Biodiversity and Conservation 5.2- Threats to Biodiversity part 1 SPI 4 Predict how various types of human activities affect the environment. SPI 5 Make inferences about how a specific environmental change can affect the amount of biodiversity. SPI 6 Predict how a specific environmental change may lead to the extinction of a particular species.

What is it? –The sum of different types of organisms that live in an area. Why is it important? –Different organisms fill different roles/needs. The greater the diversity of a community, the more roles that are filled, the healthier the community. How are humans impacting it? Biodiversity…

Extinction Background extinction: the gradual process of species becoming extinct Mass extinction: large numbers of species becoming extinct in a short period of time.

Factors that threaten –Overexploitation –Habitat Loss –Habitat Fragmentation –Pollution –Invasive species As human population growth explodes around the world, we shape our environment for better or worse At present, human activity is contributing to one of the sharpest declines of biodiversity in the geological record

Overexploitation The excessive use of species that have economic value… –Ex. Ocelot, White Rhinoceros, Elephant

Habitat Loss Destroying or disrupting natural habitat forces native species to relocate or die.

Habitat Loss The removal or reduction in a Keystone species can destroy a habitat. Keystone species play a critical role as the foundation of an ecosystem.

Habitat Fragmentation Separation of an ecosystem into pieces. Certain populations are either unable or unwilling to cross human barriers. Species that would normally mate, cannot. Gene flow stops and genetic diversity decreases.

Habitat Fragmentation Edge effects are different environmental conditions that occur along the boundaries of an ecosystem. Certain species cannot survive on these edges.

Assignment… Google “endangered species list” and choose an endangered species Research your critter and find out: –Its habitat –What it eats, what it does –At least 2 relationships it has with other organisms –Why it’s endangered –What’s being done to protect it On a piece of printer paper, box off a smallish area and write this information in the box. On the rest of the paper, draw your critter in its habitat and represent the information you found with pictures.