinctions continue, biodiversity’s role in environmental governance has become increasingly abstract. Yet the power of global biodiversity is eventually always localized and material when it encounters nonhuman life. In these encounters, Youatt finds reasons for optimism, tracing some of the ways that nonhuman life has escaped human social means. Counting Species compellingly offers both a political account of global biodiversity and a unique approach to political agency across the human–nonhuman divide.
Sophy K. Joseph
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- August 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780190121006
- eISBN:
- 9780190990480
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190121006.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Intellectual Property, IT, and Media Law
The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmer’s Rights Act, 2001, promises to balance the intellectual property rights of plant breeders and farmers under one umbrella legislation. However, there ...
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The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmer’s Rights Act, 2001, promises to balance the intellectual property rights of plant breeders and farmers under one umbrella legislation. However, there remain several grey areas and the rights of farmers, in reality, are still tenuous. Though the rights framework was foregrounded on an understanding between non-governmental organizations and industry, there is lack of clarity at both conceptual and procedural levels. In this context, Sophy K. Joseph analyses the impact of legal policy reforms during the ongoing Second Green Revolution on farmers’ customary rights and livelihood. The author discusses how the extension of private property rights to plant varieties, seeds, and other agrarian resources changed the demographic composition of the rural space, with increased migration of cultivators to the cities. The book argues that the transition from state interventionism (during the First Green Revolution), to state abstention (in the Second Green Revolution) has dramatically influenced India’s conventional agrarian practices and traditions. This work maps the evolutionary process of neoliberal economic and legal policies and its interference with primary concerns such as food security, food sovereignty, and agrarian self-reliance of the country.Less
The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmer’s Rights Act, 2001, promises to balance the intellectual property rights of plant breeders and farmers under one umbrella legislation. However, there remain several grey areas and the rights of farmers, in reality, are still tenuous. Though the rights framework was foregrounded on an understanding between non-governmental organizations and industry, there is lack of clarity at both conceptual and procedural levels. In this context, Sophy K. Joseph analyses the impact of legal policy reforms during the ongoing Second Green Revolution on farmers’ customary rights and livelihood. The author discusses how the extension of private property rights to plant varieties, seeds, and other agrarian resources changed the demographic composition of the rural space, with increased migration of cultivators to the cities. The book argues that the transition from state interventionism (during the First Green Revolution), to state abstention (in the Second Green Revolution) has dramatically influenced India’s conventional agrarian practices and traditions. This work maps the evolutionary process of neoliberal economic and legal policies and its interference with primary concerns such as food security, food sovereignty, and agrarian self-reliance of the country.
John Waldman
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780823249855
- eISBN:
- 9780823252589
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823249855.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Environmental History
Despite major environmental degradation, Newark Bay--a corner of New York Harbor—is brimming with life. The Harbor's high biodiversity has been noted since the earliest European explorers. This ...
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Despite major environmental degradation, Newark Bay--a corner of New York Harbor—is brimming with life. The Harbor's high biodiversity has been noted since the earliest European explorers. This diversity includes odd tropical fishes that arrive via the Gulf Stream and local residents of high historical or contemporary importance for food and sport such as oysters, sturgeon, eels, and striped bass. There also has been a strong recovery of wading birds such as herons, egrets, and ibis.Less
Despite major environmental degradation, Newark Bay--a corner of New York Harbor—is brimming with life. The Harbor's high biodiversity has been noted since the earliest European explorers. This diversity includes odd tropical fishes that arrive via the Gulf Stream and local residents of high historical or contemporary importance for food and sport such as oysters, sturgeon, eels, and striped bass. There also has been a strong recovery of wading birds such as herons, egrets, and ibis.
Randall A. Kramer and Carel P. van Schaik
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780195095548
- eISBN:
- 9780197560808
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780195095548.003.0005
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Conservation of the Environment
Tropical rain forests are disappearing rapidly as a result of increasing human encroachment. During the past century, tropical rain forests have been reduced to about ...
