Chapter 20, Conservation and Resources Biology (Including material from external sources)

1. Chapter 20, Conservation and Resources Biology(Including material from external sources) Basic Biology Dr. Marshall Shippensburg U. of PA Fall, 2011

2. Species introduction, accidental and purposeful (niche overlap - native species out-competed). Direct human habitat destruction Damage inflicted in harvesting resources: clear-cut logging, strip mining, etc. Over-utilization (of renewable and non-renewable resources): Over-hunting and over-fishing Over-utilization of fresh water, etc. Pollution Damage Waste disposal (purposeful - waste dumps, gaseous emissions, etc.) Accidental, industrial leaks & spills Non-target effects of pesticides Human Impact Outline (my version) (one can find examples that could be put into more than one of these categories at once)

4. Introduced species (accidental and purposely) may become invasive due to a lack of effective predators and competitors in their new environment.

5. Some examples of Introduced invasive species

7. Habitat destruction can also involve pollution This abandoned copper mine involved significant habitat destruction when it was being created and operated, and remains a source of heavy metal pollution.

8. Forest destruction destroys habitat directly and also alters nutrient cycles

10. Replacing habitat can be difficult Replanting clear-cut old growth forest can re-grow trees, but it doesn’t re-create the same environment many of the old-growth animals need for survival

11. Even practices designed to help can hurt By suppressing natural fires, we alter the environment in a negative way.

12. Habitat destruction reduces diversity Ecosystem diversity contributes to the function of the biosphere. Species diversity allows necessary community and ecosystem interactions to operate fully. Genetic diversity within a species enhances survival potential over time through adaptation.

13. The importance of diversity

14. Conserving diversity is a priority

15. In any ecosystem “edge” areas tend to support a greater diversity of organisms

16. Extinction are a part of the process of evolution and historically have continued to happen through time; during some periods they have been dramatic and widespread. Today however the rate is excessive which prevents the slow process of evolution from keeping pace with environmental change

19. Tropical environments are some of the most species diverse and harbor thousand of organisms that haven’t even been described yet. Every time rain forest acreage is destroyed we run the risk of losing many plants and animals, that may be of direct value to humans, before they are even discovered. Ironically the tropical “Vinca” plant shown here is an exception, being readily available in almost any garden center even though it is the source of several alkaloid “secondary metabolites” useful in treating childhood leukemia and lymphoma. Figure 20.16

20. Zoned reserves help to preserve core areas in a native state. Buffer zones can be used for farming and other less-destructive activities.Convincing local peoples that there is economic value in habitat preservation is one way to enlist their essential cooperation. Eco-tourism is one way to make money from preserving the environment.

21. Pollution results from production, utilization and waste disposal

22. Pollutants can be: Heavy metals such as lead (PB), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), many of which are neurotoxic. Organics (carbon-based) artificial (man-made) solvents, pesticides and other industrial wastes that decomposers have never had time to evolve the ability to decompose, so they often persist in the environment. Gases (both natural and man-made)which are chemically reactive and have direct toxicity, or change the environment in other ways. Natural nutrients, such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), which cause ecosystem and community disturbances (i.e. eutrophication, etc.) when present in too high a concentration, or their oxides or bases (SO2, NO2,NaOH) which can be corrosive. Pollution damage to the environment (habitat distruction) is often long-lived, and difficult to remediate, quantitate or precisely value, although its direct effect on human health, and the costs that result, can be assessed with some accuracy.

23. Pollution can be “natural” Eutrophicationis the term given to excessive algal overgrowth that results when too much N and P (N & P pollution) find their way into a body of water, in many cases due to over application of manure in the watershed. The algal growth exceeds the surface area available, the cells growing underneath begin to die and decay, which consumes massive amounts of dissolved O2, much more than the living algae on the surface canreplace. Fish and other aquatic life die as well adding to the problem.

24. The American Environmental Movement Our societal relationship to the environment has evolved through three stages: The frontier attitude:Subdue utilize and develop - predominated from the beginning through the 1860s. Environmental laws passed during this period largely defined how nature should be developed with an eye toward encouragement. The Preservationistattitude began in earnest in the 1870s and persists to some extent today. It was supplanted as the primary national policy starting roughly in the1930s with a transition in earnest to conservation concerns in the 1960s. The Conservationistattitude competed to some extent with preservation concerns from the beginning of that movement. It originated over concerns involving forest policy and matured in the 1960s protests over pollution. In reality these periods overlapped and graded into one another without sharp dividing lines.

25. The frontier attitude: subdue, utilize, and develop The undeveloped environment of North America presented a challenge to survival which was far from guaranteed. Life in the colonies and early America could be brutal and short, especially in more primitive areas such as the western frontier. The wholesale development of nature seemed to be the only reasonable response to the need to insure personal and societal survival. Manifest destiny 1840’s – 1860’s. Westward expansion and the development of the frontier was encouraged. The term was coined by John O’Sullivan in an article written for his “The United States Magazine and Democratic Review.” Originally the term elicited little comment, then became controversial before winning support as a call to westward expansion, often involving the use of force which the author hadn’t intended. “American progress” by John Gast, 1872

