Hanna Iazzetta
Period 4
Chapter 11
Study Guide
Species Extinction (3 types)
1. Local extinction: a species is no longer found in an area it once inhabited but
is still found elsewhere in the world
2. Ecological Extinction: so few members are left of a species that they can no
longer play their ecological role in biological communities
3. Biological extinction: species is no longer found anywhere on earth
-Endangered species: so few survivors that the species could soon become extinct
-Threatened species: still abundant but because of declining numbers it is likely to
become endangered in the near future
-1st species to go are the big, slow, tasty, and ones with valuable parts (ex.
Tusks/skins)
Chart: Natural capital loss and degradation
Characteristics of species that are prone to ecological and biological extinction
Characteristic
-low reproductive rate
(k-strategist)
-specialized niche
-narrow distribution
-feeds at high trophic level
-fixed migratory patterns
-rare
-commercially valuable
-large territories
Examples
(blue whale)
(giant panda)
(elephant seal)
(bald eagle)
(sea turtles)
(some orchids)
(snow leopard)
(grizzly bear)
Chart: Endngered natural capital
Percentage of various types of species threatened with premature extinction
because of human activities
Fish: 34%
Mammals: 25%
Reptiles: 20%
Plants: 14%
Birds: 12%
Effects of Human Activities on Extinction Rates
-1st: likely to increase during the next 50-100 years because of world population
growth
-2nd: current rates are much higher than the global average in parts of the world that
are endangered centers of the world’s biodiversity
-3rd: we are elimination, degrading, and simplifying many biologically diverse
environments that serve as potential colonization sites for the emergence of new
species
Importance of Wild Species
Why should we preserve them?
-Instrumental value: provide food crops, fuel wood, lumber, paper, and medicine
-62% of all cancer drugs in 2005 were created by bioprospecting discoveries,
including key ingredients in taxol, which is used for breast cancer
-Genetic Information: allows species to adapt to changing environmental conditions
and to form new species
-Recreational pleasure: watching wildlife, nature photography, and bird watching
-Ecotourism: generates $500 billion per year world wide
H.I.P.P.C.O.
-H: habitat destruction
-I: invasive (nonnative species)
-P: population growth
-P: pollution
-C: climate change
-O: overharvesting
-greatest threat to wild species is habitat loss
-greatest eliminator of species is deforestation in tropical forests
Chart: natural capital degradation
Underlying and direct causes of depletion and premature extinction of wild species
Basic Causes:
-population growth
-rising resource use
-no environmental accounting
-poverty
Secondary Causes
-habitat loss, habitat degradation and fragmentation, introducing nonnative species
-overfishing, climate change, predator and pest control
-pollution, commercial hunting and poaching, sale of exotic pets and decorative
plants
Birds
-One in every eight bird species is threatened with extinction
-majority of world’s bird species are found in South America
-40% of world’s waterbirds are in decline because of global loss of wetlands
-US hunters kill about 121 million birds per year
-1 billion birds die per year when they fly into glass windows
-birds are excellent environmental indicators: they live in every climate and biome,
respond quickly to environmental changes, and are relatively easy to track and
count
-provide us with vital services in ecosystems: help control populations of rodents
and insects, clean up dead animal carcasses by eating them, pollinate flowers, and
spread plants throughout their habitats by consuming and excreting plant seeds
Invasive Species
- provide us with food, medicine, and other benefits
- can wipe out some native species, disrupt ecosystems, and cause large
economic losses
Accidentally Introduced Invasive Species
-Argentina fire ant
-in the south from texas to florida and up to Tennessee and Virginia
-can wipe out as much as 90% of native ant populations
Solutions: Reducing Threats of Invasive Species
-best way is to limit the harmful impacts of nonnative species is to prevent them
from being introduced
-fund a massive research program
-inspection of imported goods
-pass international laws banning transfer of harmful invader species from one
country to another
Chart: Threats to natural capital
Characteristics of successful
invasive species
-high reproductive rate
-pioneer species
-long lived
-high dispersal rate
-generalists
-high genetic variability
Ecosystems vulnerable to invading
species
-climate similar to habitat of invader
-absence of predators on invading
species
-early successional systems
-low diversity of native species
-absence of fire
-disturbed by human activities
Population Growth, Overconsumption, Pollution
-climate change
-overexploitation
-illegal killing or sale of wild species
