Biodiversity

16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 1

 Biodiversity
• Variety of living things,
number of kinds
• Ecological diversity
– different habitats, niches,
species interactions
• Species diversity
– different kinds of
organisms, relationships
among species
• Genetic diversity
– different genes &
combinations of genes
within populations

16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 2

 Benefits of Biodiversity
• Ecosystem functions
• Ecosystem services
• Cleaning water,
• Cleaning air,
• Habitat & breeding
areas for wildlife, …
• Aesthetic and
cultural benefits

16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 3

 Natural Resources
• Vital economic natural resources
– Renewable
• Forests (plants, wildlife)
• Soils
• Fresh water (lakes, rivers)
• Wildlife and fisheries
• Rangeland
– Nonrenewable
• Minerals
• Fossil Fuels

16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 4

 Natural Resources
• Management of natural
resources
– Assure availability of
resources for the future
– Three “philosophies”
• Maximum sustained yield
• Ecosystem-based
management
• Adaptive management

16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 5

 Benefits of Biodiversity
• New food sources
– Grains, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish

16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 6

 Benefits of Biodiversity
• Medicines
• Plants
• Jellyfish & sea
anemones
• Nudibranchs
• Marine slugs

16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 7

 Biodiversity
• How much biodiversity
 1.7—2.0 million species
 Estimates to 100 million

16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 8

 Biodiversity
• Where is the biodiversity
– Everywhere
• Every continent and habitat
has unique life forms
– Concentrated in the
tropics
• Panama: > 500 species of
breeding birds
• Arctic: 50-100 species
– Dense concentrations

16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 9

 Threats to Biodiversity
• Extinction and population
reductions
– Hunting and overharvesting
• Tiger
• Dodo
• Whales
• Sharks
– Habitat loss

16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 10

 Threats to Biodiversity
• Extinction and
population reductions
– Pollution
– Climate change
– Invasive species

16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 11

 Protecting Biodiversity
• How can we protect
biodiversity
– Stop overharvesting
• Sustainable yield
• Hunting & fishing laws
(every state ?)
– in developing nations ?
– Protect habitat
• Refuges, parks, preserves
– Endangered Species Act

16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 12

 Protecting Biodiversity
• Refuges, parks, preserves
– How big should refuges be?
– Where should they be?
– McArthur & Wilson “Theory of Island
Biogeography”
• colonization rate
• extinction rate (local)
• predicts number of species

16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 13

 Protecting Biodiversity
• Effect of island size • Effect of island distance

16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 14

 Protecting Biodiversity
• McArthur & Wilson
“Theory of Island
Biogeography”
– colonization rate
– extinction rate (local)
– predicts number of
species

16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 15

 Protecting Biodiversity
• Island Biogeography
– Island size predicts number of species

16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 16

 Protecting Biodiversity
• Island Biogeography
– Everyplace is an island
– Habitat fragmentation
• Smaller fragments hold
fewer species

16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 17

 Protecting Biodiversity
• Endangered Species Act (1973)
– Goal to “recover” species so they no longer need protection under ESA
– Implements U.S. participation in CITES
• “Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species”
• Prohibits trade in listed species
– whole organisms
– parts: skins, bones, teeth, flowers, leaves, etc.
• Other laws:
– Marine Mammal Protection Act
– Migratory Bird Treaty Act
– Anadromous Fish Conservation Act
– etc.

16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 18

 Protecting Biodiversity
• Endangered Species Act • http://www.fws.gov/
(1973) endangered/
– Listing of “endangered” and
“threatened” species
– Restricts development of
habitats
– Captive breeding programs
• Release of captive bred
stocks to enhance or
recover wild populations.

16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 19

 Protecting Biodiversity
• Biodiversity “hotspots”
– Protection of habitat

16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 20