26. Preservation Various British writers had bemoaned the effects on their country of the industrial revolution. This tradition was followed in the US in the 1840s by writers, poets and philosophers of the Transcendentalist movement like Thoreau, Emerson and Witman who viewed nature as an extension of the divine. John Muir followed in their footsteps. A Wisconsin University drop-out, he traveled throughout the west and wrote eloquently and movingly for eastern newspapers of the spiritual value of wilderness and the need to preserve it from the ravages of clear-cut logging. In 1872 Congress designated TheYellowstone as the world’s first national park. 1891 saw the creation of forest preserves off limits to loggers, and in 1903 Roosevelt created the first national wildlife refuge. Roosevelt and Muir at Glacier point in the Yosemite Valley

27. From Preservation to Conservation During the Roosevelt administration men like Gifford Pinchot argued for conservation against preservation. He held that nature should be used to insure the greatest good for the greatest numbers. He became the first head of the predecessor to the US Forest Service and eventually the 28th governor of Pennsylvania. In time men like Aldo Leopold would continue to define the science of ecology and come to the realization that we had to lose our anthropocentric view of nature and realize that we had to treat the land in an ethical manner as a part of the whole rather than its master: “A land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land community to plain member and citizen in it;” “a thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community.”

28. Concerns over worsening problems of pollution and over-utilization focused our attention on Conservation writ large: long-term sustainability Smoke on the water. The Cuyahoga river catches fire several times in the 1950s and 60s and so does concern for the environment.

29. Pollution in the trees. Bird species succumb to pesticide use and the book documenting the first wide-spread threat of pesticides to non-target species gains national attention at the same time that other environmental concerns are also coming to the fore. Rachel Carson published her book Silent Spring in 1962 warning of the dangers of DDT. The DDT ban that resulted has in fact resulted in the recovery of many bird species populations. In some countries however, DDT use has been continued due to its effectiveness in combating the spread of malaria.

30. The Biomagnification of DDT The accumulation of DDT in fatty tissue, resulted in fragile egg shells and a decline in many bird species numbers. Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane • Is a very effective insecticide: • Cheap • Persists in the environment • - Broad spectrum

31. The 60s bring matters to a head See the History of the Environmental Movement pdf

32. Conservatives to the rescue, Nixon creates the EPA and other things get done • The National Environmental Policy Act • EPA created by the President • Clear Air Act of 1970 • Clean Water Act of 1972

33. The problem: Our Economic calculations (GNP, etc.) don’t allow for the true cost of Environmental “Ecosystem Services” which we have always expected nature to provide for free.

34. The U.S. and many other nations have implemented a top-down“command and control”approach to bettering the environment. The Public Policy Life Cycle involves recognition, formulation, implementation, and control: Recognize the problem Study the problem (establish cause and effect) Do a risk assessment (cost vs benefit) Gather public support (public hearings, etc.) Legislate a solution (set limits, provide for monitoring, set penalties, etc) Implement the controls. Follow up (are conditions improving? Are limits too strict, too costly, etc.)

35. Some General principles: I. Population growth is the root cause of almost all of our environmental problems

36. Some General Pollution Principles: II Pollution Prevention is preferable – by far – to cleaning up after the fact. Some damage can’t be completely undone. Costs are far greater.

37. Some General Pollution Principles: III. Pollution damage to the environment (a component of habitat destruction) is often difficult to quantitate or value, although its direct effect on human health, and the costs that result, can be assessed with some accuracy. Pollution effects are usually milder for surface contact than ingestion. The Health effects of pollutants are likely to be more severe in children as they are still growing and developing.

38. Controls are prone to controversy Environmental regulations can be costly and may place impacted businesses and industries at a competitive disadvantage, at least at first.So attempts must be made to make the imposed costs as reasonable as possible.If possible, regulatory systems with flexibility are to be preferred.

39. One way to make regulatory costs more reasonable is to estimate the “optimal amount”of pollution. The cost of the damage done increases exponentially with pollution amount.

40. However, the cost, per unit, of clean up is highest when pollution is lowest.

41. Economically, controls should strive to operate near the optimum.

42. Problems like acid rain can be addressed with Cap and trade strategies

43. Cap and Trade pollution control For pollutants like SO2 that contribute to acid rain within the “pool” of the atmosphere, the total amount produced per unit time is more important that specifically who is responsible or where the point of origin is. Accordingly the EPA issues permits to pollute or Emission Reduction Credits (ERCs) that are distributed to SO2 -producing facilities. If a facility becomes cleaner than their allotment of ERCs it can sell the excess to another facility that needs them. So an SO2 generator now has some flexibility; they can purchase clean-up equipment and sell some of their excess ERCs or, if needed, buy available ERCs from someone else. However, the total number of ERCs is “capped” and so are SO2 emissions.

44. On the whole . . . Have our environmental clean-up efforts been successful? Have they impacted industry and business as negatively as some feared?

45. On the whole . . . Have our environmental clean-up efforts been successful? (on the whole the answer is “Yes” although continued vigilance is necessary to complete the clean up where necessary and to insure continued effectiveness through time. All pollution-control legislation is periodically reviewed and renewed). Have the imposed controls impacted industry and business as negatively as some feared? (on the whole the answer is “No” as prevention and remediation efforts have required whole new industries, service providers, and regulatory agencies which have generated thousands of new jobs),

46. HOW ABOUT ME? Think globally, act locally Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! Be aware of national and local environmental issues. Vote accordingly.

47. Achieving a Sustainable Environment is essential, not optional. The “big blue marble” is the only home we have.

48. Figure 20.24