B IODIVERSITY , ECOLOGY , G ENETIC E NGINEERING & CLIMATE CHANGE

1. BIODIVERSITY, ECOLOGY, GENETIC ENGINEERING & CLIMATE CHANGE

3. Ecology↔ Ecosystem Conceptrelated Ecosystem→Any Change becomes fragile& collapses. WHY OUR ANCESTORS survived ! Sense of “ONENESS”→they helped each other, as everything was holy.

4. As “ECOLOGY” knowledge increases we get astonished at the diversity &unity of life. • Ecologymeans thinking about soils, waters, air, plants, animals, and all their relationships. • HELPS IN: balancing physical,biological &human dimensions.

5. Ecological processes generate • patterns. • Save the Pattern– • you will save the Processas well. • However; • Ecosystem is a Depletable Asset, • nota BOTTOMLESS PIT.

6. Ecosystems have a purposeto support • &sustain human welfare. • People → dependent on ecosystem • resources • but do not have a dominion over them. • Very powerful , capable of causing • great harm if not treated with respect.

7. Sustaining desired • -ecological, • -economic, and • -social conditions • in ecosystems is a big • challenge. • BUT IT IS NOT AN • IMPOSSIBLE TASK.

8. Should we restore ecosystems ? What do we want to restore ? What can we restore ? ANSWER: SUSTAINABILITY

9. Sustainability • Everyone agrees itis a goodthing. • Term is appealing • " green“environmentalists+ • commodityproducers favour it- • a desirableecological condition. • We must ask the relevant questions. • What is to be sustained? • At what level to be sustained ? • How long to be sustained / for whom?

10. Biodiversity+Sustainability– • Popularbuzzwords. • Meandifferent thingsto different • peopleandNOTHING TO SOME! • BD valuable characteristic of ecosystems • for “ecological”, • “economicAL ”, • “educational”, • and aesthetic reasons.

11. TODAY 06-01-2014 : A Typical day on our • planet Earth→ • WHAT IS HAPPENING JUST NOW? • Humanpopulation will increaseby250,000 • TODAY. • We will add 2,700 tons chlorofluorocarbons • to the atmosphere & 15 mil. tons of carbon. • Earth will be a littlehotter Tonight and • Waters moreacidic.

12. We may loose 40 to 100 sps. due to • human mismanagement. • BUTIS the NO:40 or 100? • BIO TAXA on Earth→ • estimate is ± 14 mil. • 40% of the world’s economy & 80% • ofthe needs of the poor derived • from BD.

13. 30.000 plant species-totally or • partially gone extinct ( 100 years). • 12,259 sps. 13→ • known to be threatenedwith • extinction. • ±5,000 taxa of plants → • extinct since 1700.

14. ± 17 plants lost /year. • Loss of genetic diversity around • 15-20 %→3000 ha/hour /dayof our • forests destroyed. • 80% of tropical forests with1400 plant • taxalost • (70 % may be raw material for disease • treatment).

15. About 10–70 %of BD atincreasedrisk of • extinction fromclimate change, • -2050: climate-induced changes in the • habitatwillresult inthe extinction of • 15-37 % ofspecies . • We are entering the 6th great mass extinction • & • anthropogenicclimate change would be one • of • the majorthreats of extinctionto global BD.

16. Birds(worldwide):42 sps. & 44 ssp., -Mammals (“): 73 sps. & 30 ssp., • -Amphibians (“): 122 sps.havegone extinctinhistorictimes,mostlydueto • human activities. This is onlythe tip of theiceberg.

17. Snowleopard (Unciauncia) (AltaiMountains) Mongolian Steppes(In DANGER)

19. Maincausesin prehistoric times: • naturaldisasters- competitionwith othersps. • In historic times most drastic decline ever is seen.

20. Rate at which species are becoming extinct • today:higher than the natural one. REASONS1.overexploitation& exotic sps.introductions, 2.increase of landuse, 3.economicactivitiesparalleltothe geometric rise of human population, 4.physical habitat destructions, 5.deforestation, 6.urbanization, 7.industrialization, 8.pollution & pests.

