Human Impact on the Biosphere

Those Pesky Humans! Humans have a large impact on the environment and the organisms we share it with. This is due to our Ever increasing population size. Ever increasing use of both renewable and non-renewable resources.

Humans Affect the Biosphere in 4 Essential Ways: A. Global Climate Change and Acid Rain B. The Ozone Layer C. Biological Magnification/Bioaccumulation D. Threatening Biodiversity

Global Climate Change and Acid Rain

Human Activity and the Carbon Cycle We are releasing CO2 and other related forms of carbon into the atmosphere at a much faster rate than they are absorbed. This is due to the ever increasing rate at which we: Clear-cut and burn forests for housing and farming Burn fossil fuels These activities have resulted in the phenomenon of global warming.

FACTS WE KNOW Global temperatures have increased 0.5-1.0°F since the late 19th century. http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/8/87/280px-Instrumental_Temperature_Record.png

FACTS WE KNOW The snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere and floating ice in the Arctic Ocean have decreased. Graph & glacier pix: http://nsidc.org/sotc/glacier_balance.html polar bears: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=35720&in_page_id=34

Coastal flooding What’s so bad about warming up a little? http://healthandenergy.com/images/global2.gif Cartoon from Brookings Register Coastal flooding

More severe storms What’s so bad about warming up a little? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina More severe storms http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/WEATHER/08/25/tropical.storm/story.katrina.915p.jpg

Changes in Gulf Stream What’s so bad about warming up a little? http://www.claybennett.com/pages/ocean_temps.html What’s so bad about warming up a little? Changes in Gulf Stream http://zfacts.com/metaPage/lib/Atlantic_conveyor.jpg

Weather extremes What’s so bad about warming up a little? Heat waves and drought Brookings Register

Changing habitats means loss of species What’s so bad about warming up a little? http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=35720&in_page_id=34 Changing habitats means loss of species

Acid Rain The burning of fossil fuels also releases nitrogen and sulfur compounds. These compounds combine with water vapor in the air to produce acids. The acids then migrate for miles and fall as acid rain.

Effects of Acid Rain

Effects of Acid Rain

The Ozone Layer

OZONE LAYER The ozone layer protects us from UV light. UV light causes cancer, eye damage, and can damage plant tissue http://pubweb.bnl.gov/users/xujun/www/bnl/ozone_layer_1.gif

WHAT WE KNOW Scientists have been monitoring the ____________ of ozone in our atmosphere and have discovered a hole in the ozone layer over ____________. depletion Antarctica http://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/facts/hole.html

What’s the cause of Ozone Depletion? Chlorofluorocarbon molecules _______ released from air conditioners, aerosol spray cans, fire extinguishers, and industry ________________ (CFC’s) destroy ozone http://www.atm.ch.cam.ac.uk/tour/part3.html

THAT’S WHY . . . _____________spray cans AEROSOL no longer contain http://www.roundrocktexas.gov/images/spray_cans_large.jpg _____________spray cans no longer contain CFC propellants. Gases in ___________________ and _____________ are collected and recycled. AEROSOL AIR CONDITIONERS refrigerators

Pop Quiz Have out a sheet of Paper and number it 1-4. Read each question and write down only the letter of your choice. Good Luck

Which of the following is an example of ecological succession? A. spring followed by summer B. tadpole becoming a frog C. meadow replacing a field D. predators eating prey 2.What is the main suspected environmental problem associated with the burning of fossil fuels? A. depletion of fresh water B. depletion of ozone C. global cooling D. global warming

3. Which of the following is a side effect of acid rain. Large animals Cancer Damage to trees Rusty cars The ozone layer protects Earth by absorbing –  A. cosmic dust B. solar heat C. ultraviolet radiation D. white-light frequencies

Bioaccumulation

Biological Magnification/ Bioaccumulation Biological magnification/ Bioaccumulation occurs when pesticides build up in animal tissue as you move up a food chain.

_____ was first modern insecticide Example: _____ was first modern insecticide It was cheap, stayed active for long time, and kills many different insects Used to control agriculture pests and disease carrying _______________ DDT MOSQUITOES http://www.michigan.gov/images/mosquito_65147_7.jpg

DDT in Borneo DDT was used in Borneo to kill mosquitoes. Lizards ate the mosquitoes. Cats ate the lizards. Cats began dying. With no cats, the rat population grew. Rats began spreading disease. They came up with an interesting solution…..

Parachuting Cats http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/ARG/21033~Parachute-Cats-Posters.jpg

DDT in the United States DDT causes birds to lay eggs with ___________ shells so eggs would break when sat on. American Bald Eagle was declared endangered in 1967. It has since been reclassified as _____________________ fragile “threatened”

Threatening Biodiversity

The sum of the genetically based variety of all the organisms in the biosphere = ___________________ Biodiversity gives __________ to the ecosystems that we are so dependent on, enhances their ____________, and provides an important source of new _____, ________, and other _________. BIODIVERSITY stability productivity medicine food products

Threatening Biodiversity There are 3 basic ways that human actions threaten biodiversity: Introducing non-native species Hunting organisms to extinction Habitat destruction

BIODIVERSITY THREAT INVASIVE SPECIES PREDATORS INCREASE One of most important threats to biodiversity come from apparently harmless plants or animals that humans transport into new habitats = _____________________ New habitats don’t have ____________ and parasites that control the population in their native habitats, so invasive species populations _____________ rapidly. INVASIVE SPECIES PREDATORS INCREASE

EXAMPLES OF INVASIVE SPECIES http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/a/australia/images/australiamap.gif 24 rabbits turned loose for hunting in 1859 in Australia, reproduced at such a rapid rate they have taken over the continent. It is still a major problem and rabbit diseases have been purposely introduced to try to control the population http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Wild_rabbit.jpg

Hunting Organisms to Extinction

Habitat Destruction Development of natural areas for cities or agriculture http://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files/SG_ShoppingCenter.JPG

BIODIVERSITY THREAT Tropical rainforests are disappearing http://www.lubee.org/images/about-threats-1.jpg Tropical rainforests are disappearing at a rate of about 80 acres per minute.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200506/s1384632.htm BIODIVERSITY THREAT Changes in Brazilian rainforest over 30 years The tropical rainforests once covered more than 14% of the earth's total land surface, but now cover less than 6%.

Can lead to species Extinction Chinese tiger, thylacine , yangtze river dolphin.

quagga

Endangered Species

Aye aye- panda, black rhino.

Clouded leopard. Indo, elephant.

Worlds Rarest Animal Pinta island. Lonesome George.

ONCE THOUGHT EXTINCT

What can we do???

WHAT DOES IT MEAN? REMEMBER! Everything is connected. BIODIVERSITY is a measure of the health of an ecosystem. Image from: Pearson Education Inc, publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall ©2006

CONSERVING BIODIVERSITY Examples of efforts to keep a species from becoming extinct: ___________________ (raised and protected in zoos until population is stable, then returned to wild Captive breeding http://www.blackfootedferret.org/

Practice Questions A species that enters an environment where it has not lived before is called an A. endangered B. invasive C. Threatened D. Predator A species whose population is declining so rapidly that it could become extinct is A. non-native B. fragmented C. endangered D. Invasive

Ecology Study Guide Chapter 3 study guide questions Notes on Energy Flow Food webs Food Chains Energy Pyramids Biomass Pyramids

Cycles Water Carbon Nitrogen Biological communities Biomes

Ecological Succession Population Ecology Notes Primary vs secondary Population Ecology Notes Graphs, growth rate, factors that effect population size Human and the Environment DDT, Acid Rain, Ozone layer, biodiversity, global warming