Global Challenges - Lecture Biodiversity. Felix Eigenbrod, Biological Sciences

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1 Global Challenges - Lecture Biodiversity Felix Eigenbrod, Biological Sciences f.eigenbrod@soton.ac.uk

2 Outline of today s lecture What is biodiversity? What are the big patterns of biodiversity? Why is biodiversity decreasing? Why does biodiversity matter? Ecosystem services How do we conserve biodiversity?

biodiversity To be able to describe the main drivers of

3 Learning objectives To be able to define what the term biodiversity means To be able to describe the main patterns of biodiversity To be able to describe the main drivers of biodiversity loss To be able to discuss why biodiversity loss matters for humans

4 Class input What is biodiversity?

5 What is biodiversity? Diaz et al /journal.pbio Biodiversity can mean the number, relative abundance, or spatial distribution of Genotypes Species Functional groups Landscape units

6 Where is biodiversity? Buckley & Jetz 2007 (Proceedings of the Royal Society B 274: )

7 Where is biodiversity? Bird richness Orme et al Nature 436,

8 Where is biodiversity? Tittensor et al doi: /nature09329

9 Where is biodiversity? Eigenbrod et al doi: /rspb

greater than the rate of speciation (formation of new species) However, this

10 What are the trends in biodiversity? Biodiversity is currently decreasing The rate of species extinctions is greater than the rate of speciation (formation of new species) However, this is in itself not that alarming biodiversity has declined before What is alarming is the current rate of biodiversity loss

11 Biodiversity is decreasing.. as the current rate of extinction is MUCH higher than historical rates

12 Why are we losing biodiversity? Loss of natural habitat Estimated percent forest cover, 2000 (A) and percent gross forest cover loss (GFCL), (B), both per sample block. Hansen et al / pnas

13 Why are we losing biodiversity? Agricultural production is driving this habitat loss Tilman et al Science DOI: /science

14 Why are we losing biodiversity? Climate change is likely to be a major driver of future biodiversity losses, particularly when combined with habitat loss (A, B) Patterns of change in land cover due to land-use and climate change by (C, D) The resulting potential impact for birds: the pattern of richness of species with projected range declines 50%. Jetz et al. (2007) article/info:doi/ / journal.pbio

15 Why should you care if we lose For moral reasons biodiversity? Nature has an intrinsic value and as the dominant organism on the planet, we have a duty of care..but also for pragmatic ones Ecosystem services

John Holdren, Paul Ehrlich and Gretchen Daily at Stanford in 1990s

16 What are ecosystem services? Term first used by John Holdren in 1970s (Stanford) Popularized by John Holdren, Paul Ehrlich and Gretchen Daily at Stanford in 1990s Broadly ES are the benefits (monetary or otherwise) that humans get from nature These can be considerable.

17 Ecosystem Services Costanza et al (Nature) The value of the world s ecosystem services and natural capital Estimated the YEARLY global value of ES at $16-54 TRILLION!! VERY crude estimate but you get the idea

18 Ecosystem Services Mace and Fitter, Trends in Ecology and Evolution (2012), Vol. 27, pp 19-26

19 Effects of species richness on ES Balvanera et al Meta-analysis of 446 studies Generally positive effect Ecology Letters Volume 9, Issue 10, pages , 29 AUG 2006 DOI: / j x x/full#f3

20 How do we conserve biodiversity Most biodiversity is in the tropics, and most threatened biodiversity is in the tropics Brooks et al

21 How do we conserve biodiversity Tropical countries are (generally) poor, and have the fewest resources to conserve the biodiversity we all depend on

22 Paying for biodiversity and ES conservation Payment for ecosystem service (PES) schemes may be a way forward

23 Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) REDD+ is the largest current example Reducing [Carbon] Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation + the role of conservation, sustainable management and enhancement of carbon stocks is also recognized

24 Biodiversity is Multifaceted Key points The number of species is the most frequent measure Biodiversity is located (Largely) in the tropics Biodiversity is declining Due to habitat loss driven by agricultural expansion Climate change is a major future threat Biodiversity matters because.. We depend on it (ecosystem services) Conserving biodiversity Is hard as the countries with the most biodiversity have the least resources to conserve it

International Union for Conservation of Nature. Conserving biodiversity Pioneering nature s solutions to global challenges

International Union for Conservation of Nature Conserving biodiversity Pioneering nature s solutions to global challenges WHO WE ARE Founded in 1948, IUCN is the world s largest global environmental organization.