Transcript Sustaining Aquatic Biodiversity Ppt

 Greatest
marine biodiversity found in
coral reefs, estuaries, and the deepocean floor.
 Biodiversity is higher near coasts than in
the open sea due to more producers and
habitats.
 Biodiversity is greater near the ocean
bottom (compared to the surface) due to
a greater variety of habitats and food
sources.
H: Habitat Destruction
I:Invasive Species
P: Population and resource use growth
P: Pollution
C: Climate Change
O: Overexploitation
 Coastal
 Ocean
Development
bottom destroyed by dredging
and trawler fishing
 Scientists
urged the United Nations to put
a ban on trawling.
 What type of countries would be
opposed to this?
 Finally, in 2007, these countries agreed.
 But very difficult to monitor and enforce.
 Dams
 Excessive
water withdrawal (Usually for
agricultural uses)
 51%
of freshwater
species threatened
with premature
extinction
 Flooding
of terrestrial lands that destroy
or fragments wildlife habitat
 Displacement of people along
overpopulated waterway areas
 Reduction of silt downstream from the
dam
 Interruption of migratory pattern of some
fish species
 Collection of pollutants
 Vegetation
areas that border stream
bank. The aid the stream by filtering out
toxins and excess nutrients before they
reach the streams. They also keep soil
intact and prevent erosion and
sedimentation into the waterway
 A problem when livestock are allowed to
feed here
 84%
of the world’s coastal water are
being colonized by invasive species
 Invasive species usually travel from one
place to another via ships
 Invasive species can also be introduced
by humans
 Asian
swamp eel invaded the waterways
of South Florida likely due to someone
dumping out their home aquarium.
 Purple
loosestrife is imported from
Europe into the US as an ornamental to
use in gardens. Reproduces easily and
quickly and has begun to decrease
wetland biodiversity.
 East
Africa
 Nile perch eating all of the cichlids,
which were introduced by humans
 Possible economic consequences?
 More
people want to live along the
coastlines (increases habitat destruction
and pollution)
 80%
comes from land-based activities
 Fertilizers!
 Toxic Pollutants
 Plastic Items
 Excessive
inputs of nitrogen from
fertilizer runoff cause explosive growth of
toxic microscopic “red” algae that can
poison fish and marine mammals
 Occurs nearly every summer along Gulf
Coast
The Chesapeake Bay was declared a dead
zone by the U.S. government due to low
levels of dissolved oxygen and depletion
of biodiversity. This was sparked by the
cultural eutrophication stemming from an
input of fertilizers from local agricultural
areas. Paid $250 million for local farmers to
leave area surrounding area unplanted.
 Large
amount of fertilizer going in
 Cichlids feed on algae
 Nile Perch feed on cichlids
 What do you think happened?
 Birth
control pills contain hormones
 When they get into the water, fish can
undergo sex changes
 Example: Alligators in Lake Apopka
 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/
26/bp-oil-spill-live-feedvi_n_590635.html#s125426
 Causes
sea levels to rise. Why?
Consequences of sea level rise:
-destroys coral reefs
-drowns highly productive coastal areas
-drowns mangrove forests and wetlands
 Commercial
Extinction: no longer
profitable to continue fishing species
 Bycatch: non-target
fish species
 Marine
and freshwater species are
threatened with extinction by human
activities more than any other group of
species!
 Tragedy
of the Commons: why fish?
 Mostly
from developing nations
 Trawler
Fishing
Problem: Heavy chains destroying ocean
bottom
 Purse-seine
Fishing: used to catch fish by
the surface using a spotter plane
Problem: Often catch other marine life,
such as dolphins
http://www.3news.co.nz/Purse-seinefishing-plummeting-NZ-tunasupply/tabid/1216/articleID/170956/Def
ault.aspx
 Longline
Fishing
 Problem: Often catches and kills sea
turtles, dolphins, sharks
 Drift-net
Fishing: just large netes
 Problem: Often catches sea turtles,
dolphins, sharks
TED DEVICES!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y71cgx
myMO4&feature=related&safety_mode=t
rue&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active
 Nets longer than 1.6 miles banned in
1992 by U.N.
 Population
numbers are okay in the
Atlantic, but have dropped by 95% in the
Pacific Ocean.
 Very ancient, only warm-blooded sea
turtle, dives to very deep depths
 Lights, egg poaching, leather, fish nets,
plastic bags
 Between
1925 to 1975, 8 of the 11 major
whale species became extinct
 IWC (International Whaling
Commission): regulate whaling industry
by setting annual quotas
 1970: Whaling banned in U.S.
