Extinction

Extinction
The Definition and Causes

What is Extinction?
Extinction occurs when the last existing

member of a given species dies

In other wordsthere arent any more left!

It is 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 Cont.
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 Cont.
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
Nearly 2/3rds (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 arent mutually

exclusive, they may have conspired

together.

Mass Extinctions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction (65).

End Triassic Extinction (200).
Permian Triassic Extinction (250).
Late Devonian Extinction (364).
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 sitehundreds 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 Australiaearliest humans: 64,000 years ago

extinction30,000-60,000 years
ago

In the Americas80% 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 Earths 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/Ho

tspots/home/interactive_map.xml
http://www.zeroextinction.org/pointmapper/

azefiles/index.html

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.

References

Ceballos, G., and Ehrlich, P., 2002, Mammal Population Losses and the Extinction
Crisis:
Science, v. 296, p. 904-908.
Fahrig, L., 2002, Effect of Habitat Fragmentation on the Extinction Threshold: A
Synthesis: Ecological Applications, v. 12, p. 346-353.
Gittleman, J., The Risk of ExtinctionWhat you dont know will hurt you: Science, v.
291.
Petcchey, O.L., and Gaston, K.J., Extinction and the loss of functional diversity: They
Royal
Society, p. 1721-1727.
Rutledge, D., Lepczyk, C., Xie, J., Liu, J., 2001, Spatiotemporal Dynamics of
Endangered
Species Hotspots in the United States: Conservation Biology, v. 15, p. 475- 487.
Kent, Holsinger. "The Causes of Extinction." 27 Aug. 2005. 12 Mar. 2007
<http://darwin.eeb.uconn.edu/eeb310/lecture-notes/extinctions/node3.html>.
Madeley, J., Warnock, K., 1995, Biodiversity: A Matter of Extinction: The challenge of
protecting the Souths biological heritage <http://www.panos.org.uk/pdf/reports/
biodiversity.pdf>.
Trombulak, Stpehen C., et. Al. 2004, Principles of Conservation Biology: Recommended
Guidelines for Conservation Literacy from the Education Committee of the Society for
Bald Eagle. US Fish and Wildlife Service <http://www.fws.gov/endangered/i/b/msab0h.html>.
Conservation Biology: Conservation Biology
<http://www.conbio.org/Resources/Education/conservation_literacy_english.pdf>.
Extinction. Lecture by Bruce Walsh at University of Arizona, 1995.
<http://nitro.biosci.arizona.edu/courses/EEB105/lectures/extinction/extinction.html>.

References
Trombulak, Stpehen C., et. Al. 2004, Principles of Conservation
Biology: Recommended
Guidelines for Conservation Literacy from the Education
Committee of the Society for
Bald Eagle. US Fish and Wildlife Service
<http://www.fws.gov/endangered/i/b/msab0h.html>.
Conservation Biology: Conservation Biology
<http://www.conbio.org/Resources/Education/conservation_literac
y_english.pdf>.
Extinction. Lecture by Bruce Walsh at University of Arizona,
1995.
<http://nitro.biosci.arizona.edu/courses/EEB105/lectures/extinctio
n/extinction.html>.