Biodiversity

1
Chapter 17

• Biodiversity

2
Biodiversity

• Biodiversity is the same as biological diversity
• Species diversity-
• Genetic diversity-
• Ecosystem diversity-

3
Ecosystem services of biodiversity

• Examples
• 1.
• 2.
• 3.
• 4.
• Genetic engineering-
• Broad genetic base-

4
Biodiversity

• Maintains genetic reserves
• Source of food, medicine industrial goods
• Aesthetic spiritual value

5
Extinction

• Extinction-
• Background extinction-
• Mass extinction-
• Today, species are going extinct at 100x the
  natural beginning extinction rate

6
Endangered species

• Endangered species
• Threatened

7
Endangered Species Cont.

• Characteristics of endangered species
• 1.
• 2.
• 3.
• 4.
• 5.
• 6.

8
What leads to endangerment (cont)

• High trophic level feeders
• Specialized niche
• Low population density
• Interference with human activity
• Large size puts a species at risk

9
Endangered Species Cont.

• Endemic-
• Habitat Fragmentation-

10
Decline in biodiversity

• States with biggest decline in biodiversity
• World-wide places with biggest decline in
  biodiversity is ____________ (1 is being cleared
  or severely degraded each year)
• Human causes of biodiversity loss
• Adaptive radiation-

11
Endangered Species

• http//www.redlist.org/info/gallery2004

12
Species Extinction

• Scientists estimate that there are somewhere
  between ______ species of living things on earth.
  So far we have classified about 3 million of
  those.
• Humans may cause up to __ of the earths species
  to become extinct by the year 2030.
• If we assume there are __ million species on
  earth and we lose __ of them, then _ million
  species will be lost by 2030.
• That is a loss of over ___ species a day or __
  per hour.

13
Threat to biodiversity

• Greatest Threat to biodiversity habitat loss
• Total agriculture occupies __ of total Earths
  land area (excluding Antarctica)
• Biotic pollution-

14
Threat to biodiversity Cont.

• 3. Pollution
• 4. Over exploitation (over use)

15
Over use of species

• Over use of species
• Over hunted (unregulated hunting)
• E.g.
• Illegal hunting (poaching)
• Commercial harvest- collection of a live organism
  from nature
• Example -
• Commercial extinction- hunting a species until
  the population drops its no longer profitable
  to harvest

16
Sentinel Species

• Bell weather species (sentinel species)
• Amphibians are often sentinel species as they are
  very sensitive to environment changes

17
Conservation

• Conservation biology-
• In-situ conservation
• Ex-situ conservation-

18
Prob. w/ Protecting biodiversity w/ habitat

• Protected areas often have multiple uses or are
  privately owned
• Not always effective in preserving biodiversity
• Most are located in least habitable areas (e.g.
  deserts or high mountain areas)

19
Restoration Ecology

• Principles of ecology are used to return a
  degraded environment as close as possible to us
  former state
• Cons -
• Pros -

20
Biodiversity maintained by man through

• Artificial insemination-
• Embryo transfer-
• Seed banks-

21
Conservation of Organisms

• Champions preservation
• 2 biggies
• World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
• World Conservation Union
• International Union for Conservation of Nature
  National Resources (IUCN)

22
Conservation of Organisms

• Endangered Species Act-1973
• Provides legal protection to listed species
• Requires FWS to select critical habitats design
  a detailed recovery plan for each species.
• Does not provide compensation to private property
  owners for financial loss because they cannot
  develop their property
• 90 of endangered species live on private lands.
• Key counter law is geared more to saving a few
  popular or unique species rather than larger,
  less glamorous species

23
Habitat Conservation Plans

• Allowed under 1982 amendment to ESA
• Allows taking of rare species if it does not
  threaten the survival or recovery of the species

24
Biological Resources Division(part of Dept. of
Interior)

• Mission is to provide info technologies to
  manage conserve biological resources on federal
  lands.
• World Conservation Strategy- plan designed to
  conserve biological resources worldwide

25
Biological Resources Division(part of Dept. of
Interior) Cont

• Wildlife Management- applied field of
  conservation biology that focuses on continued
  productivity of plants animals
• Bioaccumulation- increase/build up of chem.
  concentration in the bodies of animals plants

26
What can we do?

• Increase public awareness
• Support research
• Support establishment of Intl system of parks
• Control pollution
• Provide incentives to encourage preservation of
  ecological resources (e.g. ecotourism, fees for
  genetic material)