Ecological Applications

Colin Townsend obtained his DPhil at Sussex before taking up teaching positions at Oxford University and the University of East Anglia. In 1989 he moved from the UK to New Zealand, where he was appointed Chair of Zoology at the University of Otago; he is now Director of the Ecology, Conservation and Biodiversity Research Group at Otago.

• List of plates xiiList of boxes xiiiPreface xivAcknowledgments xvi1 Introduction – humans, nature and human nature 11.1 Homo not-so-sapiens? 21.1.1 Homo sapiens – just another species? 31.1.2 Human population density and technology underlie environmental impact 31.2 A biodiversity crisis 41.2.1 The scale of the biodiversity problem 61.2.2 Biodiversity, ecosystem function and ecosystem services 71.2.3 Drivers of biodiversity loss – the extinction vortex 111.2.4 Habitat loss – driven from house and home 121.2.5 Invaders – unwanted biodiversity 131.2.6 Overexploitation – too much of a good thing 141.2.7 Habitat degradation – laying waste 171.2.8 Global climate change – life in the greenhouse 181.3 Toward a sustainable future? 201.3.1 Ecological applications – to conserve, restore and sustain biodiversity 221.3.2 From an economic perspective – putting a value on nature 281.3.3 The sociopolitical dimension 29Part 1: Ecological applications at the level of individual organisms2 Ecological applications of niche theory 362.1 Introduction 372.2 Unwanted aliens – lessons from niche theory 412.2.1 Ecological niche modeling – predicting where invaders will succeed 422.2.2 Are we modeling fundamental or realized niches? 442.2.3 When humans disrupt ecosystems and make it easy for invaders 442.3 Conservation of endangered species – each to its own niche 462.3.1 Monarch’s winter palace under siege 462.3.2 A species off the rails – translocation of the takahe 482.4 Restoration of habitats impacted by human activities 492.4.1 Land reclamation – prospecting for species to restore mined sites 492.4.2 Agricultural intensification – risks to biodiversity 512.4.3 How much does it cost to restore a species? 522.4.4 River restoration – going with the flow 533 Life-history theory and management 593.1 Introduction – using life-history traits to make management decisions 603.2 Species traits as predictors for effective restoration 613.2.1 Restoring grassland plants – a pastoral duty 623.2.2 Restoring tropical forest – abandoned farmland reclaimed for nature 623.3 Species traits as predictors of invasion success 653.3.1 Species traits predict invasive conifers 663.3.2 Invasion success – the importance of flexibility 663.3.3 Separating invasions into sequential stages – different traits for each? 683.3.4 What we know and don’t know about invader traits 713.4 Species traits as predictors of extinction risk 713.4.1 Niche breadth and flexibility – freshwater and forest at risk 723.4.2 When big isn’t best – r/K theory, harvesting, grazing and pollution 733.4.3 When competitiveness matters – CSR theory, grazing and habitat fragmentation 774 Dispersal, migration and management 814.1 Introduction – why species mobility matters 824.2 Migration and dispersal – lessons for conservation 844.2.1 For whom the bell tolls – the surprising story of a South American bird 844.2.2 The ups and downs of panda conservation 854.2.3 Dispersal of a vulnerable aquatic insect – a damsel in distress 864.2.4 Designing marine reserves 884.3 Restoration and species mobility 894.3.1 Behavior management 894.3.2 Bog restoration – is assisted migration needed for peat’s sake? 894.3.3 Wetland forest restoration 914.4 Predicting the arrival and spread of invaders 924.4.1 The Great Lakes – a great place for invaders 924.4.2 Lakes as infectious agents 944.4.3 Invasion hubs or diffusive spread? 954.4.4 How to manage invasions under globalization 964.5 Species mobility and management of production landscapes 974.5.1 Squirrels – axeman spare that tree 974.5.2 Bats – axeman cut that track 974.5.3 Farming the wind – the spatial risk of pulverizing birds 1004.5.4 Bee business – pollination services of native bees depend on dispersal distance 103Part 2: Applications at the level of populations5 Conservation of endangered species 1085.1 Dealing with endangered species – a crisis discipline 1095.2 Assessing extinction risk from correlational data 1135.3 Simple algebraic models of population viability analysis 1175.3.1 The case of Fender’s blue butterfly 1175.3.2 A primate in Kenya – how good are the data? 1185.4 Simulation modeling for population viability analysis 1195.4.1 An Australian icon at risk 1205.4.2 The royal catchfly – a burning issue 1225.4.3 Ethiopian wolves – dogged by disease 1235.4.4 How good is your population viability analysis? 