Biodiversity and Biodiversity at Risk Notes

Review:

Biodiversity is the total number of different species in an ecosystem/biome.

  • Biological diversity

Keystone species is a species that is very important to its community or ecosystem.

  • Often the top predator but can exist at any level of the food chain/web
  • If it is removed it would critically impair the ecosystem
  • Example: A sea otter in a kelp-bed community
  • Sea otters eat sea urchins and if they were around the urchin population would destroy the kelp-bed community

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How many species are there on Earth?

  • It is estimated that there are 9 million eukaryotes and a total estimation is up to 50 million species.
  • Many species will become extinct (no longerexist on the planet) before humans discover them.
  • Extinction is referring to all populations in the world of a certain species have died off.
  • Mass Extinction is referringto the loss of many species around the world usually because of an event

Examples:

a.)Yucatan Peninsula had an asteroid hit the ground (loss of many plants and the dinosaurs -enabled mammals to grow in number 65 million years ago)

b.)The forming and breaking up of supercontinents Rodinia (Formed 1.1 billion years ago and broke up 750 million years ago) and Pangaea (formed 270 million years ago and broke up 200 million years ago)

Researchers suspect another Mass extinction will occur within the next 100, 000 years because of trends

  • Many species are currently threatened or endangered right now.

Three levels of diversity: Species, Ecosystem, and Genetic diversity

  1. Species diversity-The number of different species in an area (also called biodiversity)
  2. Ecosystem diversity-The number of habitats, communities, and ecological processes in an area and between ecosystems
  3. Genetic diversity-refers to the number of different genes of every member a population has in an area
  4. A gene is a piece of DNA that codes specific traits or characteristics of an organism including man that is passed on to future generations.
  5. Very important for the survival of all species to have variations in their genes.

When the genetic diversity is low for an organism the species will bottleneck risking extinction of a species in that area and possibly worldwide extinction.

It increases the chance that some members of a population will survive environmental changes.

 Also, decreases the risk of inheriting genetic diseases

Benefits of Biodiversity:

  • Species staying connected to ecosystems -Keystone species
  • Genetic diversity-keep species healthy and populations stable
  • Medical
  • Most medications in the USA derived from plants or fungi (see page 243 for a list of medications)
  • Researching other animals have led to the discovery of medications
  • Scientists have observed chimpanzees use a pith, leaf, or root from plants for certain illnesses and realized that those items also cured man of the same disease so now there are medications developed from that research
  • Industries and agricultural uses-Hybrids{(usually new plantsvarieties) that have been genetically engineered to produce more food worldwide, resistance to diseases, and have more nutritional value}
  • Ethics (set of beliefs to preserve organisms and ecosystems), Aesthetic (pleasing to the eye and/or nose-personal enjoyment), and Recreation-ecotourism (A form of tourism that supports conservation and sustainable development by learning about nature)

Biodiversity at Risk:

What is the difference between a threatened and an endangered species?

  • A threatened species is a species that the population has dropped a great deal and will likely become endangered if humans don’t take action quickly.
  • An endangered species is a species that will likely become extinct unless humans take protective measures immediately.

Below is a list of reasons organisms become at risk of extinction:

1.)Can’t easily adapt to environmental changes

2.)Only eat one or two food sources-Specialized species

3.)Having one dominate male for all the females in a group-loss of genetic diversity

4.)Habitat destruction(total loss of a habitat) and fragmentation (parts of the habitat broken up) because of man

5.)Pollution

6.)Allowing Invasive Exotic species (species not native to a particular region)

7.)Poaching-Unregulated killing of an organism. –Sell the animal skins, organs, tusk, etc.

  1. Not all threatened species are protected by laws
  2. Poaching is illegal but especially poor countries do it anyway for food, medicine, and income

8.)Endemic species are native species living in areas with great biodiversity (Like the Tropical Rain forest) and are only found within those areas

Areas that are at very high risk of extinction:

  • Tropical Rain Forests-endemic species and habitat loss/fragmentation
  • Coral Reefs and Coastal Ecosystems-hurricanes/bad storms, man, and predators
  • Volcanic Hot Spots
  • Form volcanic islands and cause many earthquakes especially around the Ring of Fire in the Pacific Ocean.
  • Example: Hawaiian Islands
  • Islands have limited resources and species

The Future of Biodiversity:

1.)Captive-Breeding Programs– Breeding endangered species to increase their populations

2.)Scientific Research

  • Example: In 1973 a scientist was studying the endangered tambalacoque trees on Mauritius (island off the eastern coast of Africa). This tree has a 300 year life cycle and most of the 13 trees left were nearing that age. They knew that the dodo bird (who have been extinct for many times used its gizzard to grind the seeds of the tree and expelled the seeds in their waste. The scientist decided to find another organism with a gizzard and see if the organism would eat and expel the seeds too. Turkeys were used and the expelled seeds sprouted and new seedlings were formed so this tree is now growing in numbers again.

3.)Cloning Endangered Species-Controversial procedure that creates an embryo out of adult tissue

4.)Germ plasmis any form of genetic material contained within the reproductive, or germ, cells of animals and plants.

  • Germ plasm banks are used to research an organism in the future and for recovery efforts to save the species

5.)Zoos, Aquarium, National Parks/Wildlife Refuges, and Gardens

a.)Philadelphia Zoo was chartered in Mar. 21, 1859 but because of the Civil War did not open its doors until July 1, 1874.

  • Norfolk Zoo is the closest one to us

b.)The largest zoo in the world is in Atlanta, Georgia with 6.3 million gallons and houses over 100,000 organisms

  • Virginia Marine Science Museum in Virginia Beach is the closest one to us

c.)Yellowstone National Park was the 1st park in the USA

  • Yellowstone Act of 1872 was signed into law by President Grant on Mar. 1, 1872

1,221,773 acres of land from Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho

  • Virginia has lots of National Parks
  • The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge has 111,200 acres and is one of few remaining American wildernesses. –Suffolk/Chesapeake/parts of North Carolina

d.)There are over 1,600 Botanical gardens around the world

  • Used for plant research, see beautiful and unique plants, and a conservation center
  • To cultivate endangered plant species and reintroduce them into the wild
  • Norfolk, VA is the closest to us

6.)Habitat conservation efforts

7.)Further research

8.)Laws to protect more species

a.)Endangered Species Act of 1973-designed to protect plants and animals from extinction

b.)International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN)

  • Created in 1950
  • Currently 79,800 species are on IUCN Red List (Feb. 4, 2016)
  • Goal is to reach 160,000 species by 2020

c.)Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

  • Works with IUCN in helping endangered species
  • They meet once a year with many countries

Held in Geneva in Jan. 2016 and Jan. of 2017 will be in Johannesburg, South Africa

d.)Biodiversity Treaty of 1992 was signed at the United Nations Meeting

  • Signed by 150 nations
  • Created The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) which started Dec. 29, 1993 to maintain three main objectives:

1.)The conservation of biological diversity

2.)The sustainable use of the components of biological diversity

3.)The fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources

e.)Chesapeake Bay Foundation founded in 1967

  • Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprintprocess started Dec. 15, 1987and as progress yearly to the current name

Water quality and controlling pollution

Protect organisms (plants and animals in the Bay)

Volunteer projects

Educating students and teachers about the Bay

Brock Environmental Center in Virginia Beach opened in 2015

Is the largest independent conservation organization dedicated solely to saving the Bay

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