Evaluating Biodiversity & Vulnerability

1. Evaluating Biodiversity & Vulnerability IB Syllabus: 4.2.1 – 4.2.7

3. Syllabus Statements • 4.2.1: Identify factors that lead to a loss of diversity • 4.2.2: Describe the perceived vulnerability of tropical rainforests and their relative value in contributing to global biodiversity • 4.2.3: Discuss current estimates of numbers of species and past and present rates of species extinction • 4.2.4: Describe and explain the factors that may make species more or less prone to extinction

4. 4.2.5: Outline the factors used to determine a species’ Red List conservation status • 4.2.6: Describe the case histories of three species: one that has become extinct, another that is currently endangered, and a third whose conservation status has been improved by intervention • 4.2.7: Describe the case history of a natural area of biological significance that is threatened by human activities

5. How is biodiversity lost? • Natural Processes • Natural hazards (volcanoes, drought, mudslide) • Global catastrophies (ice age, meteor impact) • Human Processes • Habitat degradation, fragmentation & loss • Introduction/escape of nonnative species, genetically modified organisms, monoculture • Pollution • Hunting, collecting, harvesting. overfishing

7. Rain Forests – A Case Study • 2% of the land surface with 50-80% of the terrestrial species • Characterized by warm constant temperature, high humidity & rainfall • Vertical stratification provides niche diversification • Decomposition rates are extremely fast  little litter, thin nutrient poor soil • Nutrients stored in biomass of organisms

9. The threats to rainforests • Most of destruction since 1950 • Brazil has ½ remaining world rainforest • At current rates of deforestation Brazil’s rainforest will be gone in 40-50 years • Total loss yearly to deforestation is 50,000 to 170,000 km2 • 1.5 ACRES LOST PER SECOND worldwide • Cutting & degradation at even faster rates

11. Highest average annual deforestation of primary forests, 2000-2005, by area. All countries 1 Brazil -3,466,000 • 2 Indonesia -1,447,800 • 3 Russian Federation -532,200 • 4 Mexico -395,000 • 5 Papua New Guinea -250,200 • 6 Peru -224,600 • 7 United States of America -215,200 • 8 Bolivia -135,200 • 9 Sudan -117,807 • 10 Nigeria -82,000

12. Amazon Rainforest • The Amazonian Rainforest covers over a billion acres, encompassing areas in Brazil, Venezuela, Columbia and the Eastern Andean region of Ecuador and Peru. • If Amazonia were a country, it would be the ninth largest in the world. • The Amazon Rainforest has been described as the "Lungs of our Planet" because it provides the essential environmental world service of continuously recyling carbon dioxide into oxygen. • More than 20 percent of the world oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest. • More than half of the world's estimated 10 million species of plants, animals and insects live in the tropical rainforests. One-fifth of the world's fresh water is in the Amazon Basin. • One hectare (2.47 acres) may contain over 750 types of trees and 1500 species of higher plants.

14. Amazon effects • 1/3 of rainforest destruction from shifting cultivation • Rest cleared for pasture- then planted with African grasses for cattle • When pasture price exceeds forest prices  incentive for land clearing • Government subsidized agriculture and colonization • Improved infrastructure for transport • In Brazil alone, European colonists have destroyed more than 90 indigenous tribes since the 1900's.

15. Plants uniquely adapted to the conditions there

17. Why rainforests vulnerable Ecology • Pollinator relationships – reproduction depends on other organisms • Poor, thin soils – easily eroded once trees removed, little chance for regrowth Location • Surrounded by rapid population growth of developing countries – pollution, waste, space • Poor economy benefits from any resources that are harvestable

18. General Pressures on Rainforests • Economic – raw materials, exports, cattle, oil & gas • Socio-political – Pressures of population growth, subsidize tree plantations, colonization • Ecological – Invasive species, climate change, soil degradation

19. Bromeliad Primary Causes: Exploitive government policies Exports to developed counties Rapid population growth Blue morpho butterfly Poverty Failure to include ecological services in evaluating forest resources Orchid Toucan Scarlet macaw Secondary Causes: Golden lion marmoset Roads Unsustainable peasant farming Logging Flooding from dams Cattle ranching Mining Cash crops Oil drilling Tree plantations • Interconnected Causes • Of Degradation & • Destruction of Tropical • Rainforests • Revolve around • Population Growth • Poverty • Government Policy

21. Rodonia Brazil: Acquired by the Advance Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on August 24, 2000, the false-color image combines near-infrared, red, and green light. Tropical rainforest appears bright red, while pale red and brown areas represent cleared land. Black and gray areas have probably been recently burned. The Jiparaná River appears blue.

