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Download Lecture 10/26 Biodiversity
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Announcements • Exam 2 November 9th • Extra credit opportunity: Friday 11 – 2, Oct. 29, Bring a bag of recyclables - cans, bottles separated from paper to Library courtyard (Can also bring old cellphones, clothes) – Spend 15-20 minutes getting educated about how to recycle - right now all our recycling is being thrown away because it is contaminated with garbage! – Sign in and get verification that you participated – Write 1 page summary and reaction, for 25 pts Solutions to the Human Pop Problem • Slow population growth • Minimize resource use per person (lifestyle, technology) • Sustainable Society Ex. Harvesting wood at the rate the forest grows 5 cords of firewood/yr. from a forest that produces 5 or more cords/yr. Ex. Annual consumption of clean water = annual supply • Harvests of wild species = growth rates • Output of pollution that does not exceed capacity of environment to absorb pollutants Ex of Unsustainable actions • Burning of fossil fuels • Over-harvesting of wild species • Exceeding earth's capacity to filter pollution • Current human population growth Which of the following would reduce your ecological footprint? 1. Using less electricity 2. Eating little to no meat 3. Walking instead of driving 4. Using energy efficient technology 5. All of the above If the earth was divided evenly among everyone, the average ecological footprint would be 4.5 acres/person. As the population increases, the average size of the ecological footprint will do which of the following? 1. Stay the same 2. Increase 3. Decrease Biodiversity: Values, Threats, Solutions I. II. III. IV. V. Values of Biodiversity Threats to Biodiversity Causes of Current Mass Extinction Saving Biodiversity Environmental Conservation Biodiversity – a measure of biological diversity It includes • # of species • genetic diversity within species • # of species interactions (predation, etc.) • # habitat types, ecosystems, etc. How many species are there? • There are 1.5 million named species. • Possibly 5 – 30 million species on Earth Biodiversity is not evenly distributed • Places of greater diversity called “hot spots” – tend to be in tropical or Mediterranean climates, on islands, coastlines or mountains I. Value of Biodiversity Why care about other species and ecosystems? 1. Ecological Value • Species or ecosystems provide food, shelter, services for other species • Species are interdependent 2. Economic Value • Wild species or ecosystems help us make or save money – Medicine, wood – Filtering pollution, flood control – Filtering pollution, flood control – Recreation, tourism is worth many billions of dollars. • Ex. Mountain Gorilla - Economic value if captured, sold or killed - one time sale - not sustainable - Economic value for tourism - worth millions of $$ - may be sustainable "Both sides recognized that . . . through tourism gorillas were a great economic asset to the country." 3. Amenity Value • Species or ecosystem improves life in a nonmaterial way such as beauty, curiosity, etc. 4. Intrinsic Value • Species of ecosystem has value to itself • Has the right to exist The Madagascar periwinkle plant used to treat leukemia is best defined as having 1. 2. 3. 4. Ecological Value Economic Value Aesthetic Value Intrinsic Value II. Threats to Biodiversity • Extinction is natural process • 99% of all species are extinct • Natural background rate: 1-10 species / year Mass Extinction Events • Over 50% of species are lost Permian extinction K-T extinction http://www.earth.rochester. edu/ees207/Mass_Ext/higg ins_mass2.html • K-T Extinction: 65 mya • 85% of all species living at that time went extinct, including dinosaurs • Recovery – it takes 10 -100 million years for # of species to return to the pre-extinction level Ammonite T. Rex Mosasaur Extinction Rates today • Human actions are causing species to go extinct • Estimates vary – Low: 1 species per day = 365 / year – High: 30,000 species / year Passenger Pigeons Great Auk Sea Mink Eskimo Curlew We are in the 6th Mass Extinction Event • 1/3 to 2/3 of all current species could be extinct by 2050.
