Chapter 9
Sustaining
Biodiversity:
The Species
Approach
Species Are a
Vital Part of the
Earth’s Natural
Capital
4 reasons to prevent extinctions:
1. Species provide natural
resources and natural services
– Insects for pollination
– Birds for pest control
2. Most species contribute economic
services
– Plants for food, fuel,
lumber, medicine
– Ecotourism
3. It will take 5-10 million years to
regain species biodiversity
4. Many people believe species
have an intrinsic right to exist
Extinctions Are Natural but
Sometimes They Increase
Sharply
• Biological extinction
– No species member alive
• Background extinction
– Natural low rate of extinction
• Extinction rate
– Percentage or number of species that go extinct in a certain
time period
• Mass extinction
– Extinction of many species in a relatively short period of
geological time from global changes in environmental
conditions: major climate change, volcanoes, asteroid
impacts
– 50-95% of species became extinct
• Arunchal Hopea Tree (Hopea shingkeng): This small tree was
harvested extensively for the construction of house posts in India. It
was declared extinct in 1998.
Extinctions Are Natural but Sometimes
They Increase Sharply
• Levels of species extinction
– Locally: A species is no
longer found in an area it
once inhabited but is still
found elsewhere in the
world.
– Ecologically: Occurs when
so few members of a species
are left they no longer play
its ecological role.
– Globally (biologically):
Species is no longer found
on the earth.
• Human activity has disturbed at
least half of the earth’s land
surface
– Fills in wetlands
– Converts grasslands and forests
to crop fields and urban areas
– Pollution of land and water
Some Human Activities Are
Causing Extinctions
Extinction Rates Are
Rising Rapidly
• Current extinction rate is at least 100 times higher than
typical background rate of .0001%
• Will rise to 10,000 times the background rate by the end
of the century. Rate will rise to 1% per year
– Growth of human population will increase this loss
– Rates are higher where there are more endangered
species
– Tropical forests and coral reefs, wetlands and
estuaries—sites of new species—being destroyed
Endangered and
Threatened Species Are
Ecological Smoke Alarms
• Endangered species
• So few members that the species
could soon become extinct
• Ex: Snow Leopards
• Threatened species (vulnerable
species)
• Still enough members to survive, but
numbers declining -- may soon be
endangered
• Ex: Red Panda (not really a panda)
Endangered and
Threatened Species
Are Ecological Smoke
Alarms
• Characteristics that make a species
vulnerable to extinction
– Big
– Slow
– Tasty (nom, nom, nom…)
– Valuable parts
– Behaviors that make them easy
targets
Percentage of Various Species Threatened with
Premature Extinction
Loss of Habitat Is the
Single Greatest
Threat to Species:
Remember HIPPCO
• Habitat destruction,
degradation, and
fragmentation
• Invasive (nonnative)
species
• Population and
resource use growth
• Pollution
• Climate change
• Overexploitation
Causes of Depletion and Premature Extinction of World
Species
Habitat
Fragmentatio
n
• Habitat fragmentation
– Large intact habitat divided
by roads, crops, urban
development
– Leaves habitat islands
– Blocks migration routes
– Divides populations
– Inhibits migrations and
colonization
– Inhibits finding food
• National parks and nature
reserves as habitat islands
Some Deliberately
Introduced Species
Can Disrupt
Ecosystems
• Most species introductions are
beneficial
– Food, Shelter, Medicine,
Aesthetic enjoyment
• Nonnative species may have no
natural
– Predators, Competitors,
Parasites, Pathogens
• Many nonnative species provide us
with food, medicine, and other
benefits but a a few can wipe out
native species, disrupt ecosystems,
and cause large economic losses.
• Also known as BIOTIC POLLUTION.
Deliberately Introduced Species
Purple loosestrife European starling African honeybee Nutria Salt cedar
(“Killer bee”) (Tamarisk)
Marine toad (Giant Water hyacinth Japanese beetle Hydrilla European wild
toad) boar (Feral pig)
Accidentally Introduced Species
Sea lamprey Argentina fire ant Brown tree snake Eurasian ruffe Common pigeon
(attached to lake (Rock dove)
trout)
Formosan termite Zebra mussel Asian long-horned Asian tiger Gypsy moth
beetle mosquito larvae
CANE TOADS: A DELIBERATELY INTRODUCED SPECIES
Case Study:
The Kudzu
Vine
• Imported from Japan in
the 1930s
• “ The vine that ate the
South”
• Could there be benefits
of kudzu?
– Fiber for making
paper
– Kudzu powder
reduces desire for
alcohol
Some Accidentally
Introduced Species Can
Also Disrupt Ecosystems
• Argentina fire ant: 1930s
– Reduced populations of native ants
– Painful stings can kill
– Pesticide spraying in 1950s and 1960s
worsened conditions
– 2009: tiny parasitic flies may help control
fire ants
• Burmese python
– Florida Everglades
Prevention Is the
Best Way to Reduce
Threats from
Invasive Species
• Prevent them from
becoming established
• Learn the characteristics of
the species
• Set up research programs*
• Try to find natural ways to
control them
• International treaties*
• Public education*
*How so? Be specific!!!
