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2. Housekeeping Items • Solutions has changed its meeting time today to 2:30 - 3:30 in room 211 of building 355. • Did anyone go to the IDW event yesterday on deconstructing myths about Africa (Radi-Aid, repeated on Friday morning) or the one on “Deconstructing Dinner”? • There was one just before class today on “Connecting Curriculum with Food Sustainability.” • Later this afternoon, there is “Tourism Takes its Toll” with Dr. Aggie Weghill” at 2:30 and “The Economies of Taste” with Celia White at 4:30, both in the Cafeteria Building, upstairs in the Royal Arbutus Room. Lots more. • Pinniped wildlife conservation in the lab: Lessons learned from laboratory studies with Steller sea lions and northern fur seals” by  Dr. David Rosen from the UBC Marine Mammal Unit on Wednesday February 5thfrom 7-8pm in Building 356 Room 109.

3. Upon successfully completing this chapter, you will be able to • Characterize the scope and value of biodiversity on Earth • Describe ways to measure biodiversity • Evaluate the primary causes of biodiversity loss • Specify the benefits and challenges of conserving habitat and the role of habitat fragmentation • Contrast in situ and ex situ conservation approaches • Compare and contrast traditional and innovative conservation efforts • Outline reasons for setting aside parks, reserves, and other protected areas

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5. Central Case: Saving the Polar Bear: What Will it Take? • “There will be no polar ice by 2060. Somewhere along that path, the polar bear drops out.” • Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) – for political reasons the polar bear was not be listed as a “threatened” species, though in the U.S. they are • Polar bears are coming into contact and interbreeding with other types of bears • Polar bears are appearing more frequently in human settlements • Traditional Inuit hunting practices are being affected by the loss of sea ice, a process for which they are not responsible • What will it take to save the polar bear? 9-5

6. Our Planet of Life 9-6

7. Biodiversity encompasses several levels • Biodiversity = sum total of all organisms in an area at whatever scale, including • Ecosystem diversity • Species diversity • Genetic diversity

8. Biodiversity encompasses several levels (cont’d) • Species Diversity = the number or variety of species in the world or in a particular region • Species richness = the number of species • Evenness or relative abundance = extent to which numbers of individuals of different species are equal or skewed • Speciation generates new species and adds to species richness • Extinction reduces species richness

9. Biodiversity encompasses several levels (cont’d) • Species Diversity • Immigration is the inmigration of a species to an area • Emigration is the outmigration of a species from an area • Extirpation is the local extinction of a species

10. Biodiversity encompasses several levels (cont’d) • Genetic Diversity • All species consist of individuals that vary genetically from one another to some degree (this is as much true for humans as it is for other species) • Encompasses the varieties in DNA among individuals within species and populations • The raw material for adaptation to local conditions, though some species can adapt much more quickly (such as the peppered moth)

11. Peppered Moth

12. Biodiversity encompasses several levels (cont’d) • Genetic Diversity • Populations with low genetic diversity are vulnerable • Inbreeding depression = genetically similar parents mate and produce inferior offspring (e.g. certain offspring of overly inbred royal families or of hillbillies) • Genetic bottleneck = limited variety of genetic material is available to be passed along by the small number of surviving individuals to their descendants

13. Biodiversity encompasses several levels (cont’d) • Ecosystem diversity = the number and variety of ecosystems • Also encompasses differing communities and habitats • Rapid vegetation change and varying landscapes within an ecosystem promote higher levels of biodiversity • Ecotones = where different types of habitats intermix

14. Some groups hold more species than others • Insects predominate over all other life-forms – hence a lack of ‘eveness’ • 40% of all insects are beetles • Groups accumulate species by • Adaptive radiation • Allopatric speciation (from isolation) • Low rates of extinction

15. Insects outnumber all other species Mammals= 2.7-03%

16. Measuring biodiversity is not easy • Precise quantitative measurements are difficult • About 1.8 million species but likely higher • Incomplete for several reasons • Some areas of Earth little explored (new species being discovered all the time in Australia) • Many species are tiny and overlooked • Many organisms are difficult to identify 9-16

