APESBellwork 01/03/11

Bellwork: Please write your answer

in your notes

1.What is biodiversity and why is it important?

WELCOME BACK!

Unit 07 – Part 1

BiodiversityChapter 14

Gypsy Moth

Passenger Pigeon

Black Rhinoceros

Manatee

Giant Panda

California Condor

Zebra Mussel

Osprey

Dodo

Northern Spotted Owl

Whooping Crane

Biological Diversity

Biodiversity – The variety of species in a specific area

How would onejustify preservingbiodiversity?

Justifications for Preserving Endangered Species

1. Utilitarian• How species are useful to HUMANS

2. Ecological• How species are necessary to maintain the functions

of ECOSYSTEMS, and the BIOSPHERE3. Aesthetic

• Enhances our lives by their BEAUTY4. Cultural

• Many indigenous people rely on certain organisms for their very survival.

5. Moral• All species have a RIGHT to exist

Importance of Biodiversity

• Interdependence of organisms• Life depends on life

• Stability• Many species and diversity allows for better chances of

survival• Important to people

• Foods• Industrial products• Medicines such as painkillers, antibiotics, heart

medication, anti-depressants, anti-cancer drugs

• Depend on other organisms for oxygen, nutrients• Clothes, Furniture, Beauty…

Loss of Biodiversity• Extinction –

• Disappearance of a species when the last of its members die• 4 Risk Categories – See page 283

• Local Extinction: Occurs when a species disappears from a part of its range

• Global Extinction: Occurs when a species cannot be found anywhere

• Example: Passenger Pigeon (1914)

• IUCN Red List: http://www.iucn.org

• Endangered Species – • Numbers become so low that extinction is

possible

• Examples: Giant Panda, American Whooping Crane, California Condor

• Threatened Species – • Populations decline rapidly and are

likely to become endangered

• Polar Bear http://ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/StartTESS.do

Threats to Biodiversity

HIPPO: 5 major causes of species decline and premature extinction

• Habitat destruction• Invasive Species• Pollution• Population – Human Population growth• Overexploitation – over-consumption of

animal’s resources and/or over-hunting

Threats to Biodiversity

1a. Habitat Loss• The largest threat• The Giant Panda is a prime example

1b. Habitat Fragmentation• Separation of wilderness areas from other wilderness areas

• Increased extinction of local species• Disruption of ecological processes• New opportunities for invasions by introduced or exotic species• Increased risk of fire• Changes in local climate

• Smaller fragments mean less biodiversity• Geographic isolation leads to genetic

isolation• Some organisms need large areas

• for hunting & reproduction

Biotic Effects of Fragmentation

• What does “biotic” mean?• Animals that require large areas in which to graze

can no longer do so – animals starve• Likewise large predators can not obtain enough to

eat in a small spot - animals starve• Migration becomes difficult and species either

starve or get wiped out after events such as fire

Abiotic Effects of Fragmentation

• What does abiotic think?• Climate can change in the areas• Think about the temperature in a forest vs. open

spaces…• Edge Effect – The different conditions along the

boundaries of an ecosystem. as areas become smaller the changes at the edges start to influence the conditions inside.

Threats to Biodiversity

2. Exotic / Invasive / Introduced Species • Exotic/Invasive/Introduced Species -

Species that are not native to a particular area

• People sometimes introduce a new species into an ecosystem

• Can cause problems for native species• Examples: Zebra Mussel, Gypsy Moth

Threats to Biodiversity

3. Pollution = Habitat degradation – Damage to a habitat by pollution

• Types: Air, Water, and Land (We will discuss all of these in GREAT detail in later units)

Mass Extinctions

Research: How many species of different types of organisms died in each event? Include in your SGQs.

Know Major events!

A Sixth Extinction?

Legislation• Lacey Act (1900):

• Passage of the Lacey Act in 1900 was prompted by growing concern about interstate profiteering in illegally taken game. The passenger pigeon was already well on its way to being hunted into extinction, and populations of other bird species were also declining in a number of states.

• Drafted and pushed through Congress by conservation-minded Representative John Lacey of Iowa, the Act made it illegal to transport from one state or territory to another any wild animals or birds killed in violation of state or territorial law. It also banned the importation of injurious wildlife that threatened crop production and horticulture in this country.

• Today, the Lacey Act makes it unlawful to import, export, transport, sell, buy, or possess fish, wildlife, or plants taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any federal, state, foreign, or Native American tribal law, treaty, or regulation.

• Endangered Species Act [ESA] (1973):• protects plants and animals that are listed by the federal government as

"endangered" or "threatened."

• CITES (1973): Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

• CITES is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

The Good News

• Many species have been successfully restored to an abundance

• Success is achieved when the habitat is restored to conditions required by a species

• The conservation of wildlife offers great rewards of long-standing and deep measure to people