Extinction
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What is Extinction?
Extinction occurs when the last existing member of a
given species dies
In other words…there aren’t any more left!
Itis a scientific certainty when there are not any
surviving individuals left to reproduce
Functional Extinction
Only a handful of individuals are left
Odds of reproduction are slim
Causes of Extinction
Genetics and Demographics
Small populations = increased risk
Mutations
Causes a flux in natural selection
Beneficial genetic traits are overruled
Loss of Genetic Diversity
Shallow gene pools promote massive inbreeding
Causes Con’t.
Habitat Degradation
One of the most influential
Has many causes
Some due to humans
Some due to other factors
Habitat Degradation
Toxicity
Kills off species directly through food/water
Indirectly via sterilization
Can occur in short spans (a single generation)
Can occur over several generations
Increasing toxicity
Increasing competition for habitat resources
Habitat Degradation
Destruction of Habitat
“Save the Rainforests!”
Elimination of living space
Change in habitat
Rainforest to pasture lands
Leads to diminishing resources
Increases competition
Can be caused by natural processes
Volcanoes, floods, drought, etc…
Causes Con’t.
Predation
Competition
Disease
Coextinction
Mass Extinction
Planned Extinction
Predation
Introduction of predators
Invasive alien species
Transported by humans
Cattle, rats, zebra muscles, etc…
Sometimes on purpose, sometimes not
Can eat other species
Eat food sources
Introduce diseases
Coextinction
The loss of one species leads to the loss of another
Chain of extinction
Can be caused by small impacts in the beginning
A predator looses its food source
Affected by interconnectedness in nature
Mass Extinction
Aka: an extinction event
A sharp decrease in the number of species on Earth
in a short period of time
Coincides with a sharp drop in speciation
The process by which new biological species arise
There have been at least 5
Last one was 65M years ago
Mass Extinction Diagram
Mass Extinction
Nearly2/3rds (or more) of all animal species that
ever existed on the planet are now gone.
With contemporary extinction being attributed to HUMAN
activity.
Numerous factors go into the extinction of a
specific species.
Though all point the finger to climate change.
Mass Extinction
Began about three-million years ago (Continental
Glaciations).
Hypotheses for initial extinction:
Sea level depletion vs. Temperature decrease
Though these hypotheses aren’t mutually exclusive, they
may have conspired together.
Mass Extinctions
1. Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction (65).
2. End Triassic Extinction (200).
3. Permian Triassic Extinction (250).
4. Late Devonian Extinction (364).
5. Ordovician-Silurian Extinction (440).
(#= millions of years ago)
Planned Extinction
Human controlled
Thought of to help humans
Deadly viruses
Smallpox
Extinct in the wild
Polio
Near extinct (only in small parts of the world)
Natural Causes
of Extinction
Climatic Heating and Cooling
Changes in Sea Level or Currents
www.johnstonsarchive.net/spaceart/cylmaps.html
Asteroids
Causes complete devastation
Flattening and crater at
or around impact site-hundreds of miles wide
Reverberations felt around the world
Cosmic Radiation
www.iit.edu/~ipro313s/home.html
Acid Rain
Kills acid intolerant
species
Disease/Epidemics
Can wipe out entire
species
Frog with fungus
disease
Killing
frogs and other
amphibians
Spread of Invasive Species
Natural factors usually occur at a slower rate
and therefore cause a low extinction rate.
Human activities occur at a faster rate and
cause higher extinction rates. Human
activities are mostly responsible for the
present extinction rates.
http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/sustain/extinct.pdf
Human Causes of
Extinction
Top Human Causes of
Extinction:
Increased human population
Destruction/Fragmentation of habitat
Pollution
Climate change/Global warming
Extinctions caused by humans are generally considered to
be a recent phenomena. HOWEVER:
•In Australia—earliest humans: 64,000 years ago
extinction—30,000-60,000
years ago
•In the Americas—80% of large animals became
extinct around the same time as first human presence there
Based on these, and other
studies done by The
international Union for
Conservation of Nature and
Natural Resources (IUCN),
human induced extinctions are
not necessarily a new
phenomena. However,
extinction by humans today is
becoming much more rapid.
