This document provides an overview of topics covered in week 7 of a course on biodiversity conservation. The main topics are sustainable tourism and biodiversity conservation. It also recaps questions and answers on various issues in biodiversity conservation, such as the location and establishment of protected areas, strategies for preserving biodiversity apart from protected areas, and the economic value of biodiversity conservation. References are provided at the end related to research on the relationship between human populations and different aspects of biodiversity.

1. Biodiversity Conservation – week 7
London Metropolitan Univ. - 2010
Marco Pautasso (marpauta at gmail.com)

2. Biodiversity Conservation
main topics – week 7
1. Sustainable tourism
and biodiversity conservation
2. A recap of some questions/answers
in biodiversity conservation

3. Ever heard of biodiversity?
from Lindemann-Matthies & Bose (2008) Human Ecology

4. Age and source of knowledge on biodiversity
from Lindemann-Matthies & Bose (2008) Human Ecology

5. What is biodiversity?
from Lindemann-Matthies & Bose (2008) Human Ecology

6. How much (plant) biodiversity is there?
from Lindemann-Matthies & Bose (2008) Human Ecology

7. Which factor can predict biodiversity threat?
from Holland et al. (2009) Conservation Biology

8. Which factor can predict biodiversity threat?
from Holland et al. (2009) Conservation Biology

9. Human inequality and biodiversity threat
from Holland et al. (2009) Conservation Biology

10. Coral condition and diving in the Red Sea
from Hasler & Ott (2008) Marine Pollution Bulletin

11. Green space use in Denmark
from Schipperijn et al. (2010) Landscape & Urban Planning

12. Temporal trend in green space visits
from Pergams & Zaradic (2008) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA

13. Temporal trends in UK trade
from Schuls (2004) Population & Environment

14. Temporal trends in transport of people (UK)
from Schuls (2004) Population & Environment

15. Temporal trends in time spent travelling (UK)
from Schuls (2004) Population & Environment

16. from Proches et al. (2008) BioScience

17. 1a. Will the Earth after us resemble the Earth before us?

18. [CO2]
from MacKay (2008) Sustainable Energy

19. Human impacts on biodiversity
Habitat fragmentation, degradation and loss
Water, air and soil pollution
Species introductions
Climate change
Trade, travel, transportation and tourism

20. 1b. When have protected areas been established?
from: The Atlas of Canada (2007)

21. 1b. When have protected areas been established?

22. 1c. Where do protected areas tend to be located?
from: World Database on Protected Areas

23. 1d. Is there a correlation between the species richness of a
region and its human population?
4
log10 vascular plant spp richness (n)
2
n = 2877, r = 0.18, y = 1.75+ 0.22x, p < 0.0001
3
2
1
2 3 4 5 6 7
log10 human population size (n)
Data from the Synthesis of the North American Flora (Ohio and Virginia not included)

24. 1e. What is the key factor behind spp-people correlations?
birds in Florence
from: Chiari et al. (2010) J Animal Ecology

25. 2a. Which strategies to preserve biodiversity
exist apart from protected areas?
• preserve landscape connectivity
• reduce energy consumption
• facilitate biodiversity research/education
• plant and protect trees/shrubs in towns
• organize competitions among gardeners?
• encourage people to eat local food?
• walk/cycle/use public transport?

26. from MacKay (2008) Sustainable Energy

27. 2b. What is the difference between
in situ and ex situ conservation?

28. 2c. How can genetic diversity be preserved?

29. 2d. Who is responsible for the conservation of biodiversity?
from MacKay (2008) Sustainable Energy

30. 2f. Is biodiversity conservation worthwhile from an
economic point of view?

31. 2g. How can the individual make a difference in
biodiversity conservation?

32. CO2 emissions (2000) per continent
from MacKay (2009) Sustainable Energy

33. CO2 emissions (2000) per country
from MacKay (2009) Sustainable Energy

34. CO2 emissions (cumulative: 1880-2004) per country
from MacKay (2009) Sustainable Energy

35. CO2 emissions since 2000: scenarios vs. data
from MacKay (2009) Sustainable Energy

36. References
Barbosa AM, Fontaneto D, Marini L & Pautasso M (2010) Positive regional species–people correlations: a sampling artefact or a key issue for sustainable
development? Animal Conservation 13: 446-447
Chiari C, Dinetti M, Licciardello C, Licitra G & Pautasso M (2010) Urbanization and the more-individuals hypothesis. Journal of Animal Ecology 79: 366-371
Golding J, Güsewell S, Kreft H, Kuzevanov VY, Lehvävirta S, Parmentier I & Pautasso M (2010) Species-richness patterns of the living collections of the world's
botanic gardens: a matter of socio-economics? Annals of Botany 105: 689-696
Jeger MJ & Pautasso M (2008) Comparative epidemiology of zoosporic plant pathogens. European Journal of Plant Pathology 122: 111-126
MacLeod A, Pautasso M, Jeger MJ & Haines-Young R (2010) Evolution of the international regulation of plant pests and challenges for future plant health. Food
Security 2: 49-70
Moslonka-Lefebvre M, Pautasso M & Jeger MJ (2009) Disease spread in small-size directed networks: epidemic threshold, correlation between links to and
from nodes, and clustering. Journal of Theoretical Biology 260: 402-411
Pautasso M (2009) Geographical genetics and the conservation of forest trees. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Systematics & Evolution 11: 157-189
Pautasso M & Chiarucci A (2008) A test of the scale-dependence of the species abundance-people correlation for veteran trees in Italy. Annals of Botany 101:
709-715
Pautasso M & Dinetti M (2009) Avian species richness, human population and protected areas across Italy’s regions. Environmental Conservation 36: 22-31
Pautasso M & Fontaneto D (2008) A test of the species-people correlation for stream macro-invertebrates in European countries. Ecological Applications 18:
1842-1849
Pautasso M & Gaston KJ (2006) A test of the mechanisms behind avian generalized individuals-area relationships. Global Ecology & Biogeography 15: 303-317
Pautasso M & Jeger MJ (2008) Epidemic threshold and network structure: the interplay of probability of transmission and of persistence in directed networks.
Ecological Complexity 5: 1-8
Pautasso M & Powell G (2009) Aphid biodiversity is correlated with human population in European countries. Oecologia 160: 839-846
Pautasso M & Weisberg PJ (2008) Density-area relationships: the importance of the zeros. Global Ecology and Biogeography 17: 203-210
Pautasso M & Zotti M (2009) Macrofungal taxa and human population in Italy's regions. Biodiversity & Conservation 18: 473-485
Pautasso M et al (2010) Plant health and global change – some implications for landscape management. Biological Reviews 85: 729-755
Pautasso M et al (2011) Global macroecology of bird assemblages in urbanized and semi-natural ecosystems. Global Ecology & Biogeography 20: 426-436
Pecher C, Fritz S, Marini L, Fontaneto D & Pautasso M (2010) Scale-dependence of the correlation between human population and the species richness of
stream macroinvertebrates. Basic Applied Ecology 11: 272-280
Schlick-Steiner B, Steiner F & Pautasso M (2008) Ants and people: a test of two mechanisms behind the large-scale human-biodiversity correlation for
Formicidae in Europe. Journal of Biogeography 35: 2195-2206
Steck CE & Pautasso M (2008) Human population, grasshopper and plant species richness in European countries. Acta Oecologica 34: 303-310