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9 Conservation of Species and Habitats PowerPoint® Slides prepared Stephen Turnbull Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-1 Housekeeping Items • How’s everyone? Thanks to Chelsea for her help last week. • How was Jeff’s talk? • What about Robert Wager, and the segment from the film, “Deconstructing Supper”? • The assignment which you did not receive, but which I resent by e-mail, will be due on October 16th. It will take the place of the mid-term. However, there is a handful of people who may choose to do the mid-term instead. • Does anyone know what the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is? It released its 5th assessment report on the 27th, with more detailed reports to follow. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada Upon successfully completing this chapter, you will be able to • Characterize the scope and value of biodiversity on Earth • Describe ways to measure biodiversity • Evaluate the primary causes of biodiversity loss • Specify the benefits and challenges of conserving habitat and the role of habitat fragmentation • Contrast in situ and ex situ conservation approaches • Compare and contrast traditional and innovative conservation efforts • Outline reasons for setting aside parks, reserves, and other protected areas Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-3 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-4 Central Case: Saving the Polar Bear: What Will it Take? • “There will be no polar ice by 2060. Somewhere along that path, the polar bear drops out.” • Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) – for political reasons the polar bear was not be listed as a “threatened” species, though in the U.S. they are • Polar bears are coming into contact and interbreeding with other types of bears • Polar bears are appearing more frequently in human settlements • Traditional Inuit hunting practices are being affected by the loss of sea ice, a process for which they are not responsible • What will it take to save the polar bear? Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-5 Our Planet of Life Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-6 Biodiversity encompasses several levels • Biodiversity = sum total of all organisms in an area at whatever scale, including - Ecosystem diversity - Species diversity - Genetic diversity Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-7 Biodiversity encompasses several levels (cont’d) • Species Diversity = the number or variety of species in the world or in a particular region - Species richness = the number of species - Evenness or relative abundance = extent to which numbers of individuals of different species are equal or skewed - Speciation generates new species and adds to species richness - Extinction reduces species richness Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-8 Biodiversity encompasses several levels (cont’d) • Species Diversity - Immigration is the inmigration of a species to an area - Emigration is the outmigration of a species from an area - Extirpation is the local extinction of a species Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-9 Biodiversity encompasses several levels (cont’d) • Genetic Diversity - All species consist of individuals that vary genetically from one another to some degree (this is as much true for humans as it is for other species) - Encompasses the varieties in DNA among individuals within species and populations - The raw material for adaptation to local conditions, though some species can adapt much more quickly (such as the peppered moth) Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-10 Peppered Moth Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada Biodiversity encompasses several levels (cont’d) • Genetic Diversity - Populations with low genetic diversity are vulnerable - Inbreeding depression = genetically similar parents mate and produce inferior offspring (e.g. certain offspring of overly inbred royal families) - Genetic bottleneck = limited variety of genetic material is available to be passed along by the small number of surviving individuals to their descendants Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-12 Biodiversity encompasses several levels (cont’d) • Ecosystem diversity = the number and variety of ecosystems • Also encompasses differing communities and habitats • Rapid vegetation change and varying landscapes within an ecosystem promote higher levels of biodiversity • Ecotones = where different types of habitats intermix Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-13 Some groups hold more species than others • Insects predominate over all other life-forms – hence a lack of ‘eveness’ - 40% of all insects are beetles • Groups accumulate species by - Adaptive radiation - Allopatric speciation - Low rates of extinction Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-14 Insects outnumber all other species Mammals= 2.7-03% Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-15 Measuring biodiversity is not easy • Precise quantitative measurements are difficult • About 1.8 million species but likely higher • Incomplete for several reasons - Some areas of Earth little explored - Many species are tiny and overlooked - Many organisms are difficult to identify Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-16 Biodiversity is unevenly distributed on the planet • Latitudinal gradient = species richness increases towards the equator • Plant productivity and climate stability play key roles Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-17 Latitudinal gradient has many causes © 2010 Pearson Education Canada Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. 