21. WE areboth • creature & • moulder of ourenvironment. • Time& space • act as limiting • factors atall • levelsin our • Environment.

22. Hotspotsidentifiedby IUCN cover 2.3 % of theEarth'slandsurface, yet morethan 50 % of theworld’splantspecies & 42 % of allterrestrialvertebratespeciesareendemictotheseareas. All are threatened by human activities.Most of the last 50 years conflicts - in the ecologically most rich &threatened parts of the planet.OUT of 146 of the wars fought between 1950 - 2000 , 118 occurred in BD HOTSPOTS. Biodiversityhotspotsforconservationpriorities: NormanMyers*, Russell A. Mittermeier, Cristina G. Mittermeier, Gustavo A. B. da Fonseca& Jennifer Kent NATURE |VOL 403 | 24 FEBRUARY 2000 |www.nature.com

23. ShrinkingEarth Globalisation Increase in Activities 21. Centuary 20. Cent. FiniteSurface InfiniteSurface

25. At current extinction rates →no way to provide sufficient food + medicine ; population expected in 2050 9bil. BD will become even more critical with climate change → uncertainty over which plant & livestock species will remain viable.

26. Formorefood -needforthe • protection & management • of global BD • 1 % increase in thefoodpriceswillmeanmore • than 16 mil. morehungarymouths. • 1.2 bil. humansexpectedtogeteffectedtill 2025, • particulalry in Africa.

27. Withcurrentextinctionrates –verydifficult • tomeetthedemands-whenthepopulation of • humansalonereaches 9 bil. in 2050. • Plantsandanimalsalreadyunder • stressfulconditionswillsuffer • more • fromchanges in theenvironmental • parametersandclimatechange • reaching a criticallevel. • Agriculturalproductivitydepends on • resourcesanddiversities in thenature.

28. IT WILL ALSO mean? • MoreHumanHealthProblems • in DevelopingNations • Shortage of SyntheticProduced • Drugs. • Decrease in Resources, • Needfornewones. • AgeandImmunityrelateddiseases. • GeneticalandInfectiousDiseases.

29. Drivers of Biodiversity Loss IndirectDrivers Economic Demo- graphic Socio- political Cultural & religious Science & Technology Direct Drivers Habitat Change Climate Change Invasive Species Over- exploitation Nutrients & pollution Biodiversity Loss

30. Yet another aspect of BD is the variety of EcosystemDiversity: deserts, forests, wetlands, mountains, lakes, rivers & agricultural landscapes. In each ecosystem, living creatures, including humans, form a community, interacting with one another & with the air, water, & soil around them.

31. 15 of 24Ecosystem Services are in Decline

32. Ecosystems: Tropical & boreal forests declining, temperate forests & plantations expanding At the level of whole ecosystems: we are losing about over 7 million hectares a year. The red areas show losses – mostly tropical and boreal forests. (Some natural temperate forests are expanding, and major tree planting in China).

33. Nitrogen Loading • Humans have doubled the amount of biologically available N in the world’s ecosystems and by 2050 may have increased N levels more than threefold

34. ClimateChangeImpacts Predictions: Global meansealevelmayriseto 88 cm -ending 21st century(flooding of coasts, estuaries & riverdeltas can alterthephysicalstructure of habitats & lower habitat availability & suitability). Atmos.Concen. of CO2steadily rising, ± 315 ppm(1959) to a current average ± 385 ppm. Expectationsfortherise ±500–1000 ppm by the year 2100.

36. Adverse effects of high temperature in plants MAPS will get the share • Denaturation of ReducedMembraneFluidityReduction in Photosynthetic • Protein StructureTraits • DNA Damage ------------- HighTemperature----------- Decrease in EnzymeActivity • Disturbance in WaterRelationsInhibition of GrowthProduction of Toxic • Compounds • Threats for plantdiversity • Elucidation of the potentialmechanismsand tools in • modulating hightemperatureresponse, plantphyiology, • metabolismneeded. HighTemperature

37. 20th Cen. →Age of Physics & Mechanics. • ControlledfromOutside • (EnergyDependent= StrictRules). • 21 stCen. Age of Biology • (Internally governed, Adaptive). • Century of : • OrganismicEcology & • DNA dominated “Genetic Engineering”.