Other Causes
of Species
Extinction
• Human population growth
• Overconsumption
• Pollution
• Climate change
• Pesticides
– DDT: Banned in the U.S. in
1972
– Each year pesticides: Kill
about 1/5th of the U.S.
honeybee colonies, 67
million birds, 6 -14 million
fish.
• Bioaccumulation
• Biomagnification
Case Study:
Where Have All
the Honeybees
Gone?
• Honeybees responsible for 80%
of insect-pollinated plants and
nearly 1/3 human food
• 2006: 30% drop in honeybee
populations
• Dying due to
– Pesticides?
– Parasites?
– Viruses, fungi, bacteria?
– Microwave radiation –
cell phones?
– Bee colony collapse
syndrome
Illegal Killing, Capturing, and Selling of Wild
Species Threatens Biodiversity
• Poaching and smuggling of animals and
plants
– Animal parts, Pets, Plants for
landscaping and enjoyment
• Some protected species are killed for
their valuable parts or are sold live to
collectors.
• Killing predators and pests that bother
us or cause economic losses threatens
some species with premature extinction.
• Legal and illegal trade in wildlife species
used as pets or for decorative purposes
threatens some species with extinction.
• Prevention: research and education
White Rhinoceros Killed by a Poacher
Rhinoceros are
often killed for their
horns and sold
illegally on the
black market for
decorative and
medicinal purposes.
Bush Meat: Lowland Gorilla
•Indigenous people
sustained by bush meat
•More hunters leading
to local extinction of
some wild animals
•West and Central Africa
•Helps spread HIV/AIDS
and Ebola from animals
to humans
How can we
protect wild
species from
extinction?
• International treaties and
national laws
• Wildlife refuges and other
protected areas
• Gene banks, botanical gardens,
and wildlife farms
• Zoos and aquariums
International Treaties and
National Laws Help to
Protect Species
• International treaties have helped reduce the
international trade of endangered and threatened species,
but enforcement is difficult.
– One of the most powerful is the 1975 Convention on
International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES).
• Signed by 172 countries, lists 900 species that
cannot be commercially traded.
– Marine Mammal Protection Act- protected marine
mammals from falling below their optimum
sustainable population levels
• Convention on Biological Diversity (BCD)
– Focuses on ecosystems
– Ratified by 190 countries (not the U.S.)
Endangered
Species Act
• Endangered Species Act (ESA): 1973 and later
amended in 1982, 1985, and 1988
• Identify and protect endangered species in the
U.S. and abroad
• National Marine Fisheries Service for ocean
species
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for all others
• Forbids federal agencies (except Defense) from
funding or authorizing projects that jeopardize
endangered or threatened species
• 2010: 1,370 species officially listed
• USFWS and NMFS prepare recovery plans
• Incentives for private property owners
Four reasons the ESA Three ways to improve New law needed to
is not a failure for ESA focus on sustaining
removing only 46 biodiversity and
species
Species from
listed only when in Greatly increase funding ecosystem health
endangered
serious dangerlist Develop recovery plans more
Takes decades to help quickly
endangered species When a species is first listed,
Conditions for more than half of establish the core of its habitat
listed species are stable or that’s critical for survival
improving
2010: spend only 9 cents per
American
Science Focus: Accomplishments of
the Endangered Species Act
We Can Establish
Wildlife Refuges
and Other
Protected Areas
• 1903: Theodore Roosevelt
• Wildlife refuges
– Most are wetland
sanctuaries
– More needed for
endangered plants
– Could abandoned
military lands be used
for wildlife habitats?
SEPULVEDA
BASIN
WILDLIFE
PRESERVE
HUNTINGTON BEACH PRESERVE
AND SEAL BEACH PROTECTED
LAND
• Preserve
Gene Banks, genetic
Botanical Gene or
seed banks
material of
endangered
Gardens, plants
and Wildlife
Farms Can Botanical
gardens • Living plants
Help Protect and
arboreta
Species
Farms to
raise
organisms
for
commercia
l sale
SVALBARD
SEED BANK,
NORWAY
SVALBARD SEED BANK,
NORWAY
L.A. ARBORETUM
Zoos and Aquariums Can
Protect
Some Species
• Techniques for preserving endangered terrestrial
species
– Egg pulling
– Captive breeding
– Artificial insemination
– Embryo transfer
– Use of incubators
– Cross-fostering
• Goal of ultimately releasing/reintroducing
populations to the wild
• Limited space and funds
What Can You Do? Protecting Species
