1 Conservation Biology • Goal-oriented science that seeks to counter the current rapid decrease in biodiversity • “The Biodiversity crisis”- human activities alter ecosystem processes, alter landscape and trigger extinctions. The 6 th great extinction Benefits of diversity • Biophilia- innate connection to nature and life • Anthrocentric – Species are a natural resource for food, fibers, medicines, etc. – Do all species have an innate value? Are some worth more than others? Who decides? – Ecosystem services • Often overlooked benefits to humans: Air, water, soil, detoxification, decomposition, pollination, seed dispersal, nutrient cycling, protection from UV, moderation of weather…aesthetic beauty and infinite source of wonder • Estimated at $33 trillion/year (1997)- 2x global GNP – Other studies estimate at only 5-10 trillion dollars – Economic benefits of biodiversity exceed costs of conservation by 100:1 • The big conclusion from the study: – Environmental 'externalities' - economists' term for benefits from resources that belong to no one in particular and so are enjoyed for free- are relatively huge. We should do something to account for them in environmental regulations. What is the cost to NOT protecting the environment? Three Levels of biodiversity • Genetic diversity • Species diversity • Habitat / community diversity Three Levels of biodiversity 1. Genetic diversity – Variation within and between populations – Genetic diversity allows for adaptation to changing conditions – If populations loose genetic diversity they loose adaptive ability – Once genetic diversity is lost it takes evolutionary time to get it back Three Levels of biodiversity 2. Species diversity – Loss of species richness – 13% of 9,040 bird species threatened – 47% of all plants worldwide may be threatened – 20% of freshwater fish extinct of threatened – Since 1900, 123 extinct freshwater vert and inverts in North America – Many animals are in the Hundred Heartbeats club
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Conservation Biology Benefits of diversity · Five major threats to biodiversity 4. Disruption of food chains • Loss of one species in an ... the water it form Carbonic Acid. pH
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Conservation Biology • Goal-oriented science that seeks to counter the
current rapid decrease in biodiversity • “The Biodiversity crisis”- human activities alter
ecosystem processes, alter landscape and trigger extinctions. The 6th great extinction
Benefits of diversity • Biophilia- innate connection to nature and life • Anthrocentric
– Species are a natural resource for food, fibers, medicines, etc. – Do all species have an innate value? Are some worth more than others?
Who decides? – Ecosystem services
• Often overlooked benefits to humans: Air, water, soil, detoxification, decomposition, pollination, seed dispersal, nutrient cycling, protection from UV, moderation of weather…aesthetic beauty and infinite source of wonder
• Estimated at $33 trillion/year (1997)- 2x global GNP
– Other studies estimate at only 5-10 trillion dollars
– Economic benefits of biodiversity exceed costs of conservation by 100:1
• The big conclusion from the study: – Environmental 'externalities' - economists' term for benefits from
resources that belong to no one in particular and so are enjoyed for free- are relatively huge. We should do something to account for them in environmental regulations. What is the cost to NOT protecting the environment?
Three Levels of biodiversity
• Genetic diversity • Species diversity • Habitat / community
diversity
Three Levels of biodiversity
1. Genetic diversity – Variation within and between
populations – Genetic diversity allows for
adaptation to changing conditions – If populations loose genetic
diversity they loose adaptive ability – Once genetic diversity is lost it
takes evolutionary time to get it back
Three Levels of biodiversity
2. Species diversity – Loss of species richness – 13% of 9,040 bird species threatened – 47% of all plants worldwide may be
threatened – 20% of freshwater fish extinct of
threatened – Since 1900, 123 extinct freshwater
vert and inverts in North America – Many animals are in the Hundred
Heartbeats club
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Three Levels of biodiversity
3. Habitat / community diversity
– Extinction of one species could have negative impact on others in the system
– Each system can have an important impact on the whole biosphere
– Links are hard to study and harder to predict.
Four Five major threats to biodiversity 1. Habitat destruction 2. Introduced species 3. Overexploitation 4. Disruption of food chains 5. Climate Change
Biodiversity “Hotspots” • 1,500+ species, 70%+ habitat loss • Plant-centric, but account for ~60% of animal species
Five major threats to biodiversity
1. Habitat destruction • Single greatest threat to biodiversity • Over 70% of extinct, endangered, threatened species
from loss of habitat • 93% of reefs are damaged- 1/3 of fish species are in
coral reefs which make up only 0.2% of ocean. • Large variety of human uses impact habitat loss
What are the expected effects of An acidified Ocean?
Recovery from Disturbance Restoration Ecology
• Restoration ecology is the study of recuperating degraded, damaged or destroyed ecosystems through active human intervention – current extinction rate are 1000 to 10,000 times the ‘normal’ rate
(E.O. Wilson 1988) • The fundamental difference between conservation biology
and restoration ecology lies in their philosophical approaches to the same problem: – Conservation biology attempts to preserve and maintain existing
habitat and biodiversity. – In contrast, Restoration ecology assumes that environmental
degradation and population declines are somewhat reversible processes. Therefore, targeted human intervention can lead to habitat and biodiversity recovery and eventual gains
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• restore a natural disturbance • hastening natural successional
trajectories • increase the effective size of a habitat by
simply adding area or by planting habitat corridors that link two isolated fragments
• monitoring and management are crucial for the long-term stability
• working toward a single desired stable state
The goal of restoration is not to immediately recreate replacement ecosystems, rather to “jump-start” natural recuperative processes.
Environmental Issues • Human impacts on
nutrient cycling • Combustion
byproducts • Increasing levels of
CO2 • Pesticide and fertilizer
issues
• Climate Change • Loss of biodiversity • Habitat loss • Overexploitation • Introduced species • etc., etc., etc…