Ecological Economics and Direct Economic Value chapter 4

Question 1- Ecological Economics and Direct Economic Value (Reading from Chapter 4 to answer)

The Valdez

Some of you may have never heard of the Exxon Valdez.  It was a pretty big deal.  What’s the current status of that ecosystem?  How about the Gulf Coast in the wake of the BP oil spill?

Question2 …( Ecological Economics and Direct Economic ValueReading from Chapter 4 to answer)

Find an example..

.of a species that, on the surface, would appear to be of limited economic value but turned out to be priceless?

·       Indirect Economic Value chapter5

Question1- Indirect Economic Value (Reading from Chapter 5 to answer)

Wetlands

I sometimes teach a summer course in Aquatic Biology, and one of my traditional exam questions goes like this:  “There’s a 2000 acre coastal wetland in your seaside community.  A developer is proposing to develop the wetland into a hotel/casino complex.  Present arguments regarding the value of the wetland to inform the townspeople.”  What ya got?

Question2- Indirect Economic Value…(Reading from Chapter 5 to answer)

 

More diverse communities..

…seem to be more ecologically stable.  Why do you think that is?

Question3- Indirect Economic Value…(Reading from Chapter 5 to answer)

Put a dollar value on it – bald eagles

How much would you be willing to pay, annually to have a local ecosystem that supported a population of bald eagles?

 

Question4- Indirect Economic Value…(Reading from Chapter 5 to answer)

Put a dollar value on it – a good place to fish

How much, annually, would you pay to have a nearby, pristine body of water for angling and recreation?

 

Question5- Indirect Economic Value…(Reading from Chapter 5 to answer)

How much do you think….

…you spend (as a family, if you’re a family person) on activities that are largely related to natural resources?

 

Question6- Indirect Economic Value…(Reading from Chapter 5 to answer)

How much is it worth….

…Two scenarios –

1. A grey concrete landscape with few plants and no animals.  You go to work, go home, watch movies, TV, listen to music, etc.  Plenty of places to go eat, etc.
2. The same situation – job, movies, TV, places to eat.  But add a lush natural environment full of birds and fish and cool animals.  Lots of wildlife refuges where you can commune with nature.

How much extra, annually, is second scenario worth to you?

 

·       Ethical Values chapter 6

 

Question1-Ethical Values…(Reading from Chapter 6 to answer)

 

So, where do you fall on the question of ethics…

…as it relates to the preservation of biodiversity?  Is it the right thing to do?  Why/why not?

 

Question2-Ethical Values…(Reading from Chapter 6 to answer)

Are all species worth preserving?

Is there one you’d kick off the planet?      

Question3-Ethical Values…(Reading from Chapter 6 to answer)

The God Squad…

…has gotten involved in a few endangered species considerations.  Which ones?

 

Question4-Ethical Values…(Reading from Chapter 6 to answer)

What about hunting?

I’d never suggest that there’s not a place for hunting in our society – but what goes over the line?

 

Question5-Ethical Values…(Reading from Chapter 6 to answer)

Do…

…people have a responsibility to act as stewards of the planet?  What do you think?

 

Question6-Ethical Values…(Reading from Chapter 6 to answer)

 

Sharks are bad, right?

Why should we care about people killing a bunch of them?

Question7-Ethical Values…(Reading from Chapter 6 to answer)

I like nature in art…

…and I have favorite books, movies, paintings, etc.  Even songs.  How about you?  Examples?

Question8-Ethical Values…(Reading from Chapter 6 to answer)

Declarations of religions

OK, pick a religion other than your own, who declaration you like.  Which one, and why?

 

 

• The “other” mass extinctions Chapter7

 

Question1- The “other” mass extinctions … (Reading from Chapter 7 to answer)

 

The “other” mass extinctions

Most biologists agree that we’re in the middle of the 6th mass extinctions (although there have been numerous smaller extinction events).  There’s very little doubt about the cause of this one – it’s us.  What about the other ones?  Do a little background work and see what you can come up with.

 

Question2- The “other” mass extinctions … (Reading from Chapter 7 to answer)

Table 7.1…

…lists some species that have gone extinct in the last 30 years.  Pick one, and see if you can find out why they were lost.

Question3- The “other” mass extinctions … (Reading from Chapter 7 to answer)

Figure 7.5…

That’s about as endangered as you can get.  See if you can find out what steps are being taken to protect this plant.