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Tropical rain forests are disappearing rapidly as a result of increasing human encroachment. During the past century, tropical rain forests have been reduced to about half of their original area. And the rate of deforestation is accelerating, fueled by population growth in developing countries and resource demands in the developed countries. The remaining forests are subject to increasingly intensive human use. Deforestation, fragmentation, and exploitation cause a plethora of problems, including soil erosion; siltation of rivers, lakes, and estuaries; increased flooding and droughts; release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere; and loss of species. In recent years, these problems have become the subject of international concern. This book focuses on the loss of biodiversity in tropical rain forests and on the role of protected areas in stemming the loss. This chapter examines the meaning of biodiversity and the history of the park movement in the tropics. What began as protection of habitat through the exclusion of people has transformed into sustainable use of biological resources. This new emphasis provides local control of important resources and greater income, but does it conserve habitat and species? We will argue that a renewed focus on protected areas as the primary storehouse of biodiversity is needed. We will also make the case for a focus on the tropical rain forest biome and will conclude with an overview of the rest of the book. In its strict sense, biodiversity refers to the “variety and variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they occur” (Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress, 1987:3). This definition can be extended both downward to cover genetic variability within a species and upward to include habitat and ecosystem diversity. practical terms, however, biodiversity is most profitably expressed as species diversity (weighted for rarity, endemism, and taxonomic distinctiveness, if necessary) at the landscape level (see chapter 6). We adopt this definition of biodiversity. During the past few years, attempts to link rain forest protection with sustainable development have led to a noticeable expansion of the meaning of the phrase “biodiversity conservation.”
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Tropical rain forests are disappearing rapidly as a result of increasing human encroachment. During the past century, tropical rain forests have been reduced to about half of their original area. And the rate of deforestation is accelerating, fueled by population growth in developing countries and resource demands in the developed countries. The remaining forests are subject to increasingly intensive human use. Deforestation, fragmentation, and exploitation cause a plethora of problems, including soil erosion; siltation of rivers, lakes, and estuaries; increased flooding and droughts; release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere; and loss of species. In recent years, these problems have become the subject of international concern. This book focuses on the loss of biodiversity in tropical rain forests and on the role of protected areas in stemming the loss. This chapter examines the meaning of biodiversity and the history of the park movement in the tropics. What began as protection of habitat through the exclusion of people has transformed into sustainable use of biological resources. This new emphasis provides local control of important resources and greater income, but does it conserve habitat and species? We will argue that a renewed focus on protected areas as the primary storehouse of biodiversity is needed. We will also make the case for a focus on the tropical rain forest biome and will conclude with an overview of the rest of the book. In its strict sense, biodiversity refers to the “variety and variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they occur” (Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress, 1987:3). This definition can be extended both downward to cover genetic variability within a species and upward to include habitat and ecosystem diversity. practical terms, however, biodiversity is most profitably expressed as species diversity (weighted for rarity, endemism, and taxonomic distinctiveness, if necessary) at the landscape level (see chapter 6). We adopt this definition of biodiversity. During the past few years, attempts to link rain forest protection with sustainable development have led to a noticeable expansion of the meaning of the phrase “biodiversity conservation.”
Howard G. Wilshire, Richard W. Hazlett, and Jane E. Nielson
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780195142051
- eISBN:
- 9780197561782
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780195142051.003.0006
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Social Impact of Environmental Issues
Along the Colorado Plateau’s high-standing Mogollon Rim in northern Arizona’s Coconino National Forest stands a small patch of big trees that matured well before ...
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Along the Colorado Plateau’s high-standing Mogollon Rim in northern Arizona’s Coconino National Forest stands a small patch of big trees that matured well before Europeans came to North America. Massive ponderosa pines, and even pinyon pines and western junipers, tower above the forest floor, shutting out all but the most shade-tolerant competitors. Few places like this one still exist anywhere in the United States, even on national forest lands. A tourist hoping to see all the diversity that earliest European arrivals found commonplace in the western landscape must seek out a wide scattering of isolated enclaves across the region. Western forests no longer contain the grand glades and lush thickets that our forerunners encountered because most woodlands, especially those owned by the public, largely serve a wide variety of human purposes, as campsites or home sites, board-feet of lumber, potential jobs, recreational playgrounds, and even temples of the spirit. We also rely on forests to maintain habitat for endangered species and seed banks for restoring depleted biodiversity—and to provide us with clean air and water, stable hillside soils, and flood control in wet years. Forests must perform these roles while being consumed, fragmented by roads, and heavily eroded. But there is no guarantee that these most beloved and iconic of natural resources can sustain such a burden. Federal, state, and local government agencies oversee and regulate western U.S. forest lands and their uses, trying to manage the complex and only partly understood biological interactions of forest ecology to serve public needs. But after nine decades of variable goals, and five decades of encroaching development, western woodlands are far from healthy. Urban pollution and exotic tree diseases, some brought by humans, are killing pines, firs, and oaks. Loggers have more than decimated the oldest mountainside forests—most valuable for habitat and lumber alike—with clearcutting practices that induce severe soil erosion. Illegal clearings for marijuana farms are increasing.
