Download Endangered Species Lecture ESCI19

Biodiversity Crisis
Human Impacts
!  Biodiversity has 3 main components:
!  The diversity of ecosystems.
!  The variety of species that make up the
biological community of any ecosystem
!  The genetic variation within each species.
Where are
the species
going?
HIPPO
!  Habitat
Destruction
!  Invasive Species
!  Pollution
!  Population (Over)
!  Overexploitation
Habitat Destruction
!  Human alteration of habitat
! Poses the single greatest threat
to biodiversity throughout the
biosphere.
Introduced/Invasive Species
!  Are those that humans intentionally or
accidentally move from the species’ native
locations to new geographic regions.
!  The Second greatest risk to biodiversity
!  Harmful to natives
!  Can cause rapid extinctions
Some examples: Non-Native Grasses, The European
Starling
Pollution
!  Humans have added to ecosystems new
toxic materials, which often cannot be
degraded by microorganisms.
!  These toxins get ingested by other plants
and animals
Population
!  All of our environmental problems are the result of
and greatly magnified by out of control population
growth
Overexploitation of Wildlife
! Taking too much