Biodiversity/Habitat Loss

Biodiversity/Habitat Loss ELF Activity: Biosphere 4Chttp://andrill.org/education/elf/activities/4C

Biodiversity is • the number of different organisms within the given biomes throughout the planet, • a measure of the health of an ecosystem, • generally a function of climatic factors, mainly temperature and rainfall, and • in general, typically rich in tropical regions whereas polar regions support less variation and therefore have lower biodiversity.

Biomes are the world's major natural communities, generally defined according to the dominant vegetation. Organisms in a specific biome tend to have similar adaptive characteristics; for example, they might be able to tolerate drought, low temperatures, short growing seasons or high winds.

Throughout the history of the Earth, biomes have shifted as regional climates have changed. Now, human activities are beginning to alter the factors that influence biomes. As the Earth’s climate changes, biomes are shifting and organisms must adapt or move; otherwise, they will die out.

What are Hotspots? Hotspots refer to regions of high biodiversity which are currently experiencing loss of habitat. For example: California This state has hot dry summers and cool moist winters and contains several ecosystems. Of the 3500 native plants, 2100 (60%) are found nowhere else on the planet. 50% of the amphibians and 11% of the mammals are also endemic. Only 37% of the land is protected. Human development (both urban and agriculture) threatens many of these species. There are only 25 biodiversity hot spots throughout the world.

The number and description of the world’s biomes vary by source. As defined, biomes vary with latitude and region. For instance, tree line is the elevation at which trees stop growing due to harsh climate factors. Around the world this occurs at different elevations depending on latitude. Observe the following table and note the general trend of lowering tree line elevation with increasing latitude.

With some exceptions the worldwide trend is, “The higher the latitude, the lower the tree line.”

This activity will explore the shifting of the biomes on a mountain in Arizona. Mountains in different regions have different biomes and the biomes are at different elevations. Remember--elevation makes a difference as well as other factors. Here are the biomes on our mountain and the species that occur there.

Alpine Tundra http://www.blm.gov Above tree line, rocky shallow soil

Arctic Alpine http://www.blm.gov 10,000-11,000 feet, shallow and rocky soils, above tree line

Spruce Forest http://www.blm.gov 8000 feet to tree line, cold winters, moist warm summers

Fir Forest http://www.blm.gov http://www.nhdfl.org 6000-8000 feet with variations at different latitudes and mountain slope aspects (the direction the mountainside faces)

Pine Forest http://www.blm.gov 3500-5000 feet

Pinyon – Juniper Woodlands http://www.blm.gov 2000-3000 feet with variations at different latitudes and mountain slope aspects (the direction the mountainside faces)

Grasslands http://www.blm.gov dominated by grass, some shrubs and very few trees

Desert http://www.blm.gov small plants and sparsely covered http://www.blm.gov

On the following slides we explore some examples of species around the world that have had to shift their traditional habitat range due to climate changes in their region.

Edith’s Checkerspot Butterfly http://www.blm.gov A study at the University of California, Santa Barbara, show these butterflies have been disappearing from lower elevations where the climate is becoming warmer and dryer. In Europe, 22 of 35 butterflies studied showed their ranges to have shifted northward to cooler climates over the past century.

http://www.sierraclub.org Mountain goats are running out of room at the higher elevations as their grazing areas also move up in elevation. These resilient and sturdy animals follow their food source which is losing ground at lower elevations as the mountain climates warm.

Pica, a relative of the rabbit, is quickly disappearing from elevations below 7000 feet. As climate warms, they are retreating to cooler and higher elevations, becoming more and more isolated and vulnerable. In some areas their populations have completely disappeared. http://www.dfg.ca.gov

‘l’iwi, a common Hawaiian bird once widespread throughout the Hawaiian islands, is now restricted to higher elevations. With warming climates, mosquitoes carrying avian pox and malaria are moving uphill infecting the ‘l’iwi populations. www.photo.net

www.pandaw.com A 42-year study at the University of York shows tropical insects moved almost 67 meters up in elevation on the mountains of Borneo. Many of these species are found nowhere else in the world and will face extinction as room runs out.

Not all species move. To avoid severe winters, Pacific Brant migrate 3000 miles south to Mexico from their breeding grounds in the subarctic region. As warming trends increase, the food supply and the weather are more favorable, about 30% are staying put in the northern areas. Jeff Wasley, courtesy U.S. Geological Survey

In this activity students create a diagram of a fictional mountain in Arizona and describe the change in biomes as the elevation increases. Starting with the current concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere, students use the model to show how the biomes will shift up the mountains as the climate changes with increased atmospheric CO2.

This material is based on work supported by an Environmental Literacy Grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Education (NA09SEC4690009) and prior work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants ANT-0342484 and ESI-0632175. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or the National Science Foundation. http://andrill.org/education/elf/activities

Biodiversity/Habitat Loss