BIO205H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 22: Population Viability Analysis, Keystone Species
Document Summary
Lecture 22: why conserve biodiversity: bats are dying in north america because of white nose fungus syndrome, which is spreading more down south over the years. It grows on bats when they hibernate in caves. Within the cave we assume it spreads through bat to bat transmission, but we don"t know how it gets from cave to cave. The fungus is originally from europe, but does no harm there. There is a 100% death rate, with no cure. Bats fertilize plants and kill mosquitoes, but we think of animals such as polar bears and whales when we think about conservation efforts: there are a set of characteristics to help us make this decision: Susceptibility to extinction: distribution, migration patterns, specialized habitat requirements. We should consider how the population changes over time, and to note that 1000 years is a long time for predictions.
