Development of Conservation Ethics in the U.S.

John MuirThe Romantic-Transcendental Preservation Ethic

George Perkins Marsh

Gifford PinchotThe Resource Conservation Ethic

Possible Values of Nature

• Instrumental value – a thing is valuable because it is useful to humans

• Intrinsic value – a thing is valuable in and of itself – valuable because it exists

Aldo Leopoldthe

Evolutionary-Ecological Land Ethic

Aldo Leopold on horseback in Arizona – rider on left

AldoAnd DogAt theShack

The First Oakies at the Shack

Biodiversity

Biodiversity – the diversity of life in all its forms and at all levels of organization.

Word first used in print by E.O. Wilson 1986

Biodiversity

At all levels of organization – usually three:• Species Diversity• Genetic Diversity• Ecosystem Diversity

Northern Elephant Seal

Southern Elephant Seal - Antarctica

Corn and southern leaf blight

Corn and southern leaf blight

Traditional Peruvian potato varieties

Terrestrial World Biomes

Measuring Biodiversity

• When discussing biodiversity, most people talk about species diversity which has two components:

• Species richness - # of species

• Species evenness (heterogeneity) – proportion of individuals in each species

A comparison of species diversity in two communities

Community 1A: 25% B: 25% C: 25% D: 25%

Community 2A: 80% B: 5% C: 5% D: 10%

D

C

BA

Global Plant Biodiversity

a. Plant species per Ecoregion

b. Areas of highest diversity per region

c. Quality of data

With Biodiversity We Must Consider:

• Risk of extinction of species

• Endemism – endemic species are found in a particular geographic area

Endemism – Gray Wolf vs. Coyote

Local Endemic - Morro Bay Kangaroo Rat

Home of Morro Bay Kangaroo Rat

Kirtland’s warbler

Red-winged blackbird

Whittaker’s Diversity• alpha diversity is diversity within a habitat - such

as a jack-pine forest• beta diversity is diversity among habitats, usually

measured as change from one habitat to another - such as a jack-pine forest and nearby marsh

• gamma diversity is diversity at a large geographic scale - perhaps all of Michigan or North America

Species Diversity

What is a Species?

Atelopus frog discovered in Suriname, June 2007

The Biological Species Concept

Species are groups of actually or potentially interbreeding natural populations, which are reproductively isolated from other such groups. - Ernst Mayr

Mayr on right – inNew Guinea 1928

Brown or Grizzly Bear – Ursus arctos

Black Bear – Ursus americanus

Gray wolf – Canis lupus

Coyote – Canis latrans

Red wolf – Canis rufus

Helianthus- sunflowers

Oak Leaves

Leaves of Oak Hybrid

Hawthorns - Crataegus

Hawthorns