Conserving Life

Biodiversity  The variety of life in an ecosystem.

Biodiversity increases as you near the equator

3 most diverse biomes:  Coral Reef  Tropical Rainforest  Wetlands Marsh

Why is Biodiversity important?  Beautiful and scenic  Good for our health and an ecosystem’s health  (diet, medicines, and disease prevention)

Loss of biodiversity

Extinct species  A species once present on Earth but has died out

Endangered species  A species in danger of becoming extinct.

Threatened species  A species likely to become endangered in the near future.

What causes the loss of biodiversity? “HIPPO”  Habitat Loss  Invasive Species  Poaching  Pollution  Over population by humans

1. Habitat Loss  Deforestation  Slash and burn  Makes soil more fertile for farming  Nutrient poor soil in rain forest

Negative Effects of Deforestation  Loss of habitat – crowds out species  Increases levels of CO 2 – contributing to global warming

Encroachment  Slowly moving into a species’ habitat  Examples  Road building & farming and housing development

2. Invasive Species  Species that are introduced into an environment they are not originally from  Synonyms for exotic: alien, feral, invasive, introduced

Cane Toads  Released on purpose to kill cane beetles  Skin contains deadly toxins  Practically no predators  101 have turned into 200 million over 70 years y/RTGAM wcane0326/BNStory/S cience/

Fire Ants  Stowed away on ship to Alabama  Sting feels like burn  Kills native insects

Killer Bees  More aggressive honey bees  Escaped from lab in Brazil  Kills native bee species

Non-harmful invasive species  Wheat  Rice  Dogs  Cats  Horses  Pigs  Cows  Goats

How do they arrive?

Invasive species in FL A Burmese python attempted to eat an alligator

What’s the problem?  Crowd out native species  No predators  Decreases biodiversity

3. Poaching  Illegal hunting (killing) OR  Illegally removing a species from its habitat

Poached Species  Big Cats – Fur  Elephants – Ivory  Rhinoceros – Horns  Orangutans – Pets  Macaws – Pets “In 2005 there were nearly 88,000 mammals, 1.3 million reptiles and 203 million fish imported illegally into the United States.” -Reuters

Poaching

4. Pollution  Water Pollution  Air Pollution  Ground Pollution

Water Pollution  Pesticides

Pesticide Use  Pesticide= chemicals used to kill a pest (rodent, insect, fungus, etc.)  Runoff with rainwater puts it into local water systems.  Disrupts aquatic food chains

DDT  Pesticide used to kill mosquitoes  Blamed for decline in bird of prey populations  Fish in polluted water eaten by birds  Travels up the food chain  Top predators (eagles, peregrine falcons) affected most

 These birds lay eggs with thin shells  U.S. banned DDT in 1972  DDT still used in tropical locations to fight malaria  Some oppose ban due to DDT’s ability to fight malaria

Fertilizer Use  Runoff into lakes  Causes rapid algae growth (algae bloom)

 Algae blocks sunlight and….  Plants die (less oxygen)  Decomposers break down dead plants (& use up oxygen)  No oxygen available to other animals and they “suffocate”

Mercury  Mercury released into the air when burned, and mixes with rainfall to get into the water.  Found in high quantities in fish  Can damage nervous and reproductive systems (Pregnant women and young kids at highest risk)

Hatters used mercury to shape felt hats and often were poisoned. “Mad as a Hatter” references this.

Mercury can accumulate in the food chain.

 Mercury is often combined with other metals for fillings (ADA says this is safe)

Air Pollution  Pollutants released into air usually from burning fossil fuels

Air Pollution causes…  Global warming  Ozone depletion  Acid Rain  Carbon Monoxide poisoning

Ground Pollution  Soil becomes polluted when air pollutants drift to the ground or when water leaves pollutants behind as it flows through the soil.

5. Over Population of Humans

Population numbers

Overpopulation  As more humans are added to our planet, the demand for natural resources (for energy, food and shelter) increases and more land is cleared for development.