Transcript Ecology

Ecology III
RNDr. Sylva Rödlová, Ph.D
D1, 2014
global problem
climate change
lack of drinking water
deforestation / desertification
fresh water pollution
public domain bad shape
decreasing biodiversity
increasing population and migration
social values change
waste disposal
air pollution
soil degradation
ecosystems funktion
chemical pollution
urbanization
ozone depletion
energy consumption
new diseases
natural resources decreasing
food uncertainty
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Global problems
by 200 researchers
from 50 countries
Biodiversity
• Biodiversity reflects the number, variety and variability of
living organisms as well as how these change from one
location to another and over time. It includes diversity
within species, between species, and among ecosystems, in
sum the diversity of all life on earth.
• The impact of humans on the natural environment is
significant and growing: changes in biodiversity have been
more rapid in the past 50 years than at any time before in
human history.
• Over the past few hundred years, it is estimated that
humans have been responsible for up to a thousand times
more extinctions than the natural rate
Biodiversity
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Three levels of diversity:
Ecosystems (tropical rain forrest, sea,....)
Species
Genetical diversity
• Two types of conservation:
• Area protection (National parks, Protected areas,....)
• Species protection (Restriction or prohibition of
hunting or marketing, special areas and programes,
ZOOs,....)
Biodiversity Hotspots (1988) (number of species /10 000 km )
2
Mexico
Venezuela
Colombia
Ecuador
Peru
Brasilia
Madagascar
Malaysia
Indonesia
http://www.inka-ev.de/deutsch/inhalte/biodiversit%E4t/hotspots.htm
Papua New Guinea
Biodiversity loss
Five major threats to biodiversity
• Invasive alien species
• Climate change
• Nutrient loading and pollution
• Habitat change
• Overexploitation
Biodiversity
loss
Biodiversity for Medicine
Biodiversity – food sources
100
years
ago
Potatoes
1983 –
amount
of seeds
available
GMO – Genetically modified organism
• A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an
organism whose genetic material has been altered
using genetic engineerig techniques. It is any living
organism that possesses a novel combination of
genetic material obtained through the use of
modern biotechnology.
• Genetic engineering produces GMO by adding new
genetic material into an organism´s genome
(creation of the first recombinant DNA molecules by
Paul Berg in 1972).
• Genetic modification involves the insertion
(horizontal gene transfer) or deletion of genes
GMO – Genetically modified organism
Artificially transporting gene into host DNA
• Attaching the gene to a virus
• Physically insert the extra DNA (syringe)
• Small particules fired from a gene gun
Natural forms of gene transfer
• Agrobacterium tumefaciens (plants)
• Lentiviruses (animals)
biolistic particle delivery system
GMO - Plants
• Transgenic plants –
• scientifical research (functions of genes – knock out of gene, overexpression of
gene)
• Pests tolerant (resistance to pests – Bt strategy (Bacillus thuringiensis) - corn,
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other ilnesses tolerant crops – potato, plum, barley,...)
Herbicide tolerant (HT strategy, Roundup ready soya)
harsh environmental conditions tolerant (salinity, draught, cold resistan)
improved product life
increased nutritional value (gold rice, potato)
production of valuable goods such as drugs
new colours in flowers (carnations and roses)
production of biofarmaceuticals (Protalix and Pfizer – Gaucher´s disease
treatment from duckweed (Lemna minor), 2012)
Cisgenic plants (intragenesis) contain genes that have been isolated either directly
from the host species or from sexually compatible
species
Blue Rose „Applause“ by Santory
GMO - Microbes
Bacteria were the first organisms to be modified in the
laboratory
• Production of inzulin to treat diabetes(1978, E.coli, first
recombinant human protein)
• Production of clotting factors to treat haemophilia
• Production of human growth hormone to treat dwarfism
• Production of enzymes for food processing (alpha-amylase,
chymosin, pectinesterase,...) Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces
cerevisiae, animal cells (Chinese hamster ovary – CHO, baby
hamster kidney - BHK)
• Transgene bacteria – minimal residuum at hemato-oncologic
illnesses
• Transgene yeast – onco potential of genes testing
• Veterinary preparation (for higher milk yield)
In future – new expression system, gene therapy (Germ line
gene therapy), alternative medicine transport methods, cell
therapy
GMO - Animals
The first transgenic (genetically modified) animal was produced by
injecting DNA into mouse embryos then implanting the embryos
in female mice.
transgenic fruit flies (Drosphila melanogaster) are model
organisms used to study the effects of genetic changes on
development.
