Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future Richard T. Wright

Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future Richard T. Wright

Wild Species and BiodiversityPPT by Clark E. Adams

Chapter 10

Wild Species and Biodiversity

The value of wild species Saving wild species Biodiversity and its decline Protecting Biodiversity

Appreciating the Worth of Diversity

The worth ($) of plant and animal diversity in terms of goods and services

Factors that contribute to a reduction in plant and animal diversity

Understanding the “costs” of losing plant and animal diversity

Programs to protect biodiversity

Puffin Project: Seabird RestorationProject of the Audubon Society

The Value of Wild Species

Biological wealth Two kinds of value Sources for agriculture, forestry,

aquaculture, and animal husbandry Sources for medicine Recreational, aesthetic, and scientific

value Value for their own sake

Biological Wealth = $38 Trillion/Year

Gas, climate, and water regulation Water supply Erosion control Soil formation Pollination

Biological Wealth = $38 Trillion/Year

Biological control Food production Recreation Raw materials Nutrient cycling Waste treatment

Two Kinds of Value

Instrumental: beneficial to humans Sources for agriculture, forestry, aquaculture,

and animal husbandry Recreational, aesthetic, and scientific value Sources of medicine

Intrinsic: value for its own sake

Source for Agriculture: Wild or Cultivated?

Highly adaptable to changing environments

Have numerous traits for resistance Lack genetic vigor

Source for Agriculture: Wild or Cultivated?

High degree of genetic diversity Represents the genetic bank Need highly controlled environmental

conditions

Sources for Medicine: Vincristine

Sources of Medicine: Table 10-1

Vincristine from rosy periwinkle cures leukemia. Capoten from the venom of the Brazilian viper

controls high blood pressure. Taxol from the bark of the pacific yew used to

treat ovarian, breast, and small-cell cancers.

Recreational, Aesthetic, and Scientific Value

Ecotourism: largest foreign exchange-generating enterprise in many developing countries

$104 billion spent on wildlife-related recreation

$31 billion spent to observe, feed, or photograph wildlife

Recreational, Aesthetic, and Scientific Value

Value for Their Own Sake

Spiritual: giving divine recognition to selected species

Religious: association between wild things and a creator

Cultural: animal rights, American Indians

Saving Wild Species

Game animals in the United States Acts protecting endangered species

Past Wildlife Management Problems

Restoring the numbers of many game animals, e.g., deer, elk, turkey

Passing laws to control the collection and commercial exploitation of wildlife

Poaching and overhunting

Contemporary Wildlife Management Problems Road-killed animals Population explosion of urban wildlife Lack of natural predators Wildlife as vectors for certain diseases Pet predation by coyotes Changed societal attitudes towards animals

Acts Protecting Endangered Species

Lacey Act: forbids interstate commerce of illegally killed wildlife

Endangered Species Act (ESA): protects endangered and threatened species (Table 10-4) Total endangered U.S. species = 987 (388

animals, 599 plants) Threatened U.S. species = 276 (129 animals,

147 plants)

Strengths or Weaknesses of Endangered Species Act?

The need for official recognition Control over commercial exploitation of

endangered species Government controls on development in

critical habitats Recovery programs Habitat conservation plan (HCP)

Case Histories

Peregrine falcon Whooping crane Spotted owl Klamath river and coho salmon

Biodiversity and Its Decline

The decline in biodiversity Reasons for the decline Consequences of losing biodiversity

The Status of U.S. Species

Causes of Animal Extinctions

Reasons for Biodiversity Decline

Habitat alterations Conversions Fragmentation Simplification

Human population growth Pollution (Fig. 10-14)

Reasons for Biodiversity Decline

Introduction of exotic species, e.g., brown tree snake in Guam

Overuse: combination of greed, ignorance, and desperation

Habitat Alterations

Photo by C. E. Adams

Human Population Growth and Species Extinctions

Pollution: Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

March 24, 1989 11 million gallons of

crude oil spilled into Prince William Sound

Oil slick

Exotic Species: Brazilian Pepper Bush

Overuse

Harvest of 50 million songbirds for food

Overuse

Trafficking in wildlife and products derived from wild species – $10 billion/year 90% decline in rhinos 1.6 tons of tiger bones = 340 tigers Parrot smuggling: 40 of 330 species face

extinction

Consequences of Losing Biodiversity: The Plane Analogy The whole plane is an ecosystem. There are many different parts (species) in

the jet plane ecosystem. How does removal of one or more species

affect ecosystem structure or function?

Protecting Biodiversity

International developments Stewardship concerns

International Steps to Protect Biodiversity “Red List of Threatened Species”

11,167 species of plants and animals Convention on trade in endangered

species (CITES) Focuses on trade in wildlife and wildlife parts

Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD)

International Steps to Protect Biodiversity Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD)

Stepping up war on invasive species Access to genetic resources Stem tide of deforestations Formulating a strategic plan through 2010

International Steps to Protect Biodiversity Convention on biological diversity

Focuses on conserving biological diversity worldwide

Does not yet have the support of the United States

Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund

Sponsors: World Bank, Conservation International, and the Global Environment Facility Fund = $150 million for developing countries Protect biodiversity “hotspots”

Biodiversity Hotspots

60% of the biodiversity is located on just 1.4% of the Earth’s land surface.

Stewardship Concerns

Managing and protecting something you DO NOT own. Involves: Wisdom Values

The Wisdom of Stewardship

Reforming policies that lead to declines in biodiversity

Addressing the needs of people whose livelihood is derived from exploiting wild species

The Wisdom of Stewardship

Practicing conservation at the landscape level

Promoting more research on biodiversity

The Values of Stewardship

Manage or mine the resource? Human perceptions of their relationships

to the natural world Deep ecology: we are part of the Earth and

not separate from it Religious faiths

End of Chapter 10