Chapter 11: Biodiversity Preserving Species Flashcards
What is biodiversity?
The genetic, species and ecological
diversity of the organisms in a given area
What is genetic diversity?
A measure of the variety of different versions of the same genes within individual species
What is species diversity?
Number of different kinds of organisms within individual communities or ecosystems
What is ecological diversity?
The richness and complexity of a biological community (including number of niches, trophic levels, ecological processes that capture energy, sustain food webs, and recycle materials)
What is the basic definition of species?
Organisms capable of breeding with each other and producing fertile offspring
What is the Phylogenetic Species Concept (PSC)?
Evolutionary view-emphasizes branching relationships
regardless of successful breeding
What is the Evolutionary Species Concept (ESC)?
Conservation biology view- defines species in evolutionary and historical terms rather than reproduction
What is a genome?
The unique hereditary complement made of millions/billions of nucleotides in DNA arranged in a specific sequence that spells out the structure of all proteins making up the cells of every organism
How many currently known species are there?
About 1.6 million
How many species are estimated to have existed?
3 million to 50 million
What percentage of known species are invertebrates?
About 76%
Where is the greatest concentration of different species?
In the tropics; particularly in rain forests
and coral reefs
What are biodiversity hot spots?
Areas with at least 1,500 endemic species (species found nowhere else) and have lost at least 70 percent of their
habitats
How many biodiversity hot spots are believed to be in the world?
About 34
What percent of the world’s land is labeled as a hot spot?
About 1.4%, even though this percentage is small, it represents about 3/4 (75%) of the world’s most threatened species
Where do the hottest hot spots tend to be?
Tropical island areas; such as the Phillipines, Indonesia and
Madagascar; Map on 227
What kind of benefits does biodiversity bring us?
All of our food comes from other organisms
We derive useful drugs and medicines from organisms
Biodiversity provides ecological services
Biodiversity brings us aesthetic (looks) and cultural benefits
What is extinction?
The elimination of a species.
Even though we may not like it, extinction is a
normal process.
What is the historical rate of extinction?
1 species lost every decade
What is the rate of extinction now?
2-3 species lost every decade
What percent of all species that ever existed are now extinct?
99%
Who summarized the human threats to biodiversity with the acronym HIPPO?
E.O. Wilson
What does the acronym HIPPO mean?
Habitat Destruction Invasive Species Pollution Population of humans Overharvesting
What is the Endangered Species Act (ESA)?
Legislation enacted to protect those species in danger of
becoming extinct. (“threatened” species are likely to become endangered)
How many species are on the Endangered Species Act (ESA)?
Currently – about 1,264 on list
Vulnerable Species
Rare or at risk due to human impact
How much money a year protecting endangered species protection and recovery?
$150 million
What animal did the most successful recovery program involve?
Florida alligator
HCP
Habitat Conservation Plans; These are plans involving private property owners; 80% of all endangered species habitat is owned private land;
This is a very controversial problem:
Should land-owners be unable to use their own
land because an endangered species lives on
it??
Existence Value
The importance we place on just knowing that a particular species or a specific organism exists
Extinction
The irrevocable elimination of species; can be a normal process of the natural world as species out-compete or kill off others or as evironmental conditions change
When have mass extinctions happened before?
Ordovician period: 444 million years ago, 85% of population extinct
Devonian period: 370 million years ago, 83% of population extinct
Permian period: 250 million years ago, 95% of population extinct
Triassic period: 210 million years ago, 80% of population extinct
Cretaceous period: 65 million years ago, 76% of population extinct
Quaternary period: Present, 33-66% of population extinct
Invasive Species
Organisms that thrive in new territory where they are free of predators, diseases, or resource limitations that may have controlled their population in their native habitat
Over the past 300 years, how many non-native species has the U.S. found?
Around 50,000 non-native species
How expensive is it for the U.S. to pay for the invasive species damage?
Around $138 billion dollars annually
What are some example of an invasive species?
Barred owls, Eurasian milfoils, Kudzu vines, Purple loosestrife, and Zebra mussels
About how many endemic species does New Zealand have?
Over 3,000
What percentage of flora and fauna has New Zealand lost since humans inhabited it 1,000 years ago?
Around 40%
What is one of the most notorious invasive species in New Zealand?
Australian brush-tailed possum (Trichosurus vulpecula)
What was one of the most successful invasive species eradication?
