1. Chapter 56: Conservation Biology and Global Change

2. Biodiversity
Conservation biology is a goal-oriented science that seeks to counter the biodiversity crisis, the current rapid decrease in Earth’s variety of life.
Extinction is a natural phenomenon that has been occurring since life evolved on earth.
The current ______________ of extinction is what underlies the biodiversity crisis.
A high rate of species extinction is being caused by ______________________.

3. The three levels of biodiversity:

4. The four major threats to biodiversity:
____________________________
Human alteration of habitat is the single greatest threat to biodiversity
____________________________: invasive/nonnative/exotic species
____________________________: harvest wild plants/animals
____________________________: alter climate, atmosphere, & ecological systems  reduce Earth’s capacity to sustain life

5. Landscape conservation
_________________________________________ can promote dispersal if habitats are fragmented

6. Biodiversity Hot Spots

7. Mississippi basin dead zone (red)
Eutrophication
Excess ___________________________ from agriculture enters aquatic ecosystems
_____________ and bacteria bloom/die  reduce ________________  fish and invertebrates die
Mississippi basin dead zone (red)

8. Acid Precipitation
Rain, snow, or fog with a pH less than _________
Caused by burning of wood & fossil fuels  release ___________ oxides and _____________ oxides
React with water in the atmosphere to produce sulfuric and nitric acids

9. The effects of acid precipitation on a forest

10. Acid rain damage to statuary, 1908 & 1968

11. Biological Magnification
Toxins become more ____________________ in successive trophic levels of a food web
Toxins can’t be broken down & ______________ in concentration up the food chain
Problem: _____________ in fish; DDT, lead, PCBs

12. Human activities are depleting the atmospheric ozone
Life on earth is protected from the damaging affects of ultraviolet radiation (UV) by a layer of ______, or __________________________.
Chlorine-containing compounds erode the ozone layer

13. Greenhouse Effect
Greenhouse Effect: absorption of heat the Earth experiences due to certain greenhouse gases
__________and _____________________ absorb infrared radiation and re-reflect back toward Earth
The Earth needs this heat, but too much could be disastrous.

14. Rising atmospheric CO2
Since the Industrial Revolution, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased greatly as a result of ____________________________.

15. Global Climate Change (“Global Warming”)
Studies predict a doubling of CO2 in the atmosphere will cause a 3ºC increase in the average temperature of Earth.
Rising temperatures could cause polar ice cap melting, which could flood coastal areas.
Approach: stabilize ________________________ and ________________________

16. Global Climate Change Snow and rainfall patterns __________________
Floods, drought, intense rainfall, more frequent and severe heat waves

17. NASA Video Clip: Daily Arctic Sea Ice Changes