CHAPTER
7
Biodiversity and Conservation
Lesson 7.1 Our Planet of Life
Biodiversity
• Bio – Life Diversity – Variety
• Includes three types:
• Genetic diversity: Differences in DNA among individuals
• Species diversity: Variety of species in a given area
• Ecosystem diversity: Variety of habitats, ecosystems, communities
Genetic Diversity
Species Diversity
Ecosystem Diversity
Species Diversity
•Currently 1.8 million different species
•9,700 Birds
•10,500 Reptiles and Amphibian
•1 million Insects!!!
•Species – group of organisms that can
breed with each other to produce fertile
offspring
Lesson 7.1 Our Planet of Life
Classification
• Taxonomists classify species based on 2 criteria:
1.Physical appearance
2. Genetic makeup.
Species are given a two-part name Ex. Homo sapien
• Organisms are placed into taxa based on shared similarities:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
King
Phyl
Came
Over
For
Great
Soup
Subspecies—populations with genetically based
characteristics that differ area to area but can interbreed
Speciation
• Population may be separated by physical barriers
(water, mountains, roads) and no longer be able to
interbreed.
• Somehow be exposed to different environmental
conditions that exerts evolutionary pressure to develop
in different ways.
• Result is 1 species evolves into 2 distinct species
Ex. Kaibab squirrel – Grand Canyon
White tail deer vs. Florida key deer
Lesson 7.1 Our Planet of Life
Biodiversity is Not Fully Measured
• There are likely between
5 and 30 million species on
Earth that have been
undiscovered.
• Species can be difficult to find
and identify. Possibly many
have been driven to extinction
without ever being first
discovered.
Did You Know? In general, biodiversity
increases toward the equator.
Orangutan in an Indonesian rain forest
Genetic Diversity
• Diversity in the genetic information that determines traits
• Found among organisms in the same species which is
necessary to help the population survive
• Ex. A gene that provides protection against a disease.
• This variety makes it more likely that at least some
individuals will survive an environmental change and pass
the trait to their offspring. - Process of Natural Selection
• “Survival of the Fittest” drives evolutionary change
Ecosystem Diversity
• Mud puddles to Oceans…..
• Ecosystems come in all sizes
• Provide different living conditions to support the needs
of different species
• Ecosystem diversity is necessary for supporting
species diversity
Benefits of Biodiversity
Lesson 7.1 Our Planet of Life
Biodiversity provides
“Free” Ecosystem Services
• Food, Fuel, Fiber, Fun!
• Provides oxygen and nutrient recycling (decomposition, N2
fixing)
• Captures sunlight and converts it into usable energy
• Controls Pests
• Purifies air and water
• Controls floods
Lesson 7.1 Our Planet of Life
Other Benefits of Biodiversity
• Agriculture: Wild strains are crossbred with related crops to transfer
beneficial traits.
The yew tree, an original source of
Taxol, a cancer-fighting drug
Did You Know? Of the
150 most prescribed drugs
in the United States,
118 originated in nature.
• Medicine: Organisms contain
compounds that are useful for
treating disease.
• Ecotourism: Environmentally
responsible tourism is a source of
income for many nations.
Lesson 7.2 Extinction and Biodiversity Loss
Biodiversity losses caused by humans are
common in our history. Hunting and forest
cutting drove the passenger pigeon—once
North America’s most numerous bird—into
extinction.
Lesson 7.2 Extinction and Biodiversity Loss
Natural Biodiversity Loss
• Background extinctions:
• Extinction is a natural phenomena
• Mass extinctions:
• When extinction rates far exceed
the normal background rate
Dinosaur extinctions were
part of a mass extinction.
• There have been five mass
extinctions in Earth’s history which
caused 1/2 of all species to go
extinct.
Lesson 7.2 Extinction and Biodiversity Loss
Biodiversity at Risk
• The current extinction rate is
100 to 1000 times greater than the
natural background rate.
• Presently over 1300 species in the U.S.
are classified endangered or threatened
• Endangered: At serious risk of extinction
• Threatened: Likely to become
endangered soon through all or part of
its range
Giant panda, an endangered
species
• Extirpated: Loss of population from a
given area but not of entire species
worldwide
Lesson 7.2 Extinction and Biodiversity Loss
Major Causes of Biodiversity Loss
• #1 Habitat changes
(Loss, degradation,
fragmentation)
• Invasive species
• Pollution
Siberian tiger
• Overharvesting
Lesson 7.2 Extinction and Biodiversity Loss
Habitat Change and Loss
• Greatest cause of biodiversity loss
• Organisms, adapted to their habitat, decline in
population when the habitat changes.
• Habitat fragmentation: Patches of suitable
habitat surrounded by unsuitable habitat
• In general, larger habitat fragments can support
greater biodiversity than smaller fragments.
Did You Know? Habitat change or destruction
is the primary cause of population decline in
more than 80% of threatened birds and
mammals.
Lesson 7.3 Protecting Biodiversity
Env. Engineering
Wildlife Corridors
• Connect habitat fragments
enabling once-isolated
populations to interbreed
• Interbreeding increases genetic
diversity.
