Chapter 11 Biodiversity: Preserving
Species
11.1 Biodiversity And The Species
Concept
• What is biodiversity?
• What are species?
– Genetically Similar Organisms Capable of
Interbreeding Among Themselves
– With Some Exceptions (Dogs, Wolves and Coyotes)
– The Red Wolf (Canis Rufus) – Is it a Species?
– Really Problematic at the Microscopic Level
Classification
Level
Humans
Dogs
Kingdom
Animalia
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Mammalia
Order
Primata
Carnivora
Family
Hominidae
Canidae
Genus
Homo
Canis
Species
sapiens
familiaris
Below Species Level
• Subspecies
– Panthera tigris tigris (Bengal Tiger)
– Panthera tigris sumatrae (Sumatran Tiger)
– Panthera tigris altaica (Siberian Tiger)
• Race: Distinctive Variety of Species or
Subspecies
– Considered to Have Little Biological Meaning for
Humans
• Variety, Strain, Breed, etc.
Molecular Techniques Are
Revolutionizing Taxonomy
• “Five Kingdom” System
– Animalia
– Plantae
– Protista (Single-Celled)
– Fungi
– Bacteria (No Cell Nucleus)
• Levels Above Kingdom
– Bacteria are More Different Than Everything Else
Levels Above Kingdom
• What’s Bigger than a Kingdom?
– Empire? No: Domain or Superkingdom
• Eukarya: Everything With a Cell Nucleus
– Every Organism You Can See
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Monera (Bacteria)
Archaea (Many are Extremophiles)
Monera and Archaea outweigh and Outumber Us
We Need Molecular Biology to Detect These
Differences
Molecular Techniques Are
Revolutionizing Taxonomy
• The Case of Crocodiles
• Ancient Egyptians Knew of Two Kinds of
Crocodiles
– Big, Dangerous Deep Water Crocodiles
– Smaller, Near-Shore, “Less Dangerous”
• Genetic Studies Show They Were Right
• The Less Dangerous Ones Are More Closely
Related to American Crocodiles
How many species are there?
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62,000 Vertebrates (Half are Fish)
A Million Insects (23,000 Fossil)
250,000 Other Invertebrates
300,000 Plants (280,000 Broad-Leaf Plants)
Estimated 7-100 Million Unknown
700 Dinosaurs (9,000 Living Reptiles)
70,000 Fossil Mollusks
Hot spots have exceptionally high
biodiversity
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New Zealand
Horn of Africa
Southeast Asia-Indonesia
Pacific Islands
Caribbean Islands
Mediterranean
Caucasus
California
11.2 How Do We Benefit From
Biodiversity?
• All of our food comes from other organisms
• Living organisms provide us with many useful
drugs and medicines
• Biodiversity provides ecological services
• Biodiversity also brings us many aesthetic and
cultural benefits
11.3 What Threatens Biodiversity?
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Extinction is a natural process
We are accelerating extinction rates
Invasive Species
Island ecosystems are particularly susceptible
to invasive species
• What Can You Do? Don’t Buy Endangered
Species Products
11.4 Endangered Species Management
• Hunting and fishing laws have been effective
• Legislation is key to biodiversity protection
• Recovery plans rebuild populations of
endangered species
– Predators Help Restore Biodiversity in Yellowstone
• Private land is vital in endangered species
protection
• Endangered species protection is controversial
• Large-scale, regional planning is needed
• International wildlife treaties are important
11.5 Captive Breeding And Species
Survival Plans
• Zoos can help preserve wildlife
• We need to save rare species in the wild
– “Charismatic’ Species
• Reconstituting Extinct Organisms?
– Critics: Focus on Preserving Present