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CHAPTER 9
BIODIVERSITY
Will the bark of an ordinary
tree in Samoa become a
cure for cancer?
NATURE’S
MEDICINE
CABINET
Do Now
• Why is biodiversity important? Be specific.
• What do we “get” from nature? Be specific
What We Get From Nature
Nature’s Medical
Cabinet
• Medicinal plants provide health care
and income to local communities
•
Medicinal plants worth $100
billion in 2011
•
50% of all prescription drugs
originally derived from plants (e.g.;
aspirin)
•
How many more are left to be
discovered?
Ethnobotany
The study of how different cultures use
the plants in their local environment
“Mother Nature is the ultimate chemist.”
Mamala tree leaves relieve symptoms
of Hepatitis C
Biodiversity
A measure of all of the plant, animal
& microbial species in an area or on Earth
How many species are there?
We don’t really know!
1.8 million species are known, but there could
be ~100 million still to be discovered.
Earth’s Natural Citizens
WHAT IS NATURE WORTH?
What would it cost to buy all of the
ecosystem services we get for free
from nature?
minerals
oxygen
fossil fuels
climate control
water
Approximately
$33,000,000,000,000
erosion control
recreation (parks, etc.)
medicine
biodiversity
80% of Samoa’s tropical oasis of
biodiversity and medical cures has been
lost due to deforestation.
Endemism
Plants and animal species that exist only
at one location on Earth
Biodiversity Hotspots
Regions that contain large numbers
of endemic and threatened species.
Biodiversity Hotspots
Extirpation
• When a species is extinct in one region
but still present elsewhere
• Reintroduction to the extinct region
is possible.
Taxonomic Distribution
of Endangered Species
Endangered Species Act
The 1973 law protecting biodiversity in
the United States
How to Conserve Biodiversity
Single Species Approach
• Focus is on well-known, charismatic species
• Pandas, eagles, gray wolves
• Has led to successful captive breeding programs
• But, what about all the other species that need saving?
Ecosystem Approach
• Focus is much broader target – entire ecosystems
• Preserves all of the species and their interactions
• Emphasis often on biodiversity hotspots
How to Conserve Biodiversity
Debt-For-Nature Swap
Developing nation’s foreign debt paid
by preserving its natural areas
Remember the Mamala tree?
• Also produces prostratin
• Effective in treating HIV
• Has led to successful captive breeding programs
• US firms attempting to produce synthetic version
• Profit-sharing agreement:
• Local Samoans receive 50% of all royalties
from sale of prostatin
“There is a strong link between the health of
forests and the health of humans. If people
understand that a rainforest might contain the
best cures for diseases that plague us, they will
care a whole lot more about saving it.”
-Paul Cox
What do these two chemicals have
in common?
Paclitaxel
Docetaxel
Pacific Yew Tree