1. Biodiversity

2. Biodiversity  The variety of life in an ecosystem.

3. Biodiversity increases as you near the equator

4. 3 most diverse biomes:  Coral Reef  Tropical Rainforest  Wetlands Marsh

5. Why is Biodiversity important?  Beautiful and scenic  Good for our health and an ecosystem’s health  (diet, medicines, and disease prevention) https:// www.y outube.com/w atch?v =GK_v RtHJZ u4

6. Loss of biodiversity

7. Extinct species  A species once present on Earth but has died out

8. Endangered species  A species in danger of becoming extinct. http://webecoist.com/2008/11/03/strange-rare-bizarre-endangered-flowers-plants-and-trees/

9. Threatened species  A species likely to become endangered in the near future.

10. What causes the loss of biodiversity? “HIPPO”  Habitat Loss  Invasive Species  Poaching  Pollution  Over population by humans

11. 1. Habitat Loss  Deforestation  Slash and burn  Makes soil temporarily more fertile for farming  But rain forests have nutrient poor soil.

12. Negative Effects of Deforestation  Loss of habitat – crowds out species  Increases levels of CO 2 – contributing to global warming

13. Encroachment  Slowly moving into a species’ habitat  Examples  Road building & farming and housing development http://www.youtu be.com/watch?v= hllU9NEcJyg

14. 2. Invasive Species  Species that are introduced into an environment they are not originally from  Synonyms for exotic: alien, feral, invasive, introduced http://abcnews.go.com/US /3000-invasive-goldfish- threatening-colorado-lake- ecosystem/story?id=3013 4445

15. Cane Toads  Released on purpose to kill cane beetles  Skin contains deadly toxins  Practically no predators  101 have turned into 200 million over 70 years http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_vs._Australia

16. Fire Ants  Stowed away on ship to Alabama  Sting feels like burn  Kills native insects

17. Killer Bees  More aggressive honey bees  Escaped from lab in Brazil  Kills native bee species

19. Non-harmful invasive species  Wheat  Rice  Dogs  Cats  Horses  Pigs  Cows  Goats

20. How do they arrive?

21. Invasive species in FL A Burmese python attempted to eat an alligator

22. http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/enter

23. What’s the problem?  Crowd out native species  No predators  Decreases biodiversity

24. 3. Poaching  Illegal hunting (killing) OR  Illegally removing a species from its habitat

25. Poached Species  Big Cats – Fur  Elephants – Ivory  Rhinoceros – Horns  Orangutans – Pets  Macaws – Pets “In 2005 there were nearly 88,000 mammals, 1.3 million reptiles and 203 million fish imported illegally into the United States.” -Reuters

26. Poaching http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=7513626

27. 4. Pollution  Water Pollution  Air Pollution  Ground Pollution

28. Water Pollution  Pesticides  Fertilizers  Mercury

29. Pesticide Use  Pesticide= chemicals used to kill a pest (rodent, insect, fungus, etc.)  Runoff with rainwater puts it into local water systems.  Disrupts aquatic food chains

30. DDT  Pesticide used to kill mosquitoes  Blamed for decline in bird of prey populations  Fish in polluted water eaten by birds  Travels up the food chain  Top predators (eagles, peregrine falcons) affected most

31.  These birds lay eggs with thin shells  U.S. banned DDT in 1972  DDT still used in tropical locations to fight malaria  Some oppose ban due to DDT’s ability to fight malaria

32. Fertilizer Use  Runoff into lakes  Causes rapid algae growth (algae bloom)

33.  Algae blocks sunlight and….  Plants die (less oxygen)  Decomposers break down dead plants (& use up oxygen)  No oxygen available to other animals and they “suffocate”

34. Phytoplankton Bloom

35. Mercury  Mercury released into the air when burned, and mixes with rainfall to get into the water.  Found in high quantities in fish  Can damage nervous and reproductive systems (Pregnant women and young kids at highest risk)

36. Hatters used mercury to shape felt hats and often were poisoned. “Mad as a Hatter” references this.

37. Mercury can accumulate in the food chain.

39.  Mercury is often combined with other metals for fillings (ADA says this is safe)

40. Air Pollution  Pollutants released into air usually from burning fossil fuels

41. Air Pollution causes…  Global warming  Ozone depletion  Acid Rain  Carbon Monoxide poisoning

42. Ground Pollution  Soil becomes polluted when air pollutants drift to the ground or when water leaves pollutants behind as it flows through the soil.

44. 5. Over Population of Humans

45. Population numbers http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_on_global_population_growth

46. Overpopulation  As more humans are added to our planet, the demand for natural resources (for energy, food and shelter) increases and more land is cleared for development.

48. http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=11

49. Review 1. 1.What is biodiversity? 2. 2.Why is biodiversity important in an ecosystem? 3. 3.What five actions cause a loss of biodiversity? (HIPPO- spell them out) 4. 4.Think about it- What could humans do to reduce the loss of biodiversity? Describe at least two ways humans could help protect biodiversity.