17. Biodiversity is unevenly distributed on the planet • Latitudinal gradient = species richness increases towards the equator • Plant productivity and climate stability play key roles

18. Latitudinal gradient has many causes

19. Biodiversity Loss and Species Extinction 9-19

20. Biodiversity loss and species extinction • Canadian Species at Risk Act usescategorizes: • Extinction = occurs when the last member of a species dies and the species ceases to exist • Extirpation = the disappearance of a particular population from a given area, but not the entire species globally • Endangered = species in imminent danger of becoming extirpated or extinct • Threatened = species likely to become endangered in the near future

21. Extinction and extirpation occur naturally • Paleontologists estimate 99% of all species that ever lived are now extinct • Background rate of extinction = natural extinctions for a variety of reasons • 1 species out of 1,000 mammal and marine species would go extinct every 1,000 to 10,000 years • 1 extinction per 1 to 10 million species for mammals and marine species

22. Extinction and extirpation occur naturally (cont’d) • Earth has experienced five previous mass extinction episodes • In the past 440 million years, mass extinctions have eliminated at least 50% of all species • Today’s mass extinction is caused by humans and humans will suffer as a result of it

23. Some species are more vulnerable to extinction than others • In general, extinction occurs when environmental conditions change so severely that a species cannot adapt to the change. What kinds of changes are occurring today that fall into this category? • … • … • Vulnerable = species that are of particular concern because of characteristics that make them particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events. What are some species we can consider ‘vulnerable,’ and due to what? • …. • …. 9-23

24. Humans have started the sixth mass extinction Extinctions followed human arrival on islands and continents

25. Humans may have started the sixth mass extinction (cont’d) • Global extinction rate is currently 100 to 1000 times greater than background rate • The Red List = an updated list of species facing high risks of extinctions – at least • 23% of mammal species • 12% of bird species • 17% to 75% of all other species • Extinction is only part of the story of biodiversity loss, the larger part of the story is decline in population sizes

26. Endangered Species

27. Humans may have started the sixth mass extinction (cont’d) • The Living Planet Index quantifies biological degradation • Between 1970 and 2007, the Index fell by 30%

28. There are several major causes of biodiversity loss • Reasons for biodiversity losses are multifaceted and factors may interact synergistically • Causes of population decline: • Habitat alteration • Invasive species • Pollution, including pesticides • Overharvesting • Climate change

29. There are several major causes of biodiversity loss (cont’d) • Habitat alteration • The greatest cause of biodiversity loss • E.g., farming simplifies communities • Grazing modifies the grassland structure and species composition • Clearing forests removes resources organisms need • Hydroelectric dams turn rivers into reservoirs upstream • Urbanization and suburban sprawl reduce natural communities • A few species (i.e., pigeons, rats) benefit from changing habitats

31. There are several major causes of biodiversity loss (cont’d) • Invasive species • Introduction of non-native species to new environments • Accidental: zebra mussels • Deliberate: food crops • Island species are especially vulnerable • Invaders have no natural predators, competitors, or parasites • Cost billions of dollars in economic damage • What are some West Coast invasives?

32. Several major causes of biodiversity loss (cont’d) • Pollution • Harms organisms in many ways • Air pollution degrades forest ecosystems • Water pollution adversely affects fish and amphibians • Agricultural runoff harms terrestrial and aquatic species • The effects of oil and chemical spills on wildlife are dramatic and well known

34. Several major causes of biodiversity loss (cont’d) • Overharvesting • Vulnerable species are large, few in number, long-lived, and have few young (K-selected species) • The Siberian tiger (The 1989 political freedom in Soviet Union brought the freedom to hunt and poach) • Atlantic gray whale has gone extinct • Thousands of sharks killed just for fins • Gorillas killed for their meat

36. Several major causes of biodiversity loss (cont’d) • Climate change • Global impact on habitat and biodiversity • Greenhouse gases modifies global weather patterns and increases the frequency of extreme weather events • Increases stress on populations and forces organisms to shift their geographic ranges • Most animals and plants will not be able to cope