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Along the Colorado Plateau’s high-standing Mogollon Rim in northern Arizona’s Coconino National Forest stands a small patch of big trees that matured well before Europeans came to North America. Massive ponderosa pines, and even pinyon pines and western junipers, tower above the forest floor, shutting out all but the most shade-tolerant competitors. Few places like this one still exist anywhere in the United States, even on national forest lands. A tourist hoping to see all the diversity that earliest European arrivals found commonplace in the western landscape must seek out a wide scattering of isolated enclaves across the region. Western forests no longer contain the grand glades and lush thickets that our forerunners encountered because most woodlands, especially those owned by the public, largely serve a wide variety of human purposes, as campsites or home sites, board-feet of lumber, potential jobs, recreational playgrounds, and even temples of the spirit. We also rely on forests to maintain habitat for endangered species and seed banks for restoring depleted biodiversity—and to provide us with clean air and water, stable hillside soils, and flood control in wet years. Forests must perform these roles while being consumed, fragmented by roads, and heavily eroded. But there is no guarantee that these most beloved and iconic of natural resources can sustain such a burden. Federal, state, and local government agencies oversee and regulate western U.S. forest lands and their uses, trying to manage the complex and only partly understood biological interactions of forest ecology to serve public needs. But after nine decades of variable goals, and five decades of encroaching development, western woodlands are far from healthy. Urban pollution and exotic tree diseases, some brought by humans, are killing pines, firs, and oaks. Loggers have more than decimated the oldest mountainside forests—most valuable for habitat and lumber alike—with clearcutting practices that induce severe soil erosion. Illegal clearings for marijuana farms are increasing.
Howard G. Wilshire, Richard W. Hazlett, and Jane E. Nielson
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780195142051
- eISBN:
- 9780197561782
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780195142051.003.0008
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Social Impact of Environmental Issues
“Home on the Range” evokes a western landscape “where the deer and the antelope play.” But even at the song’s debut in the 1870s, deer and antelope were declining in ...
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“Home on the Range” evokes a western landscape “where the deer and the antelope play.” But even at the song’s debut in the 1870s, deer and antelope were declining in numbers and cattle grazing was degrading rangelands across the American west. In their natural state, arid North American lands are robust and productive, but they recover exceedingly slowly from heavy grazing. By 1860, more than 3.5 million domesticated grazing animals were trampling arid western soils, causing severe erosion and lowering both water quality and water supplies in a water-poor region. The early start and persistence of grazing over such a long period of time invaded every nook and cranny of the public lands, making livestock grazing the most pervasively damaging human land use across all western ecosystems. Today, grazing affects approximately 260 million acres of publicly owned forest and rangelands, mostly in the 11 western states—about equivalent to the combined area of California, Arizona, and Colorado. Those acres include Pacific Northwest - r and ponderosa forests; Great Basin big sagebrush lands; the richly H oral Sonoran Desert; magni- cent high-desert Joshua tree forests; varied shrub associations in the low-elevation Mojave, Great Basin, Chihuahuan, and other southwestern deserts; and extensive Colorado Plateau pinyon–juniper forests stretching from northern Arizona and New Mexico to southern Colorado and Utah and decorating the arid inland plateaus of Washington, Oregon, and northeastern California. Proponents of public lands grazing argue that cattle have not changed anything. They just replace the immense herds of hooved native herbivores—bison, deer, antelope, and elk—that once dominated western ranges. But in pre-European settlement times, natural forces, including unlimited predators and limited fodder, effectively controlled the native animal populations. Unlike cattle, the herds of deer, antelope, and elk wintered in generally snow-free lowland areas and used much less than their full range each year. And those animals were easier on the land, especially the rivers. Immense bison herds ranged over vast areas, never staying very long on any range. Bison rarely visited the sites of today’s major livestock grazing problems in Great Basin and southwestern deserts, however. On northern ranges, bison obtained winter moisture from eating snow and did not cling to creeks and streams the way cattle do.
