Transcript Midterm-BiodiversityReviewPPT

Biodiversity
The Wonderful Variety of Critters on
Earth!
What is Biodiversity?
Biodiversity refers to the
number and variety of
species on Earth
There are 1.6 million known
species on earth.
Most of these known species
are insects!
There are an estimated 11.4
million species yet to be
discovered!
www.istockphoto.com
Reasons for Present Day
Extinctions …
 Destruction of habitats
 Illegal hunting
 Introduction of non-native species
All of these are caused by human activity!
Habitat Loss –
 Habitat loss is the
leading cause of
extinctions.
 75% of all
extinctions are due
to the loss of an
organism’s habitat.
 If its habitat is
destroyed, where
will it live? What
will it eat?
tpeblog.wordpress.com
Habitat Loss –
The Florida Panther
 The Florida
panther is one of
the most
endangered
mammals in
North America.
 It requires a large
territory which
has been
chopped up by
roads, canals,
and subdivisions.
frretsinthesun.silvernexuse.com
Habitat Loss –
The Whooping Crane
 The whooping crane
was almost driven to
extinction due to the
loss of its breeding
grounds to homes and
farms.
 It was forced to migrate
to Canada where many
were shot by hunters
and farmers.
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/images/graphics/c/craneHY04_007.jpg
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge
 This refuge in Texas
was set aside to give
the whooping crane a
place to breed.
 The whooping crane is
on its way to recovery!
 Its numbers have
increased from 15 to
more than 350!
Habitat Degradation
 Habitat
degradation can
also lead to the
extinction of
species.
 Habitat
degradation is
damage to an
ecosystem caused
by pollution.
 Pollution can affect
the air, water, or
land.
www.uprct.nsw.gov.au
www.activeset.org
Illegal Hunting (Poaching)
Illegal hunting wiped out
half of the African
elephant population
between 1979 and
1989.
www.elephantcountryweb.com
Elephants were killed for their ivory
tusks.
www.awionline.org
www.sciencemuseum.org.uk
Which are (or used to be) made
into items like …
Mrs. Koeval’s piano keys…
…or a happy dancing Buddha!
Illegal Hunting (Poaching)
 Currently, many species
are still being killed
illegally.
 The mountain gorilla
has recently suffered
from attacks by
poachers.
 On August 9, 2007, a
family of mountain
gorillas was found shot
dead in a Congolese
national park.
www.zsl.org
An exotic species is one that is not
native to an area.
 They can totally “take over” a habitat since
they have no natural enemies.
 Native species also have no defense against
them.
 Ex. Brown Tree Snake “invasion” of Guam
has made 10 of the only 12 bird species
extinct!!
The melaleuca tree is an exotic species.
 The melaleuca tree
was brought to Florida
to dry up the
Everglades so they
could be developed.
 It spreads at a rate of
50 acres a day!
 It’s very hard to get rid
of.
Exotic species take over!
This is kudzu…
Keystone Species
 A keystone species is
one that is so vital to an
ecosystem that without
it, the ecosystem would
not function properly.
 The sea otter is a great
example – it eats sea
urchins – keeping their
population under control
so the urchins don’t eat
all of the kelp.
http://www.icanteachmyself.com
withquiz.org.uk
www.teara.govt.nz
Endangered Species
An endangered
species is one
whose numbers
are so low that it
is in danger of
becoming extinct.
The Endangered Species Act
 Lists threatened and




endangered species
Requires a Species
Recovery Plan for T/E
species
Forbids catching, killing,
selling T/E species
Forbids federal projects
that jeopardizes T/E
species
http://www.fws.gov/endang
ered/
The Tellico Dam Project

The construction of this dam
in Tennessee was halted
when the snail darter – an
endangered fish – was found
there.
 Proponents of the dam
believed that hydroelectric
power was needed.
 Opponents did not want to
harm the snail darter.
www.scionline.org
The Tellico Dam
 A dam compromise was
made.
 The snail darter was
moved and the dam
was built!
World Wildlife Fund
 Encourages sustainable
use of natural resources
through fund raising,
education and
adoptions.
 www.wwf.org
The "Tundra Buggy" Reports
The Nature Conservancy
 Manages a system of nature sanctuaries in the
United States and around the world
 http://www.nature.org/
Conservation International
A mangrove conservation project in Banda Aceh
which was devastated by the 2004 tsunami.
 Develops ecosystem conservation projects with local people in
countries that are rich in biodiversity.
 http://www.conservation.org/Pages/default.aspx
Greenpeace International
 Stages dramatic
protests to help stop
the destruction of rain
forests and the killing of
endangered species.
 http://www.greenpeace.
org/international/
Who are the IUCN?

The World Conservation Union is the world’s largest and most important
conservation network. The Union brings together 83 States, 110 government
agencies, more than 800 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and some 10,000
scientists and experts from 181 countries in a unique worldwide partnership.The
Union’s mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the
world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of
natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable.The World Conservation
Union is a multicultural, multilingual organization with 1100 staff located in 40
countries. Its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland.

Examples of IUCN projects include the preservation of sea turtle habitat on S.
American beaches and helping citizens of Uganda halt the poaching of endangered
species.

(http://www.iucn.org/en/about/)
“These orphan chimpanzees were rescued
from Ugandan poachers and live in the
Ugandan Wildlife Education Centre.
Poachers target adult chimpanzees for meat
and their young for the pet trade.”
www.bbc.co.uk
scienceguy288.wordpress.com
What is CITES?
“CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international
agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that
international trade in specimens of wild animals and
plants does not threaten their survival.”

This treaty has been agreed to by 172 countries (as of
1/23/08) and is one of the largest of its kind.

It was developed in the 1960’s and entered in force in July
1975.

One of CITES victories includes the ban of ivory in 1989
which brought the African elephant from the brink of
extinction.

http://www.cites.org/
news.mongabay.com
Captive Breeding

Captive Breeding and
Reintroduction programs
breed and sometimes release
organisms into an area where
the species once lived.

Captive breeding is the
breeding of animals under
carefully managed
conditions.

It is carried out primarily by
zoos and its purpose is to
increase the population of
an endangered or
threatened species.
An organism that is held by people is said to be in
captivity. This could include plants or animals.



Zoos and aquariums
provide a place for
threatened and
endangered species to
live and possibly
breed.
They are also places
for people to learn
about and appreciate
a variety of plants and
animals.
http://www.nczoo.org/
Botanical Gardens
www.mustseemiami.com
 Botanical gardens
house more than
90,000 species of
plants.
 These gardens play a
vital role in preserving
the biodiversity of plant
species.
 Fairchild Tropical
Garden in Miami, Fl is
one such example.
www.tripadvisor.com
www.southbeach.com
Germ Plasm Banks…
 Plant seeds and
cril.cimmyt.org
animal sperm and egg
cells can be stored in
germ plasm banks for
future breeding if
necessary.
 Germ plasm banks
may be the only places
to “retrieve” extinct
species in the future.
Maize seeds in a gene bank
A more effective way to preserve
species…
SAVE THEIR HABITAT!
Conservationists suggest that at least 10 % of
Earth’s land be set aside to protect
biodiversity worldwide.
Which 10% Should We Save?
Hot Spots
 Hot spots are
regions that contain
an unusually large
number of species.
 Examples of hot
spots include:
Northern Borneo, the
Eastern Himalayas,
and Southwestern
Australia.
 Hot spots contain
species found no
where else on Earth.
Northern Borneo –
The Sumatran Rhinoceros
The Eastern Himalayas –
The Lesser Red Panda
Southwestern Australia –
The Hairy-nosed Wombat