Summer 2010 Workshop in Biology and Multimedia for High School Teachers David Eatough Revere High School Understanding Biodiversity .

Summer 2010 Workshopin Biology and Multimedia for High School Teachers

David EatoughRevere High SchoolUnderstanding Biodiversity

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“Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stone, and good in every thing.”

William Shakespeare

Life Sciences - HHMI Outreach. Copyright 2010 President and Fellows of Harvard College

“We need an expedition to planet Earth, where probably fewer than 10

percent of the life forms are known to science, and fewer than 1 percent of those have been studied beyond a simple anatomical description…”

E. O. Wilson 2006 “The Creation”

How much do we truly know about life on earth?

Objectives:•To better understand what humanity knows about life on earth•To understand the value of biodiversity to earth and ourselves•To better understand the methods used by science to explore and measure biodiversity•To understand how humanity has altered biodiversity


What is biodiversity?


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How are known species distributed into groups?

Why is maintaining earth’s biodiversity important to survival?


Biodiversity provides:• Natural Resources such as:

food, water, wood, energy, and medicines

• Natural (Ecosystem) Services including: air and water purification, soil fertility, waste disposal, biological pest control

• Aesthetic pleasure


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“The only way to save the diversity of life and come to peace with nature is through a widely shared knowledge of biology and what the findings of that science imply for the human condition.”

E. O. Wilson 2006 “The Creation”


How is biodiversity measured?


What causes changes in biodiversity?


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“Animal and vegetable life is too complicated a problem for human intelligence to solve, and we can never know how wide a circle of disturbance we produce in the harmonies of nature when we throw the smallest pebble into the ocean of organic life.”

George Perkins Marsh


Order factors according to impact each has had on your

life and create a graphical representation.

MomMom

DadDad

SiblingsSiblings

FriendsFriends

ColleaguesColleagues

ArtArt

SkiingSkiingFoodFood

OceanOcean

Brainstorm: Factors that affect your life

TeachersTeachers

GrandfatherGrandfather NatureNature

BooksBooks

MEME


“The decline of Earth’s biodiversity is an unintended consequence of multiple factors that have been enhanced by human activity. They can be summarized by the acronym HIPPO, with the order of the letters corresponding to their rank in destructiveness.”

E. O. Wilson, The Creation

H Habitat loss, including that caused by human-induced climate change.

I Invasive species harmful aliens, including predators, diseases, and competitors that displace native species

P Pollution Oil spills, human agricultural waste, fertilization, pesticides, acid deposition, greenhouse gases etc

P Population, Human overpopulation to be exact, a root cause of the other four factors

O Overharvesting, Overuse hunting, fishing, gathering



HumanPopulation

Increase

IncreasingEconomic

Activity

Increased use of technology

Social, politicaland cultural

factors

Land use change(Habitat loss)

IncreasingEconomic

Activity

Increased use of technology

Social, politicaland cultural

factors

Indirect (Underlying

causes)

Directcauses

DecliningBiological Diversity

Life Sciences - HHMI Outreach. Copyright 2010 President and Fellows of Harvard

College

Habitat loss is due to:• Conversion of natural areas to farms,

houses, etc• Fragmentation of ecosystems by human

activities, housing, transportation, agriculture etc.

• Simplification of genetic diversity and complex ecosystems by planting/selecting monocultures.

Habitat loss is the greatest reason for biodiversity loss.

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College

Invasive Species cause major environmental and economical damage

Invasive species, non-native species, invasive exotics, are introduced usually by human activities. Invasive species are generally thought to cause economic or environmental harm.

What are invasive species?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brown_tree_snake_Boiga_irregularis_2_USGS_Photograph.jpg


College

How are invasive species spread?

•Aquatic species may be transported in the ballast of ships or attach to the ship’s hull.•Invasive species travel in the cargo of ships, planes, trains …•The pet trade accidentally or intentionally spreads invasive species•Many invasive species are released intentionally

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•Grow rapidly•Have high reproductive rates•Disperse easily•Tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions•Flexible diet•Limited naturally occurring predators•Genetic and phenotypic variability

What are the characteristics of invasive species?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LythrumSalicariaBig.jpg


•Invasive species are primarily responsible for 42% of species on the threatened or endangered species list.•Invasive species prey on native species (brown tree snake eating bird)•Nutrient cycles may be altered by invasive species making habitat less suitable to native species•Invasive species outcompete native species for resources (nutrients and space)•Loss of native species due to invasive species disrupts trophic relationships

What are the environmental costs of invasive species?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Birdsinging03182006.JPG


•Estimates for damage and the cost of controlling invasive species in the United States exceeds $138 billion annually•Estimates do not include loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services provided by natural habitats

What are the economic costs of invasive species?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:One_US_dollar_1917.jpg

•Most introduced species are beneficial to society. •Introduced species provide food, shelter, medicine, and aesthetic pleasure.•Introduced species provide more than 98% of the United States food system •Some organisms are introduced to control the populations of invasive species.

Are all invasive/introduced species harmful?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rice_p1160004.jpg



Population

The expansion of human population (7 billion and counting) and affluence, especially in the developing world harms natural ecosystems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Population_curve.svg

Pollution is the release of harmful substances into the environment. Pollution may include chemical substances, noise, heat, or light. Pollutants may be naturally occurring and harmful when they exceed natural levels.

Pollution

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Overexploitation / OverharvestingOverexploitation refers to unsustainable harvesting of a renewable resource which can lead to the collapse of the population. This can result in extirpation and extinction.

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References:

Carroll, David M. (1999) Swampwalker’s journal: a wetlands year, Mariner Books, New YorkJones, T. and and Laughlin, T. (2009) Learning to measure biodiversity: two agent-based models that

simulate sampling methods & provide data for calculating diversity indices, The American Biology Teacher September 2009 vol 71 no 7

Miller Jr. G. Tyler (2007) Living in the environment: principals, connections, and solutions15 th edition, Brooks/Cole CaliforniaRaven, P., Berg, L., Hassenzahl, D. (2008) Environment 6/e, John Wiley & sons, New Jersey Wilson, Edward O. (1992) The diversity of life, W. W. Norton & Company, New YorkWilson, Edward O. (1996) In search of nature, Island Press, Washington D.C.Wilson, Edward O. (2006) The creation: an appeal to save life on earth, W. W. Norton & Company, New York


Summer 2010 Workshop in Biology and Multimedia for High School Teachers David Eatough Revere High School Understanding Biodiversity .

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