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Biodiversity is life
Biodiversity is our life
Benefits of Biodiversity
Preserving biodiversity preserves ecosystem services, and
directly provides things of value to humans.
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Food, fuel, and fiber
Shelter and building materials
Air and water purification
Waste decomposition
Climate stabilization and moderation
Nutrient cycling
Soil fertility
Pollination
Pest control
Genetic resources
The Future of Biodiversity
Key Terms:
Germ plasm
Endangered Species Act
Habitat conservation plan
Biodiversity Treaty
The Future of Biodiversity
Objectives
• List and describe four types of efforts to save
individual species.
• Explain the advantages of protecting entire
ecosystems rather than individual species.
• Describe the main provisions of the
Endangered Species Act.
• Discuss ways in which efforts to protect
endangered species can lead to controversy.
• Describe three examples of world-wide
cooperative efforts to prevent extinctions.
Saving Individual Species
People around the world are using
many methods to preserve individual
species.
They are:
1. Captive Breeding Programs
2. Germ Plasm Banks
3. Zoos and Botanical Gardens
Conservation approaches:
Captive Breeding
Many endangered species are being bred in zoos to
boost populations and reintroduce them into the wild.
• This has worked so far for
the California condor
(in photo, condor hand puppet
feeds chick so it imprints on
birds, not humans).
• This is worthless if there is
not adequate habitat left
in the wild.
Figure 15.17
Captive Breeding Programs
• Habitat loss, poaching, and lead poisoning
brought the California condor to near extinction
(there once were millions of them ranging from
California to Florida).
• In 1986, nine remaining California condors were
captured to begin a captive breeding program.
• By 2002, there were 102 condors in captivity and
58 that had been released back into the wild!
• Another example is the panda, where there are
now more than 1,000 pandas saved as a result of
captive-breeding.
Will the restored populations reproduce and
survive in the wild?
Germ Plasm Banks
• Germ plasm banks store DNA (either
seeds, sperm, eggs, or pure DNA)
from organisms for future use.
• The goal is to preserve the DNA of an
organism until a time in the future
when science is able to recover the
species and reproduce it.
Conservation approaches:
Zoos, Aquariums, Parks, and Gardens
• Living museums of biodiversity
• In some cases, these organizations house
the few remaining members of a species
and might be the species’ last hope for
survival.
• At best only a fraction of the world’s rare
and threatened species can be preserved.
Botanical Gardens
• Around the world, more than
90,000 different plants are
preserved in botanical gardens.
• These can range from
greenhouses to large open
fields of plants.
• As a result, they store protect a
large amount of biodiversity
and can be used for research.
Conservation approaches:
Other Strategies -- Cloning
• Use of molecular techniques to clone species, raise
them in zoos, and reintroduce them to the wild.
• This technology will be worthless if there is not
adequate habitat and protection left for them in
the wild.
Advantages of protecting entire
ecosystems rather than individual
species.
• Most conservationists give priority to
protecting entire ecosystems rather than
individual species.
• By protecting entire ecosystems, more
species may be saved.
• How large does a protected preserve need to
be to maintain a certain number of species?
Conservation approaches:
Umbrella Species
When habitat is preserved to meet the needs of
an “umbrella species,” it helps preserve habitat
for many other species. (Thus, primary species
serve as an “umbrella” for others.)
• Large species with large home ranges (like
tigers and other top predators) are good
umbrella species.
• So are charismatic ones that win public
affection, like the panda.
Conservation approaches:
Biodiversity Hotspots
Biodiversity hotspot – an area that supports a high
number of endemic species (found nowhere else
in the world)
Endangered golden lion
tamarin, endemic to
Brazil’s Atlantic
rainforest, which has
been almost totally
destroyed
Figure 15.18
Conservation approaches:
Biodiversity Hotspots
Global map of biodiversity hotspots, as determined by
Conservation International
Legal Protection for Species
• Many nations have laws and
regulations designed to prevent the
extinction of species (U.S. has some
of the strongest).
• There is controversy about how to
enforce laws and about how
effective they are.
Conservation approaches:
Endangered Species Act
Trying to preserve single species threatened with
extinction is the goal of endangered species laws,
although they often also achieve umbrella
conservation.