 1986: IWC banned commercial whaling
 Japan, Norway, Iceland, Russia don’t listen
Advantages
-Produces high yields
-Contains essential nutrients
-Easily-maintained
-Not depleting natural stocks
Disadvantages
-Aquatic contamination and pollution (e.g. Oil spills, human material thrown in
water often harms fish)
-High density to volume ratio, fish often clustered together thus causing high stress
level which increases susceptibility to disease and transfers disease at an
accelerated
-Possible escape
 China
is responsible for the majority of
the globally produced farmed fish
 Ted Talks: I fell in love with a fish
 1975
Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species (CITES)
 1979 Global Treaty on Migratory Species
 U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973
 U.S. Whale Conservation and Protection
Act of 1976
 1995 International Convention on
Biological Diversity
Name 3 dangers to coral reefs
 http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/p
ublications/identificationguide/pubs/protected-marine-speciesidentification-guide.pdf
 Size
 Number
 Time
of year
http://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/regula
tions/lobster/
 Law
of the Sea Treaty: A country owns 370
kilometers of ocean from its shoreline
 Coastal nations have jurisdiction over
36% of ocean surface and 90% of world’s
fish stocks
 MPA: parts of the ocean that are partially
protected from human activities
 Ecosystem
Approach: Protect whole
ecosystems, not just certain species.
 Could be temporary, updates via satellite
technologies
 No commercial fishing, dredging, or
mining.
 Studies show that marine reserves allow
fish population sizes to double QUICKLY
 Purchase
sustainably harvested seafood
 Limit chemical use on lawns if live near
the coast
 Reduce carbon footprint
1. Estimating Fish Populations
 Maximum Sustained Yield: The maximum
number of fish that can be harvested
annually from a fish stock without causing a
population drop.
 Does not work very well because hard to
actually estimate populations and doesn’t
take into consideration how other species
are affected.
 Regulate
Fishing
 Comanagement Systems
 Rid of government subsidies (can
encourage overfishing)
 Individual Transfer Rights: government
gives each fishing vessel its allotment,
can trade or sell
1. Gives ownership of fish to private
companies that are regulated by public
funds
2. Can promote illegal fishing by small
companies that are squeezed out
3. Often set too high to prevent overfishing
 Up
to the people
 Seafood should be labeled
 Certification of sustainably caught food
 MSC “Fish Forever” eco-label
 In 2006, Wal-Mart pledged
to sell only MSC-certified
wild caught seafood
 Figure
11-12
 Fish Farming
 Laws
 Wetlands
and swamps are usually
drained, filled in, or covered to create
rice fields and make land available for
growing crops, expanding cities, and
building roads.
 Wetlands
are also being covered by
rising sea levels.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekwO
BosI3g&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_
mode=1&safe=active
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhCr
1hTcfAA&safety_mode=true&persist_saf
ety_mode=1&safe=active
 Less
than ½ its original size
 Diverted Kissimmee River for flood
protection, which drained the northern
part
 The southern part is suffering due to
diverted water for agriculture, pollution
by nutrients from agriculture, and
invasive species.
 1947: Everglades National Park (1/5)
 Didn’t work because cut off from north
 Melaleuca Trees
 Burmese
Python
 Iguana
 Asian
Swamp Eel
 Comprehensive
Everglades Restoration
Plan (CERP) 1990.
 Restore Kissimmee River
 Create artificial wetlands
 Get rid of levees blocking water flow
 Law
requires permit to fill in wetlands
 Current Goal: zero net loss of functional
wetlands
 Mitigation banking: allows destruction of
wetlands as long as an equal area of the
same type of wetland is created or
restored.
 Invaded
by 162 nonnative species
 Hulls or bilge water
 Sucks
blood out of fish, killing them
 Depletes fishing populations
 $15 million a year to apply chemical to
kill lamprey eggs
 Reproduces
quickly, no known enemies
in Great Lakes
 Clogs pipes
 $140 million a year, $16,000 per hour
1.
2.
3.
4.
Protect the watershed
Prevent Overfishing
Preventing or reducing invasive species
Hatcheries
 Withdrew
large amounts of water from
the Aral Sea for irrigation of cotton and
rice fields. Due to excessive removal of
water the Aral Sea has lost almost 90% of
volume, and salinity has risen sevenfold,
which has caused the extinction of many
of the local aquatic bird and mammal
species