Transcript Document

GLOBAL
BIODIVERSITY
C. Pringle, 25 August 2009
I.
Introduction
A. The extent & magnitude of current extinction event
B. Why is biodiversity important?
II.
Historical perspective on current levels of
biodiversity and contemporary losses
III. Contemporary patterns in biodiversity
IV. Critical regional losses
A. Hot spots of biodiversity
B. Pros and cons of managing hot-spots
V.
Biodiversity losses in our own backyard: USA
VI. Case Study: Madagascar, global biodiversity hot spot
The worst thing that can happen during the next
few decades is not energy depletion, economic
collapse, limited nuclear war, or conquest by a
totalitarian government. As terrible as these
catastrophes would be for us, they can be repaired
within a few generations. The ongoing process
that will take millions of years to correct is the
loss of genetic and species diversity by the
destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly
that our descendants are least likely to forgive us.
…. E. O. Wilson
Having to squeeze the last drop of utility out of
the land has the same desperate finality as
having to chop up the furniture to keep
warm.
……..Aldo Leopold 1949
Biodiversity losses don’t
just refer to species losses
genes
species
populations
communities
ecosystems
Why should human societies
be concerned about the loss
of species?
Won’t technology will be able to
replace the goods and services that
species and ecosystems provide us
with?
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
II. Historical perspective on biodiversity
III. Contemporary patterns in
biodiversity:
-climate, geography
-degree of isolation (temporally and spatially)
-latitudinal gradients
What is endemism? Native species found in only a
single geographic area and no-where else
Numbers of endemic species in the US
IV. Critical Regional Losses
A. Hot spots of Biodiversity
B. Pros and cons of managing hot-spots
Hot spots of biodiversity - 18 geographic locations
Pros and cons of managing
biodiversity hot-spots
PROS:
-extinction rates reduced to low levels by establishing
a network of protected hot spots and contiguous forests.
-conservation of hot spots and simultaneous
development of systems of sustainable food and timber
production to meet human demands.
CONS:
-hot spots are often in poor developing areas of the
world; top-down international pressures imposed on
developing countries.
V. Biodiversity losses in the US
Devils Hole Pupfish - Cyprinodon diabolis
VI. Case Study: Madagascar
- a global hot spot of biodiversity