-killing species we don’t like
-collecting exotic pets and plants
Protecting Wild Species and Economic Approaches
International Treaties and Acts
-CITES: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species- lists about 900
species that cant be traded as live specimens because they are in danger of
extinction and restricts international trade of many species that are also in danger
of becoming extinct
-CBD: Convention on Biological Diversity- legally commits participating governments
to reversing the global decline of biological diversity
-ESA: Endangered Species Act- designed to identify and legally protect endangered
species in the US and abroad, probably the most far-reaching law
Encouraging private landowners to protect endangered species
-HCPs: Habitat conservation plans- designed to strike a compromise between the
interests of private landowners and those of endangered and threatened species
-protected habitat areas
-safe harbor agreements: voluntarily agreeing to take steps to restore, improve, or
maintain habitat for threatened or endangered species located on their land
-voluntary candidate conservation agreements- landowners agree to take steps to
help conserve a species whose population is declining but is not yet listed as
endangered or threatened
A Biodiversity and Ecosystem Protection Act- Rethinking Species Protection
-find out what species and ecosystems the country has
-locate and protect the most endangered ecosystems and species
-make development biodiversity-friendly by providing significant financial incentives
(tax breaks and write-offs) and technical help to private landowners who agree to
help protect specific endangered ecosystem
-Between 1973 and 2006, the number of US species on the official endangered
species list increased from 92 to about 1260 species; 60% of them plants and 40%
animals
Protecting Wild Species: The Sanctuary Approach
-544 federal refugees for wildlife, but many are suffering from degradation
-gene banks and botanical gardens and using farms to raise threatened species can
help prevent extinction, but these options lack funding and storage space
-zoos and aquariums can help protect endangered animal species, but there is too
little funding and storage space
Reconciliation Ecology
Finding ways to share the places we dominate with other species
-1st: help sustain wild species in the human-dominated portion of nature that makes
up 95% of the terrestrial planet
-2nd: setting aside funds and refuges and passing laws to protect endangered and
threatened species that are in trouble
-Reconciliation Ecology: focuses on establishing and maintaining new habitats to
conserve species diversity in places where people live, work, or play
Chart: What Can You Do to Protect Species?
-do not buy furs or ivory products
-do not buy wood and paper products produced by cutting remaining old-growth
forests in the tropics
-do not buy birds, snakes, turtles, tropical fish, and other animals taken from the
wild
-do not buy orchids, cacti, and other plants that are taken from the wild
-spread the word!
Vocabulary
1. Local extinction: a species is no longer found in an area it once inhabited but
is still found elsewhere in the world
2. Ecological Extinction: so few members are left of a species that they can no
longer play their ecological role in biological communities
3. Biological extinction: species is no longer found anywhere on earth
-Endangered species: so few survivors that the species could soon become extinct
-Threatened species: still abundant but because of declining numbers it is likely to
become endangered in the near future
-Instrumental value: provide food crops, fuel wood, lumber, paper, and medicine
-Genetic Information: allows species to adapt to changing environmental conditions
and to form new species
-Recreational pleasure: watching wildlife, nature photography, and bird watching
-Ecotourism: generates $500 billion per year world wide
-environmental indicators: they live in every climate and biome, respond quickly to
environmental changes, and are relatively easy to track and count
-provide us with vital services in ecosystems: help control populations of rodents
and insects, clean up dead animal carcasses by eating them, pollinate flowers, and
spread plants throughout their habitats by consuming and excreting plant seeds
-overexploitation -illegal killing or sale of wild species, killing species we don’t like,
collecting exotic pets and plants
-safe harbor agreements: voluntarily agreeing to take steps to restore, improve, or
maintain habitat for threatened or endangered species located on their land
-voluntary candidate conservation agreements- landowners agree to take steps to
help conserve a species whose population is declining but is not yet listed as
endangered or threatened
-biodiversity-friendly by providing significant financial incentives (tax breaks and
write-offs) and technical help to private landowners who agree to help protect
