Transcript State of the Planet / biodiversity

Haiti excursus:
Deforestation so severe, 2% forest cover; charcoal source of energy
Most food calories from outside of country.
Extreme vulnerability due to too many people and too few food and energy
calories available in the country. Hurricanes and sea level rise already
worsening vulnerability before the earth quake
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y450UgRBxqg&feature=player_embedded
Haiti is the most densely populated country in
the Western Hemisphere; the population density
in 2002 was 659 per sq mi; world average 100 per sq mile;
USA 70; Cuba 235; China 325).
Population statistics from the Population Reference
Bureau:
1901 = 1.3 million
1925 = 2.5 million
1950 = 3 million
1975 = 4.5 million
2000 = 7.1 million
2010 = 9 million (-150-200k)
Projections:
2025 = 11.5 million
2050 = 14.3 million
Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on
Biodiversity, Eric Chivian and Aaron Bernstein, eds.,
(Oxford University Press, 2008)
Biodiversity makes the Earth habitable.
It provides food, fiber, shelter, medicines, recycling of
waste and many other essential goods and
services.
Haiti used to be a densely forested tropical paradise.
Even before the earthquake it could not provide adequate
sustenance for its peoples and was caught in a downward
economic, ecological, and social spiral. It was already a
failed state whose people had become dependent on
others as a direct result of the destruction of their
environment.
The State of the Planet Report
• Diverse, credible sources, despite many uncertainties,
summary of the best available science.
• Disagreement is fine as are interruptions with questions.
• One need not agree with every scientific perception or
conjecture to realize that these must be dealt with when
considering moral obligations to the natural world.
• Only with such basic consensus facts in mind can we properly
turn to the wellsprings of moral concern in religion and
philosophy.
Ok, hold on to your heart and mind — here we go.
ECOLOGICAL
APOCALYPSE
Now?
30% of the Natural World Was
Destroyed Between 1970 & 1995
• Consumption pressure doubled
during these 25 years
• Consumption rates have kept
accelerating
•
Source: the 1998 “The Living Planet Report” by World Wide Fund or Nature, New
Economics Foundation, and World Conservation Monitoring Center (Cambridge)
Marine Ecosystems -Rapidly Declining
– from 1970 to 1995
• They deteriorated 30 per cent,
• Declining nearly 4 percent annually
– Marine fish consumption has more
than doubled since 1970
– Most of the world's fish are fully
exploited or declining
– Some fish populations have collapsed
(e.g, New England Cod fishery)
Global Fish Harvest
• World fisheries landings have increased from
18.5 million metric tons in 1950 to 121 million
metric tons in 1996.
• Presently China grabs 25% of the catch
• 70% of the global catch is landed by only 12
nations.
• The United States ranks fifth, with landings of
5-6 million tons in recent years.
• 25-30% of fish are used industrially (mostly to
fed livestock)
U.S. Coastal dead zones
Freshwater resources are
being rapidly depleted.
• Humans now use half of Earth’s surface-area
fresh water — twice that of 1970.
• The rate of decline of freshwater ecosystems is
averaging 6 percent per year.
• This dries up wetlands and threatens species
dependent on them.
»
Vitousek, P. M., J. L. Mooney, and J. M. Melillo. July 25, 1997. Human Domination of
Ecosystems. Science 277(5325): 494-9.
Freshwater Ecosystems
– Even more degraded than marine ones
– Have already lost more species
than on land and in the oceans.
– 34 percent of remaining fish
species are threatened with
extinction
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Agroecosystems
(agricultural ecosystems)
• 40% of the world’s agricultural land is seriously
degraded
– 75% of Central American crop land
– 20% of (mostly pasture) land in Africa
– 11% in Asia
• Soil degradation has affected two-thirds of world’s
agricultural lands in last 50 years.
• Long-term food production capacity is imperiled in
many regions
» World Resources 2000-2001, People and Ecosystems: the fraying web of life.
» Produced by WRI, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP), and the World Bank.
» 175 scientists contributed to the report, published Sept 2000
Deforestation
– Between 1970 and 1995 the world’s
natural forest cover :
• declined about 10 per cent
– as wood and paper consumption increased by
two-thirds
• at a rate averaging 0.5 per cent per year
– this is equivalent to an annual loss of forest the
size of England and Wales.
Increasing Consumption:
Key to Destruction
• The average North
• The world's people
have consumed more American or Japanese
consumes
10
times
the
goods and services
resources as does an
since 1950 than all
average Bangladeshi.
previous generations • The average N. American
put together.
consumes fives times more
• Taiwan, the U.S. and
Singapore have the most
voracious consumers.
than people in Africa and
Asia.
The State of the Planet ~
Biodiversity in Peril
Biological Diversity
The Variety of Species and the
Genetic Diversity within them: the
Key to the Vitality of Life
This presentation
draws from
International
Union for the
Conservation of
Nature’s Red List
of Threatened
Animals reports
since 1996. . . .
The WR 2000-2001 report,
produced by the World
Resources Institute, the
United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), the UN
Environment Programme
(UNEP), and the World
Bank, with over 175
scientists contributing
Relative
Abundance
of Species
Biodiversity Decline An Overview
Biodiversity Loss -- Greatest
Environmental Threat?

