Transcript Endangered Species

Endangered Species
By: Chuan Tran
SBI4U 2009
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Intro
 Human beings have recklessly exploited the
Earth’s resources despite the apparent
negative consequences
 These consequences have lead scientists to
believe that Earth has entered a new
“extinction phase”
 The current rate of species extinction is
between 50 and 1000 times more than the
geo-historical norm
 Species that are at immediate risk of extinction
are also known as endangered species
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Endangered Species
 Those at immediate risk of extinction
Factors
 Factors that contribute to the decrease in populations
are:
 Habitat loss
 Example: Humans cutting down forests for buildings
 Pollution
 Example: contaminants released into the environment
 Introduced species
 Example: captivity
 Overexploitation
 Example: hunting
Facing Extinction
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1/3 of amphibians
1/8 of birds
1/4 of mammals
And more than 8000 plants and algae
species are facing extinction
What Are We Doing
 International and U.S. laws offer protection to the
endangered species
 These laws make it a crime to:
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Capture the species
Kill the species
Fail to act to recover them
Harm their habitat
 Endangered Species Act
 IUCN – International Union for Conservation of Nature
 CITES - Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species
Endangered Species Act
 The endangered species act provides for
the conservation of endangered or
threatened species throughout all or most
of their range and the ecosystem they
depend on
IUCN – International Union for
Conservation of Nature
 IUCN is a world conservation union
 It maintains a record, called the red list,
of the world’s species that are threatened
with extinction
 The red list includes over 16 000 species
CITES - Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species
 This is an agreement signed by more
than 160 countries to restrict trade of
more than 30 000 species of plants and
animals, live or dead.
 Example: Marmosets and Ivory
Our Plans
 Plans are developed to aid in the recovery of
the species
 Recovery programs that can take place in the
natural or outside the range of a species
include:
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Habitat restoration
Captive breeding efforts
Assisted reproductive efforts
Or field research into behaviour, reproduction and
biological or ecology study
Recovery Programs
 The major functions of the recovery programs
are to:
 Identify the most important actions needed to
save the species from extinction
 Identify major players in the recovery effort
 And collaborate and coordinate objectives to
speed the recovery process
Endangered Species
 An example of an endangered species is
plankton
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Plankton
 Plankton is a term for species of microorganisms that
drift in open water
 They are generally about 1/1000th of a mm
 They are the most abundant form of life in the ocean
 There are two types of plankton
 Phytoplankton
 Zooplankton
Phytoplankton
 Phytoplankton make their own food through the
process of photosynthesis
 Phytoplankton remove carbon dioxide from sea
water and release oxygen
 Populations of phytoplankton in the northern
oceans have declined by as much as 30%
since 1980
 Phytoplankton are the first link in the food
chain
 They are an important part of ocean life
Zooplankton
 Zooplankton feed on phytoplankton
 Zooplankton are a food source to
countless animals
 As a result, plankton make up the base of
the aquatic food chain
 These tiny organisms sustain all life in
the ocean
Facts
 All other marine life is dependent upon
plankton
 The abundance of marine life is directly related
to the supply of phytoplankton
 They are a vital part of all food webs
 Phytoplankton are the world’s number one
source of oxygen
 Phytoplankton produces about 90% of all
photosynthetic processes on Earth
Theories for declination
 Global warming
 CO2 emissions
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Global Warming
 Global warming is an increase in average temperature of Earth’s
atmosphere
 Global warming is the main cause of decreasing phytoplankton
 Phytoplankton require nutrients from the bottom of the ocean in
order to reproduce
 At the Earth’s poles the ocean water is colder at the surface than it
is below
 The cold water sinks to the bottom and the warmer water below
rises to the top, bringing nutrients with it
 Because of the climate changes the water from the top is warmer
and therefore less water from below will rise
 This means less nutrients will be available for the plankton
 As a result, the reproduction of phytoplankton is hindered
CO2 emissions
 Carbon dioxide emissions also causes the decrease in
plankton
 Carbon dioxide is absorbed by the ocean
 Recent years, the ocean’s capacity has not been able
to keep up with the amount of carbon dioxide levels
from human output
 The carbon dioxide absorbed by the ocean turns into
carbonic acid
 This lowers the pH of the ocean
 The decrease in pH is corrosive to the sea animals that
form shells
 One of these animals include zooplankton
Effect
 Because plankton are a vital part of all food webs, the decrease in
plankton will cause the food web to collapse
 For example: Seals feed on fish, and fish feed on plankton, if
plankton population decreases the affected species will die from
hunger
 Therefore if population decreases ocean life will be threatened
 Humans are also affected because many cultures also depend on
food from the sea
 The sea-air exchange will be affected and will cause an impact on
our living conditions because of reduced oxygen
 Also, since the ocean absorbs additional carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere, if the population of plankton decreased, atmospheric
carbon dioxide would increase
 This would increase global warming even more
Conclusion
 Plankton are become closer and closer to
extinction as we speak
 This needs to be stopped and reversed
as soon as possible
 If not, the human race may face the
ultimate consequence
Work Cited
Alois, P., & Cheng, V. (2007, July). Keystone Species Extinction Overview. In
World's Biggest Problems. Retrieved December 12, 2009, from
http://www.arlingtoninstitute.org/wbp/species-extinction/443#
Endangered Species Act (ESA). (n.d.). Office of Protected Resources.
Retrieved December 13, 2009, from http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/laws/esa/
Endangered Species Science. (n.d.). Conservation and Science. Retrieved
December 13, 2009, from
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/EndangeredSpecies/defa
ult.cfm
How Do Phytoplankton Control The Carbon Cycle? (2003, January 27). The
Wild Blue Wonder. Retrieved December 12, 2009, from
http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/seawifs/carbon2.htm
The Who? What? Where? How? and Why's? of Plankton. (n.d.). Protect
Oceanography: Ocean Drifters. Retrieved December 12, 2009, from
http://www.marine.usf.edu/pjocean/packets/f97/plank_1.pdf