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“Home on the Range” evokes a western landscape “where the deer and the antelope play.” But even at the song’s debut in the 1870s, deer and antelope were declining in numbers and cattle grazing was degrading rangelands across the American west. In their natural state, arid North American lands are robust and productive, but they recover exceedingly slowly from heavy grazing. By 1860, more than 3.5 million domesticated grazing animals were trampling arid western soils, causing severe erosion and lowering both water quality and water supplies in a water-poor region. The early start and persistence of grazing over such a long period of time invaded every nook and cranny of the public lands, making livestock grazing the most pervasively damaging human land use across all western ecosystems. Today, grazing affects approximately 260 million acres of publicly owned forest and rangelands, mostly in the 11 western states—about equivalent to the combined area of California, Arizona, and Colorado. Those acres include Pacific Northwest - r and ponderosa forests; Great Basin big sagebrush lands; the richly H oral Sonoran Desert; magni- cent high-desert Joshua tree forests; varied shrub associations in the low-elevation Mojave, Great Basin, Chihuahuan, and other southwestern deserts; and extensive Colorado Plateau pinyon–juniper forests stretching from northern Arizona and New Mexico to southern Colorado and Utah and decorating the arid inland plateaus of Washington, Oregon, and northeastern California. Proponents of public lands grazing argue that cattle have not changed anything. They just replace the immense herds of hooved native herbivores—bison, deer, antelope, and elk—that once dominated western ranges. But in pre-European settlement times, natural forces, including unlimited predators and limited fodder, effectively controlled the native animal populations. Unlike cattle, the herds of deer, antelope, and elk wintered in generally snow-free lowland areas and used much less than their full range each year. And those animals were easier on the land, especially the rivers. Immense bison herds ranged over vast areas, never staying very long on any range. Bison rarely visited the sites of today’s major livestock grazing problems in Great Basin and southwestern deserts, however. On northern ranges, bison obtained winter moisture from eating snow and did not cling to creeks and streams the way cattle do.
Ruth Mackenzie
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199255733
- eISBN:
- 9780191698262
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199255733.003.0005
- Subject:
- Law, Environmental and Energy Law, Comparative Law
This chapter focuses on the risks posed by genetically modified crops. It argues that many of the risks which are likely to materialize fall comfortably within traditional heads of damage such as ...
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This chapter focuses on the risks posed by genetically modified crops. It argues that many of the risks which are likely to materialize fall comfortably within traditional heads of damage such as personal injury or damage to property. There is also, however, a risk of environmental damage per se, which legal systems may find more problematic. In particular, the notion of damage to ‘biological diversity’ requires careful consideration, especially in light of the definition in the Biodiversity Convention. In the same context, while compensable damage should include the costs of preventive measures and reasonable measures of reinstatement, it should not be so limited, since it may well no longer be feasible to recall the GMO in question.Less
This chapter focuses on the risks posed by genetically modified crops. It argues that many of the risks which are likely to materialize fall comfortably within traditional heads of damage such as personal injury or damage to property. There is also, however, a risk of environmental damage per se, which legal systems may find more problematic. In particular, the notion of damage to ‘biological diversity’ requires careful consideration, especially in light of the definition in the Biodiversity Convention. In the same context, while compensable damage should include the costs of preventive measures and reasonable measures of reinstatement, it should not be so limited, since it may well no longer be feasible to recall the GMO in question.
Howard G. Wilshire, Richard W. Hazlett, and Jane E. Nielson
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780195142051
- eISBN:
- 9780197561782
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780195142051.003.0010
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Social Impact of Environmental Issues
The United States is more wedded to vehicles than is any other nation, and “freedom” to many Americans seemingly means driving their individual vehicles anywhere they ...
