Transcript WFSC 420 Chapter 11

Environmental Science: Toward a
Sustainable Future
Richard T. Wright
Chapter 10
Wild Species and Biodiversity
PPT by Clark E. Adams
Wild Species and Biodiversity
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The value of wild species
Saving wild species
Biodiversity and its decline
Protecting Biodiversity
Appreciating the Worth of Diversity
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The worth ($) of plant and animal diversity in
terms of goods and services
Factors that contribute to a reduction in plant
and animal diversity
Understanding the “costs” of losing plant and
animal diversity
Programs to protect biodiversity
Puffin Project: Seabird Restoration
Project of the Audubon Society
The Value of Wild Species
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Biological wealth
Two kinds of value
Sources for agriculture, forestry,
aquaculture, and animal husbandry
Sources for medicine
Recreational, aesthetic, and scientific
value
Value for their own sake
Biological Wealth = $38 Trillion/Year
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Gas, climate, and water regulation
Water supply
Erosion control
Soil formation
Pollination
Biological Wealth = $38 Trillion/Year
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Biological control
Food production
Recreation
Raw materials
Nutrient cycling
Waste treatment
Two Kinds of Value
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Instrumental: beneficial to humans
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Sources for agriculture, forestry, aquaculture,
and animal husbandry
Recreational, aesthetic, and scientific value
Sources of medicine
Intrinsic: value for its own sake
Source for Agriculture: Wild or Cultivated?
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Highly adaptable to changing
environments
Have numerous traits for resistance
Lack genetic vigor
Source for Agriculture: Wild or Cultivated?
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High degree of genetic diversity
Represents the genetic bank
Need highly controlled environmental
conditions
Sources for Medicine: Vincristine
Sources of Medicine: Table 10-1
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Vincristine from rosy periwinkle cures leukemia.
Capoten from the venom of the Brazilian viper
controls high blood pressure.
Taxol from the bark of the pacific yew used to
treat ovarian, breast, and small-cell cancers.
Recreational, Aesthetic, and Scientific Value
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Ecotourism: largest foreign exchangegenerating enterprise in many developing
countries
$104 billion spent on wildlife-related
recreation
$31 billion spent to observe, feed, or
photograph wildlife
Recreational, Aesthetic, and Scientific Value
Value for Their Own Sake
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Spiritual: giving divine recognition to
selected species
Religious: association between wild things
and a creator
Cultural: animal rights, American Indians
Saving Wild Species
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Game animals in the United States
Acts protecting endangered species
Past Wildlife Management Problems
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Restoring the numbers of many game
animals, e.g., deer, elk, turkey
Passing laws to control the collection and
commercial exploitation of wildlife
Poaching and overhunting
Contemporary Wildlife Management
Problems
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Road-killed animals
Population explosion of urban wildlife
Lack of natural predators
Wildlife as vectors for certain diseases
Pet predation by coyotes
Changed societal attitudes towards animals
Acts Protecting Endangered Species
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Lacey Act: forbids interstate commerce of
illegally killed wildlife
Endangered Species Act (ESA): protects
endangered and threatened species
(Table 10-4)
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Total endangered U.S. species = 987 (388
animals, 599 plants)
Threatened U.S. species = 276 (129 animals,
147 plants)
Strengths or Weaknesses of Endangered
Species Act?
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The need for official recognition
Control over commercial exploitation of
endangered species
Government controls on development in
critical habitats
Recovery programs
Habitat conservation plan (HCP)
Case Histories
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Peregrine falcon
Whooping crane
Spotted owl
Klamath river and coho salmon
Biodiversity and Its Decline
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The decline in biodiversity
Reasons for the decline
Consequences of losing biodiversity
The Status of U.S. Species
Causes of Animal Extinctions
Reasons for Biodiversity Decline
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Habitat alterations
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Conversions
Fragmentation
Simplification
Human population growth
Pollution (Fig. 10-14)
Reasons for Biodiversity Decline
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Introduction of exotic species, e.g., brown
tree snake in Guam
Overuse: combination of greed, ignorance,
and desperation
Habitat Alterations
Photo by C. E. Adams
Human Population Growth and Species
Extinctions
Pollution: Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
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March 24, 1989
11 million gallons of
crude oil spilled into
Prince William Sound
Oil slick
Exotic Species: Brazilian Pepper Bush
Overuse
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Harvest of 50 million songbirds for
food
Overuse
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Trafficking in wildlife and products derived
from wild species – $10 billion/year
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90% decline in rhinos
1.6 tons of tiger bones = 340 tigers
Parrot smuggling: 40 of 330 species face
extinction
Consequences of Losing Biodiversity:
The Plane Analogy
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The whole plane is an ecosystem.
There are many different parts (species) in
the jet plane ecosystem.
How does removal of one or more species
affect ecosystem structure or function?
Protecting Biodiversity
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International developments
Stewardship concerns
International Steps to Protect
Biodiversity
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“Red List of Threatened Species”
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Convention on trade in endangered
species (CITES)
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11,167 species of plants and animals
Focuses on trade in wildlife and wildlife parts
Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD)
International Steps to Protect
Biodiversity
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Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD)
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Stepping up war on invasive species
Access to genetic resources
Stem tide of deforestations
Formulating a strategic plan through 2010
International Steps to Protect
Biodiversity
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Convention on biological diversity
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Focuses on conserving biological diversity
worldwide
Does not yet have the support of the United
States
Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund
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Sponsors: World Bank, Conservation
International, and the Global Environment
Facility
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Fund = $150 million for developing countries
Protect biodiversity “hotspots”
Biodiversity Hotspots
60% of the biodiversity is located on
just 1.4% of the Earth’s land surface.
Stewardship Concerns
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Managing and protecting something you
DO NOT own. Involves:
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Wisdom
Values
The Wisdom of Stewardship
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Reforming policies that lead to declines in
biodiversity
Addressing the needs of people whose
livelihood is derived from exploiting wild
species
The Wisdom of Stewardship
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Practicing conservation at the landscape
level
Promoting more research on biodiversity
The Values of Stewardship
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Manage or mine the resource?
Human perceptions of their relationships
to the natural world
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Deep ecology: we are part of the Earth and
not separate from it
Religious faiths
End of Chapter 10