Conservation Biology

2. Conservation Biology • Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions

3. Introduction “Man did not weave the web of life– he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.” -Chief Seattle, 1854 Extinctions are occurring at an alarming rate due to human behavior. As humans expand their habitat and introduce invasive species, more native species are put at risk. Biodiversity is important for the stability of ecosystems. When one species is removed from an ecosystem, it is hard to predict what impact it will have on the rest of the ecosystem.

4. More Introduction It is a difficult task, but scientists need to define and measure biodiversity to determine exactly what it is that we are at risk of losing. It is critical that we discuss how to protect biodiversity while we are still defining it. UN Decade on Biodiversity (12 min)Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zpM-nkhZCgk#!Website http://www.cbd.int/2011-2020/ Most recent update on UN Decade on Biodiversity (UN Biodiversity Report 3) (10 min) Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGMkW_vo5GU&feature=player_embeddedWebsite: http://www.cultureofscience.com/2011/09/23/attacks-on-biodiversity-an-emerging-trend-part-i/ Why is Biodiversity so important? (4 min)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkiiC4WOIKo Great Intro on biodiversity especially keystone species (7:40) http://www.bozemanscience.com/055-biodiversity Endangered species slide show (5 min)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-7wLdKjf2Y Einstein Quote Intrinsic Value of Biodiversity (4 min)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksn4QY8pDj4&feature=fvwrel

5. Essential Questions • How is the health and stability of our ecosystem related to biodiversity? • What impact will biodiversity loss have on humans and other life? • How can we protect biodiversity? • Given that it is impossible to find ANY information refuting the desperate state of biodiversity on Earth, why is it that humans continue to accelerate biodiversity loss?

6. True or False? • Some species are not important • If you have a lot of one kind of species (ex. pigeons) that indicates a healthy ecosystem. • A park is more bio diverse than a vacant lot. • Biodiversity is not important for humans

7. Pre Test Part 1 • All species on Earth have already been discovered. • More than one half of the world’s species live in tropical rainforests. • Just over 10 million species have been identified by scientists. • Earth has more species than it needs. • Most species do not benefit humans. • All habitats have the same number of species. • Biodiversity includes genetic diversity, species diversity and ecosystem diversity. • Biological diversity is more threatened now than at any time in the past 65 million years.

8. Pre Test Part 2 • The loss of forests, wetlands, grasslands, and other habitats contributes to loss of biodiversity. • Many species become extinct without ever being identified. • Large plants, birds, and mammals make up half of the world’s species. • The countries with the most species of plants are located in Central and South America an in Southeast Asia. • Coral reefs are as rich in biodiversity as tropical forests. • Islands can be homes to species found nowhere else. • Fewer than 100 species currently provide most of the world’s food supply.

9. Pre Test Continued Part 3 • Crop breeders need a diversity of crop varieties in order to breed new varieties that resist insect pests and diseases. • Creating parks and zoos is the best way to preserve biodiversity. • The biological resources of developing countries are a possible source of income. • Two major causes of biodiversity loss are population growth and the increasing consumption of natural resources. • Once a species becomes endangered, it will become extinct.

10. Pre Test Part 1 Answers • All species on Earth have already been discovered.To date, scientists have catalogued approximately 1.5 million species.Current estimations go as high as 100 million but most estimates are between 5 and 10 million • More than one half of the world’s species live in tropical rainforests.True • Just over 10 million species have been identified by scientists.No. 1.5 million • Earth has more species than it needs. • Most species do not benefit humans. • All habitats have the same number of species.The amount of species is influenced by the latitudinal gradient—the amount of solar radiation and, thus, GPP

11. Biodiversity includes genetic diversity, species diversity and ecosystem diversity Yes. • Biological diversity is more threatened now than at any time in the past 65 million years. Yes

12. Pre Test Part 2 • The loss of forests, wetlands, grasslands, and other habitats contributes to loss of biodiversity. • Many species become extinct without ever being identified. • Large plants, birds, and mammals make up half of the world’s species. No • The countries with the most species of plants are located in Central and South America an in Southeast Asia. • Coral reefs are as rich in biodiversity as tropical forests. • Islands can be homes to species found nowhere else. • Fewer than 100 species currently provide most of the world’s food supply. Ninety percent of the world's food is derived from just 15 plant and 8 animal species.

