1. What does biodiversity do??

2. 1. Diversity increases productivity and stability

3. Diversity and Productivity in a Long-Term Grassland Experiment Tilman, et al Science
Dotted line is biomass in a monoculture of the most productive species. Higher productivity than this, at higher richness values, means niche complementarity or positive effects must be occurring.
So, many random assemblages of multiple species have biomass above that of the most abundant monoculture.
And we might expect greater niche complementarity in natural systems…

4. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Current Knowledge and Future Challenges. Loreau, et al Science 294:
As richness increases, productivity become less variable (more stable).

5. But what else does biodiversity do??

6. 2) Biodiversity improves ecosystem services
Estimates of various Ecosystem Services - $U.S. trillions
Ecosystem services
Value (trillion $US)
Soil formation
17.1
Recreation
3.0
Nutrient cycling
2.3
Water regulation and supply
Climate regulation (temperature and precipitation)
1.8
Habitat
1.4
Flood and storm protection
1.1
Food and raw materials production
0.8
Genetic resources
Atmospheric gas balance
0.7
Pollination
0.4
All other services
1.6
Total value of ecosystem services
33.3
Source: Adapted from R. Costanza et al., “The Value of the World’s Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital,” Nature, Vol. 387 (1997), p. 256, Table 2.
TOTAL GLOBAL GNP (1997) = 18 trillion.

7. GLOBAL GDP 2011: $75 trillion

8. Based on different criteria, this is the ecosystem value we lost in that 14 year span.
GLOBAL GDP 2011: $75 trillion

9. 3) Aesthetics and Inspiration: Biodiversity enriches our cultures

10. 3) Aesthetics and Inspiration: Biodiversity enriches our cultures

11. 4) Fights Disease Lyme Disease: - fragmentation reduces patch size
- abundance of predators like fox declined
- white-footed mice (host of Borrela burgdorferi bacterium) increase.
- increase host density, increase infection rate of ticks.

12. High Relative Abundance of Hosts Low Relative Abundance of Hosts
West Nile Virus
Low Diversity:
High Relative Abundance of Hosts
High Diversity:
Low Relative Abundance of Hosts
Transmission rates to humans are higher in less diverse systems
Swaddle and Carlos, PLoS one 3:e2488

13. Intrinsic Value Utilitarian Why Preserve Diversity/Nature?
Ecosystem Services?

14. Biodiversity: Patterns and Processes
The Species-Area Relationship
1. The pattern

15. "species - area relationship"

17. "species - area relationship"
Breedings Birds - North Am.

18. "species - area relationship"
Number of Bat Species log(N)
Island Area log(square km)

20. Biodiversity: Patterns and Processes
The Species-Area Relationship
1. The pattern
2. The Theory of Island Biogeography

21. MacArthur and Wilson (1967) THEORY OF ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY
Edward O. Wilson
Prof. Emer., Harvard
Robert MacArthur

22. MacArthur and Wilson (1967)
THEORY OF ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY
- Species Richness is a balance between
COLONIZATION (adds species)
and
EXTINCTION (subtracts species)

23. - Colonization Increases with Area - larger target - more habitats
Mainland

24. confirmation: greater immigration rate on larger islands

25. - Colonization Increases with Area
- larger target
- more habitats

26. - Colonization Increases with Area
- larger target
- more habitats
- Extinction Decreases with Area
- more food means larger populations that are less likely to bounce to a size of "0" (extinction)

27. - Extinction Decreases with Area
Reduced Turnover on larger islands
Wright, S.J Density compensation in island avifaunas. Oecologia 45:    
Wright, S. J How isolation affects rates of turnover of species on islands. Oikos 44:
   

29. COL - large
RATE
EXT - small
COL - small
EXT - large
SMALL
LARGE
species richness

30. - Colonization Decreases with Distance - fewer species can reach
Mainland

31. - Colonization Decreases with Distance - fewer species can reach
saturation is the % of species found on a patch of mainland that size

32. - Extinction Increases with Distance
- recolonization less likely at distance
Mainland
"Rescue Effect"

33. - Extinction Increases with Distance
- recolonization less likely at distance
Wright, S.J Density compensation in island avifaunas. Oecologia 45:    
Wright, S. J How isolation affects rates of turnover of species on islands. Oikos 44:

34. COL - close
RATE
EXT - far
COL - far
EXT - close
far
close
species richness

36. equilibria Equilbrium Island Biogeography & Turnover
Turnover on "Landbridge" islands (California Channel Islands)
Island
Area km2
Distance km
Bird Spp. 1917
Bird Spp. 1968
Extinctions
Human Introd.
Immigrations
Turnover %
Los Coronados
2.6 13 11 4 36
San Nicholas 57 98 6 2 50
San Clemente
145 79 28 24 9 1 25
Santa Catalina
194 32 30 34
Santa Barbara 61 10 7 3 62
San Miguel 42 15 8 46
Santa Rosa
218 44 14
Santa Cruz
249 31 37 5 17
Anacapa
2.9 21
Diamond, J.M Avifaunal equilibria and species turnover rates on the Channel Islands of California. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci 64:   Jones, H.L. and Diamond, J.M Short-time-base studies of turnover in breeding bird populations on the Channel Islands of California. Condore 73: [+]    
equilibria

37. equilibria and turnover
Equilbrium Island Biogeography & Turnover
Turnover on "Landbridge" islands (California Channel Islands)
Island
Area km2
Distance km
Bird Spp. 1917
Bird Spp. 1968
Extinctions
Human Introd.
Immigrations
Turnover %
Los Coronados
2.6 13 11 4 36
San Nicholas 57 98 6 2 50
San Clemente
145 79 28 24 9 1 25
Santa Catalina
194 32 30 34
Santa Barbara 61 10 7 3 62
San Miguel 42 15 8 46
Santa Rosa
218 44 14
Santa Cruz
249 31 37 5 17
Anacapa
2.9 21
Diamond, J.M Avifaunal equilibria and species turnover rates on the Channel Islands of California. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci 64:   Jones, H.L. and Diamond, J.M Short-time-base studies of turnover in breeding bird populations on the Channel Islands of California. Condore 73: [+]    

39. Dramatic evidence that, although the communities had recovered in terms of species richness, the composition was very different with typically about 80% of the species turning over.

40. Biodiversity: Patterns and Processes
The Species-Area Relationship
1. The pattern
2. The Theory of Island Biogeography
3. Why is this important? Fragmentation

41. - all habitats except the atmosphere are islands.
- Why is this important?
- all habitats except the atmosphere are islands.
Continents -
big islands

42. Minnesota: Land O'Lakes

43. "Sky Islands"
High elevation habitats separated by inhospitable (desert) habitat.

44. - Why is this important?
- all habitats except the atmosphere are islands.
- human activity fragments a landscape, making lots of islands, too.

53. Bolivia has lost 50% of its rainforest in last 30 years

54. Even Costa Rica has lost 95% of its old growth forest that is outside of national parks...