The rapid loss of species today is estimated by some experts to
be between 100 and 1,000 times higher than the natural
extinction rate, while others estimate rates as high as 1,000-
11,000 times higher.
Habitat Degradation
Habitat loss and degradation affect 86% of all
threatened birds, 86% of mammals and 88% of
threatened amphibians
Climate change/Global Warming
John W. Williams from UW-Madison suggests that changes in
regions such as the Peruvian Andes, portions of the Himalayas
and southern Australia could have a profound impact on
indigenous plants and animals
Williams and his research partners used computer models to
estimate how various parts of the world would be affected by
regional changes consistent with the IPCC's climate models.
Their findings indicated that “By the end of the 21st century, large
portions of the Earth’s surface may experience climates not found
at present and some 2th century climates may disappear.”
Their studies also suggest isolated climates such as the Peruvian
Andes could change drastically enough to lead to species
extinctions.
The climate change might also create new climates, providing new
opportunities for other species to thrive, Williams said.
Regions where novel
climates are expected
to form in tropical and
subtropical regions
include the western
Sahara, southeastern
U.S. and eastern India.
Extinction Hotspots
Where and what are hotspots?
“The concept of biodiversity hotspots was
penned by British ecologist Norman Myers in
1988 as a means to address the dilemma of
identifying the areas most important for
preserving species.” (national geographic)
Hotspots are included in 6 continents
excluding Antarctica.
Hotspots are heavily distributed along shore
lines and near the equator.
Hotspots are effected by many factors including
Logging
Agriculture
Hunting
Climate change
Government
Hotspots can be added and removed from the classification of “hotspot” by
what recovery or lack of prevention is taking place in each area.
What is required to be considered
a hotspot
“The region must support at least 1,500 plant species found
nowhere else in the world, and it must have lost at least 70
percent of its original habitat.”
Interactive maps
http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/home/inter
active_map.xml
http://www.zeroextinction.org/pointmapper/azefiles/index.h
tml
What is Biodiversity?
Biodiversity is the variation of taxonomic life forms
for a given biome or ecosystem
Boosts Ecosystem productivity
Measure of the health of a biological system
Benefits of Biodiversity
Food and drink
Medicines
Industrial materials
Ecological services
Leisurely, cultural, and
aesthetic values
Causes of Biodiversity Loss
Pollution
Loss of tropical forest
Spread of urban areas
Warfare
Large dam construction
Road building
Tourism
Loss of traditional lifestyles
Consequences of Biodiversity Loss
Loss of food
Decrease in biomass
Collapse of food web
Loss of keystone species
Reduction of ecosystem
efficiency and community
productivity
Loss of medicinal supplies
Increased vulnerability of
species to disease and
predation
Crops
MONOCULTURE OF CROPS LETS THE YIELD BECOME
SUSCEPTIBLE TO PESTS OR VIRUSES
75% OF CROP VARIETIES ARE EXTINCT
DUE TO THE SPREAD OF MODERN AGRICULTURE
Tropical Forest Cutting
Cover 13% of Earth
Home to 50% of all known plant and animal
species
FAO reports 15.4 million hectares are destroyed
annually
The Convention on Biological
Diversity
Mission Statement
“The objectives of this convention are the
conservation of biological diversity,
sustainable use of its components and the fair
and equitable sharing of the benefits arising
out of the utilization of genetic resources.”
Since it was adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in
1992, 189 countries have signed and implemented it. The
United States signed it in 1993 but has yet to put it into action
still today
The Convention on Biological
Diversity
2010 Biodiversity Target
Members adopted a plan to significantly reduce the
present rate of biodiversity loss at the global,
regional and national level by the year 2010.
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