Ecological Knowledge and Environmental Problem-Solving Concepts and Case Studies (1986) / Chapter Skim
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Introduction
Introduction
Pages 1-20
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These legislative acts have caused the investment of large amounts of time, effort, and money in analyses of the possible environmental impacts of specific development projects or management decisions. For two reasons, the effectiveness of these analyses and the magnitude of resources devoted to them are controversial (Goodman, 1975; Schindler, 1976; Suter, 1981~: available scientific information is often not used effectively in their preparation, and research conducted to provide additional information is often inadequate.
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It deals with a wide range of environmental issues, including prediction and management of environmental impacts, management of renewable resources, protection and restoration of species and ecosystems, control of agricultural and silvicultural pests, and use of generic ecological studies to promote understanding of classes of environmental problems. Rather than focusing on what is wrong with the way ecology is often applied, we use successful applications to show how ecological knowledge can be valuable when used appropriately.
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Chapter 9 deals with cumulative environmental changes that result from repeated perturbations. There is increasing recognition that some of our most severe environmental problems involve the cumulative effects of many small local actions individually insignificant, but collectively creating major regional and even global changes.
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Problem-solvers can find it helpful to develop diagrams that show both direct and indirect influences and show the pathways through which indirect agents exert their influences (Andrewartha and Birch, 1984~. Such diagrams are accounting schemes that help to identify important environmental factors.
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Keystone Species Keystone species are those which exert influences over other members of their ecological communities out of proportion to their abundances. Keystone species can have various roles in ecological communities.
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Because changes in the populations of keystone species can influence community dynamics in major ways, astute environmental problem-solvers are alert to keystone relationships in the communities being altered (Chapter 3~. Biological Magnification' Organisms are united through food chains, so materials taken up by prey can accumulate and become concentrated in their predators.
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For example, environmental change and overharvesting can cause persistent changes in the composition of fish stocks (Dean, 1980; Gulland and Garcia, 1984; Chapters 1 and 81. Overgrazed plant communities might be resistant to invasion by new species, even if grazing ceases.
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It is the nature of aggregate variables that they lose substantial amounts of information; but essential information should not be sacrificed. A major challenge in using ecological information to help in solving environmental problems is to delineate aggregrate variables, their properties, and what will be gained and lost if they are adopted.
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Examples of renewable-resource management are discussed TABLE 1 Kinds of Applications of Ecological Knowledge and Where They Are Discussed Application Renewable-resource management Conservation of species Control of pests and diseases Impact assessment and prediction of effects Preservation of communities Preservation of habitat Contaminants and toxic substances Mitigation of effects of construction Restoration General applications Chapter 1,2,4, 12, 19 1-3, 5, 8, 17 1-3, 13-15, 24 6-9, 16, 21-24 3-5,8, 18,20 7-9, 17, 18,20,23 4, 7, 9, 20-22, 24 7, 10, 16, 18, 21 3-5,8, 18 6-10
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and of the variability inherent in nature and the uncertainties of science (Chapter 81; without such knowledge, effects cannot be reliably detected and the causes of change cannot be understood. Because the effects of a project can combine with effects of other projects elsewhere, and the effects of distant projects can add to the effects of the project under consideration, potential cumulative effects might require modifications in project design (Chapter 91.
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Some aspects of habitat preservation are treated in Chapters 17, 18, 20, and 23. Contaminants and Toxic Substances The pervasive and crucial issues of pollution and exposure to toxic chemicals are relatively neglected in this report, but the transport of chemicals is discussed in Chapter 4, indicator species and biological monitoring to detect pollutants and toxic chemicals are discussed in Chapter 7, and the problem of cumulative effects (e.g., several sources of pollutants)
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, and of natural variation in biotic and abiotic factors (Chapter 81. Chapter 18 describes the restoration of plant communities on derelict lands in Britain.
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Other case studies deal with problem-solving at the community level. The objective might have been the achievement of a sustained steady yield of useful products from a combination of species, as in the New Brunswick forest case, or the creation of a functioning ecological community similar to one that existed before the influence of human disturbance, as in the Lake Washington and derelict lands cases.
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Managing an international marine fishery Chemical control of a parasite on cattle in Central America Biological control of a pest on citrus crops in California Experimental study of chemical control of a malaria vector Protecting a caribou herd during hydroelectric development Managing a regional popula tion of a rare species Restoring seminatural plant communities in mined areas Developing a model for Impact assessment long-term regional forestry management Predicting and controlling cumulative impacts of sewage effluent in an urban lake Predicting impacts of raising the level of a subarctic lake Nuclear Radiation Generic ecological studies Ecological effects of nuclear (Chapter 22) radiation Forest Clearcutting Generic ecological studies Ecological effects of clear (Chapter 23)
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Scientists do not determine the values attached by society to ecosystem components, but they might know which organisms have important roles in the ecosystem that are not understood or appreciated by the general public. Scientists can help to assemble information about a project site and about similar sites and projects elsewhere.
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Environmental patchiness, variation in time, and variation in the species composition of ecological communities conspire to complicate environmental management (Chapter 51. These considerations are particularly important in harvesting populations (for example, the maximal sustainable yield changes as the envi
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Interpopulation variations both genetic and behavioral, can also complicate management, because of rapid evolutionary changes (e.g., Chapters 1 and 151. · Prepare for uncertainty and think probabilistically.
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1978. Plant species diversity in a marine intertidal community: Importance of hervibore food preference and algal competition abilities.
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1976. Photoperiod and temperature control in the regulation of reproduction in the female catfish.
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