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Safeguarding Biodiversity: Threats, Conservation, and Hope

Explore the challenges facing global biodiversity, including habitat destruction, exotic species competition, and overexploitation. Learn about the importance of conservation biology, strategies for preservationism, and the role of biodiversity in human welfare. Discover how geographic distribution impacts species survival and the key concepts of population and species level conservation. Uncover the significance of biodiversity hotspots, endemic and endangered species, and the practice of bioremediation in protecting our planet's ecosystems.

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Safeguarding Biodiversity: Threats, Conservation, and Hope

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  1. Chapter 43 Global Ecology and Conservation Biology

  2. Biodiversity crisis • Extinction - natural phenomenon, however, rate is of concern….. • 50% loss of species when 90% of habitat is lost • Major Threats: • Habitat destruction - single greatest threat; cause of 73% of species designation as extinct, endangered, vulnerable, rare; 93% of coral reefs • Competition by exotic (non-native) species - cause of 68% of species designation as extinct, endangered, vulnerable, rare; travel • Overexploitation - commercial harvest or sport fishing; illegal trade

  3. Biodiversity: Human welfare • 25% of all medical prescriptions • Genetic variability • Aesthetic and ethical reasons • Species survival

  4. Conservation biology focus • Preservationism: setting side select areas as natural and underdeveloped • Resource conservation: public lands to meet the needs of agriculture and extractive industries, i.e., ”multiple use” • Evolutionary / ecological view: natural systems result from millions of years of evolution and ecosystem processes are necessary to maintain the biosphere

  5. Geographic distribution of biodiversity • Energy availability - solar radiation • Habitat heterogeneity - environmental patchiness • Niche specialization - narrow resource range specialization • Population interactions - complex population interactions

  6. Population & species level conservation • Biodiversity hot spot: small area with an exceptional concentration of species • Endemic species: species found nowhere else • Endangered species: organism “in danger of extinction” • Threatened species: likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future • Bioremediation: use of living organisms to detoxify polluted systems

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