22. Secondary results • Clearing rainforests degrades tropical rivers • Water more turbid, silts river bottoms, nutrient overload in estuaries, smothers offshore coral reefs • Accelerates flooding & reduces aquifer recharge • Affect precipitation patterns • Flow of moisture to downwind areas is reduced

23. Why are they special? Or… • Why should we care? • Some biogeographers claim that loss of tropical rainforests is no more important than loss of old growth forests in EU & NA • 1. Important ecological & environmental services • 2. Instrumental values  medicines from plants • 3. Cultural value

24. Instrumental Values of Tropical Forest Ecosystems Nonuse Values Use Values Direct Use Values Indirect Use Values Option Values Existence Values Future products: Protection of biological diversity Timber and other building materials Soil fertility Medicines Flood control Fuelwood Genetic resources Maintaining cultures of local people Water purification Medicinal plants Pollution control Biological insights Edible wild fruits and plants Continuing ecological and evolutionary processes Recreation and tourism Food sources Fiber Education Building supplies Ecological services (pest control, pollination) Future ecological services Genetic information

25. Cultural Extinction • 250 million people in 70 countries from indigenous rainforest cultures • Hunting & Gathering, Sustainable Agriculture • Remaining tribal people are disappearing with their lands • Irreplacable loss of ecological & cultural knowledge – most medicine men 70+ years old • Need protection & ownership of land to survive • BUT  that stands in the way of progress

26. The Yanomami South America The Huli Papua New Guniea The Pygmies Central Africa

27. Prevention Restoration Protect most diverse and endangered areas Educate settlers about sustainable agriculture and forestry Phase out subsidies that encourage unsustainable forest use Add subsidies that encourage sustainable forest use Protect forests with debt-for-nature swaps, conservation easements, and conservation concessions Certify sustainably grown timber Reduce illegal cutting Reduce poverty Slow population growth Reforestation Rehabilitation of degraded areas Concentrate farming and ranching on already-cleared areas

28. Biodiversity will decrease from… • Environmental Stress • Large environmental disturbance • Extreme environmental conditions • Severe limitation of an essential nutrient, habitat, or other resource • Introduction of a nonnative species • Geographic isolation

29. Deforestation Deforestation Changes in water supply and temperature Changes in water supply and temperature Loss and fragmentation of habitat Loss and fragmentation of habitat Water use and pollution and soil nutrient loss Freshwater supply and demand Food supply and demand Water availability Changes in precipitation and temperature Erosion, pollution, and changes in water flow CO2, CH4, N2O emissions Habitat change and fragmentation of habitat Forest product supply and demand Climate change CO2 emission Changes in transpiration and albedo Loss and fragmentation of habitat Loss of crop genetic diversity Reduced resistance to change Habitat change Biodiversity loss

30. About 1.5 - 10 million Species live on Earth Estimates of the Numbers of Species in the World Source: World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Global Biodiversity - Status of the Earth's Living Resources, 1992. 18000 to 50000 species lost per year 1 species lost every 20 minutes Estimates differ but over 50 species lost per day is probably accurate Stop the Clock – www.conservation.org/act

31. 1% Probably extinct 7% Critically imperiled 67% Secure or apparently secure 8% Imperiled 16% Vulnerable 1% Other Current Classification of Species

32. How can we reduce biodiversity loss? • 2 main approaches – ecosystem or species directed • Preventing premature extinction of species • Preserving & restoring ecosystems which provide habitats and resources for the world’s species

33. The Species Approach The Ecosystem Approach Goal Goal Protect populations of species in their natural habitats Protect species from premature extinction Strategies Strategy • Identify endangered species • Protect their critical habitats Preserve sufficient areas of habitats in different biomes and aquatic systems Tactics Tactics • Protect habitat areas through private purchase or government action • Eliminate or reduce populations of alien species from protected areas • Manage protected areas to sustain native species • Restore degraded ecosystems • Legally protect endangered species • Manage habitat • Propagate endangered species in captivity • Reintroduce species into suitable habitats

34. Endangered vs. Threatened • Organisms are classified for conservation purposes Traditionally into 2 groups • Endangered • So few individuals that it could become extinct over all of its natural range • Without protection  critically endangered  extinct • Threatened • Still abundant in range but declining numbers • Ecological warning signs

35. Red Data Books • List the species in the red – the ones most in jeopardy of extinction • Various factors contribute to identifying species as threatened, of concern, endangered, extinct • Examples - population size, reduction of population size, numbers of mature individuals, geographic range and degree of fragmentation, quality of habitat, area of occupancy, probability of extinction • http://www.iucnredlist.org/

36. Figure 22-7 (1)Page 564 Florida manatee Northern spotted owl (threatened) Bannerman's turaco (Africa) Gray wolf Florida panther Devil's hole pupfish Black-footed ferret Snow leopard (Central Asia) Utah prairie dog (threatened) Symphonia (Madagascar) California condor Black lace cactus Oahu tree snail Ghost bat (Australia) Black rhinoceros (Africa)

37. Figure 22-7 (2)Page 565 Kirtland's warbler White top pitcher plant Grizzly bear (threatened) Arabian oryx (Middle East) African elephant (Africa) Mojave desert tortoise (threatened) Swallowtail butterfly Humpback chub Golden lion tamarin (Brazil) Siberian tiger (Siberia)

38. Figure 22-7 (3)Page 565 West Virginia spring salamander Whooping crane Knowlton cactus Giant panda (China) Blue whale Pine barrens tree frog (male) Swamp pink Hawksbill sea turtle El Segundo blue butterfly Mountain gorilla (Africa)