Project 1

In the first four weeks of this course we have focused on the causes of extinction and the biology of endangered species. The purpose of these lectures has been to show you the implications of population genetics and population ecology for the conservation of endangered species. Although I have touched on it in lecture, we haven't really discussed how to apply these principles to the management of an endangered species. That is your first assignment.

You have been appointed Chair of an Interagency Task Force on the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina). Your task force has been charged with identifying research priorities for management and protection of the owl. Specifically, you have been instructed to review available information on the status of spotted owl populations in the Pacific Northwest [1,2,3,4]. Using that information, you are to provide a 4-5 page report addressing one or more of the following questions:

1. What types of genetic surveys, if any, would be useful for conservation planning?
2. Would research directed toward identifying causes of juvenile mortality be more likely to provide clues to management action that could reverse the species' decline than research directed toward identifying causes of adult mortality?
3. What are the implications of different projected population growth rates in the different demographic study areas?
4. Is enough understood about spatial configuration and areas of old-growth forest to make reasonable recommendations about the distribution and size of old-growth forest reserves necessary to maintain a viable population of spotted owls?
5. Is it possible that demographic projections showing a decline in owl populations merely reflect decline to a new equilibrium population size/density consistent with smaller amounts of old-growth forest, or are owl populations declining to extinction?

Feel free to discuss this project among yourselves, to bounce ideas off one another, and to use any information from the assigned reading in preparing your response. Just make sure that you are able to defend the advice you give, because I'm planning to spend some time in class on 23 October inviting you to identify the research priorities you have suggested. Keep in mind that I'll be looking for two things in grading these projects: (1) a clear explanation of why investigating the things you propose to investigate are important for conservation management of the spotted owl and (2) a clear justification of why understanding the things you propose toinvestigate are more important than other things that might be investigated. I will be looking at least as much at the reasons you provide for the advice you give as the advice itself.

You'll find two copies of [1,2,4] in a folder labeled Project 1 in TLS 312. I suggest that you spend some time looking over one of the copies before photocopying the entire recovery plan. This is a course in conservation biology, after all, so only photocopy what you'll need.

One other thing: Normally I would hand this project out only one week before it is due. Because I will be out of town until 10 October, I'm giving you nearly three weeks to complete the project. That does not mean that I expect you to spend that much more time on it. So in budgeting your time on this project, just keep in mind that you'd normally have one week to complete it rather than three, and that I'm only asking for 4-5 pages. Have fun!

Literature Cited

[1] K. P. Burnham, D. R. Anderson, and G. C. White. Estimation of vital rates of the northern spotted owl. In Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on Management of Habitat for Late-Successional and Old-Growth Forest Related Species witin the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl, volume II, pages J1-J26. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service and U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, 1994.

[2] R. H. Lamberson, R. McKelvey, B. R. Noon, and C. Voss. A dynamic analysis of northern spotted owl viability in a fragmented landscape. Cons. Biol, 6:505-512, 1991.

[3] R. Lande. Demographic models of the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina). Oecologia, 75:601-607, 1988.

[4] K. McKelvey, B. R. Noon, and R. H. Lamberson. Conservation planning for species occupying fragmented landscapes: the case of the northern spotted owl. In P. M. Kareiva, J. G. Kingsolver, and R. B. Huey, editors, Biotic Interactions and Global Change, pages 424-450. Sinauer Assoc., Sunderland, MA, 1993.