specific endangered ecosystem
-Reconciliation Ecology: focuses on establishing and maintaining new habitats to
conserve species diversity in places where people live, work, or play
Statistics
-62% of all cancer drugs in 2005 were created by bioprospecting discoveries,
including key ingredients in taxol, which is used for breast cancer
-One in every eight bird species is threatened with extinction
-majority of world’s bird species are found in South America
-40% of world’s waterbirds are in decline because of global loss of wetlands
-US hunters kill about 121 million birds per year
-1 billion birds die per year when they fly into glass windows
-accidentally introduced invasive species can wipe out as much as 90% of native ant
populations
-Between 1973 and 2006, the number of US species on the official endangered
species list increased from 92 to about 1260 species; 60% of them plants and 40%
animals
-544 federal refugees for wildlife, but many are suffering from degradation
Abbreviations
HIPPCO
-H: habitat destruction
-I: invasive (nonnative species)
-P: population growth
-P: pollution
-C: climate change
-O: overharvesting
Laws and Acts (and more abbreviations)
-CITES: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species- lists about 900
species that cant be traded as live specimens because they are in danger of
extinction and restricts international trade of many species that are also in danger
of becoming extinct
-CBD: Convention on Biological Diversity- legally commits participating governments
to reversing the global decline of biological diversity
-ESA: Endangered Species Act- designed to identify and legally protect endangered
species in the US and abroad, probably the most far-reaching law
-HCPs: Habitat conservation plans- designed to strike a compromise between the
interests of private landowners and those of endangered and threatened species
-protected habitat areas
Diagrams/Charts
-see...
-Chart: Natural capital loss and degradation
-Chart: Endngered natural capital
-Chart: natural capital degradation
-Chart: Threats to natural capital
-Chart: What Can You Do to Protect Species?
Quiz!
1. List one example of an endangered species.
2. What is another name for threatened species?
3. T/F The first animals to go are the big, slow ones.
4. Which animals have the highest % of threatened species?
5. Which isn’t a characteristic of species that are prone to extinction?
a. rare
b. specialized niche
c. feeds at high trophic level
d. wide distribution
6. The rate of species loss and extent of biodiversity are likely to_________________
during the next 50-100 years.
7. Which isn’t a reason we should preserve wild species?
a. instrumental value
b. genetic info
c. recreational pleasure
d. to cook and eat
8. Which isn’t a basic cause of depletion and premature extinction?
a. population growth
b. decreasing resource use
c. no environmental accounting
d. poverty
9. What does the acronym HIPPCO stand for?
10. Which is the greatest threat to wild species?
a. degradation
b. habitat loss
c. climate change
d. overexploitation
11. What % of the world’s 9,775 known bird species are declining in numbers?
12. Which factor is not a part of birds being environmental indicators?
a. live in every climate and biome
b. respond quickly to changes
c. control populations of rodents and insects
d. easy to track and count
13. Which is not a common misfortune relating to nonnative species?
a. providing food
b. wipe out native species
c. disrupt ecosystems
d. large economic losses
14. Which is not a characteristic of successful invader species?
a. short lived
b. high dispersal rate
c. high reproductive rate
d. pioneer species
15. Name 2 characteristics of ecosystems vulnerable to invader species.
16. List the three main causes that promote premature extinction.
17. What does CITES stand for?
18. List three things our future would like to see from the ESA.
19. List three ways to protect species under the stewardship approach to helping
the environment.
20. This science focuses on establishing and maintaining new habitats to conserve
species diversity in places where people live, work, and play.
Practice Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
passenger pigeon
vulnerable species
true
fish
wide distribution
increase
to cook and eat
decreasing resource use
habitat destruction, invasive species, pop growth, pollution, climate change,
overharvesting
10. habitat loss
11. 70%
12. control populations of rodents and insects
13. providing food
14. short-lived
15. early successional systems, absence of fire, etc.
16. population growth, overconsumption, and pollution
17. Convention on international trade of endangered species
18. Private land voluntarily help degraded systems, make it harder and more
expensive to claim a species as endangered, develop recovery plans more
quickly, etc.
19. Gene banks, botanical gardens, zoos, aquariums, etc.
20. Reconciliation ecology