1265.5 Conservation genetics 1275.5.1 Genetic rescue of the Florida panther 1285.5.2 The pink pigeon – providing a solid foundation 1285.5.3 Reintroduction of a ‘red list’ plant – the value of crossing 1295.5.4 Outfoxing the foxes of the Californian Channel Islands 1305.6 A broader perspective of conservation – ecology, economics and sociopolitics all matter 1305.6.1 Genetically modified crops – larking about with farmland biodiversity 1315.6.2 Diclofenac – good for sick cattle, bad for vultures 1336 Pest management 1396.1 Introduction 1406.1.1 One person’s pest, another person’s pet 1406.1.2 Eradication or control? 1416.2 Chemical pesticides 1466.2.1 Natural arms factories 1466.2.2 Take no prisoners 1476.2.3 From blunderbuss to surgical strike 1476.2.4 Cut off the enemy’s reinforcements 1506.2.5 Changing pest behavior – a propaganda war 1506.2.6 When pesticides go wrong – target pest resurgence and secondary pests 1516.2.7 Widespread effects of pesticides on nontarget organisms, including people 1536.3 Biological control 1546.3.1 Importation biological control – a question of scale 1556.3.2 Conservation biological control – get natural enemies to do the work 1566.3.3 Inoculation biological control – effective in glasshouses but rarely in field crops 1586.3.4 Inundation biological control – using fungi, viruses, bacteria and nematodes 1596.3.5 When biological control goes wrong 1606.4 Evolution of resistance and its management 1626.5 Integrated pest management (IPM) 1646.5.1 IPM against potato tuber moths in New Zealand 1656.5.2 IPM against an invasive weed in Australia 1667 Harvest management 1727.1 Introduction 1737.1.1 Avoiding the tragedy of the commons 1737.1.2 Killing just enough – not too few, not too many 1747.2 Harvest management in practice – maximum sustainable yield (MSY) approaches 1787.2.1 Management by fixed quota – of fish and moose 1787.2.2 Management by fixed effort – of fish and antelopes 1817.2.3 Management by constant escapement – in time 1827.2.4 Management by constant escapement – in space 1837.2.5 Evaluation of the MSY approach – the role of climate 1847.2.6 Species that are especially vulnerable when rare 1857.2.7 Ecologist’s role in the assessment of MSY 1867.3 Harvest models that recognize population structure 1867.3.1 ‘Dynamic pool models’ in fisheries management – looking after the big mothers 1877.3.2 Forestry – axeman, spare which tree? 1907.3.3 A forest bird of cultural importance 1917.4 Evolution of harvested populations – of fish and bighorn rams 1917.5 A broader view of harvest management – adding economics to ecology 1937.6 Adding a sociopolitical dimension to ecology and economics 1957.6.1 Factoring in human behavior 1957.6.2 Confronting political realities 197Part 3: Applications at the level of communities and ecosystems8 Succession and management 2028.1 Introduction 2038.2 Managing succession for restoration 2068.2.1 Restoration timetables for plants 2068.2.2 Restoration timetable for animals 2088.2.3 Invoking the theory of competition–colonization trade-offs 2098.2.4 Invoking successional-niche theory 2098.2.5 Invoking facilitation theory 2108.2.6 Invoking enemy-interaction theory 2158.3 Managing succession for harvesting 2168.3.1 Benzoin ‘gardening’ in Sumatra 2168.3.2 Aboriginal burning enhances harvests 2178.4 Using succession to control invasions 2198.4.1 Grassland 2198.4.2 Forest 2208.5 Managing succession for species conservation 2218.5.1 When early succession matters most – a hare-restoring formula for lynx 2218.5.2 Enforcing a successional mosaic – first aid for butterflies 2228.5.3 When late succession matters most – range finding for tropical birds 2238.5.4 Controlling succession in an invader-dominated community 2238.5.5 Nursing a valued plant back to cultural health 2249 Applications from food web and ecosystem theory 2299.1 Introduction 2309.2 Food web theory and human disease risk 2349.3 Food webs and harvest management 2369.3.1 Who gets top spot in the abalone food web – otters or humans? 