“The pale blue dot” …. Earth from the Voyager spacecraft, > 4 billion miles away

EarthMars CO %95% N2N2 77%2.7% H2OH2O1%0.007% Ar0.93%1.6% O2O2 21%trace

Earth History 4.5 bya: Earth Forms4.0 bya: Oldest Rocks3.4 bya: Oldest Fossils bya: Oxygen 1.8 bya: first eukaryote 0.9 bya: first animals 0.5 bya: Cambrian0.24 bya:Mesozoic0.065 bya:Cenozoic 4.5 million to present (1/1000th of earth history)

All genera “well described” genera The “big five” Mass Extinction Events Millions of Years Ago Thousands of Genera

Permian mass extinction: 96% of all marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species (% of Genera)

WHY?

ecological collapse Almost all animals over 25kg (~55 lbs) went extinct. (The things that require the most energy to survive)

BIODIVERSITY NOW

Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (2006)

Detritivores Pollinators Insect predators Herbivores

Pollinators Insect Parasitoids (lay eggs on other insects) Insect Predators

Malagasy Sunset Butterfly Jewel Bug madagascar-sunset Herbivores Pollinators Parasites Detritivores

Herbivores Detritivores

PRODUCERS

Most vertebrate species are fishes

ml then Herbivores, Predators, Detritivores, Pollinators

But do we NEED all these species??

There’s a lot of redundancy in nature…

Are all species equally important? If not, which ones are critical?

with without

We don’t know which species are critical So we need to save them all to maintain ecosystem function

But what does biodiversity do??

1) Biodiversity increases “productivity”... FOOD

Monoculture They all need the same things at the same concentrations; they compete.

MonoculturePolyculture Combinations of different plants can be planted at higher density, and they use different "niches" and coexist. Even if abundance of "most productive" species drops, this loss can be offset. They all need the same things at the same concentrations; they compete. “Niche Complementarity”

MonoculturePolyculture Nitrogen fixing legumes (beans) nutrify the soil, increasing the growth of other plants. And you have beans! without beans with beans They all need the same things at the same concentrations; they compete. “Positive Effects”

2) Biodiversity improves ecosystem services Estimates of various Ecosystem Services - $U.S. trillions Ecosystem services Value (trillion $US) Soil formation17.1 Recreation3.0 Nutrient cycling2.3 Water regulation and supply2.3 Climate regulation (temperature and precipitation) 1.8 Habitat1.4 Flood and storm protection1.1 Food and raw materials production 0.8 Genetic resources0.8 Atmospheric gas balance0.7 Pollination0.4 All other services1.6 Total value of ecosystem services 33.3 Source: Adapted from R. Costanza et al., “The Value of the World’s Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital,” Nature, Vol. 387 (1997), p. 256, Table 2. TOTAL GLOBAL GNP (1997) = 18 trillion.

3) Aesthetics and Inspiration: Biodiversity enriches our cultures

How is our biodiversity doing? Genetic diversity within species Species diversity in communities Ecosystem diversity

How is our biodiversity doing? Humans used hundreds of crop species worldwide; now 3 species (rice, wheat, corn) provide 60% of our calories from crop plants. According to the FAO of the UN, 70% of the genetic diversity of crop plants has been lost in the last 75 years as we’ve shifted to industrial farming and the use of GM strains.

How is our biodiversity doing? 2000 Pacific Island bird species (15% of global total) have gone extinct after human colonization 20 of the 297 mussel species in N.A. have gone extinct in the last 100 years; 60% are endangered 40 of 950 fish species in N. A. have gone extinct in the last century; 35% are threatened or endangered currents.htm?customel_dataPageID_206517= Yellow-finned cutthroat trout

How is our biodiversity doing? 1 in 4 mammal species is endangered 1 in 8 bird species is endangered 1 in 3 amphibian species is endangered 48% of primate species are threatened Data from:

How is our biodiversity doing? 35% of mangrove habitat has been lost in the last 20 years In the Caribbean, hard coral cover has declined from 50% to 10% in the last 20 years Since 2000, 232,000 sq miles of old growth forest have been lost (size of Texas).

WHY?

7 billion in 2011 (12 years later)

13,000 sq kilometers is about the size of Connecticut

Extent of Virgin Forest, Contiguous U. S.

Millenium Assessment 2006

1 10 million? Humans use/control 40% of the ‘food’ produced on the planet.