U.S. Endangered Species Act, 1973:
• Restricts actions that would destroy endangered
species or their habitats
• Forbids trade in products from species
• Prevents extinction, stabilizes and recovers
populations
Endangered Species Act
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service compiles lists of all
endangered and threatened species in the U.S. There are
presently about 1,000 identified endangered species and
about 300 identified threatened species.
Endangered Species Act
Prohibitions
16 USC 1538 (Section 9)
(a)(1) It is unlawful for any person subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States to:
(A) import or export
(B) & (C) take within the U.S. or high seas
(D) possess, sell, deliver, carry, transport, or ship any
species taken in violation of the Act
(E) deliver, receive, carry, transport, or ship in interstate
or foreign commerce and in the course of commercial
activity any listed T&E species
Endangered Species Act
Prohibitions (continued)
© U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(F) sell, or offer for sale in
interstate or foreign commerce
any listed T&E species
(G) violate any regulation
pertaining to any endangered
species or to any threatened
species of fish or wildlife
Endangered Species Act
Penalties
Criminal - endangered species
•$100,000 per individual
•$200,000 per organization
•Up to 1 year imprisonment
•$25,000 per organization
•Up to 1 year imprisonment
Civil
•Knowingly - $25,000
•Strict liability - $500
© U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Criminal - threatened species
•$25,000 per individual
Endangered Species Act
• Environmentalists criticize the ESA because it
takes too long to identify a species as endangered
or threatened. Many species have gone extinct
while trying to become listed as endangered.
• Environmentalists also
criticize the ESA
because it mostly
contains “cute” animals
and often does not
contain “scary” or
“ugly” animals on the
list.
Developers vs. Environmentalists?
• The ESA is controversial with developers
because they want to make money by
clearing land and are often prevented from
doing so by the Endangered Species Act.
• People who work in construction or who
would have benefited from the jobs become
upset about the loss of jobs/income.
• Most controversies end in compromise,
where the needs of the community and the
needs of the environment are balanced.
– Although there are many lawsuits over
the Endangered Species Act, most get
settled and never go to trial.
Endangered Species Act
• A species recovery plan is prepared for each
listed threatened and endangered species.
• When controversies occur, a habitat
conservation plan works as a compromise. A
habitat conservation plan attempts to protect
one or more species across large areas of land
through trade-offs or cooperative agreements.
Conservation approaches:
International Organizations
• International Union for the Conservation of
Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN)
facilitates efforts to protect species and
habitats.
• Collaboration between 200
government agencies and
700 private conservation
organizations.
Conservation approaches:
International Organizations
Many private conservation organizations work
to protect species worldwide
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World Wildlife Fund
Nature Conservancy
National Geographic Society
Greenpeace International
Some organizations are buying land to set up international parks to
protect entire ecosystems. This has proven to be more effective
than almost any other type of effort.
Conservation approaches:
International Treaties
• CITES, the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora, prepared in 1973, is a product of
IUCN.
• Bans international trade and transport of
body parts of endangered organisms.
• Effective in stopping slaughter of African
elephants for ivory.
The Biodiversity Treaty
• U.N. Conference on Environment and Development,
Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro, 1992 (over 100 nations
and 30,000 people)
• Biodiversity Treaty aims to:
 Conserve biodiversity
 Use it sustainably
 Ensure fair distribution of its benefits
by requiring wealthier nations of the
world to give money to the more poor
nations in the world to help protect
species.
• The United States signed the treaty in 1994.
Conclusions: Challenges
• Unknown how many species inhabit our
planet.
• Sixth mass extinction?
• Population declines and extinctions result
from habitat alteration, invasive species,
pollution, population growth, and
exploitation.
• Is it an uphill battle to save species, habitats,
and ecosystems?
Conclusions: Solutions
• Biologists are making strides in determining
how many species inhabit our planet.
• It’s not too late to halt the sixth mass
extinction.
• Habitat alteration, invasive species, pollution,
and exploitation -- success will ultimately
depend on halting human population growth.
Conclusions: Solutions
• Many and varied ways to save species,
habitats, and ecosystems have been,
and continue to be, developed.
• The value of biodiversity must be
understood by more people.
What are some of the things we are doing to protect endangered species, ecosystems, and natural diversity?
This is a map of the national wildlife refuge system. It is the job of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to manage
over 500 refuges with over 90 million acres for the conversation of endangered species, ecosystems, and
natural diversity