1. Unit IX – Global Change

2. Declining Biodiversity

3. Sustaining Biodiversity
Wild Species are Very Important for Many Reasons:
Economic
Medical
Scientific
Ecological
Aesthetic
Recreational
90% of today’s food crop seeds came from wild tropical plants
80% of today’s medicines came from plants that were wild.

4. Sustaining Biodiversity
Background Extinction
Average species lasts ~5-10 million years
Background extinction is ~ species/yr
Mass Extinction Rate Today
~27,000 species/yr

5. Declining Biodiversity
Earth’s biological diversity is disappearing at an unprecedented rate
Threatened Species
Species whose population has declined to the point that it may be at risk of extinction
Endangered Species
Species that faces threats that may cause it to become extinct within a short period.

6. Characteristics of Endangered Species
Extremely small (localized) range
Requires a large territory
Living on an island
Having a low reproductive success
Small population size
Low reproductive rates
Specialized breeding habitats/areas
Specialized feeding habitats

7. Declining Biodiversity
Globally
Most serious concern in tropical rain forests
South & Central America
Central Africa
Southeast Asia US
Most serious concerns in:
Hawaii
California

8. Biodiversity Hotspots

9. Causes of Declining Biodiversity

10. Causes of Declining Biodiversity - Land Use Change
Destruction, degredation, fragmentation of habitats
Little habitat remains for many endangered species

11. Causes of Declining Biodiversity – Invasive Species

12. Causes of Declining Biodiversity - Overexploitation
Illegal Trade in Products made from Endangered Species
Illegal Animal Trade

13. Causes of Declining Biodiversity - Pollution
Acid Rain, Ozone Depletion, Global Warming, Excessive Fertilizers, etc.

14. Conservation Biology
Scientific study of how humans impact organisms and the development of ways to protect biodiversity
Involves:
Protecting habitats
Restoring damaged or destroyed habitats
Zoos, aquaria, botanical gardens
Seed banks

15. Fragmented Habitats
Habitat separated by roads or other human development.
Habitat corridors
Allow animals to move from one fragment to another safely

16. Restoring Damaged Habitats
Restoration ecology
Study of the historical condition of a human-damaged ecosystem
Goal is to return it to its former state
Benefits
Creates biological habitats
Regeneration of soil damaged by agriculture or mining
Disadvantages
Expensive
Take a long time to restore an area

17. Restoring Damaged Habitats
(1935) Early stages of prairie restoration
(Current Day) Restored prairie

18. Zoos, Aquariums, Botanical Gardens
Save organisms from extinction
Artificial insemination
Embryo transfer
Surrogate mothers
Goal is to reintroduce organisms back to their natural habitat

19. Seed Banks
Stored seeds are safe from habitat destruction, climate warming, etc.
Can use seed banks to reintroduce extinct plant species
Some seeds cannot be stored
Global Seed Vault
Svarlbard, Norway

20. Conservation Policies and Laws
Endangered Species Act (ESA)
Est. 1973
Purpose is to conserve and restore endangered and threatened species and their ecosystems.
Enforced by Dept. of Interior through US Fish and Wildlife Service and state govt’s.
Requires protection for any listed species and takes precedence over economic concerns.
Has been very unpopular with industry, developers, miners, timber ranchers

21. Conservation Policies and Laws
Today’s ESA
1652 Total Listed Species in the US (1586 last year)
Plants
733 endangered species
168 threatened species
Flowering Plants is by far the most common group (700)
Animals
503 endangered species
208 threatened species
Fishes is most common group (92)
followed by birds (81), clams (75), insects (73), mammals (70)

22. Conservation Policies and Laws
Migratory Bird Treaty Act
Est. 1918
Prevents “taking” non-game migratory birds or eggs.
CITES Treaty
Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species
Est. 1975
Bans commercial trade of an agreed list of endangered and threatened species
Currently regulates trade of ~5600 species of animals and ~35,000 species of plants
Currently 175 countries and territories have ratified the treaty.

