Biodiversity: Who cares?

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Biodiversity Who cares?
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Which do you like better?
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Which do you like better?
B
A
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Which do you like better?
A
B
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What do you think biodiversity means?
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Biodiversity
What does Bio mean?
Life
Bio
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Biodiversity
What does Diversity mean?
Diversity Variety
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Biodiversity

• ALL organisms in an area
• More kinds of organisms greater biodiversity
• High biodiversity healthy, sustainable
  environment
• The essential interdependence of all living
  things

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• Scientists have identified more than 2 million
  species. Tens of millions -- remain unknown
• The tremendous variety of life on Earth is made
  possible by complex interactions among all living
  things including microscopic species like algae
  and mites.

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There are 3 components of biodiversity

1. Variety of genesChihuahuas, beagles, and
   rottweilers are all dogsbut they're not the same
   because their genes are different.

Beagle
Chihuahua
Rottweilers
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There are 3 components of biodiversity
2. Variety of speciesFor example, monkeys,
dragonflies, and meadow beauties are all
different species.
Golden Skimmer
Meadow Beauty
Saki Monkey
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There are 3 components of biodiversity
3. Variety of ecosystemsPrairies, Ponds, and
tropical rain forests are all ecosystems. Each
one is different, with its own set of species
living in it.
Paines Prairie
Florida Sand hill Pond
Hoh Rain Forest
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Components of biodiversity

• Species diversity the number and abundance of
  species
• Ecosystem diversity The variety of ecosystems
  found in a place or on earth
• Genetic Diversity Variety in traits/genes in a
  species

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Which has more cultural diversity?
B
A
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Biodiversity

• Where is the biodiversity
• Everywhere
• Every continent and habitat has unique life forms
• Concentrated in the tropics
• Panama gt 500 species of breeding birds
• Arctic 50-100 species
• Dense concentrations

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Which has more biodiversity?
A
B
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Should we be concerned about biodiversity?

• What we know The Earth is losing species at an
  alarming rate
• Some scientists estimate that as many as 3
  species per hour are going extinct and 20,000
  extinctions occur each year.
• when species of plants and animals go extinct,
  many other species are affected.

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Biodiversity has Intrinsic Value
Intrinsic Value Something that has value
in and of itself
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Biodiversity also has utilitarian Value

• Utilitarian Value the value something has as a
  means to anothers end.

• Utilitarian values include
• Goods
• Services
• Information

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Benefits of Biodiversity

• Food
• Medicine
• Clean water
• Clean air
• Oxygen
• Space for living (habitat)
• Aesthetic/cultural benefits
• Natural resources
• Inspiration for creating

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Natural Resources

• Vital economic natural resources
• Renewable
• Forests (plants, wildlife)
• Soils
• Fresh water (lakes, rivers)
• Wildlife and fisheries
• Rangeland
• Nonrenewable
• Minerals
• Fossil Fuels

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Benefits of Biodiversity

• New/variety of food sources
• Grains, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish

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Benefits of Biodiversity

• Medicines
• Plants
• Jellyfish sea anemones
• Nudibranchs
• Marine slugs

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What is Biodiversity?

• The variety of life!

genes species ecosystems
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Threats to biodiversity

• Habitat destruction
• Invasive (Introduced) Species
• Population Growth
• Pollution
• Over-harvesting Over exploitation
• HIPPO

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Threats to Biodiversity

• Extinction and population reductions
• Hunting and overharvesting
• Tiger
• Dodo
• Whales
• Sharks
• Habitat loss

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Threats to Biodiversity

• Extinction and population reductions
• Pollution
• Climate change
• Invasive species

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Chinese Tallow Tree
Invasive Species in our area
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Sustainability

• Definition when a population of plants, animals
  and other living organisms can continue to
  interact and reproduce indefinitely it is the
  capacity to endure, to continue on.

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• The more links in a food web, the more stable and
  sustainableit is.

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What is sustainable use?

• To use natural resources at a rate that the Earth
  can renew them.

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Threats to Sustainability
Disease Environmental change
Limited resources Human disturbance
Catastrophic events Invasive Species

• The more organism that can fulfill a particular
  niche (energy role) in an ecosystem the more
  likely it is to sustain a threat.

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Sustainable Use of Biodiversity

• To use biodiversity in a sustainable manner means
  to use natural resources at a rate that the Earth
  can renew them.

What kinds of natural resourcesare we talking
about here?
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Biodiversity and Sustainability

• The biodiversity of an ecosystem contributes to
  the sustainability of that ecosystem.
• Higher/more biodiversity more sustainable
• Lower/less biodiversity less sustainable
• High biodiversity in an ecosystem means that
  there is a great variety of genes and species in
  that ecosystem.

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What is Biodiversity?

• The variety of life!

genes species ecosystems
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Sustainable Use of Biodiversity

• To use biodiversity in a sustainable manner means
  to use natural resources at a rate that the Earth
  can renew them.
• It is a way to ensure that we meet the needs of
  present generations and future generations.

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Are we part of these ecosystems?
Think food webs!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YES!
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• The more links in a food web, the more stable and
  sustainableit is.

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Protecting Biodiversity

• How can we protect biodiversity
• Stop overharvesting
• Sustainable yield
• Hunting fishing laws (every state ?)
• in developing nations ?
• Protect habitat
• Refuges, parks, preserves
• Endangered Species Act
• Clean Air Water Act
• Stop over grazing

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Protecting Biodiversity

• Endangered Species Act (1973)
• Listing of endangered and threatened species
• Restricts development of habitats
• Captive breeding programs
• Release of captive bred stocks to enhance or
  recover wild populations.

• http//www.fws.gov/endangered/

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Protecting Biodiversity

• Endangered Species Act (1973)
• Goal to recover species so they no longer need
  protection under ESA
• Implements U.S. participation in CITES
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered
  Species
• Prohibits trade in listed species
• whole organisms
• parts skins, bones, teeth, flowers, leaves, etc.
  
• Other laws
• Marine Mammal Protection Act
• Migratory Bird Treaty Act
• Anadromous Fish Conservation Act
• etc.

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Protecting Biodiversity

• Refuges, parks, preserves
• How big should refuges be?
• Where should they be?
• McArthur Wilson Theory of Island Biogeography
• colonization rate
• extinction rate (local)
• predicts number of species

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Formative Assessment

• Examine the two food webs below.
• Make 3 claims about why one of the food webs
  below is less sustainable than the other.
  Support your claims with explanation as well as
  evidence from the food webs.

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What can you do?

• As a group brainstorm a list of things YOU can do
  to protect biodiversity!