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Please get out your Obje ctives for a stamp!. Please read the board. 5 Reasons to protect biodiversity. 1. Medicinal 2. Commercial 3. Agricultural 4. Ecological 5. Ethical/Aesthetic. Which reasons apply to our friend the Monarch?. Are these worth protecting?.
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Please get out your Objectives for a stamp! Please read the board.
5 Reasons to protect biodiversity • 1. Medicinal • 2. Commercial • 3. Agricultural • 4. Ecological • 5. Ethical/Aesthetic
Reason #1:Medicinal Rosy Periwinkle: Hodgkin’s disease and lymphocytic leukemia If a species disappears, it could have been an important cure for a serious disease! 40% of modern medicines come from plants/animals/fungi 95% of known plant species have never been tested for medicinal value
Vampire Bat saliva • Used to create an anticoagulant to prevent clotting during surgery
Reason #2: Commercial – We should protect species because we can make money from them. Harvesting: Shrimp industry Harvesting: Recreational hunting
Commercial: Ecotourism – spending money to visit an ecosystem or a species Visiting Nature Preserves Whale Watching
Ecotourism Austin’s bat colony Snorkling
Ecotourism Mountain biking Whitewater Rafting
Biomimicry – engineering designs based on natural systems Whale fins – better wind turbines Underwater plants – floating energy harvesters
Reason #3: Agricultural – we should protect species because they could strengthen our crops • Of 80,000 known edible plants on the planet, we depend on 20 species to provide 90% of global food supply. • Corn, rice and wheat are 50% alone! • So . . . What if a disease strikes one of these important crops?
Relying too heavily on one variety of a species can be risky 1841-1851 http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/07/food-ark/potato-variety
Maybe these could be new food sources Winged Bean of New Guinea Katemfe berry
Agricultural – We should protect species because they might be pollinating our food.
Reason #4: Ecological – We should protect species because they all play a role in their ecosystem. Food webs Simba says it’s all connected! • Food webs • Symbiotic relationships • Indicator species • US Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that losing one plant can trigger the loss of 30 other species
Ecological • Ecosystem services! • Air purification • Water filtration • Climate control (absorbing CO2) • Gene bank • Soil building
Reason #5: Aesthetics/Recreation/Spiritual/Moral – We should protect species because it’s the right thing to do and a diverse world is more interesting! We are ONE species Biodiversity enriches our lives! • 1.5 million KNOWN species • More are discovered every year
Threatened Endangered Extinct “Endangered means there’s still time!”
Field Trip Wednesday! • Meet 7:45 in the Commons by the entrance to servery. • Wear: long pants, old tennis shoes, layers! • Bring: Backpack with camera (phone ok), lunch, refillable water bottle, sunglasses, hat. • We will be outside all day long! Be prepared • Morning: helping with prairie restoration planting native grasses. • Lunch: talk from land manager about prairie ecology • Afternoon: seine netting in Armand Bayou – challenge by choice
Ecological Photo Journal! • Challenge: Can you see some of the principals we’ve been studying? • Product: Make a power point which shows things we find at Armand Bayou which we have learned about • Tuesday: • Complete expectation sheet in class for planning Wednesday: Field trip! Take pictures! Friday: computer lab time: put power point together. Project due Thursday Oct 19th. MAJOR GRADE!