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Introduction:
Rainforests are an example of biodiversity on the planet, and typically possess a great deal of
species biodiversity. This is the Gambia River in Senegal's Niokolokoba National Park.
Biodiversity is all of the different varieties of species that inhabit the planet.
Genetic differences within a species can mean differences in shape, size, smell, and
color. The variety of species within a natural community means all the various species
in a particular habitat.
Pranav H. Vashi 1
Sustaining Biodiversity:
The Species Approach
The market for exotic pets and plants are also a cause of wildlife extinction. The
impact of deforestation on wildlife extinction is severe. Deforestation is “the greatest
eliminator of terrestrial species.” The habitat loss is the greatest factor in wildlife
extinction and habitat loss is caused by deforestation. When deforestation occurs many
species lose their natural homes and food supplies.
Species Extinction:
Pranav H. Vashi 2
Sustaining Biodiversity:
The Species Approach
I. Endangered species are so few in number that the species could soon become
extinct over all or part of its natural range.
II. Threatened/vulnerable species are still abundant in their natural range but,
because of loss numbers, is likely to become endangered in the near future.
Pranav H. Vashi 3
Sustaining Biodiversity:
The Species Approach
One approach is to study past records documenting extinction since man came
on the scene.
The World Conservation Union as kept Red Lists that are the world standard for
listing all threatened species throughout the world. They provide baseline
information on change in biodiversity over time.
Define the number of species’ increase as the size of an area increases (species-
area relationship).
When an area decreases by 90%, about 50% of the species there become
extinct.
Use models to estimate a species extinction risk by predicting population size,
habitat changes/availability, and species interaction.
Estimates of future extinction vary due to different assumptions about total
species number, proportion found in the tropics, rate of clearance of tropics, and
reliability of methods.
Pranav H. Vashi 4
Sustaining Biodiversity:
The Species Approach
Greater extinction rates than predicted are likely because of several factors:
Species loss and biodiversity loss will likely increase because of the exponential
population growth.
Biologically diverse areas’ (hot spots) rate of extinction may be as high as 25–
50%. The extinction rate in these “hot spots” deserves special attention.
Possible colonization sites for new species are being eliminated, degraded, and
simplified by human activities so that new species cannot arise. By reducing
this rate of speciation, we are creating a speciation crisis. Such a crisis may
contribute to dominance of the world by species with survival power—
cockroaches, rats and weeds—and contribute to the permanent decline of the
earth’s variety of species and habitats.
A precautionary strategy to prevent a significant decrease in the genetic,
species, ecological, and functional diversity of the earth is necessary.
Pranav H. Vashi 5
Sustaining Biodiversity:
The Species Approach
Pranav H. Vashi 6
Sustaining Biodiversity:
The Species Approach
Pranav H. Vashi 7
Sustaining Biodiversity:
The Species Approach
Birds are excellent environmental indicators because they live in every climate
and biome, respond quickly to environmental changes in their habitats, and are
easy to track and count.
Birds have important ecological roles such as helping to control rodents and
insects, pollination of flowering plants, seed dispersal, and as scavengers of
dead animals.
Pranav H. Vashi 8
Sustaining Biodiversity:
The Species Approach
The best control is to prevent the non-native species from being introduced.
Identify the types of ecosystems that are vulnerable to invaders and identify the
characteristics that allow the nonnative species to become successful invaders.
Inspect imported goods.
Identify harmful invader species and pass international laws that prohibit their
transfer from one country to another.
Deer populations have exploded in the suburbs due to invasion of their habitats
by humans. Deer are edge species; they live in the woods and feed in more open areas.
They kill more people in the U.S. than any other wild species due to collisions
between deer and vehicles. No easy answers are available for reducing the deer
population; each proposed remedy is generally expensive and time consuming.
Researchers are experimenting with various possible methods of birth control to
decrease the population.