GM Animals beeing developed:
• To research human diseases (for example, to develop animal models for
these diseases);
• to produce industrial or consumer products (fibres for multiple uses;
• to produce products intended for human theraputic use (pharmacutical
products or tissue for implantation);
• to enrich or enhance the animals' interactions with humans (hypo-allergenic
pets);
• to enhance production or food quality traits (faster growing fish, pigs that
digest food more efficiently – enviropigs, omega – 3 fytty acid pig, cows with
human milk);
• to improve animal health (disease resistance – malaria resistant mosquitos)
GMO
• Genetic pollution (not technical or scientifical term)
• A controversial term for uncontrolled gene flow into wild
population. Endemic species can be threatened with
extinction through this process. Genetic pollution leads to
homogenization or replacement of local genomes.
• Hybridization and introgression are side-effects of
introduction and invasion. These phenomena can be
especially harmful to rare species that come into contact with
more abundant ones.
The Yecoro wheat (right) cultivar is sensitive to salinity,
plants resulting from a hybrid cross with cultivar W4910
(left) show greater tolerance to high salinity
Sustainable development
• Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use that
aims to meet human needs while preserving the natural
environment so that these needs can be met not only in
the present, but in the indefinite future. The term was used
by the Brundtland Commission which coined what has
become the most often-quoted definition of sustainable
development as development that "meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.“
• The field of sustainable development can be conceptually
broken into three constituent parts: environmental
sustainability, economic sustainability and sociopolitical
sustainability.
Sustainable development
• Economic Sustainability: Agenda 21 clearly identified
information, integration, and participation as key building
blocks to help countries achieve development that
recognises these interdependent pillars
• Sustainable development is an eclectic concept, as a wide
array of views fall under its umbrella. The concept has
included notions of weak sustainability, strong
sustainability and deep ecology. Different conceptions also
reveal a strong tension between ecocentrism and
anthropocentrism. Thus, the concept remains weakly
defined and contains a large amount of debate as to its
precise definition.
Sustainable development
• Questions about
• Natural sources
• Population growth
• Food problem
• Biodiversity and Ecosystem preservation
• Energy consumption
• Waste production and degradation
• Global social problems
• ...........
Can be development uninterrupted?
Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland
Director-General of the World
Health Organization 19982003
UN Special Envoy on
Climate Change 2007-2010
• The ecological footprint is a
concept that calculates the area
of land and water needed to
sustain a defined human
poulation.
• It is based on the population’s use
of energy, food, water, building
material and other consumables.
• In 1961 humankind was globally
using about half of the Earth’s
capacity to renew its natural
resources. Now this capacity is
exceeded, and overuse is still
growing
• Biocapacity – present day
production
Ecological footprint
- Sustainability
National Footprint
Czech Republic
Greece
www.footprintnetwork.org/atlas
Portugal
Norway
National Footprint
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Saudi Arabia
Russia
www.footprintnetwork.org/atlas
USA
Spain
Greenwashing
Greenwashing vs. Green Marketing
Greenwashing - snaha výrobců
poukazovat na šetrnost výrobku k
životnímu prostředí – někdy zavádějící,
jindy i zcela falešné.
Greenmarketing – poukazování na
kladný (nebo minimálně záporný) vliv
výrobku (služby) na ŽP. (biopotraviny)
Společenská odpovědnost organizací
Environment protection
• Areas
• Species
Natura 2000 – european framework of important areas.
Every EU country had to delimit bird sites. Locality of
european importance
Biospherical reservation –UNESCO (programme man
and biosphere - M&B). In CR: Krkonoše, Šumava,
Křivoklátsko, Třeboňsko, Pálava, Bílé Karpaty.
Geoparks UNESCO –
geological heritage +
development, in CR – Český
Ráj, 32 in Europe
Geoparks in Europe (2013)
Specially protected areas in CR
The purpose of the protection is typically to conserve or improve the preserved state of
the site, or leave it or its part(s) to spontaneous development. The Act on Nature and
Landscape Protection defines six categories of specially protected areas: national parks
(NP), protected landscape areas (CHKO), national nature reserves (NPR), nature
reserves (PR), national natural monuments (NPP), and natural monuments (PP).
National parks: České Švýcarsko, Podyjí, Šumava, Krkonoše (highest mountain Sněžka
1602 m.)
More at www.env.cz
Big scale protected areas in CR– 16% surface
CHKO - Chráněné krajinné oblasti – 25 (Protected landscape areas)
CHKO
NP
Regional city
NP – National park - 4
25http://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soubor:CHKO%2BNP_Czech_map.png
Thank you for your attention