Guide 38. Global Environmental Problems and Conservation Biology.

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1 Guide 38 Global Environmental Problems and Conservation Biology

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6 Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide One pressing problem caused by human activities Is the rising level of atmospheric carbon dioxide

7 CO 2 as Measured at Mauna Loa Volcano

8 CO 2 concentration (ppm) Temperature variation ( C) Rising Atmospheric CO 2 Due to the increased burning of fossil fuels and other human activities The concentration of atmospheric CO 2 has been steadily increasing Temperature CO Year

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10 Current CO 2 Rise is Historically Siginificant

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12 How Elevated CO 2 Affects Forest Ecology The FACTS-I experiment is testing how elevated CO 2 Influences tree growth, carbon concentration in soils, and other factors over a ten-year period

13 When these gases are ranked by their contribution to the greenhouse effect, the most important are: Gas Formula Contribution (%) Water Vapor H 2 O % Carbon Dioxide CO % Methane CH % Ozone O %

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20 Globally, ruminant livestock produce about 80 million metric tons of methane annually, accounting for about 28% of global methane emissions from human-related activities. An adult cow may be a very small source by itself, emitting only kgs of methane, but with about 100 million cattle in the U.S. and 1.2 billion large ruminants in the world, ruminants are one of the largest methane sources. In the U.S., cattle emit about 5.5 million metric tons of methane per year into the atmosphere, accounting for 20% of U.S. methane emissions.

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22 Top Five Green House Gas Emitters for 2005 Country or region % of global total annual emissions China 17 % 5.8 United States 16 % 24.1 European Union % 10.6 Indonesia 6 % 12.9 India 5 % 2.1 Tonnes of GHG per capita

23 Table Footnotes: These values are for the GHG emissions from fossil fuel use and cement production. Calculations are for carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and gases containing fluorine (the F-gases HFCs, PFCs and SF 6 ). These estimates are subject to large uncertainties regarding CO 2 emissions from deforestation; and the per country emissions of other GHGs (e.g., methane). There are also other large uncertainties which mean that small differences between countries are not significant. CO 2 emissions from the decay of remaining biomass after biomass burning/deforestation are not included. Industrialised countries: official country data reported to UNFCCC. Excluding underground fires. Including an estimate of 2000 million tonnes CO 2 from peat fires and decomposition of peat soils after draining. However, the uncertainty range is very large.

24 Biodiversity Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is one measure of the health of ecosystems. Life on Earth today consists of many millions of distinct biological species. The United Nations declared the year 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity. Biodiversity has three main components: Genetic diversity Species diversity Ecosystem diversity

25 Areas with high diversity are often stable and productive. Diversity is a measure of ecosystem health. The importance of stability in community ecology is clear. An unstable ecosystem will be more likely to lose species

26 Benefits of Species and Genetic Diversity Many pharmaceuticals contain substances originally derived from plants For example, the rosy periwinkle contains alkaloids that inhibit cancer growth

27 Estimates of Undiscovered Species

28 It is important to put Biodiversity into Historical Perspective

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30 Ecosystem Services Ecosystem services encompass all the processes through which natural ecosystems and their species help sustain human life Some examples of ecosystem services: Purification of air and water Detoxification and decomposition of wastes Cycling of nutrients Moderation of weather extremes

31 The relationship between biodiversity, ecosystem services, human well-being, and poverty. It shows areas where conservation strategies, planning, and intervention can alter the drivers of change from local, regional, to global scales.

32 Four Major Threats to Biodiversity Most species loss can be traced to four major threats: Introduced species Habitat destruction Overexploitation Disruption of interaction networks

33 Habitat Destruction Populations of animals and plants have plummeted by a third over the last 35 years because of humans - this picture shows a large hill in Burma cleared of timber by slash and burn methods

34 Based on Landsat Imagery Tropical Deforestation and Habitat Fragmentation in the Amazon: Satellite Data from 1978 to 1988 David Skole and Compton Tucker

35 Overexploitation Overexploitation of water resources in the Klamath Basin has led to the drying up of Tule Lake.

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37 Amphibian Extinction Crisis 1. HABITAT DESTRUCTION 2. POLLUTION 3. CLIMATIC CHANGES 4. UV RADIATION 5. PREDATORS AND DISEASE 6. OVEREXPLOITATION OF FROGS 7. THE PET TRADE

38 Declining-Population Approach The declining-population approach Focuses on threatened and endangered populations that show a downward trend, regardless of population size Emphasizes the environmental factors that caused a population to decline

39 Small population Inbreeding Genetic drift Lower reproduction Reduction in individual fitness and population adaptability Higher mortality Loss of genetic variability Smaller population

40 Biodiversity decreases as habitat fragmentation increases and edges become more extensive Research led to discovery of two groups of species, those that live in forest edge habitats and those that live in the forest interior

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42 LE A red-cockaded woodpecker perches at the entrance to its nest site in a longleaf pine. Forest that can sustain redcockaded woodpeckers has low undergrowth. Forest that cannot sustain red-cockaded woodpeckers has high, dense undergrowth that impacts the woodpeckers access to feeding grounds.

43 Finding Biodiversity Hot Spots A biodiversity hot spot is a relatively small area with a great concentration of endemic species and many endangered and threatened species Biodiversity hot spots are good choices for nature reserves, but identifying them is not always easy

44 The concept of biodiversity hotspots was originated by Norman Myers in two articles in The Environmentalist (1988 & 1990), revised after thorough analysis by Myers and others in Hotspots: Earth s Biologically Richest and Most Endangered Terrestrial Ecoregions. Terrestrial biodiversity hot spots

45 Australia's 15 National Biodiversity Hotspots

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47 Corridors That Connect Habitat Fragments A movement corridor is a narrow strip of quality habitat connecting otherwise isolated patches Movement corridors promote dispersal and help sustain populations In areas of heavy human use, artificial corridors are sometimes constructed

48 Philosophy of Nature Reserves Nature reserves are biodiversity islands in a sea of habitat degraded by human activity One argument for extensive reserves is that large, far-ranging animals with low-density populations require extensive habitats In some cases, reserves are smaller than the area needed to sustain a population

49 Zoned Reserves The zoned reserve model recognizes that conservation often involves working in landscapes that are largely human dominated Zoned reserves are often established as conservation areas

50 LE Idaho Wyoming Kilometers 42 Montana Idaho Yellowstone National Park Montana Wyoming 41 Grand Teton National Park 40

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52 Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve is a protected area in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The Baviaanskloof - (old Afrikaans for Valley of Baboons ) - lies between the Baviaanskloof and Kouga mountain ranges. The eastern-most point of the valley is some 95 km NW of the coastal city of Port Elizabeth. The Baviaanskloof area includes a cluster of formal protected areas managed by the Eastern Cape Parks Board totalling around 500,000 hectares (1,200,000 acres), of which the most wellknown is the ha Baviaanskloof Nature Reserve - the third largest protected area in South Africa. It also includes the Groendal Nature Reserve and Formosa Nature Reserve, and encompasses private land mostly used for stock farming.

53 Nicaragua CARIBBEAN SEA Costa Rica National park land Buffer zone PACIFIC OCEAN Boundaries of the zoned reserves are indicated by black outlines.

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