Is the loss of Biodiversity a problem?

2. Is the loss of Biodiversity a problem?

3. Is the Earth past the tipping point in the loss of Biodiversity? 2016 Living Planet Index 3 min The Sixth Extinction 9 min

4. This lecture will help you understand: • The scope of Earth’s biodiversity • Background rates and mass extinction • Primary causes of biodiversity loss • The benefits of biodiversity • Conservation biology • Biodiversity conservation efforts

5. The Anthropocene 3 min https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_-7QFZeSfQ 4 min https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvgG-pxlobk

8. We're living in the epoch some scientists call the "Anthropocene" an age in which human influence touches nearly everything on the planet

9. More than half the world's population lives in urban areas these days. And that percentage is rapidly increasing. Some scientists say our planet is now so influenced by our cities and all that human activity that we entered a new geologic era. They call it the Anthropocene, and with that change, we should be rethinking the relationship between civilization and nature. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeqRuxf_eAU 3 min https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjWkifPqD6I (19 min best overview)

10. Conservation Biology • Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions • What is Biodiversity? • Why should be care about Biodiversity? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-Ik1VVgQvo 7 min

11. Essential Questions • How is the health and stability of our ecosystem related to biodiversity? • What impact will biodiversity loss have on humans and other life? • How can we protect biodiversity? • Given that it is impossible to find ANY information refuting the desperate state of biodiversity on Earth, why is it that humans continue to accelerate biodiversity loss?

12. Central Dogma of Conservation Biology Biodiversity makes ecosystems more stable so that the ecosystems can more reliably provide ecosystem services • More biodiversity • More stable ecosystems • more resistant to disturbances, • more resilient after disturbances • More reliable ecosystem services

13. Biodiversity provides free ecosystem services • Provides food, shelter, fuel • Purifies air and water, and detoxifies wastes • Stabilizes climate, moderates floods, droughts, wind, temperature • Generates and renews soil fertility and cycles nutrients • Pollinates plants and controls pests and disease • Maintains genetic resources • Provides cultural and aesthetic benefits • Allows us to adapt to change The annual value of just 17 ecosystem services = $16 - 54 trillion per year

14. Biodiversity encompasses several levels • Humans are reducing Earth’s diversity of life • Biodiversity – sum total of all organisms in an area • Split into three specific levels: • Species diversity • Genetic diversity • Ecosystem diversity

15. Three kinds of biodiversity • Species Diversity • Richness (number of different species) • Evenness (population or proportion of those species in the ecosystem) • Shannon Weiner Index • Food Web • Genetic Diversity • The genetic variation in a population • Ecosystem Diversity • The variation of habitats and abiotic conditions

16. Species diversity • Species Diversity = the number or variety of species in the world or in a particular region • 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

17. Richness and Evenness Community A Community B

18. Which population has more richness? Which population has greater evenness? Which population has more biodiversity? A B

20. How does species diversity make ecosystems more stable? • The more species in an Ecological Community, the more interdependent the food web will be so that if one species’ population declines the predators will have other options for food and the impact on predator populations will be minimized. (Increase Trophic Options/Niches) • A food web is a diagram of species populations that show how energy and nutrients are distributed in an ecosystem. This also shows the species’ niche or role in the community • Terms: Ecological Community, Niche, Food Web, Energy and Nutrient distribution.

21. Species Diversity (Which is more stable? Why?)

22. Species Diversity in a meadow community

23. Species • What determines a species? • How are species named? • How is biodiversity added to Earth? (species added) • How is biodiversity lost from Earth? (species removed) • Which taxonomic groups are most represented on Earth? • What affects the richness of species?

