Transcript biodiversity 2 - Lisa Peck`s Environmental Studies Class


Deforestation
- Deforestation is clearing Earth's forests
on a massive scale, often resulting in
damage to the quality of the land.
- This decreases Biodiversity by destroying
the ecosystems organism live in.
- This occurs due to over-logging and in
some situations forest fires.
- The loss of habitat for millions of species
occurs due to deforestation.
- 70% of Earth’s land animals and plants
live in forests, and many of these
species cannot survive the
deforestation that destroys their
homes.
Overfishing
- Overfishing is described as catching
too much fish for the ecosystem to
support which leads to an overall
decrease in the number of fish and
the diversity of fish in an
ecosystem.
- Overfishing is a non-sustainable use of
the oceans.
- 80% of the world's fisheries are fully
over-exploited, depleted, or in a
state of collapse.
- Worldwide about 90% of the stocks of
large predatory fish stocks are
already gone.
Climate Change
- Climate change and global warming are
huge threats to biodiversity around
the world.
- If the Earth’s temperature continues to
increase at the alarming rate which it
has been in the recent past, many
coral reefs will not be able to properly
function, resulting in the death of said
reefs, and the devastating loss of a
rich and biologically diverse
ecosystem.
- In addition to the loss of coral reefs
around the world, climate change
affects all major ecosystems, namely
those in polar regions.
Introduction of Invasive Species
- The introduction of invasive species is a
serious threat to biodiversity.
- When invasive species are introduced,
they can wipe out one or several
existing, indigenous species, causing
a loss of many different kinds of
animals.
- Examples of threatening invasive species
are the kudzu vine and the zebra
mussel.
- In addition to causing a loss of
biodiversity, invasive species cost the
U.S. over 138 million dollars a year.
Overpopulation
- Though overpopulation does tie in with
deforestation, it is very much its own, severe
issue.
- The world’s population is growing at an alarming,
exponential rate. Estimates suggest that the
population in the year 2020 will be close to 7 ½
billion.
- The Earth is not designed to sustain such an
incredible amount of humans, nor is the
environment.
- As the population grows, there becomes a need for
more land in order to provide everyone with a
place to live. As the human population numbers
go up, the amount of natural habitat, and
therefore species, goes dramatically down.