Chapter 42

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 Preserving biodiversity
• Humans simply cannot live without a rich array of
other species, both obvious and unseen
• We use other organisms for food, shelter,
energy, clothing, drugs
• Microbes digest food in our intestines, decay
organic matter, fix nitrogen
• Biodiversity – variety of
life on Earth
• Many biologists are
concerned that Earth is in
the middle of a
biodiversity crisis
• Current extinction rate
100-1000 times the
background extinction
rate
• Conservation biologists
study the preservation of
biodiversity
– Why are species
disappearing
– Develop strategies to
maintain diversity
• Habitat destruction is the primary cause of
diminishing biodiversity
• Deforestation
– Soil erosion and water pollution increase
– Removes important component of global water cycle
– Releases stored carbon promoting greenhouse effect
• Desertification – desert areas expanding
• Freshwater habitats also vulnerable
• Damming for flood control or power generation
alters river ecosystems
• Water temperature, oxygen content, and nutrient
levels change
• Fish migration disrupted
• Aral sea
• Once the world’s 4th
largest lake
• 1920s water removed
to irrigate crops
• Water removed faster
than replenished
• Only 3 small
remnants remain
• Water salty and
fertilizer contaminated
• Pollution – any chemical or biological change in
the environment that harms living organisms
• Air pollution
– Smog forms visible haze in the lower atmosphere
– Suspended particulates of road dust, soot, mold may
cause lung damage
• Acid deposition
– Form of air pollution
– All rainfall is slightly acidic (pH 5.6)
– Sulfur and nitrogen oxides form sulfuric acid and nitric
acid
– Coal-burning power plants primary source
– Average rainfall in eastern U.S. pH 4.4
– Acid can leach toxic metals from soils and sediments
• Ozone
– Harmful pollutant at Earth’s surface
– Blocks UV rays in upper atmosphere
– Ozone layer forms when UV radiation reacts with oxygen (O2)
– Ozone layer has thinned in places - “hole” over Antarctica
– Chlorofluorocarbons persist for decades destroying ozone
– Loss of the ozone layer can cause cancer or increase species
extinctions
• Water pollution
• Eutrophication –
nitrogen and
phosphorus fertilize
algae in the water,
cause “bloom,”
deplete oxygen
• Toxic chemicals –
mercury, cyanide,
persistent organic
pollutants
• Hurricane Katrina in
2005 released many
pollutants
 Global climate change
• Greenhouse effect
– Increase in surface
temperature caused
by heat trapping gases
in Earth’s atmosphere
– Carbon dioxide and
other greenhouse
gases absorb radiation
and reradiate it back
toward Earth
– Block heat escape
• CO2 steadily accumulated
in atmosphere since
monitoring began in 1950s
• Accompanied by increase
in average global
temperatures
• Trend predicted to
continue
• Global average surface
temperature could rise
1.8–4.0°C by the end of
the 21st century
• Increase may seem small
• 2.5°C warming of 20th
century associated with
shrinking of Arctic sea ice
and glaciers
• Evidence is mounting that
species’ ranges are
changing
– Butterfly habitats shifting
north
– Animals mating a few days
earlier
– Migration routes shifting
– Coral bleaching
 Exotic invaders and
overexploitation
• Introduced species – humans brought to
an area where it did not previously occur
– Intentional or unintentional
– Some don’t cause obvious problems – house
sparrow brought from Europe in 1850s
– Invasive – breeds and spreads widely causing
harm to environment, human health, or
economy
• Brown tree snake in Guam
• Zebra mussels in Great Lakes
• Marine toad in Florida
• Hydrilla in lakes and
rivers
• Purple loosestrife in
wetlands
• Gypsy moth in trees
• Fungi killing American
chestnut and
American elm trees
• Overexploitation
• 3rd most common cause of extinction
• Harvesting a species faster than it can
reproduce
• Pet trade
• Overhunting
• Ocean fisheries collapse
– “By-catch” – nontarget species caught and killed
 Recovery
• Pressure on natural
resources will only
grow as human
population grows
• One key may be to
slow human
population growth
• Endangered Species
Act of 1973 has
allowed for recovery
of some species
• Preserving critical habitats from destruction,
invasive species, and overexploitation
• Saves not just one species but all the others
that share that habitat
• Red-cockaded woodpecker
• All conservation efforts
require a scientific
approach
• Taxonomists must
catalog all organisms –
not just vertebrates and
plants
• Not every question has a
scientific answer
– Are all species worth
saving?
– How much money should
we spend?
– Should developed
countries help poor
countries?
 Investigating life:
The case of the missing frogs
• Worldwide decline of amphibians
• About 1/3 have declined
• Pollution, habitat loss, overhunting
• But some losses are in pristine habitats
• Harlequin frogs in Costa Rica
• Populations relatively easy to monitor
• Brightly colored and active during day
• Looked closely at databases of observations
• None of the extinct species were from lowland
areas (less than 200 m elevation)
• Most vulnerable species occupied the middle
elevations between 1000-2400 m
• Coincided with a time of increasing temperature
in the tropics
– Increases fog in vulnerable habitat making for cooler
days and warmer nights
• New conditions made the amphibians more
susceptible to skin disease by fungus
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
• Fungus likes cooler days and warmer nights
• Additional cloud cover made it difficult for frogs
to find sun to raise skin temperature and kill
fungus
• Concluded higher temperatures in tropics
created conditions favoring spread of skin
disease that killed frogs