2369.3.2 Food web consequences of harvesting fish – from tuna to tiddlers 2389.4 Food webs and conservation management 2399.5 Ecosystem consequences of invasions 2409.5.1 Ecosystem consequences of freshwater invaders 2409.5.2 Ecosystem effects of invasive plants – fixing the problem 2419.6 Ecosystem approaches to restoration – first aid by parasites and sawdust 2429.7 Sustainable agroecosystems 2459.7.1 Stopping caterpillars eating the broccoli – so that people can 2459.7.2 Managing agriculture to minimize fertilizer input and nutrient loss 2459.7.3 Constructing wetlands to manage water quality 2479.7.4 Managing lake eutrophication 2489.8 Ecosystem services and ecosystem health 2499.8.1 The value of ecosystem services 2499.8.2 Ecosystem health of forests – with all their mites 2529.8.3 Ecosystem health in an agricultural landscape – bats have a ball 2539.8.4 Ecosystem health of rivers – it’s what we make it 2549.8.5 Ecosystem health of a marine environment 255Part 4: Applications at the regional and global scales10 Landscape management 26110.1 Introduction 26210.2 Conservation of metapopulations 26710.2.1 The emu-wren – making the most of the conservation dollar 26710.2.2 The wood thrush – going down the sink 26810.2.3 The problem with large carnivores – connecting with grizzly bears 26910.3 Landscape harvest management 27010.3.1 Marine protected areas 27010.3.2 A Peruvian forest successional mosaic – patching a living together 27110.4 A landscape perspective on pest control 27210.4.1 Plantation forestry in the landscape 27210.4.2 Horticulture in the landscape 27310.4.3 Arable farming in the landscape 27410.5 Restoration landscapes 27410.5.1 Reintroduction of vultures – what a carrion 27510.5.2 Restoring farmed habitat – styled for hares 27610.5.3 Old is good – willingness to pay for forest improvement 27610.5.4 Cityscape ecology – biodiversity in Berlin 27710.6 Designing reserve networks for biodiversity conservation 27710.6.1 Complementarity – selecting reserves for fish biodiversity 27910.6.2 Irreplaceability – selecting reserves in the Cape Floristic Region 27910.7 Multipurpose reserve design 28010.7.1 Marine zoning – an Italian job 28010.7.2 A marine zoning plan for New Zealand – gifts, gains and china shops 28310.7.3 Managing an agricultural landscape – a multidisciplinary endeavor 28311 Dealing with global climate change 29011.1 Introduction 29111.2 Climate change predictions based on the ecology of individual organisms 29711.2.1 Niche theory and conservation – what a shame mountains are conical 29711.2.2 Niche theory and invasion risk – nuisance on the move 29811.2.3 Life-history traits and the fate of species – for better or for worse 30011.3 Climate change predictions based on the theory of population dynamics 30311.3.1 Species conservation – the bear essentials 30311.3.2 Pest control – more or less of a problem? 30311.3.3 Harvesting fish in future – cod willing 30411.3.4 Forestry – a boost for developing countries? 30511.4 Climate change predictions based on community and ecosystem interactions 30611.4.1 Succession – new trajectories and end points 30611.4.2 Food-web interactions – Dengue downunder 30711.4.3 Ecosystem services – you win some, you lose some 30711.5 A landscape perspective – nature reserves under climate change 30811.5.1 Mexican cacti – reserves in the wrong place 30911.5.2 Fairy shrimps – a temporary setback 310Index 315

“I think this text will be extremely useful and popular with the students …The overall tone of the book is lively, warmly humorous, engaging, and clear.” Dr Anita Diaz, Bournemouth University“This new text … provides information on the very topical subject of sustainability and further shows how ecological theories and techniques can be applied to conservation and management decisions … I have been reorganizing my course to more closely follow the structure laid out in this book because I think it is a logical way to teach ecology.” Dr Bethan Wood, University of Glasgow “I like the organization of the book … I also like how Townsend has emphasized the applied aspects and placed the ecological basics in “boxes.” Realistically, as Townsend states, if a student only takes one ecology course, it should be one that emphasizes applied ecology. What a great and long-overdue approach.” Dr James Houpis, California State University, Chico “This is the first textbook that I have read with an organization that emphasizes the contemporary application of major conceptual paradigms in ecology … This textbook provides all that is needed in teaching undergraduate students the essential relationship linking ecological theory with natural resource management.” Dr Eric Dibble, Mississippi State University