What is Biodiversity? The number and variety of species in an ecosystem More inclusive of all diversity: the totality of genes, species, and ecosystems of a region

How many species are there on Earth? Estimates range from 5 to 100 million ,000 × minimum

Phylogenetic Tree Click Click The relatedness of identified species can be found here: Click Click

How do we know? It can be hard to estimate total diversity within an ecosystem 4 main sampling techniques are used SEE TABLE 3.1 ON PAGE 90 – Canopy fogging – Quadrant sampling – Transect Sampling – Netting

Why is Biodiversity Important? Still a topic of much scientific research Main Idea more biodiversity = more resistance to change

What happens if insecticides are used? What happens if Grouse are hunted?

Why is Biodiversity Important? More biodiversity = more resistance to change Maintenance of ecosystem services Potential for new discoveries (eg. medicines) Economic benefits (exploitation / ecotourism) Natural beauty / fascination / personal connection

What are Ecosystem Services? Through the natural processes that take place in nature, ecosystems perform a number of seemingly free services which sustain humanity and all other life on earth

eg 1 - Transfer of energy The sun’s energy is captured and moved through food webs which provides food for all creatures on the planet

eg 2 - Water purification Many ecosystems ultimately provide clean purified water as a result of the biotic and abiotic features within them. Marsh ecosystems are particularly important natural water filters.

eg 3 - Oxygen cycle The huge variety of autotrophs on Earth remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and replenish oxygen supplies

More Ecosystem Services When there is more biodiversity, there is: more nutrient cycling (eg. Carbon / Nitrogen) more photosynthesis = more total productivity + reduced climate change less spread of disease More forested land: Holds soil in place Reduces runoff Increases rainfall / reduces evaporation

What is Currently Happening To Biodiversity?

Looking Backwards

6 th Mass Extinction?

Biodiversity Hotspots

Originally 25 regions Today, 34 identified regions of particularly large, unique plant diversity, under strong threat of habitat loss – must contain at least 0.5% or 1,500 species of vascular plants as endemics – has to have lost at least 70% of its primary vegetation.

Biodiversity Hotspots When established in 1999, covered about 11.8% of earth’s land surface and contained were believed to contain 44% of earth’s plant species and 35% of terrestrial vertebrates Today they are increasingly depleted and believed to contain about 60% of the world's plant, bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species

Threats to Biodiversity Habitat Loss Over-exploitation Pollution Invasive species Climate Change

Habitat Loss

Threats to Biodiversity Habitat Loss – Changes in land use by humans Growing cities / urban sprawl Expansion of farmland / habitat fragmentation Draining wetlands – Habitat Fragmentation Larger habitats become divided into smaller sections by highways, roads, farms, urbanization, etc.

Over-exploitation

Threats to Biodiversity Over-exploitation – Over-hunting eg. Dodo bird hunted to extinction – Over-fishing eg. in 1992 it became illegal to catch Atlantic cod – Deforestation See – Relentless consumption eg. The average Canadian ecological footprint may be around 7 or 8 times larger than the footprint of countries in the developing world

Pollution

Threats to Biodiversity Pollution – Pollutant are chemicals with known toxic effects on one or many species – Human activity has introduced waste products and contaminants throughout the biosphere – Air, land and water have been affected nearly everywhere Egs. Industrial waste, municipal waste, pesticides, sewage containing hormones, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, etc.

Invasive Species

Threats to Biodiversity Invasive species – Non-native species of plants and animals that establish in new habitats – These may disrupt local ecosystems and/or displace local species causing extinction or population reduction Eg. in Canada: purple loostrife, mountain pine beetle, asian longhorned beetles, zebra muscles Eg. in Australia: prickly pear cactus, cane toads, feral pigs, red foxes, european rabbits, camels

Climate Change

Threats to Biodiversity Climate Change – Rapid disruption of ecosystem stability – Changes in global geography (eg. melting of permafrost) – Unpredictable changes to ecosystems around the world

Biodiversity Hotspots 34 identified regions of particularly large plant diversity which are under particularly strong threats of habitat loss (at least 70% lost of original habitat) Established in 1999 Some estimated that they contained 44% of earth’s plant species and 35% of terrestrial vertebrates They covered about 11.8% of earth’s land surface Now they have been reduced to only about 1.4%