Transcript Introduction to Biodiversity - Liberty Union High School District

Introduction to
Biodiversity
Monday, January 30th, 2017
Biodiversity 101
 Renewable
resource—nature’s insurance policy
against disaster!
 Species
Diversity: the number and distribution of species
in a given community
 Genetic
Diversity: genetic variability among individuals
within each species
 Ecological
 Functional
Diversity: the variety of different ecosystems
Diversity: ecosystem services such as matter
cycling, pollination, waste recycling, pest control,
purification, etc. Needed for the survival of species and
communities
Biodiversity provides Ecosystem
Services
 Species
help determine the services
ecosystems can provide
 Ecosystem
Services are the processes by
which the environment produces resources
that we often take for granted such as
clean water, timber, and habitat for
fisheries, and pollination of native and
agricultural plants
Conservation BiologyMultidisciplinary science that deals
with the crisis of diversity and how
to maintain the earth’s ecosystems.
To measure diversity…
Richness
(number of
species)
Evenness (relative
abundance)
5
Biodiversity Hotspots
Endangered and Threatened Species:
Ecological Smoke Alarms
Endangered species: so few
individual survivors that it
could soon become extinct.
Example: Leopard
Threatened/vulnerable species: still
abundant in its natural range but is
likely to become endangered in the
near future. Example: Sea Lion
SPECIES EXTINCTION
 Scientists
use measurements and models to
estimate extinction rates.
 The
International Union for the Conservation of
Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) publishes an
annual Red List, listing the world’s threatened
species.
 The
2015 Red List contains 23,250 species at risk for
extinction.
HABITAT LOSS, DEGRADATION,
AND FRAGMENTATION
 Conservation
biologists summarize the most
important causes of premature extinction as
“HIPPO”:
 Habitat
destruction, degradation, and fragmentation
 Invasive
species
 Population
growth
 Pollution
 Overharvest/Overexploitation
Pollution
 Each
year pesticides:
Kill
about 1/5th of the
U.S. honeybee colonies.
67
6
million birds.
-14 million fish.
Threaten
Example of biomagnification
of DDT in an aquatic food
chain.
1/5th of the
U.S.’s endangered and
threatened species.
Figure 11-15
OVEREXPLOITATION
 Some
protected species are killed for their
valuable parts or are sold live to collectors.
 Killing
predators and pests that bother us or
cause economic losses threatens some species
with premature extinction.
 Legal
and illegal trade in wildlife species used
as pets or for decorative purposes threatens
some species with extinction.
ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION
• Restoration: trying to return to a condition as similar as
possible to original state.
• Rehabilitation: attempting to turn a degraded ecosystem
back to being functional.
• Replacement: replacing a degraded ecosystem with another
type of ecosystem.
• Creating artificial ecosystems: such as artificial wetlands for
flood reduction and sewage treatment.
In situ vs. ex situ:
Leaving
the animal where it lives but
protecting it.
Ex.
Elephants; make laws that prevent
poaching and have people to enforce it.
Ex. Marine turtles are protected- escape
nets must be used on all fishing nets so
the turtles can get out and not drown.
In situ vs. ex situ:
Taking
the animal out of its
habitat & protecting it.
Ex. Zoo’s

2 types:
egg pulling -collecting wild eggs laid by
critically endangered bird species and then
hatching them in zoos or research centers
 captive breeding, wild individuals of a
critically endangered species are captured for
breeding in captivity, with the aim of
reintroducing the offspring into the wild.

Indian Tiger
Range 100 years ago
Range today
(about 2,300 left)
Fig. 11-8a, p. 230
Black Rhino
Range in 1700
Range today
(about 3,600 left)
Fig. 11-8b, p. 230
African Elephant
Probable range 1600
Range today
Fig. 11-8c, p. 230
WHAT CAN WE DO? Eight Priorities for
Protecting Biodiversity
1. Take immediate action to preserve world’s biological hot
spots.
2. Keep intact remaining old growth.
3. Complete mapping of world’s biodiversity for inventory and
decision making.
4. Determine world’s marine hot spots.
5. Concentrate on protecting and restoring lake and river
systems (most threatened ecosystems).
6. Ensure that the full range of the earths
ecosystems are included in global conservation
strategy.
7. Make conservation profitable.
8. Initiate ecological restoration products to heal
some of the damage done and increase share of
earth’s land and water allotted to the rest of
nature.