Fragmentation

PLANTS HERBIVORES CARNIVORES LARGE AREA OF HABITAT Area Effects Fragmentation

HABITAT FRAGMENTATION Fragmentation

HABITAT FRAGMENTATION Fragmentation 1)Carnivores lost - (reduce diversity) 2)Herbivores compete – (reduce diversity) 3)Plants overgrazed – (reduce diversity)

We are a geological force, operating on an ecological timescale Mountaintop removal in West Virginia

We are a geological force, operating on an ecological timescale Gold mining in Peruvian Amazon

We are a geological force, operating on an ecological timescale

Hmmmm….

All genera “well described” genera The “big five” Mass Extinction Events Millions of Years Ago Thousands of Genera Sixth major mass extinction event - NOW

22 May 2010 –Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: “Biodiversity loss is moving ecological systems ever closer to a tipping point beyond which they will no longer be able to fulfill their vital functions.”

What Can We Do? We need to protect and preserve large intact, biodiverse ecosystems.

This is great, but it ain’t gonna do it…

We need to rethink our model of community… Development nature Development

We need to find out what’s out there!

We need to appreciate the societal and economic value of biodiversity Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) “Protection of biodiversity should be the underlying reason for every CSR effort. Biodiversity loss is the most severe threat to human-wellbeing on the planet. It rates even higher than climate change and related problems…. The head of Deutsche Bank's Global Markets predicts that our current rate of biodiversity loss could see 6% of global GDP wiped out as early as The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity executive summary (2010) The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity executive summary (2010) reports that “over 50% of CEOs surveyed in Latin America and 45% in Africa see declines in biodiversity as a challenge to business growth. In contrast, less than 20% of their counterparts in Western Europe share such concerns”

If we recognize the grandeur of life, we might appreciate it…

If we appreciate it, we might value it…

If we value it, we might sustain it…

If we sustain it, we might be able to sustain our societies and economies, as well. ECONOMY SOCIETY ENVIRONMENT

If we don’t, we won’t… A few extinct animal species. Thylacine Quogga Golden Toad Tecopa Pupfish Yangtze River Dolphin Vietnamese Rhinoceros

Study questions: In what two major ways does the earth differ from Mars? How have each of these differences influenced the dramatic loss of CO 2 from the earth atmosphere, relative to Mars? Dinosaurs went extinct because a meteor struck the earth and caused an ‘ecological catastrophe’ in which the animals with the greatest energy demand went extinct. Why is humanity similarly vulnerable with respect to the amount of resources we use, and the range of food we consume? What are the two main ways that we are causing the extinction of other organisms? Why is maintaining diversity important? (Brief answers on the next slides – try them yourselves first!!!!)

Study questions: In what two major ways does the earth differ from Mars? Lots of liquid water at the surface, and the presence of life. How have each of these differences influenced the dramatic loss of CO 2 from the earth atmosphere, relative to Mars? First, CO2 dissolves in water. Then, it is available to organisms that make shells and reefs out of calcium carbonate. This material accumulates as sedimentary deposits (Cliffs of Dover) in the lithosphere. Likewise, the evolution of photosynthesis (specifically the ‘light independent reaction’) allow CO2 in the atmosphere to be stored as glucose, cellulose, and other organic molecules. Although respiration and decomposition would return CO2 to the atmosphere, much of the organic remains have been preserved as fossil fuel deposits in sedimentary rocks – again representing a transfer of CO2 from the atmosphere to the lithosphere, mediated by living organisms.

Study questions: Dinosaurs went extinct because a meteor struck the earth and caused an ‘ecological catastrophe’ in which the animals with the greatest energy demand went extinct. Why is humanity similarly vulnerable with respect to the amount of resources we use, and the range of food we consume? We use 40% of the food produced on land. If there was an ecological catastrophe that reduced food production, we would feel it worse than other species. In addition, we get 60% of our calories from just three species!!! So, if a calamity befalls any of these three species, we will feel it. What are the three main ways that we are causing the extinction of other organisms? 1.Competition – we are consuming most the food. 2.This is largely by changing their habitats (prairie, forest, etc.) into our agricultural land. 3.Changing the climate faster than it has changed before, and faster than many species can adapt. Why is maintaining diversity important?

Study questions: Why is maintaining diversity important? Natural ecosystems provide ‘services’ upon which humanity depends, such as making food, cleaning the air, cleaning the water, stabilizing the climate, and fertilizing the soil. Ecology has shown that more diverse systems are more effective and efficient at performing these functions. Although there is redundancy in nature, we don’t yet know which species are the key ‘drivers’ of ecosystem function. As such, in order to maintain ecosystem function, we must ‘keep all the pieces’. As the percentage of endangered species in different groups shows, we aren’t doing such a great job at this. BUT! The first step in solving a problem is identifying it. Now we know. Now we must act.