38. BEECH • An old treewith a canopy diameter 14.3 m -produces: 1.7 kg of Oxygen/hour, - uses 2.35 kg of CO2perhour, -filters1 ton of dust per year, -spends 400 ltof H20 on a sunny day, -decreases temperature by 5 0C, -reduces wind velocity by 50 %, -prevetserosion by 350 times.

39. Roots of GeneticEngineeringvery OLD: (SUPER HEN) Mesopotamya, Assyrians in 1250-1150 BC Bar-bek-Eurib (Father of Biotechnology)

42. GM’ssold • at themarkets: syabeans, corn, tomato, andfewothers. • HebrewUniversityRehovot-Israil (22 May,2002). • GE help: HairlessHenandCock • (fleshy, lowfat, environmentallyfriendly)

43. GE-UsefullIndustrialEstablishments: • FermentationTechnology, Plastics,SyntheticRubber, Pesticides, Resinsetc. • Bacteriaforremediation of • toxicwastes. • GM Cropsforhungary. • TransgenicTomatoes • (preventssoftening). • Salt resistantspecies.

44. Resistanttoenvironmentallyfriendlyherbicides, moregreentransgeneicproducts: wheat, Kolza, Beet, Endives. • Wheat, Corn, Rice , 3 basiccereals: nitrogenfixingbacterial gene cloningwiththehelp of plasmids. • Bacillus thuringiensis • preventionfrominsectsanddevelopment of organicagriculturaldevelopmentthusreducinguse of pesticidesandfertilisers.

45. Terminator Technology • GMC importantsuccess. • Sowing of newseedsintervened.. • (germinatingembryo in theseed • has toxictrnasgenesodies.) • Tracergenesresistanttoantibiotics. • Geneticallysynthesizedhormones • cheaperthanchemicallysynthesizedones. Soilerosion problem: Readymade soya fertilisers.

46. EffectiveMedicine: Natural • expensive but cheapwhen • producedwithbacteria. • RecombinantDNA Methods • Vaccinesagainstmeasles, • malaria, Poliomyelit. • Disolution of bloodclotting • withurokinaseenzyme. Interferon Hepatit Influenza

47. Nanism, • Insulinproductionfrom • bacterialcells. • Use of Timosin-1in the • treatment of brainand • lungcancer. • Gene therapiagainst • beta telassemiblooddisease. • Real Revolution: • Pre-detremination of humanediseases • evenbeforebirth. • Isolation of long life gene.

48. RISKS AncakGenetikMühendisliği Kesyapıştırkadarbasitdeğil. Birtekherbiside dayanıklı mutant bakteriüretmekiçinMilyonlarca mikroorganizmanındenenmesigerekmektedir. GYDC hızlı bir şekilde hastalıklara ve iklim değişikliklerine dayanıklı dünyadaki mevcut tahıl çeşitliliğini değiştirebilir,böylece gıda üretimini ani katastrofik zararlara karşı açık tutabilir. SAĞLIĞA POTANSİYEL ZARARLAR Gıda ürünlerde yeni allerjenler. Yeni toksinlerin üretimi. Toksik metallerin biyoakümülasyonu. Toksik mantarlar için uygun çevre yaratma.

49. PotansiyelÇevreZararları • Yabaniotlardaartış. • YabaniakrabalaraGen Aktarımıörneğin;hardal, yabanişalgam,yabaniturp. • Zehirlenenyabanihayat. • Önemlizararlılara aithassas genlerinboşunaharcanması.

50. Yeniveyadahatehlikeli viruslarınyaratılması. • Herbisitkullanımşeklinindeğiştirilmesi • herbisite dayanıklıyeni istilacitürler • Kolza da saptanmayan bileşimin bir parçasının sıçanlardaki DNA • ile reaksiyona girdiği yakın zamanda • saptanmıştır, bu da olası mutajenik ve • karsinojenik durumlarına işarettir.