23. Wildlife Management
Application of conservation principles to manage wild species and their habitats for human benefit or for the welfare of other species
Different priorities than conservation biology
Wildlife managers concerned with common species
Conservation biologist concerned with threatened or endangered species

24. Wildlife Management Other Issues… Diversity vs. Density Funding
Bird watchers want diversity, hunters want density
Funding
Increased through sale of hunting and fishing licenses & taxes on hunting and fishing equipment
Hunting
Over 13 million registered hunters in US alone

25. Overfishing Aquatic Organisms Freshwater fishes Ocean fishes
Must be managed to ensure they are not overexploited
Freshwater fishes
Laws regulate time of year, size of fish and maximum allowable catch
Ocean fishes
Ocean fisheries often viewed as common property

26. Whaling International Whaling Commission
Established in 1946 by international community
After 8 of 11 major whale species driven to commercial extinction
US stopped whaling completely in 1970
Currently 89 nations are members
Although participation is completely voluntary
Some countries such as Japan continue for “scientific” research
Others have restarted limited whaling practices
Russia, Iceland
Most populations have recovered
Right, Humpback, and Blue Whales have yet to show clear signs of recovery though.

27. Global Warming

28. Global Climate Change
14 warmest years since mid-1800’s have happened since 1990.
Warming is NOT due to natural causes.
Human produced greenhouse gases are most plausible explanation
Greenhouse Effect
Trapping of heat in the troposphere
thermal insulation is required for life on Earth

29. Rising Temperatures

31. Climate vs. Weather Changes
“It’s cold outside, where’s the Global Warming everyone’s always talking about?”

32. Major Greenhouse Gases

33. Greenhouse Effect Primarily caused by increasing levels of CO2
Burning fossil fuels
Deforestation
Burning forests

34. Greenhouse Effect

35. Climate Models Climate affected by:
winds, clouds, ocean currents, and albedo
Used to explore past climate events
Advanced models can project future warming events
Models are only as good as the data and law used to program them
They have limitations

36. Effects of Climate Change
Increased Wildfires
Rising Sea Levels
Sea level rise caused in 2 ways
Thermal Expansion
Melting of land ice
Melting has positive feedback
Increased melting decreases ice, which decreases albedo leading to further warming

37. Effects of Global Climate Change
Glacier National Park
1957
1998

38. Effects of Global Climate Change
Wildlife Displacement
Reduced snow cover
Thawing permafrost

39. Effects of Global Climate Change
Changing Precipitation Patterns

40. Effects of Global Climate Change
Declining zooplankton levels
Disrupts entire foodchain
Parts of California current have decreased by 80% since 1951
Declining levels of krill
Shifting ranges of species

41. Effects of Global Climate Change
Coral reef bleaching
Due to increasing temps
Healthy Coral
Bleached Coral

42. Effects of Global Climate Change
Difficult to anticipate
Productivity will increase in some areas and decrease in others
Rise in sea level will inundate flood plains and river valleys (lush farmland)
Effect on pests is unknown
Warmer temperatures will decrease soil moisture- requiring more irrigation
Location (i.e. elevation and altitude) where certain crops can be grown may have to change

43. Effects of Global Climate Change
Developed vs. Developing Nations

44. Fighting Global Climate Change
Two ways to manage climate change
Mitigation: Limiting greenhouse gas emissions to moderate global climate change
Adaptation: Learning to live with environmental changes and societal consequences brought about by global climate change

45. Fighting Global Climate Change
Mitigation:
Locate/invent alternative fuels to fossil fuels
Increase efficiency of cars and trucks
Carbon Capture and Storage
Plant and Maintain trees to naturally sequester carbon

46. Fighting Global Climate Change
Adaptation:
Rising sea levels and coastal populations
Move inland
Construct dikes and levees
Adapt to shifting agricultural zones

47. Fighting Global Climate Change
Kyoto Protocol
Legally binding
Provides operational rules on reducing greenhouse gases
192 countries have signed it!- NOT the US