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The United States is more wedded to vehicles than is any other nation, and “freedom” to many Americans seemingly means driving their individual vehicles anywhere they choose. Opinion polls commonly show high proportions of U.S. citizens more concerned about gas prices, potholed highways, or restrictions on vehicle access to backcountry washes and dirt roads than about government scandals, stolen elections, or environmental damage. Unfortunately, vehicles and roads exact a huge toll on lives and health and threaten our future well-being. Driving wheeled vehicles, and constructing roads to support them, comes close to topping the list of humankind’s most environmentally damaging activities. On most soils, even foot traffic creates tracks, trails, and roads. After ancient people invented wheeled vehicles to carry their burdens and themselves, they found that running water quickly rutted and potholed the cart tracks, and gully erosion chopped them up on slopes. Rainstorms eroded the tracks, flooding the dislodged sediment into streams and creeks and burying downslope croplands. Rutted tracks prevented Roman chariots from driving as fast as they were designed to go, so the talented Roman engineers quite naturally invented paved roads—some with better staying power than asphalt highways. But Roman paving did not solve the erosion problems that roads created, and in some ways made it worse. Today, some parts of the United States contain more motorized vehicles than people. The varied vehicle uses, including military training, have vastly proliferated roads and roadlike corridors—especially numerous utility routes—across every type of American landscape. Erosional forces and their effects have not changed since Roman times, but modern engineers still fail to choose transportation routes or build roads to minimize environmental damages. The roads spread severe erosional effects everywhere, along with pervasive pollution. On top of it all, television images encourage Americans to take recreational cars, trucks, motorcycles, and all-terrain vehicles anywhere we wish. The naked ruts they create are an insidious form of road building.
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The United States is more wedded to vehicles than is any other nation, and “freedom” to many Americans seemingly means driving their individual vehicles anywhere they choose. Opinion polls commonly show high proportions of U.S. citizens more concerned about gas prices, potholed highways, or restrictions on vehicle access to backcountry washes and dirt roads than about government scandals, stolen elections, or environmental damage. Unfortunately, vehicles and roads exact a huge toll on lives and health and threaten our future well-being. Driving wheeled vehicles, and constructing roads to support them, comes close to topping the list of humankind’s most environmentally damaging activities. On most soils, even foot traffic creates tracks, trails, and roads. After ancient people invented wheeled vehicles to carry their burdens and themselves, they found that running water quickly rutted and potholed the cart tracks, and gully erosion chopped them up on slopes. Rainstorms eroded the tracks, flooding the dislodged sediment into streams and creeks and burying downslope croplands. Rutted tracks prevented Roman chariots from driving as fast as they were designed to go, so the talented Roman engineers quite naturally invented paved roads—some with better staying power than asphalt highways. But Roman paving did not solve the erosion problems that roads created, and in some ways made it worse. Today, some parts of the United States contain more motorized vehicles than people. The varied vehicle uses, including military training, have vastly proliferated roads and roadlike corridors—especially numerous utility routes—across every type of American landscape. Erosional forces and their effects have not changed since Roman times, but modern engineers still fail to choose transportation routes or build roads to minimize environmental damages. The roads spread severe erosional effects everywhere, along with pervasive pollution. On top of it all, television images encourage Americans to take recreational cars, trucks, motorcycles, and all-terrain vehicles anywhere we wish. The naked ruts they create are an insidious form of road building.
Howard G. Wilshire, Richard W. Hazlett, and Jane E. Nielson
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780195142051
- eISBN:
- 9780197561782
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780195142051.003.0016
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Social Impact of Environmental Issues
“Recreation” connotes revitalization, the re-creation of spirit. In an increasingly urbanized culture, people recreate in natural settings to lift their spirits and ...
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“Recreation” connotes revitalization, the re-creation of spirit. In an increasingly urbanized culture, people recreate in natural settings to lift their spirits and revitalize their outlook and motivation. Public lands in the western United States, which embrace much of the nation’s remaining natural and wild areas, are especially attractive—and most are open for recreation. We authors certainly have found solace from camping, hiking, climbing, and skiing in backcountry areas. But latetwentieth- century American affluence has created a massive and unprecedented invasion of these lands, and particularly an invasion of motorized recreation. All human uses of natural areas can, and generally do, degrade soils, kill plants, and increase erosion rates, with resultant water pollution and ecosystem damage. In small numbers, and spread out widely, recreational disturbances can be minor, but millions of people regularly play on western public lands in mass gatherings that have large cumulative impacts. More now drive vehicles across forested or desert areas than pursue the less-damaging activities of hiking and small-group camping. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service (USFS) oversee the largest amount of western land available for recreation. By law, the agencies must manage public lands for multiple uses and “sustained yield.” Instead, federal land-management agencies are partitioning them to separate incompatible pursuits, including many that consume land. For example, as logging, mining, and grazing pressures ease, recreational pressures are exploding in Colorado’s White River National Forest, a short 50 miles west of Denver on Interstate Highway 70. Along with Denver’s increasing population, snowmobile registrations jumped 70% in Colorado since 1985. Off-road vehicles (ORVs) are everywhere, and mountain bike use has jumped more than 200%. Between 1990 and 2004, all ORV registrations in Colorado increased more than 650%. Ski facilities also burgeoned, along with hiker and equestrian demands for greater backcountry access. The USFS’s efforts to bring the conflicting uses under control is losing ground rapidly.
