1. Human Impact on Biodiversity

2. Biodiversity One reason why humans need to change our way of thinking about the earth and its resources is the loss of biodiversity. Biodiversity is…. the assortment, or variety, of living things in an ecosystem. Biodiversity needs to be maintained because it is key to the discovery of potential medicines and new species Ex. Alaska has more biodiversity than Missouri

3. Biodiversity Why does biodiversity matter? Biodiversity is one of the Earth’s greatest resources. Species of many kinds have provided us with food, industrial products, and medicines. Ex: painkillers, antibiotics, heart drugs, antidepressants and anticancer drugs.

4. How do humans reduce biodiversity? Human activity can reduce biodiversity by: 1.Altering habitats 2.Hunting species to extinction 3.Introducing toxins into food webs 4.Introducing foreign species to new environments.

5. Threats to Biodiversity- Altering Habitats When land is developed natural habitats may be destroyed. This causes the species in the area to: Development may also divide the ecosystems into separate “biological islands”. This is called… Relocate or vanish Habitat Fragmentation

6. Threats to Biodiversity- Altering Habitats How are species living on these “biological islands” affected? Very few species can live in small areas. Species will have smaller populations Be vulnerable to further disturbance, climate change and loss.

7. Biodiversity An example of a biological island would be Central Park in New York city. Central Park, NYC

8. Threats to Biodiversity- Over Hunting Over Hunting for food and other products like horns or body parts has pushed some species to extinction. California red-legged frogCalifornia red-legged frog, now a federally protected endangered species, was over hunted for food Some medicinal plants, such as American ginseng, have also been so enthusiastically collected that it is now very hard to find them in the wild

9. Threats to Biodiversity- Over Hunting What has been done to protect species from extinction? An endangered species list has been generated and laws have been enacted to protect species. Delegates from many countries meet to make these laws at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). However, it is difficult to enforce these laws in remote areas.

10. Some of the Most Endangered Animals 1 Ivory-Billed Woodpecker - A North American bird so endangered it may actually be extinctIvory-Billed Woodpecker 2 Amur Leopard - The world’s rarest cat: Only 40 left in Russia’s Far EastAmur Leopard 3 Javan Rhinoceros - No more than 60 of these swamp-dwelling Asian rhinos existJavan Rhinoceros 4 Greater Bamboo Lemur - Here’s the scarcest of Madagascar’s fast- dwindling lemur speciesGreater Bamboo Lemur 5 Northern Right Whale - Hunted to near extinction, 350 right whales still swim the AtlanticNorthern Right Whale 6 Mountain Gorilla - Their habitat is shrinking, and fewer than 700 remainMountain Gorilla 7 Leatherback Sea Turtle - The population of the world’s largest turtle is dropping at an alarming rateLeatherback Sea Turtle 8 Siberian (or Amur) Tiger - The world’s biggest cat weighs as much as 300 kilos (660 pounds)Siberian (or Amur) Tiger 9 Chinese Giant Salamander - Humans are eating the world’s largest amphibian into extinctionChinese Giant Salamander 10 Hawaiian Monk Seal - Scientists don’t know why this seal’s population keeps decliningHawaiian Monk Seal

11. Threats to Biodiversity-Pollution One of the most serious problems with pollution is biological magnification.

12. Threats to Biodiversity-Pollution What is biological magnification? accumulation of toxins in the food chain. Pollutants can move up the food chain. predators eat contaminated prey pollution accumulates at each stage of the food chain Top consumers, including humans, are most affected Toxins do not break down by natural processes or get eliminated from the body in this process.

13. Threats to Biodiversity-Pollution An example of Biological magnification is in the 1960’s a pesticide named DDT was spread. What did DDT do to organisms? DDT caused fish eating animals like the Osprey, Brown Pelican and the Bald Eagle to have very fragile eggs. Most of the eggs did not survive. Eventually these birds were put on the endangered species list.

14. Threats to Biodiversity-Introduced Species Sometimes a plant or animal may be introduced into a new environment either accidentally or intentionally. An invasive species is….. An introduced species that reproduces rapidly has no natural predators or parasites.

15. Threats to Biodiversity-Introduced Species Species to look out for in Missouri Zebra Mussels Zebra mussels and a related species, quagga mussels, are fingernail- sized black-and-white striped bivalve mollusks native to the Caspian Sea region of Asia. They came to North American waters in international shipping ballast water and were discovered in Lake St. Clair near Detroit in 1988. Asian Longhorned Beetle In recent years, the Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) and other wood-boring beetles have been entering North America in solid wood packing material from Asia. Some of these insects have the potential to become very serious pests of North American forests. Gypsy Moths The gypsy moth was introduced to the East Coast in 1869 and since then has been spreading slowly westward. When it arrives, the gypsy moth will be especially devastating to Missouri forests because one of its favorite foods is oak leaves.

16. Threats to Biodiversity-Introduced Species Species to look out for in Missouri Rusty Crayfish The rusty crayfish is native to parts of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Michigan but has spread to other states or areas where it can cause problems for other animals and plants. Rusty crayfish were probably spread by anglers who transported them for use as fishing bait. Common and Cut-leaved Teasel Like many of our problem weeds, teasel is an exotic plant that is native to Europe. It was introduced to North America, possibly as early as the 1700s, because the prickly stem was used in the textile industry to raise the nap of cloth. Teasel’s unusual—and by some perspectives, attractive— flower heads have led to its use as a horticultural plant, in flower arrangements and in the craft trade.