Nearly 400 biologists in 1998 said so in
a poll:
– Seven of 10 said they believed a
"mass extinction" was already
underway
– An equal number fear that up to
one-fifth of all living species
could disappear within 30 years.
Mammals
 25%
of all the world's wild
mammals are threatened with
extinction
–Habitat loss and degradation are
primarily responsible.
African Elephants
Primates
Humans are primates, of course. Few
consider humans threatened.
 Other primates are, of course,
humanity’s closest cousins (chimps, e.g.,
share 98.5% of same dna)
 325 species, of these, 130 endangered,
including all Orangutans,
chimpanzees, and most gorillas.

– with subspecies included, 608 distinct
populations
Gorillas and Chimpanzees
“critically endangered” (Nature, 2003)




Due to hunting + now ebola.
Populations plummeted by ½ in Gabon
and Republic of Congo between
1983+2000; these 2 countries have
80% of world’s gorillas and most of its
chimps.
rate of extermination is increasing.
Princeton’s Peter Walsh (2003): “If we don’t do
something radical, gorillas and chimpanzees will be
effectively extinct from western equatorial Africa within
the next ten years.”
Miss Waldron's red colobus ~ disappeared in 20th century, declared
extinct September 2000
Golden Bamboo Leumr
(Madagascar)
Sumatran
orangutan
(Indonesia)
Cross River Gorilla
(Nigeria and Cameroon,
West Africa; about 150 remain in
small, isolated populations)
Yellow-tailed woolly monkey
(Andes,Peru)
Plants
1
in 8 plant species is
threatened with extinction.

In the United States it is 1 in 3.

– 90% of plants on endangered list are native
only to the U.S.
Main causes:
– habitat loss due to agriculture, logging,
development and
– exotic species invasions drive out native species
Semaphore Cactus
Trees
Logging and conversion have shrunk the
world’s forests by as much as half.
 9 percent of the world’s tree species are
at risk of extinction


World Resources 2000-2001: People and
Ecosystems: The Fraying Web of Life, sept 2000
Dembaya rodriguesiana
Extinct in the wild. This
species is unique to
Rodrigues Island and
once included male and
female trees. The one
remaining female tree
was blown down in a
cyclone in 1984. The
male, pictured here, died
in 1994. Cuttings of both
these trees have been
taken.
Hyophorbe
amariculls
One remaining in the
wild. This palm is the
only known plant of its
species, which is
unique to the island of
Mauritius. Although it
produces both male
and female flowers,
no viable fruit has
been produced, and
efforts to grow it in the
laboratory have failed.
Plant diversity declining ~
fewer seed varieties cultivated



In the USA:
– 80% fewer seed varieties sold, compared to a
century ago.
– 29% of plant species (4,669) endangered
Globally
– 30,000 plant species endangered
Genetic losses permanent
– A pest-resistant gene found in a seed from Turkey
was nearly extinct.