9-18 Biodiversity Loss and Species Extinction Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-19 Biodiversity loss and species extinction • Canadian Species at Risk Act uses categorizes: - Extinction = occurs when the last member of a species dies and the species ceases to exist - Extirpation = the disappearance of a particular population from a given area, but not the entire species globally - Endangered = species in imminent danger of becoming extirpated or extinct - Threatened = species likely to become endangered in the near future Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-20 Extinction and extirpation occur naturally • Paleontologists estimate 99% of all species that ever lived are now extinct • Background rate of extinction = natural extinctions for a variety of reasons • 1 species out of 1,000 mammal and marine species would go extinct every 1,000 to 10,000 years - 1 extinction per 1 to 10 million species for mammals and marine species Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-21 Extinction and extirpation occur naturally (cont’d) • Earth has experienced five previous mass extinction episodes • In the past 440 million years, mass extinctions have eliminated at least 50% of all species • Today’s mass extinction is caused by humans and humans will suffer as a result of it Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-22 Some species are more vulnerable to extinction than others • In general, extinction occurs when environmental conditions change so severely that a species cannot adapt to the change • Vulnerable = species that are of particular concern because of characteristics that make them particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-23 Humans may have started the sixth mass extinction Extinctions followed human arrival on islands and continents Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-24 Humans may have started the sixth mass extinction (cont’d) • Global extinction rate is 100 to 1000 times greater than background rate • The Red List = an updated list of species facing high risks of extinctions - 23% of mammal species - 12% of bird species - 17% to 75% of all other species • Extinction is only part of the story of biodiversity loss, the larger part of the story is decline in population sizes Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-25 Endangered Species Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada Humans may have started the sixth mass extinction (cont’d) • The Living Planet Index quantifies biological degradation - Between 1970 and 2007, the Index fell by 30% Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-27 There are several major causes of biodiversity loss • Reasons for biodiversity losses are multifaceted and factors may interact synergistically • Causes of population decline: - Habitat alteration - Invasive species - Pollution, including pesticides - Overharvesting - Climate change Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-28 There are several major causes of biodiversity loss (cont’d) • Habitat alteration - The greatest cause of biodiversity loss - Farming simplifies communities - Grazing modifies the grassland structure and species composition - Clearing forests removes resources organisms need - Hydroelectric dams turn rivers into reservoirs upstream - Urbanization and suburban sprawl reduce natural communities - A few species (i.e., pigeons, rats) benefit from changing habitats Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-29 Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada There are several major causes of biodiversity loss (cont’d) • Invasive species - Introduction of non-native species to new environments - Accidental: zebra mussels - Deliberate: food crops - Island species are especially vulnerable - Invaders have no natural predators, competitors, or parasites - Cost billions of dollars in economic damage Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-31 There are several major causes of biodiversity loss (cont’d) • Pollution - Harms organisms in many ways - Air pollution degrades forest ecosystems - Water pollution adversely affects fish and amphibians - Agricultural runoff harms terrestrial and aquatic species - The effects of oil and chemical spills on wildlife are dramatic and well known Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-32 There are several major causes of biodiversity loss (cont’d) • Overharvesting - Vulnerable species are large, few in number, long-lived, and have few young (K-selected species) - The Siberian tiger (The 1989 political freedom in Soviet Union brought the freedom to hunt) - Atlantic gray whale has gone extinct - Thousands of sharks killed just for fins - Gorillas killed for their meat Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-33 There are several major causes of biodiversity loss (cont’d) • Climate change - Global impact on habitat and biodiversity - Greenhouse gases modifies global weather patterns and increases the frequency of extreme weather events - Increases stress on populations and forces organisms to shift their geographic ranges - Most animals and plants will not be able to cope Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-34 • Over 2500 amphibian species worldwide are in decline • Some may be lost before they are even discovered • Amphibians are regarded as “biological indicators” • Habitat loss, especially draining of wetlands, is the leading threat to amphibians in Canada - Pollution, fragmentation also problems Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-35 Benefits of Biodiversity Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-36 Biodiversity provides ecosystem services • • • • • • • • • • Provides food, fuel, and fibre Provides shelter and building materials Purifies air and water Detoxifies and decomposes wastes Stabilizes and moderates Earth’s climate Moderates floods, droughts, wind, and temperature extremes Generates and renews soil fertility and cycles nutrients Pollinates plants, including many crops Controls pests and diseases Maintains genetic resources as inputs to crop varieties, livestock breeds, and medicines The annual value of just • Provides cultural and aesthetic benefits 17 ecosystem services = $16 to 54 trillion per • Gives us the means to adapt to change year Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-37 Biodiversity helps maintain ecosystem integrity • Biodiversity increases the stability and resilience of communities and ecosystems - Decreased biodiversity reduces a natural system’s ability to function and provide services to our society • The loss of a species affects ecosystems differently - If the species can be functionally replaced by others, it may make little difference - Extinction of a keystone species may cause other species to decline or disappear • Precautionary principle: “To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering” (Aldo Leopold) Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-38 Biodiversity enhances food security • Genetic diversity within crops is enormously valuable - California’s barley crops annually receive $160 million in disease resistance benefits from Ethiopian strains of barley • Wild strains provide disease resistance and have the ability to grow back year after year without being replanted • New potential food crops are waiting to be used - Serendipity berry produces a sweetener 3,000 times sweeter than sugar Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-39 Biodiversity provides drugs and medicines • Each year pharmaceutical products owing their origin to wild species generate up to $150 billion in sales Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-40 weighing the issues How Best to Conserve Biodiversity? •Most people view national parks and ecotourism as excellent ways to help keep ecological systems intact. Yet the golden toad went extinct despite living within a reserve established to protect it, and climate change does not pay attention to park boundaries. •What lesson can we learn from this about the conservation of biodiversity? Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-41 Biodiversity provides additonal economic benefits • Ecotourism is particularly beneficial in developing and developed countries alike - Costa Rica: rainforests - Australia: Great Barrier Reef - Belize: reefs, caves, and rainforests • Incentive to preserve natural areas and reduce impacts on the landscape and on native species • However, too many visitors can degrade the outdoor experience and disturb wildlife Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-42 People value and seek out connections with nature • Biophilia = connections that humans subconsciously seek with life - Our affinity for parks and wildlife - Keeping of pets - High value of real estate with views of natural lands • Nature deficit disorder = alienation from the natural environment - May be behind the emotional and physical problems of the young Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-43 Approaches to Conservation Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-44 Conservation biology addresses habitat degradation and species loss • Conservation biology = understanding the factors, forces, and processes that influence the loss and protection, and restoration of biological diversity • Conservation biologists choose questions and pursue research with the aim of developing solutions to the problems of habitat degradation and species loss - Applied and goal-orientated science, with implicit values and ethical standards Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-45 Conservation biology arose in response to biodiversity loss Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-46 Conservation biology addresses habitat degradation and species loss (cont’d) • Use field data, lab data, theory, and experiments to study impacts of humans on other organisms • Design, test, and implement ways to mitigate impacts • Minimum viable population = how small a population can become before it runs into problems • Organisms distributed as a network of subpopulations - Small populations are most vulnerable to extinction and need special attention Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-47 Island biogeography can help address habitat fragmentation • Equilibrium theory of island biogeography = explains how species come to be distributed among oceanic islands - Also applies to “habitat islands” – patches of one habitat type isolated within a “sea” of others - Explains how the number of species on an island results from an equilibrium between immigration and extirpation - Predicts an island’s species richness based on the island’s size and distance from the mainland Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-48 Island biogeography can help address habitat fragmentation (cont’d) • Species richness results from island size and distance • Fewer species colonize an island far from the mainland • Large islands have higher immigration rates • Large islands have lower extinction rates Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-49 Island biogeography can help address habitat fragmentation (cont’d) • Species-area curves - Large islands contain more species than small islands - They are easier to find and have lower extinction rates - They possess more habitats Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-50 Island biogeography can help address habitat fragmentation (cont’d) • Habitat fragmentation - Forests are fragmented by roads and logging - Small forest fragments lose diversity fastest - Starting with large species - Fragmentation is one of the prime threats to biodiversity Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-51 Captive breeding and cloning are single-species approaches • Captive breeding – individuals are bred and raised with the intent of reintroducing them into the wild - Zoos and botanical gardens • Some reintroductions require international cooperation - Whooping cranes in Wood Buffalo Park (Canada) and Gulf coast of Texas (U.S.) • Some habitat is so fragmented, a species cannot survive once reintroduced Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-52 Captive breeding and cloning are singlespecies approaches (cont’d) • Cloning – a technique to create more individuals and save species from extinction - Most biologists agree that these efforts are not adequate to recreate the lost biodiversity • Even if cloning can succeed, ample habitat and protection in the wild are needed to save species Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-53 Some species act as “umbrellas” to protect communities • Conservation biologists use particular umbrella species (e.g. tigers, bears, and elephants) as tools to conserve communities and ecosystems - helps protect less-charismatic animals • Flagship species – large and charismatic species used as spearheads for biodiversity conservation - The World Wildlife Fund’s panda bear • Some organizations are moving beyond the single species approach to focus on whole landscapes Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-54 Conservation efforts are both national and international • 2002: Species at Risk Act stresses cooperation with landowners and governments to avoid hostility - Some say SARA is too weak • COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) = expert committee that reports the status of species at risk • 1973: UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) – protects endangered species by banning international transport of their body parts Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-55 Hot spots highlight areas of high biodiversity • Biodiversity hotspots – prioritizes regions most important globally for biodiversity - Support a great number of endemic species = species found nowhere else in the world - The area must have at least 1500 endemic plant species (0.5% of the world total) - It must have lost 70% of its habitat due to human impact Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-56 Hot spots highlight areas of high biodiversity (cont’d) There are 34 global biodiversity hotspots 2.3% of the planet’s land surface contains 50% of the world’s plant species and 42% of all terrestrial vertebrate species Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-57 Community- based conservation is increasingly popular • Community-based conservation = conservation biologists actively engage local people in protecting land and wildlife - Protecting land deprives people access to resources - Can guarantee that these resources will not be used up or sold to foreign corporations and can instead be sustainably managed Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-58 Innovative economic strategies are being employed • Debt-for-nature swap = a conservation organization pays off a portion of a developing country’s international debt - In exchange for a promise by the country to set aside reserves - Fund environmental education, and - Better manage protected areas • Conservation concession = conservation organizations pay nations to conserve, and not sell, resources Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-59 Parks and Reserves Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-60 Why do we create parks and reserves? • Enormous, beautiful, or unusual features inspire people to protect them – monumentalism • Protected areas offer recreational value to tourists, hikers, fishers, hunters, and others • Protected areas offer utilitarian benefits and ecosystem services • Parks make use of sites lacking economically valuable material resources or that are hard to develop Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-61 Why do we create parks and reserves (cont’d) ? • There are 43 national parks in Canada • Many sites in a parks system also serve as wildlife refuges • Some find hunting in parks objectionable - Hunters often in forefront of conservation - Ducks Unlimited Canada Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-62 Why do we create parks and reserves (cont’d) ? • Not everyone supports land set-asides • Wise-use movement – dedicated to protecting private property rights; opposing government regulation; transferring federal lands to state, local, or private hands; promoting motorized recreation on public lands - Farmers, ranchers, trappers, mineral prospectors, as well as groups representing industries that extract timber, mineral, and fossil fuels. Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-63 Parks and reserves are increasing internationally • Many nations have established national park systems and are benefiting from ecotourism • Parks in developing countries do not always receive the funding, legal support, or enforcement support they need to manage resources • Many of the world’s protected areas are merely paper parks - Costa Rican parks initially received little funding Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-64 Parks and reserves are increasing internationally (cont’d) • World Heritage Sites – under national sovereignty but are designated or partly managed internationally by the United nations • Biosphere reserves – tracts of land with exceptional biodiversity that couple preservation with sustainable development to benefit local people - Core area - Buffer zone - Outer transitional one Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-65 Conclusion • Loss of biodiversity threatens to result in a mass extinction • Primary causes of biodiversity loss are: - Habitat alteration, invasive species, pollution, overharvesting of biotic resources, and climate change • Human society cannot function without biodiversity’s pragmatic benefits • Science can help save species, preserve habitats, restore populations, and keep natural ecosystems intact Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-66 QUESTION: Review Which level is NOT included in the concept of biodiversity? a) b) c) d) Species Genetics Ecosystems All of the above are included in this concept Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-67 QUESTION: Review What happens when a species experiences “inbreeding depression”? a) The species becomes too large for the resource base b) Genetically similar parents mate and produce inferior offspring c) Genetically similar parents mate and produce superior offspring d) The number and variety of species increases Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-68 QUESTION: Review According to the concept of “latitudinal gradient,” which of the following happens? a) b) c) d) Species richness increases towards the equator Species richness decreases towards the equator Species richness decreases over time Countries like Canada have many more species than expected Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-69 QUESTION: Review Which of the following is the major cause of extinction? a) b) c) d) Invasive species Pollution Habitat loss Overharvesting Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-70 QUESTION: Review Biodiversity does all of the following, except… a) b) c) d) Provide ecosystem services Decrease food security Maintain ecosystem function Provide aesthetic benefits Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-71 QUESTION: Review According to the theory of island biogeography, which island would have the highest species richness? a) b) c) d) A large island, close to the mainland A large island, far from the mainland A small island, close to the mainland A small island, far from the mainland Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-72 QUESTION: Review A “biodiversity hotspot” is…? a) An area located near the equator b) An area that supports few, but large, species c) An area that contains naturally high numbers of people d) An area that contains a large number of endemic species Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-73 QUESTION: Interpreting Graphs and Data Where would ecotourists go to view the maximum species richness on these islands? a) b) c) d) Redonda Montserrat Puerto Rico Hispaniola Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. © 2010 Pearson Education Canada 9-74