1 / 31

Cultural dimensions of wildlife

Cultural dimensions of wildlife. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gCov0PXkVo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwmhmAfcRt8. Name some extinct organisms. _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________. Declared extinct:. Dusky Seaside Sparrow (1987)

kaemon
Download Presentation

Cultural dimensions of wildlife

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Cultural dimensions of wildlife

  2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gCov0PXkVo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwmhmAfcRt8

  3. Name some extinct organisms • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________

  4. Declared extinct: • Dusky Seaside Sparrow (1987) • Ivory-billed woodpecker (1987) • Caribbean monk seal (1952) • Carolina parakeet (1918)

  5. How many species? • 8.7 million estimated (does not include single-celled organisms) • 1.2 million cataloged, but many are only descriptions or a museum specimen • Approximately 86% of land species and 91% of marine species remain undiscovered.

  6. Extinction rate • Calculations suggest that the current rates of extinction are 100 to 1,000 times natural background levels • Lose between 1-5% of species per year while still discovering new ones • Impacts • Collapse and reconfiguration of ecosystems • Altered cultural identities

  7. Collapse or reconfiguration of ecosystems • Trophic cascades • Extinction of apex predator, typically carnivore • Prey, often herbivores, released from predation • Increase in numbers of herbivores • Defoliation and reorganization of ecosystem http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAGEXDlUHDE

  8. Altered cultural identities • Loss of species is more than just a physical-biological effect (an extrinsic valuation of a species) • Cultures attach meaning to the presence of animals. (an intrinsic valuation of a species). • Loss of a species is a loss of cultural identity

  9. Extinction mechanisms The two leading causes of extinction are: 1._________________ 2._________________ Pollution? Climate change?Habitat fragmentation? Invasive (exotic) species? Hunting? Pet trade?

  10. Extinction mechanisms Habitat fragmentation Overexploitation: hunting, culling, use for food and medicinals, the pet trade

  11. Extinction mechanisms Habitat fragmentation Overexploitation: hunting, culling, use for food and medicinals, the pet trade

  12. Passenger pigeon

  13. Habitat fragmentation • Results in island systems Projected expansion of forest clearing along road networks in Amazonia

  14. Island systems “Sky” islands Fragmented islands Oceanic islands

  15. Islands systems • Isolated populations • Barriers to dispersal • Smaller numbers of individuals locally • Fewer resources • Inbreeding • Stochastic events can wipe out local populations

  16. Overexploitation • Fragmentation is a pervasive effect of human presence • Overexploitation has more cultural dimensions

  17. Bushmeat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOe_4lTRhU0

  18. Bushmeat – illegal, unsustainable trade in wildlife for income or meat. • Illegal in the sense of where the hunting took place, the method of hunting employed, or in the status of the species taken • Not the same as wild or game meat that may be legally hunted or farmed

  19. Endemic in many parts of Africa but also in China • 30 million consumers of 200 metric tons per year in Central Africa • West Africa: extirpated many large mammals, only “weedy” wildlife left • Expanding rapidly into east Africa • Indiscriminate hunting – many species eaten • Has become global commerce

  20. What drives it • Poverty: bushmeat provides income. • Source of protein • Food instability • Political instability (lack of law enforcement) • Lack of food alternatives • Cultural uses of animals • Logging in remote areas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lWAWZOkc6U

  21. Implications • Reduction in wildlife, altered ecosystems and local extinctions • Zoonoses that jump from animal to human • HIV: entered human population via monkey or primate infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) • Ebola: virus jumps from animals to humans through bushmeat and causes hemorrhagic fever with 90% mortality rate • SARS: Severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by virus that jumped to humans through consumption of civet cats in China

  22. Solutions? • DNA barcoding • Banning snare wire • Reform wildlife laws • Fund enforcement • Provide alternative livelihoods • Market incentives to conserve instead of hunt wildlife • Kenya has had ban on hunting for 35 years in recognition that wildlife was worth more alive than dead

More Related