Worldwatch, 1999
Reptiles

Jamaican
Iguana,
thought
extinct,
numbers
about 100
animals
Birds
25%

already extinct
Birds are probably suffering the greatest
declines currently

Vitousek, P. M., J. L. Mooney, and J. M. Melillo. July
25, 1997. Human Domination of Ecosystems. Science
277(5325): 494-9
Dusky Seaside Sparrow
Extinct (1990)
~
Lived in Florida
(Merritt Island)
& along the
St. Johns river
California
Condor
- A huge vulture that declined from habitat loss and hunting until the few
remaining birds were captured in 1987, then numbering 27 in total (in three
genetic clans), to begin a captive breeding program.
California Condor
Spotted Owl &
Habitat
Green
KingFisher
Willow FlyCatcher
Wilson’s
Warbler
SW United States
Endangered Marine Life
Green Sea Turtle
Manatees
Yangtzee River Dolphins
~
Declared Extinct in 2006
Andronomous Fish declining,
e.g., Pacific Salmon is extinct
from much of its original range
Yet, Summer 2000:
The Clinton administration refused to breach a
series of dams in the upper Columbia River
basin, even though government scientists
concluded breaching was the best hope for wild
salmon.
Atlantic Salmon also declining




The most critical
breeding-age fish
estimated at 2.5-5
million (originally)
800,000 (1975)
80,000 (1998)
Cross-breeding with less
hearty domesticated
salmon is suspected
Endangered Freshwater
Ecosystems & Organisms
Dams, Channels and water
diversions largely responsible

They have
fragmented nearly
60 percent of the
world’s largest
rivers, seriously
degrading them.

World Resources
2000-2001
 Twenty
percent of the
world’s freshwater
species are extinct or
in peril
 At least 10,000
freshwater fish
species are threatened
globally.
Dam devastation
In 1950: 5,270
large dams
 Today: there are
36,500 large
dams



Since Egypt's Aswan
Dam completed in 1970,
number of fish species
harvested on the Nile has
dropped by two thirds
Salmon are extinct in
much of the United
States due to dam
building, and are widely
imperiled elsewhere
Channeling Death
 Channelized
waterways in
1900 = almost 9,000
 Today = nearly 500,000
 Result: extinction of many
species and dramatic declines
in many others.
Other insults threatening
freshwater ecosystems
Industrial discharges and agricultural and
urban runoff
 Competition from nonnative species
displace and drives native fish toward
extinction.
 Overfishing,

– e.g., is currently driving various sturgeon
species toward extinction in the Caspian
Sea and its tributaries.

Is the Lake Winnebago Sturgeon next?
Yet more insults
 Water
diversions
– for agriculture and urban water supplies >> all
native fish species in the lower Colorado River
basin are either endangered or extinct
 Siltation
– a major factor in the decline of endemic fishes
globally
 Wetland
conversion
– Half of the world’s wetlands destroyed in the
last century.

World Resources 2000-2001
Amphibian - Decline
 Frogs,
toads, and salamanders
going extinct and declining
rapidly
 Primary cause: Destruction of
wetlands.
Declines are also occurring in
apparently undisturbed habitats
(1)
(2)
(3)
Gastric brooding frogs (2 species), native
to Australia, disappeared in the early
1980s.
The red-legged frog is no longer present in
entire counties and valleys on the North
American Pacific coast, where it was once
abundant and common.
The golden toad of Costa Rica was last
seen in 1989.
Golden Toads
Costa Rica (picture taken in 1989)
Amphibian - Deformities
Since 1995, reports of malformed
amphibians have increased. Suspects:
 skin
funguses kill larvae and adult
amphibians.
 Non-native
predators, such as
voracious bullfrogs and trout, that kill
native amphibian species.
Amphibian - Deformities
EPA 2003: ‘Smoking Gun’ study finds
atrazine, a common pesticide, responsible
for sexual abnormalities in frogs (producing
company’s scientists dispute the conclusions; and lead
scientist resigned, complaining they tried to prevent the
dissemination of the findings; a UF professor was
implicated by the NY Times in the suppression effort.
Atrazine is banned in 7 European, but not in
North America.