24. The taxonomy of species (How do you determine a species?) • Taxonomists = scientists who classify species • Physical appearance and genetics determines a species • Genera = related species are grouped together • Families = groups of genera • Every species has a two-part scientific name: genus and species

25. Subspecies: the level below a species • Subspecies = populations of species that occur in different areas and differ slightly from each other • Divergence stops short of separating the species • Subspecies are denoted with a third part of the scientific name • Should all subspecies be protected as valuable biodiversity? Siberian tiger = Panthera tigris altaica Bengal tiger = Panthera tigris tigris

26. Some groups contain more species than others • Species are not evenly distributed among taxonomic groups • Insects predominate over all other life-forms • 40% of all insects are beetles • Groups accumulate species by • Adaptive radiation • Allopatric & Sympatric speciation • Low rates of extinction

27. Insects outnumber all other species

28. Biodiversity is unevenly distributed • Living things are distributed unevenly across Earth • Latitudinal gradient = species richness increases towards the equator Canada has 30 - 100 species of breeding birds, while Costa Rica has more than 600 species

29. Latitudinal gradient has many causes • Climate stability, high plant productivity, and no glaciation • Tropical biomes support more species and show more species evenness • The more concentrated solar energy, the more GPP, the more species. • Diverse habitats increase species diversity • Human disturbance can increase habitat diversity • But only at the local level

30. Genetic Diversity

31. How does genetic diversity make ecosystems more stable? • The greater the genetic diversity in a population the smaller the impact of diseases, invasive organisms, and other changes in the ecosystem. • The variety of alleles (traits) in a population (gene pool) • Source of genetic diversity is random mutation • Related to population size • Small populations suffer from inbreeding depression • The prerequisite for adaptation and evolution.

32. Which population is more stable? Why?

33. Ecosystem diversity • 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

34. How does Ecosystem Diversity make ecosystems more diverse? • The greater the variety of abiotic factors in an ecosystem (sunlight, water, landscapes, etc.) the greater number of niches and habitats that can support a variety of organisms. An increase in the variety of organisms increases the complexity and stability of the community and of the ecosystem. • This variety of habitats and niches promotes evolution and adaptation • The varied habitats also help organisms that require different conditions for the different stages of their life cycle: mating, nesting, juvenile development, reproducing and feeding.

37. Ecosystems integrate spatially Ecosystems vary greatly in size The term “ecosystem” is most often applied to self-contained systems of moderate geographic extent Adjacent ecosystems may share components and interact Ecotones = transitional zones between two ecosystems in which elements of different ecosystems mix

39. Benefits of Biodiversity

40. Other benefits of biodiversity • Food Security • Medicines • Recreation (Hunting, Tourism) • Biophilia • Ethical and Intrinsic Values

41. Biodiversity helps maintain ecosystem function • Biodiversity increases the stability and resilience of communities and ecosystems • 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 • “To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering” (Aldo Leopold)

42. Biodiversity enhances food security • Genetic diversity within crops is enormously valuable • Turkey’s wheat crops received $50 billion worth of disease resistance from wild wheat • 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

43. Some potential new food sources

44. Organisms provide drugs and medicines • Each year pharmaceutical products owing their origin to wild species generate up to $150 billion in sales • The rosy periwinkle produces compounds that treat Hodgkin's disease and leukemia

45. Biodiversity generates economic benefits • People like to experience protected natural areas, creating economic opportunities for residents, particularly in developing countries • Costa Rica: rainforests • Australia: Great Barrier Reef • Belize: reefs, caves, and rainforests • A powerful incentive to preserve natural areas and reduce impacts on the landscape and on native species • But, too many visitors to natural areas can degrade the outdoor experience and disturb wildlife

46. People value and seek out 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 the emotional and physical problems of the young

47. Do we have ethical obligations to other species? • Humans are part of nature and need resources to survive • But, we also have conscious reasoning ability and can control our actions • Our ethics have developed from our intelligence and our ability to make choices • Many people feel that other organisms have intrinsic value and an inherent right to exist

48. Evidence of Biodiversity Loss

49. Why are Conservation Biologists concerned about the Earth’s biodiversity? We are losing biodiversity at an alarming rate • Sixth Mass Extinction • 1000 to 10,000x the background extinction rate • Living Planet Index has shown a loss of 30% (2007) of biodiversity since 1970 (67% by 2020)http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/living_planet_report/living_planet_report_graphics/lpi_interactive/

50. Earth has experienced five mass extinctions • In the past 440 million years, mass extinctions have eliminated at least 50% of all species • After every mass extinction the biodiversity returned to or exceeded its original state