Kapiti Island, off the North Island of New Zealand
Killed 22,500 brush-tailed possums (along with other animals)
Island 10km by 2km
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (U.S.F.W.S.) estimates about how many metric tons of lead are deposited into wetlands annually and between how many million water fowl die each year from lead poisoning?
3,000 metric tons of lead
2-3 million water fowl die
Overharvesting
Harvesting so much of a resource that it threatens its existence
When did the last passenger pigeon die?
In 1914 in the Cinncinati Zoo
What percentage or fraction of all commercial oceanic species are overharvested?
Around 75% or 3/4
What fraction or percentage of all marine fish species are in a state of population collapse? When will all the species have fully collapsed (projected)?
About 1/3 or 33%
Around 2050
What U.N. meeting in Paris called or a ban on longline fishing?
Biodiversity Conference in 2005
Wildlife biologist estimate that how many tons of bushmeat are sold in African markets every year?
1 million tons
How did the SARS breakout happen?
In 2003, it resulted from the wild food trade in China and Southeast Asia where animals such as civets, monkeys, snakes, and turtles were eaten as luxury
What 2 countries and 1 city buy 3/4 (or 75%) of all cat and snake skins?
Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong
What 2 things does the U.S. import and what percentage?
99% of all cacti and 75% of all orchids sold
What are some important terms regarding species?
Keystone species: Have major effects on ecological functions and their elimination would affect many other members of the biological community
Indicator species: Tied to specific biotic communities or successional stages or set of environmental conditions; Only found in certain conditions not others
Umbrella species: Require large blocks of relatively undisturbed habitat to maintain viable populations; saving this habitat also benefits other species
Flagship species: Especially interesting or attractive organisms to which people react emotionally; This species can motivate the public to preserve biodiversity and contribute to conservation
When did the ESA expire?
1992
What is the controversy over the ESA?
*Since then, (1992) Congress has been debating new
proposals; to strengthen or weaken the act.
*Many think the ESA is a governmental plot to take
away land from private landowners.
*Some people think the ESA gives plants and
animals more rights than people!
*Some environmentalists don’t like the idea of
targeting “species” over “communities”
Gap Analysis
This studies unprotected landscapes that are rich in species. GIS(Geographical Information Systems) is the greatest asset in this study
CITES (1975)
(Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) Important regulation regarding trade of ES
What percentage of animals die when caught directly from the wild?
80%
What is an example of a successful captive breeding?
California Condor (only 9 in 1986 in the wild) Zoo breeding programs reached 242 and 110 had been released to the wild by 2005
What happened in the recent panda bear transfer?
Tian Tian and Yang Guang – whose names in English are Sweetie and Sunshine – arrived at Edinburgh airport 12/4/11
after flying in from Chengdu, Sichuan province, and were later greeted at Edinburgh zoo by around 450 people waving Chinese and Scottish flags
Why are pandas so hard to breed?
Females ovulate only once a year and can only become pregnant during a two- or three-day period
How many pandas are there world-wide (wild or captivity)?
There are about 2,000
pandas world-wide
How many animals do pet traders import (illegally) in the U.S. each year?
2 million reptiles, 1 million amphibians and mammals, and 128 million tropical fish
What percent of all saltwater tropical aquarium fish come from coral reefs of the Philippines and Indonesia?
About 75%
What are three threats to wildlife?
Bush meat market where more than 1 million tons of wild animals are sold each year for human consumption
Wild birds are endangered by pet trade
Cyanide fishing that not only kills fish but the entire reef community
Endangered Species
A species considered to be in imminent danger of extinction
Threatened Species
While still abundant in parts of its territorial range, this species has declined significantly in total numbers and may be on the verge of extinction in certain regions or localities.
What is the fine for violating the ESA?
Up to $50,000
When did the Supreme Court rule that all land must be protected if it is a critical habitat?
1995
Critical Habitat
Habitat essential for a species’ survival
In the U.S. what percentage of all known species does invertebrate take up?
75%
What percentage of the U.S. invertebrate are worth protecting?
9%
How many species have gone extinct since being nominated for protection?
18 species
How many species did each president list as endangered or threatened and how many years were they in office? (George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton)
George W. Bush: 59 species listed; 8 years in office
George H.W. Bush: 228 species; 4 years in office
Bill Clinton: 527 species; 8 years in office
What is the total cost of recovery plans for all currently listed species?
Around $5 billion
