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Cultural dimensions of wildlife

Cultural dimensions of wildlife. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gCov0PXkVo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwmhmAfcRt8. Name some extinct organisms. _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________. Declared extinct:. Dusky Seaside Sparrow (1987)

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Cultural dimensions of wildlife

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  1. Cultural dimensions of wildlife

  2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gCov0PXkVo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwmhmAfcRt8

  3. Name some extinct organisms • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________

  4. Declared extinct: • Dusky Seaside Sparrow (1987) • Ivory-billed woodpecker (1987) • Caribbean monk seal (1952) • Carolina parakeet (1918)

  5. How many species? • 8.7 million estimated (does not include single-celled organisms) • 1.2 million cataloged, but many are only descriptions or a museum specimen • Approximately 86% of land species and 91% of marine species remain undiscovered.

  6. Extinction rate • Calculations suggest that the current rates of extinction are 100 to 1,000 times natural background levels • Lose between 1-5% of species per year while still discovering new ones • Impacts • Collapse and reconfiguration of ecosystems • Altered cultural identities

  7. Collapse or reconfiguration of ecosystems • Trophic cascades • Extinction of apex predator, typically carnivore • Prey, often herbivores, released from predation • Increase in numbers of herbivores • Defoliation and reorganization of ecosystem http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAGEXDlUHDE

  8. Altered cultural identities • Loss of species is more than just a physical-biological effect (an extrinsic valuation of a species) • Cultures attach meaning to the presence of animals. (an intrinsic valuation of a species). • Loss of a species is a loss of cultural identity

  9. Extinction mechanisms The two leading causes of extinction are: 1._________________ 2._________________ Pollution? Climate change?Habitat fragmentation? Invasive (exotic) species? Hunting? Pet trade?

  10. Extinction mechanisms Habitat fragmentation Overexploitation: hunting, culling, use for food and medicinals, the pet trade

  11. Extinction mechanisms Habitat fragmentation Overexploitation: hunting, culling, use for food and medicinals, the pet trade

  12. Passenger pigeon

  13. Habitat fragmentation • Results in island systems Projected expansion of forest clearing along road networks in Amazonia

  14. Island systems “Sky” islands Fragmented islands Oceanic islands

  15. Islands systems • Isolated populations • Barriers to dispersal • Smaller numbers of individuals locally • Fewer resources • Inbreeding • Stochastic events can wipe out local populations

  16. Overexploitation • Fragmentation is a pervasive effect of human presence • Overexploitation has more cultural dimensions

  17. Bushmeat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOe_4lTRhU0

  18. Bushmeat – illegal, unsustainable trade in wildlife for income or meat. • Illegal in the sense of where the hunting took place, the method of hunting employed, or in the status of the species taken • Not the same as wild or game meat that may be legally hunted or farmed

  19. Endemic in many parts of Africa but also in China • 30 million consumers of 200 metric tons per year in Central Africa • West Africa: extirpated many large mammals, only “weedy” wildlife left • Expanding rapidly into east Africa • Indiscriminate hunting – many species eaten • Has become global commerce

  20. What drives it • Poverty: bushmeat provides income. • Source of protein • Food instability • Political instability (lack of law enforcement) • Lack of food alternatives • Cultural uses of animals • Logging in remote areas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lWAWZOkc6U

  21. Implications • Reduction in wildlife, altered ecosystems and local extinctions • Zoonoses that jump from animal to human • HIV: entered human population via monkey or primate infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) • Ebola: virus jumps from animals to humans through bushmeat and causes hemorrhagic fever with 90% mortality rate • SARS: Severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by virus that jumped to humans through consumption of civet cats in China

  22. Solutions? • DNA barcoding • Banning snare wire • Reform wildlife laws • Fund enforcement • Provide alternative livelihoods • Market incentives to conserve instead of hunt wildlife • Kenya has had ban on hunting for 35 years in recognition that wildlife was worth more alive than dead

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