13. Pre Test Continued Part 3 • Crop breeders need a diversity of crop varieties in order to breed new varieties that resist insect pests and diseases. • Creating parks and zoos is the best way to preserve biodiversity. No • The biological resources of developing countries are a possible source of income. • Two major causes of biodiversity loss are population growth and the increasing consumption of natural resources. • Once a species becomes endangered, it will become extinct.

14. Thinking about Biodiversity… • Is biodiversity important? • Have we “ruined” our planet though activities that threaten species and cause extinctions? • Can we save endangered species? • Should we try to save every endangered species? Which ones? What is the criteria we should use to decide? • http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3974781.htm 4 min • Is there any way we can return to a way of life in which nature is the dominant force on the planet? • Should we change our view of how we see nature? Have humans changed natural systems so much that we need to change our view that wilderness and natural parks and natural areas are the exception and not the norm.

15. The Anthropocene

19. We're living in the epoch some scientists call the "Anthropocene" an age in which human influence touches nearly everything on the planet

20. More than half the world's population lives in urban areas these days. And that percentage is rapidly increasing. Some scientists say our planet is now so influenced by our cities and all that human activity that we entered a new geologic era. They call it the Anthropocene, and with that change, we should be rethinking the relationship between civilization and nature.

21. Earth History in 1 minute • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2EGuajQxXI • Welcome to the Anthropocene (3:40 video) Good Intro • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvgG-pxlobk&safe=active • Image video of the Anthropocene 1:40 • A look at Humanity's geological epoch: the Anthropocene. In collaboration with Elementa: Embracing the concept that basic knowledge can foster sustainable solutions for society, Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene is a new scientific journal published on an open-access, public-good basis—available freely and immediately to the world. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfDm7rM9_-8 • Rethinking The Relationship Between Civilization And Nature 6 min Radio • September 26, 2014 5:22 AM ET • http://www.npr.org/2014/09/26/351678359/rethinking-the-relationship-between-civilization-and-nature • NPR Science Friday. 24 min • Wilderness, National Parks, Fighting Fires • Conservation or Preservation • Current Mass Extinction Crisis • Invasive species • http://www.npr.org/2013/09/27/226837805/saving-wild-places-in-the-anthropocene • BullitCenter (The greenest building on Earth) • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr5CxQmS-Mw&safe=active

22. Conservation Biology • Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions

23. Biodiversity provides free ecosystem services • Provides food, shelter, fuel • Purifies air and water, and detoxifies wastes • Stabilizes climate, moderates floods, droughts, wind, temperature • Generates and renews soil fertility and cycles nutrients • Pollinates plants and controls pests and disease • Maintains genetic resources • Provides cultural and aesthetic benefits • Allows us to adapt to change The annual value of just 17 ecosystem services = $16 - 54 trillion per year

24. This lecture will help you understand: • The scope of Earth’s biodiversity • Background rates and mass extinction • Primary causes of biodiversity loss • The benefits of biodiversity • Conservation biology • Biodiversity conservation efforts

25. Central Case: Saving the Siberian tiger • The largest cat in the world • The Russian Far East mountains house the last remaining tigers • Nearly became extinct due to hunting, poaching and habitat destruction • International conservation groups saved the species from extinction • Research, education, zoos, and captive breeding programs

26. Biodiversity encompasses several levels • Humans are reducing Earth’s diversity of life • Biodiversity – sum total of all organisms in an area • Split into three specific levels: • Species diversity • Genetic diversity • Ecosystem diversity

27. Species diversity • Species Diversity = the number or variety of species in the world or in a particular region • 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

28. Species Diversity in a meadow community

29. The taxonomy of species • Taxonomists = scientists who classify species • Physical appearance and genetics determines a species • Genera = related species are grouped together • Families = groups of genera • Every species has a two-part scientific name: genus and species

