Transcript Biodiversity Hotspots - School

Biodiversity Hotspots
Lesson Aims
To understand why hotspots are under threat
Refresh! What is a hotspot?
A biodiversity hotspot is an area containing a
huge number of species, a large percentage
of which are endemic. Hospots have been
described as ‘the most remarkable places on
Earth and the most threatened’. They cover
less than 2% of the Earth’s surface, yet they
contain 44% of the world’s plant species and
35% of its animal species.
Where are they found?
Case Study: Daintree Rainforest
The Wet Tropics
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It runs parallel to the
Great Barrier Reef
Highest levels of
biodiversity and
endemism in all
Australia
It is a World
Heritage Site (1988)
It covers 900,000 ha
(nearly half the size
of Wales
World Heritage Status
As an outstanding example of the major
stages in the Earth’s evolutionary history
 As an outstanding example of significant
ongoing ecological and biological processes
 As an example of superlative natural
phenomena
 Containing significant habitats for the
conservation of natural biodiversity
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Facts
1.75m tall
Related to
the emu
In 1993 only
54 birds left
In 2008
there were
500
They can kill
– with their
claws
Why might
they be
endangered?
What do you think? – Key
Question
Why worry about the Cassowary? There
must be more important things to think
about that it’s survival?
Why is the Daintree rainforest so
special?
TASK – Using the statements see if you can
classify them into three categories, which
help you answer the above question
Species – Idiot Fruit
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It is found only in
Daintree
The seed produce a
poison when digested
which is similar to
strychnine (a deadly
poison)
Species – Ulysses Butterfly
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Native to Northern
Australia
The blue wings
can be seen from
a great distance
The Value of a Global Ecosystem
What three ways can we value an
ecosystem?
Direct and Indirect Values
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Direct Values = the uses humans put
biodiversity in terms of consumption or
production to include food, fuel,
medicine, timber, hunting and eoctourism
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Indirect Value = the services biodiversity
provides such as soil formation,
supporting the food chain and the role in
the hydrological cycle
What is the value of a coral reef?
Value of Coral
Homework Activity
Produce a similar spider diagram for the value
of tropical rainforests