Question4- The “other” mass extinctions … (Reading from Chapter 7 to answer)

Dodos…

There’s an interesting story about the extinct bird, the dodo, and a plant named Calavaria, that’s struggling to hold on.  See what you can find.

Question5- The “other” mass extinctions … (Reading from Chapter 7 to answer)

Islands

Why do you think extinction rates are higher on islands than on mainland areas?

Question6- The “other” mass extinctions … (Reading from Chapter 7 to answer)

Probably extinct?

Let’s see what species we can find that fall into this category?

Question7- The “other” mass extinctions … (Reading from Chapter 7 to answer)

The next big one

What do you think the next bigtime, “charismatic megafauna” that we lose will be?  Why?

 

Question8- The “other” mass extinctions … (Reading from Chapter 7 to answer)

Table 7.2

There are certainly some trends there, with regard to which groups have the highest percentage of threatened species.  Any ideas that might explain the trends you see?

 

Question9- The “other” mass extinctions … (Reading from Chapter 7 to answer)

Brown tree snake in Guam…

…so, what happened?

 

Question10- The “other” mass extinctions … (Reading from Chapter 7 to answer)

Bonus

Yes, I’ll give up to 5 bonus points for someone who can give me the 14 remaining GENERA of large (let’s say over 100 pounds) North American mammals.  You can email me your list.  Note – the list has to be fully correct.  Land, native (been here thousands of years) mammals only.

 

Question11- The “other” mass extinctions … (Reading from Chapter 7 to answer)

Extinct marine species

Three marine mammals, five marine birds, four mollusks – in historic times.  What can you come up with?

 

Question12- The “other” mass extinctions … (Reading from Chapter 7 to answer)

Island biogeography theory…

…may be the biggest “theory” out there in ecological circles.  But only a few ecologists work on actual islands.  Why do you think so many people are interested in the theory?

• Vulnerability to Extinction chapter 8

 

Question1-Vuluerability to Extinction … (Reading from Chapter 8to answer)

Rabinowitz’ classification of rarity…

…what do you think of it?

Question2-Vuluerability to Extinction … (Reading from Chapter 8to answer)

Bison bison

Why do I say they could be considered “artificially rare?”

Question3-Vuluerability to Extinction … (Reading from Chapter 8to answer)

Endemic species…

..are a critical concept in conservation biology.  What are some species that are endemic to Alabama?

You non-Alabamians are free to substitute your home state.

 

 

Question4-Vuluerability to Extinction … (Reading from Chapter 8to answer)

Coelacanths

How long have they been around, and when did we find out that they’re still with us?

 

Question5-Vuluerability to Extinction … (Reading from Chapter 8to answer)

Isolated areas…

…often have high percentages of endemic species.  Can you find a good example other than the ones listed?  Perhaps an Alabama location?

 

Question6-Vuluerability to Extinction … (Reading from Chapter 8to answer)

Use the IUCN Red List…

…and find a critically endangered species.

 

Question7-Vuluerability to Extinction … (Reading from Chapter 8to answer)

Why so FEW endemic species in…

…Mississippi?  North Dakota?

Question8-Vuluerability to Extinction … (Reading from Chapter 8to answer)

Why so MANY endemic species in…

…Florida?   Texas?  California?  Hawaii?  No, how about… Utah?

·       Habitat Destruction chapter 9

Question1-Habitat Destruction… (Reading from Chapter 9 to answer)

Too many humans?

Most people would argue that habitat destruction (and other evils discussed in Ch. 9) are most strongly related to the growth of human population.  So how fast are we growing?  What was the human population in 1800?  1900?  Now?

What’s it projected to be in 2050?

 

Question2-Habitat Destruction… (Reading from Chapter 9 to answer)

What else?

What other factors, other than human population growth, are contributing to habitat destruction?

Question3-Habitat Destruction… (Reading from Chapter 9 to answer)

Examples?

Who has some good examples of habitat destruction from their home area?

 

Question4-Habitat Destruction… (Reading from Chapter 9 to answer)

Biodiversity loss?

What species can you come up with that have been lost as a direct result of habitat destruction?

 

Question5-Habitat Destruction… (Reading from Chapter 9 to answer)

 

Climate change and biodiversity