Transcript Biodiversity

BIODIVERSITY AND
CONSERVATION
Biodiversity
• The variety of life in an area
• Important because all organisms depend
on each other!
– Food webs
– Medicine
– Food sources
– CO2/O2
Threats to Biodiversity
• Habitat Destruction
– Definition: Destruction or removal of the
habitat
– Examples: clear cutting in rainforest, coral
reef bleaching
– Why it’s Bad: Biggest threat to biodiversity
Threats to Biodiversity:
Habitat Destruction
Threats to Biodiversity
• Habitat Fragmentation
– Definition: Division of habitats
– Examples: roads, subdivisions
– Why it’s Bad: larger predators need territories,
migration routes are altered, organisms
isolated
Threats to Biodiversity:
Habitat Fragmentation
Threats to Biodiversity
• Habitat Degradation
– Definition: Damage to the habitat by pollution
– Examples: Air, water, land pollution
– Why it’s bad: Destroys the environment!
Threats to Biodiversity: Pollution
Threats to Biodiversity
• Introduced/Invasive Species
– Definition: species NOT native to an area
– Examples: In GA: KUDZU, zebra mussels,
Chinese privet; rabbits and camels in
Australia
– Why it’s bad: Typically lack competition AND
predators—no way to keep populations in
check!
Threats to Biodiversity:
Invasive Species
Loss of Biodiversity
• Threatened Species:
– Populations begin rapid decline
– In danger of becoming endangered!
– Examples: African Elephant, Gopher Tortoise,
Tree Frogs in Amazon River Basin, Sea Otter,
Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Florida Manatee
Loss of Biodiversity:
Threatened Species
Loss of Biodiversity
• Endangered Species
– Population numbers are so low, extinction is
possible
– Examples: Black Rhino, Giant Panda, Sumatran
Tigers, Grizzly Bears, several freshwater mussel
species in GA
Loss of Biodiversity:
Endangered Species
Environmental Issues:
Air Pollution
• Caused by
– Increase in green house gasses
• CO2, CFCs, CH4, N2O
• Gasses trap heat within the atmosphere
– Burning of fossil fuels
• Oil, coal, natural gas
• Forest fires, volcano eruptions
Environmental Issues:
Global Warming
• Gradual increase in the average global
temperatures
– Linked to greenhouse gasses in atmosphere
– Drastic changes in last 200 years
– Some scientists believe that it is a result of
increased greenhouse gasses due to burning
of fossil fuels
– Other scientists believe that it is part of the
earth’s natural temperature fluctuations
Environmental Issues:
Global Warming
• Effects of Global Warming
– Melting ice sheets
– Rising sea level
– Changes to global weather patterns
• Warmer water=more intense hurricanes
• More frequent droughts
Environmental Issues:
Water Pollution
• Common sources
– Fertilizers and pesticides used in agriculture
– Runoff from roads, construction sites, unlined
landfills, etc
– Soil erosion
• Fresh water is a very limited resource!
– 80% is locked up in polar ice caps
– 99.5% of what is left is unusable
The Environment
• Renewable Resources
– Resources that can be replaced at the same rate
that they are consumed
– Renewable resources are either so large that
they can’t be depleted or are constantly renewed
so that they are never used up
– Ex: wind, solar power, freshwater*, trees*
The Environment
• Nonrenewable Resources
– Resources that are formed at a much slower rate
than they are consumed
– Most of the energy sources we use today are
nonrenewable—fossil fuels
– Fossil Fuels: coal, oil, natural gas
• Pressure, heat, and time have converted the remains of
organisms into oil and natural gas
Conservation Biology
• Methods and creates plans to protect biodiversity
• Conservation
– Protect existing natural areas
– Establishment of national parks/wildlife refuges
• Restoration
– Cleaning and restoring a damaged area
• Sustainability
– Using areas and resources without damaging them
• Reintroduction
– Releasing organisms into their natural habitat
The Environment:
Environmental Awareness
• Education
– Can’t expect people to care about things they
don’t know about
– Ecotourism supports conservation and educates
while “entertaining” people
• Advocacy
– Conservation groups work on local, regional,
national, international levels
– Organizations like Green Peace, The Nature
Conservancy, riverkeeper groups lobby
government officials about environmental
decisions