The number of different species that live within an ecosystem

The mass of living biological organisms in an ecosystem at a given time The dry weight of organic carbon

A species that is native to the area and ONLY found in that area Koala Panda Kangaroo

Lemur, kiwi, platypus, rainforest frogs

Frigate Bird Red footed bobby Blue footed bobby Galapagos penguin Galapagos turtle

A species that does not naturally occur in an area and causes harm to the ecosystem Zebra Mussels Dyer’s Woad

Cheat Grass Eurasian Dove

Burmese Python Giant Rat

A species that is vital to an ecosystem and the entire ecosystem will be affected if it is removed

A species whose numbers are so small that it is at risk of extinction

Arctic Fox Arctic tundra (Alaska, Canada, Russia) 100’s of thousands Climate change Fur harvesting Diseases from wild dogs

Peregrine Falcon 1650 breeding pairs U.S. and Canada: wide range DDT and DDE (pesticides banned in the 1970’s) causes thinning of egg shells

Killer Whale Less than 50,000 Pollution and chemical contamination Makes them more susceptible to disease

Monarch Butterfly North and Central America- migrate to Mexico Harvesting lumber in the area Climate – changes migration area Loss of milkweed plants

American Bison (North America) 500,000 Disease - Crossbreeding with cattle Hunting

African and Asian Elephants 450, ,000 African 35,000-40,000 Asian Habitat loss Tusk harvesting

Ca lifornia Condor 279 : 130 have been reintroduced into the wild Western U.S., Mexico, Canada Lead poisoning Electrocution on power lines Poaching

Mountain Gorilla 700 Virunga mountain region (East Africa) Habitat loss due to human population growth Disease Poaching

Black Rhino: 2,400 White Rhino: 7,500 Sumatran Rhino: 400 Javan Rhino: fewer than 100 Indian Rhino: more than 2,000 Poaching for horns

Giant Panda China 2000 Climate change affecting bamboo growth Habitat loss due to farming

Koala Bear Australia Fewer than 100,000 Habitat destruction Hunted for furs Traffic accidents Attacked by domestic dogs

Chimpanzee 100,000 – 200,000 African continent Habitat destruction Commercial exploitation

Ocelot North and South America 800,000 – 1.25 million Habitat destruction Fur harvesting

The end of a species of organism

Extinct animals Labrador Duck (skunk duck) 1878: New York City Over harvesting by humans (hunting)

Javan Tiger Indonesian Islands 1976 Human expansion Food source exhausted (Rusa deer) Bali Tiger 1937 Habitat loss Over harvesting

North African Elephant Egypt and Mediterranean Used as war elephants

Passenger Pigeon 1914 North America

Dodo Bird Late 17 th century Island of Mauritius

Poaching Pollution Over hunting Loss of habitat Disease Invasive Species Predation Climate change Natural disasters Meteorite impacts, volcanoes Hurricanes, tsunami

Mass Extinction: when several groups of species die out due to a major ecosystem changing event

1. Ordovician: 438 million years ago Cause: Ice Age 100 families extinct More than half of the brachiopod species extinct

2. Devonian: about 370 mya Global climate change: Ice Age or Warming Period 19% of animal families extinct (mostly Aquatic)

3. Permian: about 245 mya Largest mass extinction Causes? Climate change due to mass volcanic eruptions or plate tectonic movement 95% of all species

4. Triassic: 210 mya Global Ice Age 28% of all animal families die out Most early dinosaur families went extinct

5. Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T): 65 mya Meteorite impact and/or volcanic eruptions About half of all life forms died out including Dinosaurs Ammonites Fish Clams Snails Sponges Sea urchins

1993 The Theory that humans will cause another mass extinction Only extinction caused by biotic factors Pollution Habitat destruction Over harvesting Exploitation of resources (poaching) Introduction of invasive species