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Human Impact on Biodiversity. Biodiversity One reason why humans need to change our way of thinking...

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Human Impact on Biodiversity
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Page 1: Human Impact on Biodiversity. Biodiversity One reason why humans need to change our way of thinking about the earth and its resources is the loss of biodiversity.

Human Impact on Biodiversity

Page 2: Human Impact on Biodiversity. Biodiversity One reason why humans need to change our way of thinking about the earth and its resources is the loss of biodiversity.

Biodiversity• One reason why humans need to change our

way of thinking about the earth and its resources is the loss of biodiversity.

• Biodiversity is…. • the assortment, or variety, of living things in an ecosystem.

• Biodiversity needs to be maintained because it is key to the discovery of potential medicines and new species

• Ex. Alaska has more biodiversity than Missouri

Page 3: Human Impact on Biodiversity. Biodiversity One reason why humans need to change our way of thinking about the earth and its resources is the loss of biodiversity.

Biodiversity

• Why does biodiversity matter?

• Biodiversity is one of the Earth’s greatest resources. Species of many kinds have provided us with food, industrial products, and medicines.• Ex: painkillers, antibiotics,

heart drugs, antidepressants and anticancer drugs.

Page 4: Human Impact on Biodiversity. Biodiversity One reason why humans need to change our way of thinking about the earth and its resources is the loss of biodiversity.

• How do humans reduce biodiversity?

• Human activity can reduce biodiversity by:

1. Altering habitats2. Hunting species to

extinction3. Introducing toxins into

food webs4. Introducing foreign

species to new environments.

Page 5: Human Impact on Biodiversity. Biodiversity One reason why humans need to change our way of thinking about the earth and its resources is the loss of biodiversity.

Threats to Biodiversity- Altering Habitats

• When land is developed natural habitats may be destroyed. This causes the species in the area to:

• Development may also divide the ecosystems into separate “biological islands”. This is called…

• Relocate or vanish

• Habitat Fragmentation

Page 6: Human Impact on Biodiversity. Biodiversity One reason why humans need to change our way of thinking about the earth and its resources is the loss of biodiversity.

Threats to Biodiversity- Altering Habitats

• How are species living on these “biological islands” affected?

• Very few species can live in small areas.

• Species will have smaller populations

• Be vulnerable to further disturbance, climate change and loss.

Page 7: Human Impact on Biodiversity. Biodiversity One reason why humans need to change our way of thinking about the earth and its resources is the loss of biodiversity.

Biodiversity• An example of a

biological island would be Central Park in New York city.

Central Park, NYC

Page 9: Human Impact on Biodiversity. Biodiversity One reason why humans need to change our way of thinking about the earth and its resources is the loss of biodiversity.

Threats to Biodiversity- Over Hunting

• What has been done to protect species from extinction?

• An endangered species list has been generated and laws have been enacted to protect species.

• Delegates from many countries meet to make these laws at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).• However, it is difficult to enforce

these laws in remote areas.

Page 10: Human Impact on Biodiversity. Biodiversity One reason why humans need to change our way of thinking about the earth and its resources is the loss of biodiversity.

Some of the Most Endangered Animals1 Ivory-Billed Woodpecker - A North American bird so endangered it may actually be extinct2 Amur Leopard - The world’s rarest cat: Only 40 left in Russia’s Far East3 Javan Rhinoceros - No more than 60 of these swamp-dwelling Asian rhinos exist4 Greater Bamboo Lemur - Here’s the scarcest of Madagascar’s fast-dwindling lemur species5 Northern Right Whale - Hunted to near extinction, 350 right whales still swim the Atlantic

6 Mountain Gorilla - Their habitat is shrinking, and fewer than 700 remain7 Leatherback Sea Turtle - The population of the world’s largest turtle is dropping at an alarming rate8 Siberian (or Amur) Tiger - The world’s biggest cat weighs as much as 300 kilos (660 pounds)9 Chinese Giant Salamander - Humans are eating the world’s largest amphibian into extinction10 Hawaiian Monk Seal - Scientists don’t know why this seal’s population keeps declining

Page 11: Human Impact on Biodiversity. Biodiversity One reason why humans need to change our way of thinking about the earth and its resources is the loss of biodiversity.

Threats to Biodiversity-Pollution

• One of the most serious problems with pollution is biological magnification.

Page 12: Human Impact on Biodiversity. Biodiversity One reason why humans need to change our way of thinking about the earth and its resources is the loss of biodiversity.

Threats to Biodiversity-Pollution• What is biological

magnification?• accumulation of toxins in the

food chain.• Pollutants can move up the food

chain.• predators eat contaminated prey• pollution accumulates at each

stage of the food chain• Top consumers, including

humans, are most affected• Toxins do not break down by

natural processes or get eliminated from the body in this process.

Page 13: Human Impact on Biodiversity. Biodiversity One reason why humans need to change our way of thinking about the earth and its resources is the loss of biodiversity.

Threats to Biodiversity-Pollution• An example of Biological magnification is in the 1960’s a

pesticide named DDT was spread.

• What did DDT do to organisms?

• DDT caused fish eating animals like the Osprey, Brown Pelican and the Bald Eagle to have very fragile eggs. Most of the eggs did not survive. Eventually these birds were put on the endangered species list.

Page 14: Human Impact on Biodiversity. Biodiversity One reason why humans need to change our way of thinking about the earth and its resources is the loss of biodiversity.

Threats to Biodiversity-Introduced Species

• Sometimes a plant or animal may be introduced into a new environment either accidentally or intentionally.

• An invasive species is….. • An introduced species that reproduces rapidly has no natural predators or parasites.

Page 15: Human Impact on Biodiversity. Biodiversity One reason why humans need to change our way of thinking about the earth and its resources is the loss of biodiversity.

Threats to Biodiversity-Introduced Species• Species to look out for in Missouri

• Zebra Mussels• Zebra mussels and a related species, quagga mussels, are fingernail-

sized black-and-white striped bivalve mollusks native to the Caspian Sea region of Asia. They came to North American waters in international shipping ballast water and were discovered in Lake St. Clair near Detroit in 1988.

• Asian Longhorned Beetle• In recent years, the Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis)

and other wood-boring beetles have been entering North America in solid wood packing material from Asia. Some of these insects have the potential to become very serious pests of North American forests.

• Gypsy Moths• The gypsy moth was introduced to the East Coast in 1869 and since

then has been spreading slowly westward. When it arrives, the gypsy moth will be especially devastating to Missouri forests because one of its favorite foods is oak leaves.

Page 16: Human Impact on Biodiversity. Biodiversity One reason why humans need to change our way of thinking about the earth and its resources is the loss of biodiversity.

Threats to Biodiversity-Introduced Species• Species to look out for in Missouri

• Rusty Crayfish• The rusty crayfish is native to parts of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and

Michigan but has spread to other states or areas where it can cause problems for other animals and plants. Rusty crayfish were probably spread by anglers who transported them for use as fishing bait.

• Common and Cut-leaved Teasel• Like many of our problem weeds, teasel is an exotic plant that is native

to Europe. It was introduced to North America, possibly as early as the 1700s, because the prickly stem was used in the textile industry to raise the nap of cloth. Teasel’s unusual—and by some perspectives, attractive— flower heads have led to its use as a horticultural plant, in flower arrangements and in the craft trade.


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