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“Recreation” connotes revitalization, the re-creation of spirit. In an increasingly urbanized culture, people recreate in natural settings to lift their spirits and revitalize their outlook and motivation. Public lands in the western United States, which embrace much of the nation’s remaining natural and wild areas, are especially attractive—and most are open for recreation. We authors certainly have found solace from camping, hiking, climbing, and skiing in backcountry areas. But latetwentieth- century American affluence has created a massive and unprecedented invasion of these lands, and particularly an invasion of motorized recreation. All human uses of natural areas can, and generally do, degrade soils, kill plants, and increase erosion rates, with resultant water pollution and ecosystem damage. In small numbers, and spread out widely, recreational disturbances can be minor, but millions of people regularly play on western public lands in mass gatherings that have large cumulative impacts. More now drive vehicles across forested or desert areas than pursue the less-damaging activities of hiking and small-group camping. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service (USFS) oversee the largest amount of western land available for recreation. By law, the agencies must manage public lands for multiple uses and “sustained yield.” Instead, federal land-management agencies are partitioning them to separate incompatible pursuits, including many that consume land. For example, as logging, mining, and grazing pressures ease, recreational pressures are exploding in Colorado’s White River National Forest, a short 50 miles west of Denver on Interstate Highway 70. Along with Denver’s increasing population, snowmobile registrations jumped 70% in Colorado since 1985. Off-road vehicles (ORVs) are everywhere, and mountain bike use has jumped more than 200%. Between 1990 and 2004, all ORV registrations in Colorado increased more than 650%. Ski facilities also burgeoned, along with hiker and equestrian demands for greater backcountry access. The USFS’s efforts to bring the conflicting uses under control is losing ground rapidly.
John N. Thompson
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780195131543
- eISBN:
- 9780197561461
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780195131543.003.0032
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Applied Ecology
Coevolution is reciprocal evolutionary change in interacting species driven by natural selection. It is a pervasive evolutionary process that has shaped ...
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Coevolution is reciprocal evolutionary change in interacting species driven by natural selection. It is a pervasive evolutionary process that has shaped many of the major events in the history of life, including the origin of the eukaryotic cell, the origin of plants, the evolution of coral reefs, and the formation of lichens, mycorrhizae, and rhizobia, all of which are crucial in the development of terrestrial communities. Just as important, evidence is increasing that Coevolution is an important ongoing ecological process, continually shaping and reshaping interactions among species, sometimes over time spans of only a few decades. This chapter is an evaluation of coevolution as an ongoing process shaped by the geographic structure of interactions among species. It is an analysis of what we have learned recently as we have taken a broader geographic view of how coevolution continually remolds the relationships among taxa. The first mathematical models of geographically structured coevolution were developed only in the past few years, and there are still fewer than a dozen empirical studies that have analyzed any aspects of coevolutionary structure and dynamics across geographic landscapes. Nevertheless, these theoretical and empirical studies have together suggested that coevolution is very likely a much more dynamic process than suggested by the previous several decades of study in evolutionary ecology. Coevolution is a hierarchical process. Local populations of species interact with one another and sometimes coevolve. These local populations are in turn connected through gene flow to populations in other communities, and this geographic structuring adds another level to the coevolutionary process. Local geographic clusters of populations may show metapopulation dynamics, and yet broader geographic groupings of populations may show considerable genetic differentiation in the traits of interacting species. Only a subset of locally or regionally coevolving traits will eventually sweep through all populations. Hence, coevolution as seen in comparisons of interacting phylogenetic lineages will show only a small fraction of the Coevolutionary dynamics found at the population, metapopulation, and broader geographic scales. Within this hierarchical structure of coevolution, many of the dynamics may occur above the level of local populations and below the level of the fixed traits of species for three reasons: Many species are collections of genetically differentiated populations, the outcomes of species interactions commonly differ among communities, and interacting species often do not have identical geographic ranges.
