Where should we put our focus in preventing species loss—on the species or the habitat?
Conservation biologists have debated this question and have generally concluded that protecting habitat is of primary importance but that understanding species is also important.
There is no real dichotomy here, as we must understand the biology of a threatened species in order to identify and preserve its habitat. The U.S. Endangered Species Act functions through the listing of particular species threatened with extinction, but for each of those species, it mandates the identification and protection of critical habitat. Worldwide, many other laws protecting biodiversity take a similar approach.Chapter 24 will describe how the principles of ecology are applied to protecting habitat and how conservation biologists work to manage ecosystems and landscapes. In this section, we will look at the variety of ways in which conservation biologists work to understand and protect biodiversity at the level of genes, populations, and species.
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- CONCEPT 23.3 Primary threats to diversity include habitat loss, invasive species, overexploitation, pollution, disease, and climate change.
- Protection of surrogate species can provide protection for other species with similar habitat requirements
- CONCEPT 24.2 Habitat loss and fragmentation decrease habitat area, isolate populations, and alter conditions at habitat edges.
- CONCEPT 19.1 Species diversity differs among communities as a consequence of regional species pools, abiotic conditions, and species interactions.
- CONCEPT 13.1 Parasites typically feed on only one or a few host species, but host species have multiple parasite species.
- Species distribution models can be used to predict a species' geographic range
- Invasive species can displace native species and alter ecosystem properties
- The outcome of competition between species can be changed by a broad suite of factors, including features of the physical environment, disturbance, and interactions with other species.
- CONCEPT 9.3 Species are limited in their distribution and abundance by habitat suitability, historical factors, and dispersal.
- We have seen in previous chapters that disturbance, stress, and predation can modify species interactions and allow for species coexistence.
- CONCEPT 16.2 Species diversity and species composition are important descriptors of community structure.
- CONCEPT 15.1 In positive interactions, no species is harmed, and the benefits are greater than the costs for at least one species.
- Habitat loss and degradation are the most important threats to diversity
- In the Case Study at the opening of this chapter, we saw lower hantavirus prevalence in small-mammal communities with higher species diversity than in those with lower species diversity (see Figure 19.2).
- Habitat Loss and Fragmentation
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