30. Subspecies: the level below a species • Subspecies = populations of species that occur in different areas and differ slightly from each other • Divergence stops short of separating the species • Subspecies are denoted with a third part of the scientific name Siberian tiger = Panthera tigris altaica Bengal tiger = Panthera tigris tigris

31. Genetic diversity • Encompasses the differences in DNA among individuals within species and populations • The raw material for adaptation to local conditions • Populations with higher genetic diversity can survive • They can cope with environmental change • Populations with low genetic diversity are vulnerable • To environmental change • Disease • Inbreeding depression = genetically similar parents mate and produce inferior offspring

33. Ecosystem diversity • 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

35. Some groups contain more species than others • Species are not evenly distributed among taxonomic groups • Insects predominate over all other life-forms • 40% of all insects are beetles • Groups accumulate species by • Adaptive radiation • Allopatric & Sympatric speciation • Low rates of extinction

36. Insects outnumber all other species

37. Measuring biodiversity is not easy • Out of the estimated 3 - 100 million species on Earth, only 1.7 - 2 million species have been successfully catalogued • Very difficult to identify species • Many remote spots on Earth remain unexplored • Small organisms are easily overlooked • Many species look identical until thoroughly examined • Entomologist Terry Erwin found 163 beetle species specialized on one tree species

38. Biodiversity is unevenly distributed • Living things are distributed unevenly across Earth • Latitudinal gradient = species richness increases towards the equator Canada has 30 - 100 species of breeding birds, while Costa Rica has more than 600 species

39. Latitudinal gradient has many causes • Climate stability, high plant productivity, and no glaciation • Tropical biomes support more species and show more species evenness • The more concentrated solar energy, the more GPP, the more species. • Diverse habitats increase species diversity • Human disturbance can increase habitat diversity • But only at the local level

40. Biodiversity losses and species extinction • 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 • Can lead to extinction

41. Extinction is a natural process • Paleontologists estimate 99% of all species that ever lived are now extinct • Background rate of extinction = natural extinctions for a variety of reasons Background: • one species per million species per year, or between 10 and 100 species per year (counting all organisms such as insects, bacteria, and fungi, not just the large vertebrates we are most familiar with) Current: • 27,000 species per year to extinction from those habitats alone. • (estimates based on the rate at which the area of tropical forests is being reduced, and their large numbers of specialized species, are that we may now be losing)

42. Earth has experienced five mass extinctions • In the past 440 million years, mass extinctions have eliminated at least 50% of all species • After every mass extinction the biodiversity returned to or exceeded its original state

43. 5 mass extinctions

44. The current mass extinction is human caused • During this Quaternary period, we may lose more than half of all species • Hundreds of human-induced species extinctions, and multitudes of others, teeter on the brink of extinction • The current global extinction rate is 100 to 1,000 times greater than the background rate • This rate will increase tenfold in future decades due to human population growth and resource consumption

45. People have hunted species to extinction for millennia Extinctions followed human arrival on islands and continents

46. Current extinction rates are higher than normal • The IUCN Red List(International Union for the Conservation of Nature) = an updated list of species facing high risks of extinctions • 23% of mammal species • 12% of bird species • 31 - 86% of all other species • Since 1970, 58 fish species, 9 bird species, and 1 mammal species has gone extinct • In the U.S., in the last 500 years, 236 animal and 17 plant species are confirmed extinct • Actual numbers are undoubtedly higher

47. Biodiversity loss is more than extinction • Decreasing numbers are accompanied by smaller species’ geographic ranges • Genetic, ecosystem, and species diversity are being lost. • The Living Planet Index summarizes trends in populations • Between 1970 and 2003, the Index fell by 30%

48. Biodiversity loss has many causes • Reasons for biodiversity losses are multifaceted, complex, and hard to determine • Factors may interact synergistically • Five (Six?) primary causes of population decline are: • Habitat alteration • Invasive species • Pollution • Population • Overharvesting • Global climate change now is the fifth cause H.I.P.P.O.

49. Habitat alteration causes biodiversity loss • 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

50. Habitat alteration has occurred in every biome Particularly in tropical rainforests, savannas, and tropical dry forests