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Coevolution is reciprocal evolutionary change in interacting species driven by natural selection. It is a pervasive evolutionary process that has shaped many of the major events in the history of life, including the origin of the eukaryotic cell, the origin of plants, the evolution of coral reefs, and the formation of lichens, mycorrhizae, and rhizobia, all of which are crucial in the development of terrestrial communities. Just as important, evidence is increasing that Coevolution is an important ongoing ecological process, continually shaping and reshaping interactions among species, sometimes over time spans of only a few decades. This chapter is an evaluation of coevolution as an ongoing process shaped by the geographic structure of interactions among species. It is an analysis of what we have learned recently as we have taken a broader geographic view of how coevolution continually remolds the relationships among taxa. The first mathematical models of geographically structured coevolution were developed only in the past few years, and there are still fewer than a dozen empirical studies that have analyzed any aspects of coevolutionary structure and dynamics across geographic landscapes. Nevertheless, these theoretical and empirical studies have together suggested that coevolution is very likely a much more dynamic process than suggested by the previous several decades of study in evolutionary ecology. Coevolution is a hierarchical process. Local populations of species interact with one another and sometimes coevolve. These local populations are in turn connected through gene flow to populations in other communities, and this geographic structuring adds another level to the coevolutionary process. Local geographic clusters of populations may show metapopulation dynamics, and yet broader geographic groupings of populations may show considerable genetic differentiation in the traits of interacting species. Only a subset of locally or regionally coevolving traits will eventually sweep through all populations. Hence, coevolution as seen in comparisons of interacting phylogenetic lineages will show only a small fraction of the Coevolutionary dynamics found at the population, metapopulation, and broader geographic scales. Within this hierarchical structure of coevolution, many of the dynamics may occur above the level of local populations and below the level of the fixed traits of species for three reasons: Many species are collections of genetically differentiated populations, the outcomes of species interactions commonly differ among communities, and interacting species often do not have identical geographic ranges.
Judith H. Myers
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780195131543
- eISBN:
- 9780197561461
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780195131543.003.0035
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Applied Ecology
The movement of humans around the earth has been associated with an amazing redistribution of a variety of organisms to new continents and exotic islands. ...
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The movement of humans around the earth has been associated with an amazing redistribution of a variety of organisms to new continents and exotic islands. The natural biodiversity of native communities is threatened by new invasive species, and many of the most serious insect and weed pests are exotics. Classical biological control is one approach to dealing with nonindigenous species. If introduced species that lack natural enemies are competitively superior in exotic habitats, introducing some of their predators (herbivores), diseases, or parasitoids may reduce their population densities. Thus, the introduction of more exotic species may be necessary to reduce the competitive superiority of nonindigenous pests. The intentional introduction of insects as biological control agents provides an experimental arena in which adaptations and interactions among species may be tested. We can use biological control programs to explore such evolutionary questions as: What characteristics make a natural enemy a successful biological control agent? Does coevolution of herbivores and hosts or predators (parasitoids) and prey result in few species of natural enemies having the potential to be successful biological control agents? Do introduced natural enemies make unexpected host range shifts in new environments? Do exotic species lose their defense against specialized natural enemies after living for many generations without them? If coevolution is a common force in nature, we expect biological control interactions to demonstrate a dynamic interplay between hosts and their natural enemies. In this chapter, I consider biological control introductions to be experiments that might yield evidence on how adaptation molds the interactions between species and their natural enemies. I argue that the best biological control agents will be those to which the target hosts have not evolved resistance. Classical biological control is the movement of natural enemies from a native habitat to an exotic habitat where their host has become a pest. This approach to exotic pests has been practiced since the late 1800s, when Albert Koebele explored the native habitat of the cottony cushion scale, Icrya purchasi, in Australia and introduced Vadalia cardinalis beetles (see below) to control the cottony cushion scale on citrus in California. This control has continued to be a success.