37. Over 2500 amphibian species worldwide are in decline • Some may be lost before they are even discovered • Amphibians are regarded as “biological indicators” (‘canary in the coalmine’ analogy) • Habitat loss, especially draining of wetlands, is the leading threat to amphibians in Canada • Pollution, fragmentation also problems 9-37

38. Benefits of Biodiversity 9-38

39. Biodiversity provides ecosystem services FREE!! • Provides food, fuel, and fibre • Provides shelter and building materials • Purifies air and water • Detoxifies and decomposes wastes • Stabilizes and moderates Earth’s climate • Moderates floods, droughts, wind, and temperature extremes • Generates and renews soil fertility and cycles nutrients • Pollinates plants, including many crops • Controls pests and diseases • Maintains genetic resources as inputs to crop varieties, livestock breeds, and medicines • Provides cultural and aesthetic benefits • Gives us the means to adapt to change The annual value of just 17 ecosystem services = $16 to 54 trillion per year

40. Biodiversity helps maintain ecosystem integrity • Biodiversity increases the stability and resilience of communities and ecosystems (like rivets in airplane) • Decreased biodiversity reduces a natural system’s ability to function and provide services to our society • The loss of a species affects ecosystems differently • If the species can be functionally replaced by others, it may make little difference • Extinction of a keystone species may cause other species to decline or disappear • Precautionary principle: “To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering” (Aldo Leopold)

41. Biodiversity enhances food security • Genetic diversity within crops is enormously valuable • California’s barley crops annually receive $160 million in disease resistance benefits from Ethiopian strains of barley • Wild strains provide disease resistance and have the ability to grow back year after year without being replanted • New potential food crops are waiting to be used • Serendipity berry produces a sweetener 3,000 times sweeter than sugar

42. Biodiversity provides drugs and medicines • Each year pharmaceutical products owing their origin to wild species generate up to $150 billion in sales

43. How Best to Conserve Biodiversity? Most people view national parks and ecotourism as excellent ways to help keep ecological systems intact. Yet the golden toad went extinct despite living within a reserve established to protect it. Moreover, climate change does not pay attention to park boundaries. What lesson can we learn from this about the conservation of biodiversity? weighingtheissues

44. Biodiversity provides additonal economic benefits • Ecotourism is particularly beneficial in developing and developed countries alike • Costa Rica: rainforests • Australia: Great Barrier Reef • Belize: reefs, caves, and rainforests • Incentive to preserve natural areas and reduce impacts on the landscape and on native species • However, too many visitors can degrade the outdoor experience and disturb wildlife

45. People value and seek out connections with nature • Biophilia = connections that humans subconsciously seek with life • Our affinity for parks and wildlife • Keeping of pets • High value of real estate with views of natural lands • Nature deficit disorder = alienation from the natural environment • May be behind some of the emotional and physical problems of the young

46. Approaches to Conservation 9-46

47. Conservation biology addresses habitat degradation and species loss • Conservation biology = understanding the factors, forces, and processes that influence the loss and protection, and restoration of biological diversity • Conservation biologists choose questions and pursue research with the aim of developing solutions to the problems of habitat degradation and species loss • Applied and goal-oriented science, with implicit values and ethical standards • Thus, both descriptive and normative.

48. Conservation biology arose in response to biodiversity loss

49. Conservation biology addresses habitat degradation and species loss (cont’d) • Uses field data, lab data, theory, and experiments to study impacts of humans on other organisms • Designs, tests, and implements ways to mitigate impacts • Minimum viable population = how small a population can become before it runs into problems • Organisms distributed as a network of subpopulations • Small populations are most vulnerable to extinction and need special attention (also applies to indigenous and small ethnic groups in terms of their culture)

50. Island biogeography can help address habitat fragmentation • Equilibrium theory of island biogeography = explains how species come to be distributed among oceanic islands • Also applies to “habitat islands” – patches of one habitat type isolated within a “sea” of others (need to link cores with corridors) • Explains how the number of species on an island results from an equilibrium between immigration and extirpation • Predicts an island’s species richness based on the island’s size and distance from the mainland