CONSERVATION BIOLOGY

Conservation Biology

Question 1: Explain the differences and similarities in the declining versus small population paradigm. Use examples in your answer.

The two major paradigms i.e. the declining population paradigm and small population paradigm dominate the discipline of conservation biology. The former is concerned with the identification and management of the processes that result in the reduction and decline of the species thereby reducing its demographic rate. On the other hand, small population paradigm refers to the study of dynamics of small population paradigm that have declined owing to some unusual activities such as deforestation and are more susceptible to extinction because of stochastic event. For declining population paradigm present size of the population is not much of a concern as compared to small population. External pressures are considered as much important in the declining population paradigm. Also, small population is responsible for providing theoretical insights such as models about conservational biology while declining population relies on case by case observations such as the case study of declining population of red-cockaded woodpecker in the Southeastern US. Logging and agriculture threatened the existence of these wood peckers for which steps were taken such as protection of their habitat and reducing the burning of those forests where they lived.

Question 2: Using examples, describe how you would evaluate the success of a recovery plan for an endangered species.

There are no clearly defined metrics for gauging the success and failure of a recovery plan. Though generally, the success of a recovery plan for an endangered species can be measured by the success it achieves in the prevention of extinction of the species, its success in stabilizing or moving species towards the recovery process and also its meeting of the recovery timelines set in the plan. For example, the Endangered Species Act is considered to be successful since the plans initiated for the recovery of those species has soared significantly the populations of those endangered or threatened. Quantitative measurements of the Act's success can be attributed to the fact that very few species have gone extinct since they were granted protection under this act and plans were initiated for their recovery. Population of many has soared, most of the timelines have been met successfully and many have moved towards recovery, making it a successful plan.

Question 3: What is CITES? Using examples describe why CITES is an important tool for governments.

CITES, an acronym for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is an international agreement between governments to ensure that international trade of species does not threaten their survival. Since trade in species is a common phenomenon between countries, it was needed to regulate it and ensure international cooperation to prevent some species from over exploitation. For this purpose CITES was drafted and adopted internationally after signatures from many countries in the year 1973.

There is a lot of illegal trade in wildlife for which the CITES regulations can provide the government with better overview of how smuggling and this ...