Lesson 7.2 Extinction and Biodiversity Loss
Invasive Species
• Invasive species can out-compete and displace native species.
May be introduced and have no natural predators or
competitors -- “Species Gone Wild!!”
• .Threats in PA –
• Stink bug – decimating apple crop in southcentral PA
• Hemlock Wooly Adelgid – this sucks!
Fluid sucking aphid insect which creates a protective
wooly “cocoon”killing our state tree
.
* Spotted Lanternfly Moth – newest invasive to Berks Co. 2014
Brown Marmoted Stink Bug
Hemlock Wooly Adelgid
Spotted Lanternfly Moth
• September 22, 2014 – Invasive species first identified
appearance in the United States in Berks County, PA
• November 1, 2014 Quarantined movement of
materials
Destructive Pest to our Economy
• Potential Effects to PA economy :
• $20.5 million grape
• $134 million apple
• $24 million stone fruit industries
• $12 billion Pine and hardwood
• Egg masses can also be found on trees, especially
Ailanthus alitissima (Tree of Heaven) and other
smooth bark trees.
• Smooth surfaces outdoors such as
• lawn furniture,
• stone and brick work, and
• outdoor recreational vehicles
• These masses pose a great risk for the
accidental transport of this pest to new areas.
• Egg masses are present in October and
• will hatch in the spring starting as early as April.
Any living stage of the Spotted Lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula. This includes egg masses, nymphs, and
adults.
Brush, debris, bark, or yard waste
Landscaping, remodeling or construction waste
Logs, stumps, or any tree parts
Firewood of any species
Grapevines for decorative purposes or as nursery stock
Nursery stock
Crated materials
Outdoor household articles including recreational vehicles, lawn tractors and mowers, mower decks, grills,
grill and furniture covers, tarps, mobile homes, tile, stone, deck boards, mobile fire pits, any associated
equipment and trucks or vehicles not stored indoors.
Pollution
• Harmful chemicals and materials that make their way
into habitats can poison people and wildlife.
• Ex. DDT concentrated in reproductive organs of top
carnivorous birds of prey and prevented hardening of
the eggshell
Overharvesting
, species can be driven toward
extinction by hunting or
overharvesting by humans
Ex. Passenger pigeons
Lesson 7.2 Extinction and Biodiversity Loss
Climate Change
• Increasingly becoming a factor in biodiversity loss
• Unlike the other factors, climate change will have a potentially
global effect on biodiversity.
Did You Know? Scientists
predict that a 1.5–2.5C
global temperature increase
could put 20–30% of plant
and animal species at
increased risk of extinction.
Lesson 7.3 Protecting Biodiversity
Just 2.3% of the planet’s land surface
is home to 50% of the world’s plant
species and 42% of its vertebrate
animal species.
Lesson 7.3 Protecting Biodiversity
The Endangered Species Act
• U.S. law that protects biodiversity, passed in 1973
• Has three major parts:
• Forbids governments and citizens from harming
listed species and habitats
• Forbids trade in products made from listed species
• Requires U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to maintain
official list of endangered and threatened species,
and to develop recovery plan for each listed
species
Did You Know? In part because of the Endangered
Species Act, 40% of populations that were once
declining in the U.S. are now stable.
Lesson 7.3 Protecting Biodiversity
International Cooperation
• Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES, 1975): Bans international trade in body
parts of endangered species.
• Convention on Biological
Diversity (1992): International
treaty to conserve biodiversity
and ensure its responsible
use and distribution
Ivory products, made from elephant tusks
Lesson 7.3 Protecting Biodiversity
Single-Species Approaches to
Conservation
• Captive breeding programs: Raising
and breeding organisms in controlled
conditions, such as zoos or aquariums
• Species Survival Plan: Program to
save individual species, includes captive
breeding, education, and research
• Cloning: Inserting DNA from an
endangered species into a cultured egg
cell; process involves implanting eggs
into mothers of closely related species
Majete Wildlife Reserve, Malawi
Did You Know? The Species
Survival Plan for the golden lion
tamarin started with only
91 individuals. As of 2007, there
were nearly 500 tamarins in
zoos, and 150 reintroduced into
the wild.
Lesson 7.3 Protecting Biodiversity
Biodiversity Hotspots
• The “hotspot approach” focuses
attention on areas where the
greatest number of species can
be protected with the least effort.
• Hotspots have:
• At least 1500 plant species found
nowhere else in the world
• Already lost 70% of their habitat as
a result of human activity
• The 34 biodiversity hotspots are
home to 50% of Earth’s plant
species and 42% of terrestrial
vertebrate species.
Northern Pintail ducks, Honshu, Japan
Japan is one of the world’s biodiversity
hotspots.
Lesson 7.3 Protecting Biodiversity
Economic Approaches to
Conservation
• Many conservation efforts today
attempt to balance protection of land
and wildlife with the economic
interests of local people:
• Debt-for-nature swap:
Conservation organizations raise
money to pay off a nation’s debt in
return for improved conservation
measures.
• Conservation concession:
Conservation organizations buy
the rights to conserve resources,
instead of harvesting them.
• “Clean and Green” in PA