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The movement of humans around the earth has been associated with an amazing redistribution of a variety of organisms to new continents and exotic islands. The natural biodiversity of native communities is threatened by new invasive species, and many of the most serious insect and weed pests are exotics. Classical biological control is one approach to dealing with nonindigenous species. If introduced species that lack natural enemies are competitively superior in exotic habitats, introducing some of their predators (herbivores), diseases, or parasitoids may reduce their population densities. Thus, the introduction of more exotic species may be necessary to reduce the competitive superiority of nonindigenous pests. The intentional introduction of insects as biological control agents provides an experimental arena in which adaptations and interactions among species may be tested. We can use biological control programs to explore such evolutionary questions as: What characteristics make a natural enemy a successful biological control agent? Does coevolution of herbivores and hosts or predators (parasitoids) and prey result in few species of natural enemies having the potential to be successful biological control agents? Do introduced natural enemies make unexpected host range shifts in new environments? Do exotic species lose their defense against specialized natural enemies after living for many generations without them? If coevolution is a common force in nature, we expect biological control interactions to demonstrate a dynamic interplay between hosts and their natural enemies. In this chapter, I consider biological control introductions to be experiments that might yield evidence on how adaptation molds the interactions between species and their natural enemies. I argue that the best biological control agents will be those to which the target hosts have not evolved resistance. Classical biological control is the movement of natural enemies from a native habitat to an exotic habitat where their host has become a pest. This approach to exotic pests has been practiced since the late 1800s, when Albert Koebele explored the native habitat of the cottony cushion scale, Icrya purchasi, in Australia and introduced Vadalia cardinalis beetles (see below) to control the cottony cushion scale on citrus in California. This control has continued to be a success.
Roxana Salazar
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520223097
- eISBN:
- 9780520937772
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520223097.003.0022
- Subject:
- Biology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
This chapter presents the legal frame for environmental and biodiversity protection in Costa Rica. It discusses some of the most important environmental laws produced by Costa Rica's Legislative ...
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This chapter presents the legal frame for environmental and biodiversity protection in Costa Rica. It discusses some of the most important environmental laws produced by Costa Rica's Legislative Assembly: the Organic Environmental Law, Forestry Law, Biodiversity Law, Wild Life Protection Law, and Water Law.Less
This chapter presents the legal frame for environmental and biodiversity protection in Costa Rica. It discusses some of the most important environmental laws produced by Costa Rica's Legislative Assembly: the Organic Environmental Law, Forestry Law, Biodiversity Law, Wild Life Protection Law, and Water Law.
Mick Atha and Kennis Yip
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9789888208982
- eISBN:
- 9789888313952
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888208982.003.0003
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
Chapter 3 begins by exploring the making of Hong Kong’s present cultural landscape and then works back through its earlier forms, firstly into the age of rice farming where the long-term sustainable ...
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Chapter 3 begins by exploring the making of Hong Kong’s present cultural landscape and then works back through its earlier forms, firstly into the age of rice farming where the long-term sustainable management of that particular socio-economic lifeway created highly distinctive cultural landscapes stretching back from the Qing dynasty to as early as the Northern Song in some areas. Then from the Tang dynasty moving backwards, we enter an era where, on the face of it, human impacts beyond the intensively industrialised backbeach areas seem to have been relatively slight. That said, the coastal focus seemingly exhibited by early historical populations was even more intensively expressed in prehistory when, once sea-levels had stabilised at more or less their present position, the resource-rich landscape of the New Territories and Pearl River estuary coastline and offshore archipelagos then took shape.Less
Chapter 3 begins by exploring the making of Hong Kong’s present cultural landscape and then works back through its earlier forms, firstly into the age of rice farming where the long-term sustainable management of that particular socio-economic lifeway created highly distinctive cultural landscapes stretching back from the Qing dynasty to as early as the Northern Song in some areas. Then from the Tang dynasty moving backwards, we enter an era where, on the face of it, human impacts beyond the intensively industrialised backbeach areas seem to have been relatively slight. That said, the coastal focus seemingly exhibited by early historical populations was even more intensively expressed in prehistory when, once sea-levels had stabilised at more or less their present position, the resource-rich landscape of the New Territories and Pearl River estuary coastline and offshore archipelagos then took shape.