Other pollutants, including herbicides, insecticides and
crop fertilizers remain suspects too.
Biodiversity Loss is also about
declining genetic variety
• Declining numbers fosters genetic
“bottlenecks” which reduce genetic
variety.
• Reduced genetic variety increases the
vulnerability of species to disease by
eliminating genetically resistant
members.
The bottleneck
effect
Main threats to Species
Habitat destruction by logging and
mining, for agricultural or human
settlements and transportation
 Invasive Species introductions
– Which eat or compete
against/displace native species
– Which reduce or eliminate food
sources for native species

Endangered
Ecosystem Types
Not only species are at risk
-So are entire ecosystems
North America’s Ecosystems
Of North America’s 116 large Ecoregions
 13
have biodiversity as great as in
the Everglades
 32 are rated “globally outstanding”
 BUT
30 have shrunk 98% and are
“critically endangered.”

Source: "A Conservation Assessment of the Terrestrial Ecoregions of North
America”, World Wildlife Fund
Endangered ecoregions

Midwest’s tallgrass prairies and oak savannas
– have been almost entirely destroyed

Southeastern pine forests (N. Florida)
– Once supported one of the richest assemblages of forest-floor plants
on earth, as well as now-endangered animals such as the red
cockaded woodpecker and gopher tortoise.
– Merely 2 percent of these forests remain

Southern California Sage Scrub Ecosystems
– These ecosystems, largely destroyed by intensive development,
represent one of only five habitat groups on earth with
“Mediterranean” climates.
– Although these five habitat groups occupy only fragments of earth's
surface, these unique habitats -- hot and dry in summer, cool and
wet in winter -- they retain 20 percent of earth’s plant species!
Florida Species at Risk
There are 111 species listed as
threatened or endangered in
Florida, 56 Animals and 55 Plants
These include the Florida Panther,
which is critically endangered. With
about only 100 left, they are
regularly killed by automobiles, and
have difficulty finding food due to
development / habitat loss. JAN
2010 REPORT: 17 OF ABOUT 100
PANTHERS KILLED BY CARS IN
2009.
The Florida Panther & Inbreeding Depression
To save the panther eight female panthers
from Texas were introduced in the mid 1990s.
Hybrid kittens survived better than purebreds.
Scientists noted that the
native populations had
genetic abnormalities due
to inbreeding that was
reducing their survival.
The controversial
introduction has,
apparently, increased
the viability of the
population.
Here, in 2008, a panther seeing refuge
from harassing jobs near a housing
development in So. Florida
In 2009, 24 Panthers were killed, 17 by
cars (about 15% of the population).
Between 100 and
120 were left
in 2010.
Florida Box Turtle
Florida Box Turtle, Terrapene
carolina bauri
Growth/development/habitat destruction
is the biggest problem, for farmland &
housing & industry; often buried alive
and killed by cars.
Declining rapidly, not yet listed as
threatened. Only recently was live
burial by developers disallowed.
Whooping Cranes (Grus americana)
Critically endangered; from 16
individuals to about 400 in 2009
(all of North America). Recovery
efforts include re-establishing
migratory routes with Florida
wintering sites.
Atlantic Loggerhead
American Alligator
Hawksbill
Atlantic Green
American Crocodile
Florida
Panther
West Indian Manatee
Florida
Black Bear
Key Deer
Red-Cockaded
Woodpecker
Snail
Kite
Peregrine Falcon
Bald
Eagle
Crested Caracara
Wood Stork
Florida
Scrub Jay
10 Million Years: period
needed for recovery from
extinction episodes
• Whether episode is massive or minor
• We may have already, or soon will
have, destroyed enough species that
recovery will require millions of years.
• 10 million years is 20 times longer than
we (Homo sapiens) have existed and
longer than our species may persist.
• From March 2000 study in Nature
The State of the Planet
~ Toxic Pollution
The State of the Planet
~ Global Warming
The State of the Planet
~ Deforestation
Golden
bamboo
Lemur,
Madagascar