Pranav H. Vashi 9
Sustaining Biodiversity:
The Species Approach
Animals are worth a great deal; they die due to the use of animal parts in the
Middle East and China. Tiger populations have declined drastically since 1950 mostly
because of habitat loss and poaching for fur and bones. Black market demand has
increased as these animals have become endangered.
Bushmeat supplies indigenous people with food and has been harvested
sustainably, but as demand has gone up, illegal hunting has skyrocketed. There has
been an eightfold increase in Africa’s population. Logging roads allowed ranchers,
miners, and settlers into areas once too remote/inaccessible. Restaurants in many parts
of the world serve bushmeat dishes. People living in poverty use the selling of
bushmeat to collectors, meat suppliers, and poachers as a means of survival. These
hunting practices have resulted in negative ecological impacts and have driven at least
one species to extinction. It also negatively impacts forest carnivores by depleting
their main prey species. The forest itself is changed by a decrease in seed-dispersing
animals.
Pranav H. Vashi 10
Sustaining Biodiversity:
The Species Approach
Global legal and illegal trade in wild species for pets is a very profitable
business.
More than 60 bird species, mostly parrots, are endangered or threatened because
of the wild bird trade.
Amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and tropical fish are also being depleted
because of the pet trade.
Ex-poachers in Thailand are now making more money taking eco-tourists into
the forest than they did by poaching hornbills. They also protect these birds
from poachers.
Collecting exotic pets and plants (such as orchids and cacti) kill large numbers
of them and endanger these species and others that depend on them.
Pollution from human activities undermines habitats and the lives of species.
Pranav H. Vashi 11
Sustaining Biodiversity:
The Species Approach
A 2000 study by the Nature Conservancy found that one-third of the U.S.
species are at risk of extinction, and 15% are at high risk.
Critical habitats are supposed to be designated and protected by the ESA.
Political pressure and lack of money has affected this directive. Although
recovery plans have been approved for about 79% of endangered/threatened
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Sustaining Biodiversity:
The Species Approach
U.S. species, about half of them have not been implemented because of political
pressure and lack of funds.
There is controversy over the ESA regarding the political and legal issue of
whether federal and state governments should compensate owners for the
decrease in the financial value of property.
Species are listed only when they are in serious danger of extinction.
It takes decades for most species to become endangered or threatened.
Most important, the condition of almost 40% of the listed species is stable.
The federal endangered species budget was only $58 million in 2005, about
what the Department of Defense spends in 1 1/2 hours.
Most biologists believe the U.S. should modify the act to emphasize protection and
maintenance of biological diversity and ecological functioning rather than try to save
individual species. This new approach would follow three principals.
Pranav H. Vashi 13
Sustaining Biodiversity:
The Species Approach
The sanctuary approach is being used to protect wild species. 542 federal
refuges protect wildlife, but the habitats are deteriorating due to invasive species,
pollutants, and little operational or maintenance funding.
Gene banks, botanical gardens, and farms can be used to raise threatened
species and help protect species from extinction, but funding is inadequate.
Raising some threatened or endangered species on farms can take some of the
pressure off them and perhaps offer some for commercial sale.
Zoos and aquariums can help protect some endangered animal species as well,
but they are both notoriously underfunded.
Egg pulling collects wild eggs laid by endangered bird species and hatches them
in zoos/research centers.
Captive breeding takes wild individuals into captivity for breeding with the
commitment to re-introduce the offspring back into the wild.
Artificial insemination, use of surrogate mothers, use of incubators, and cross-
fostering by a similar species are ways to increase populations of rare species.
The ultimate goal is to re-introduce these species into the wild.
Pranav H. Vashi 14
Sustaining Biodiversity:
The Species Approach
The major conservation role of zoos is to educate the public about species’
biological importance and the need to protect habitats. Zoos do not have the space to
sustain the necessary numbers in an animal population.
Reconciliation Ecology
Pranav H. Vashi 15