Download - Catalyst

TESC 211
The Science of Environmental Sustainability
Autumn 2011UWT
A t a 1% annual extinction rate:
• within a century >50% of all species would be lost
100
90
% Species
80
70
60
50
40
30
0
20
40
60
80
100
Years
It would take 200, 000 human generations to recover these
species.
• 20 times longer than humans have occupied the planet
What speeds up the rate of extinctions?
The most significant causes of extinctions can be summarized by
the acronym HIPPCO:
• Habitat
• destruction, degradation and fragmentation
•12.5% of bird species threatened by habitat loss
HIPPCO:
• Invasive species
• deliberately introduced
• accidently introduced
HIPPCO:
• Invasive species
• 40% of species listed as endangered in the US are on
the list because of threats from introduced species
• 90% of species listed as endangered in Hawaii are on the
list because of threats from introduced species
Why are the Hawaiian islands so vulnerable?
What speeds up the rate of extinctions?
HIPPCO:
• Population
• increased demand on ecosystem services
• more land diverted to human uses
“SEVEN billion people will call planet Earth home from this Monday
(11/31/2011). That is the projected date at which the number of people
alive will pass the seven-billion milestone, according to a landmark
study of global population pressures released overnight by the UN
Population Fund.”
Mark Kenny, The Advertiser 10/27/2011
HIPPCO:
Population
Danica Camacho, the Philippines' symbolic seven billionth baby
HIPPCO:
Pollution
• Pesticides kill ~20% of honey bee colonies
• responsible for pollinate 1/3rd of US food crops
Pollutants can bioaccumulate to tens
of millions of times their initial
concentration.
HIPPCO:
• Climate change
•There is a general consensus amongst the international
community that the Earth is warming.
“Richard Muller, Koch brothers-funded scientist, declares global
warming is real” Nina Mandell, New York Daily News (11/31/2011)
•HIPPCO:
• Climate change
•Species which are dependent upon sea ice (polar bears,
penguins) especially vulnerable.
• Polar bears hunt seals on sea ice through out winter
• Estimated 30-35% decrease in polar bear population by
2050
•10 out of 17 species of penguins threatened because of
rising temperatures
•HIPPCO:
• Climate change
•Species which are dependent upon sea ice (polar bears,
penguins) especially vulnerable.
• Polar bears hunt seals on sea ice through out winter
• Estimated 30-35% decrease in polar bear population by
2050
•10 out of 17 species of penguins threatened because of
rising temperatures
•HIPPCO:
• Over exploitation
• animals captured for body parts or the pet trade.
• harvesting for food above MSY
• harvesting for ornamental plants
• unsustainable forestry practices
How can we reduce extinctions from human causes?