Transcript Mitigations for Biodiversity Loss

Mitigations for
Biodiversity Loss
Mitigation: To reduce or lessen the impact of something
In our case ‘mitigation’ includes a range of ways humans can
reduce their impact on the environment…or help it to heal.
Human Population Growth
(Urban Sprawl)
-Increase availability of contraceptives, sex
education, offer tax breaks for smaller
families, and help families to plan new
additions.
-Utilize existing buildings
-Build ‘green’ by using responsibly sourced
materials, adding gardens to rooftops, paving
with permeable material instead of asphalt.
-Replanting native plants in green space.
-Using alternative energy instead of fossil
fuels
Habitat Alteration
Replant native plants
Reintroduce native species
Clean up toxins
Stop the addition of toxins
Restore natural water flow
Habitat Fragmentation
-Create corridors to reconnect
fragmented habitats
-This allows safe passage of animals
between natural habitats
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzbgurbNnM
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Invasive Species and NonNative Species
-There is currently NO effective way to remove an invasive species once it has
established itself in an environment.
-Efforts include: physical removal, chemical treatments, biocontrol (introducing it’s
natural predator…this has NEVER ended well).
The BEST method is to be careful when traveling and to not bring in non-natives.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF2oRFicH
ds
Clear-cutting/Deforestation
Selective cutting takes down
useful trees, leaving young ones to
mature and babies to sprout up.
Replanting of cut trees
Over-harvesting
http://www.jandh.com/blog/learn-something-new-aboutfishing/ we take from the
-Limit how much of any one resource
environment at one time, so that the resource will be
there later.
-Farming sea life for food is called aquaculture and
allows pressure to be taken off the wild individuals.
-As a consumer, be conscious of where your food
comes from and how it is harvested.
http://www.tourdeturtles.org/2012/Mayan.php?page=cau
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Problems with The Environment
 Write these on the left side of your paper
 Habitat Alteration
 Pollution
 Invasive Species
 Nonnative Species
 Overharvesting
 Human Population Growth
Match the Problems with Their
Categories
 From the list below, on the right hand side of your paper,
match the problems to their categories that they would fit
underneath
 Dumping of trash barges from NYC
 Near extinction of the cod fish
 Kudzu vine in NC
 Smoke stack from coal burning factories
 Low availability of birth control in developing countries
 Zebra mussels in the St Lawrence River
 Overgrazing of cattle in the Midwest US
 Leaking landfills
 Larger families
 Smog
 Deforestation
 Oils spills from tankers
 Canadian geese
 Pythons in Florida
 Global Warming leads to warmer biomes
 Improper recycling
 Stripping of orchards and no new regrowth
 Peppered moths from Europe
 Irrigation of deserts to produce more farmland
Which of these lists contains only biotic factors?
A. Soil, minerals, grass, and oxygen
B. Carbon Dioxide, worms, beetles, and clouds
C. Water, oceans, lakes, and streams
D. Baboon, boy, beetle, and bunny
If there were massive floods over a farm’s lands,
which of following would happen to the producers
and consumers?
A. Some of the consumers would benefit and none of
the producers would benefit
B. None of the consumers would benefit and all of
the producers would benefit
C. Some of the consumers and some of the
producers would benefit
Which of the situations would lead to a genetic
variation that would evolve to benefit the species?
A. An abundant amount of food resources
B. Pleasant living conditions and shelter
C. Invasive species move in creating competition
D. Many males and females in the same area
Why would biodiversity loss on even a small scale
be such a problem for the human race?
A. There would be less predators to attach us
B. We would miss the fuzzy little creatures that are
cute in the world
C. Less bacteria to attack our immune systems
D. We would lose valuable resources
Which of the following would be found at the
bottom of a food web?
A. Snakes, hawks, and lions
B. Trees, bacteria, and fish
C. Grass, seaweed, and flowers
D. Mice, rabbits, and granola