Transcript ch10_lecture_PC

Richard T. Wright
Environmental
Science
Tenth Edition
Chapter 10
Wild Species and Biodiversity
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Prentice Hall, Inc.
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
• 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
• 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
• Instrumental: beneficial to humans
– 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?
• Highly adaptable to changing
environments
• Have numerous traits for resistance
• Lack genetic vigor
Source for Agriculture: Wild or Cultivated?
• High degree of genetic diversity
• Represents the genetic bank
• Need highly controlled environmental
conditions
Sources for Medicine: Vincristine
Sources of Medicine: Table 10-1
• 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
(see Figure 10-4)
• 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
Value for Their Own Sake
• Spiritual: giving divine recognition to
selected species
• Religious: association between wild things
and a creator
• Cultural: animal rights, American Indians
Saving Wild Species
• Game animals in the United States
• Protecting endangered species
Past Wildlife Management Problems
• 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 over-hunting.
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
Contemporary Wildlife Management
Problems
Acts Protecting Endangered Species
(see Figure 10-8)
• Lacey Act: forbids interstate commerce of
illegally killed wildlife
• Endangered Species Act (ESA): protects
endangered and threatened species
(Table 10-3)
– Total endangered U.S. species = 1,001 (402
animals, 599 plants)
– Threatened U.S. species = 300 (154 animals,
146 plants)
Strengths or Weaknesses of Endangered
Species Act?
• 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
Peregrine Falcon Restoration Program
Hacking involves placing 4-5 five-week-old
peregrine chicks in an artificial structure on a cliff
face, tower, or building. The birds are cared for
by human hack site attendants until released for
fledging when they are 42-45 days old. Hacking
success depends on safety from predators,
minimal human disturbance, and the presence
of sufficient prey. The desired result of this effort
is the return of hacked birds to the general area
of the hack site as breeding adults, helping to
reestablish a breeding population.
Where Peregrine Falcons Live!
Map constructed by Clark E. Adams
Biodiversity and Its Decline
• The decline in biodiversity
• Reasons for the decline
• Consequences of losing biodiversity
The State of U.S. Species
Causes of Animal Extinctions
Reasons for Biodiversity Decline
• Habitat change
– Conversions
– Fragmentation
– Simplification
– Intrusion
• Exotic species introductions
Reasons for Biodiversity Decline
• Overexploitation: combination of greed,
ignorance, and desperation
• Pollution
• Climate change
Habitat Alterations
Photo by C.E. Adams
Human Population Growth and Species
Extinctions
Pollution: Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
• March 24, 1989
• 11 million gallons of
crude oil spilled into
Prince William Sound
Oil slick
Exotic Species: Brazilian Pepper Bush
Exotic Species
Brown tree snake
Overuse
• Harvest of 50 million song birds for
food
Pollution
Overuse
• Trafficking in wildlife and products derived
from wild species - $12 billion/year
– 90% decline in rhinos
– 1.6 tons of tiger bones = 340 tigers
– Parrot smuggling: 40 of 330 species face
extinction
Tibetan Antelope
Shahtoosh Shawls
Consequences of Losing Biodiversity:
The Plane Analogy
• 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
• International developments
• Stewardship concerns
International Steps to Protect
Biodiversity
• “Red List of Threatened Species”
– 11,167 species of plant and animals
• Convention on trade in endangered
species (CITES)
– Focuses on trade in wildlife and wildlife parts
• Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD)
International Steps to Protect
Biodiversity
• Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD)
– 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
• Convention on biological diversity
– Focuses on conserving biological diversity
worldwide
– Does not yet have the support of the United
States
Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund
• Sponsors: World Bank, Conservation
International, and the Global Environment
Facility
– 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
• Managing and protecting something you
DO NOT own. Involves:
– Wisdom
– Values
The Wisdom of Stewardship
• 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
• Practicing conservation at the landscape
level
• Promoting more research on biodiversity
The Values of Stewardship
• Manage or mine the resource?
• Human perceptions of their relationships
to the natural world.
– Deep ecology: we are part of the Earth and
not separate from it
– Religious faiths