What is Biodiversity?
• Species Richness is another term for biodiversity
• Density is an important factor in terms of biodiversity
• Carrying capacity: resource availability is important (Tillman curve)
Niche
• The role of an organisms within its environment (habitat) that is specific.
• Gause’s competitive exclusion theory – no two organisms (populations) can occupy the same niche indefinitely (Andrews.edu).
• Niche is important in terms of competition.
Species Abundance?
• The amount of a particular species in a given habitat is important, this is abundance.
• Sometimes this does not support species richness if the species out-competes others species.
Biodiversity• According to Peter Raven (2007) there are
approximately 1.5 million known species on earth with a high extinction rate.
• There may be 8 – 10 million species on earth today, but not much is known about the lower taxa.
• Biodiversity is being impacted by humans at an unprecedented rate of extinction of up to 200 species per day.
Competition
• There are a number of ways in which a species competes for resources:1. Exploitation: this is when a species can utilize resources better than other species (i.e. Aureococcus)2. Interference: when a species can create its own environment and manipulate it for its advantage (i.e. Sour weed)
Ecology
• Ecology is a young field (started in the 1950’s), exploring the role of organisms within their environments and how it relates to survival.
• Ecology takes into account habitat, environmental factors, biological functions and physical conditions.
Population Estimates
• Use basic population models…
Interspecies: Margelef, Menhenick, Jaccard’s indices
Inter/Intraspecies: Simpson’s Index
Island Biogeography
• Robert MacArthur and Edward O. Wilson, theorized about space and resources looking at islands.
• They hypothesized that islands further from a mainland would have less species diversity than those closer.
• They also hypothesized that larger islands would support more diversity than smaller islands.
Sustaining Wild Species
• Over 90% of today’s crops are domesticated and basically 4 crop types provide a majority of the world its food requirement.
• Over 80% of the world needs plants for medicinal purposes.
Sustaining Wild Species?
• Is survival of the human species a key to survival of other species?
• We look at things from an anthropogenic view.
• It is thought that over 1 million species live in the rainforests (known) with an extinction rate of 2% per year!
Species protection categories
• Endangered – reduced mating pairs to the point where populations cannot sustain themselves (Kemp’s ridley sea turtle)
• Threatened – declining in numbers, but must be protected (Osprey)
• Concern – Decline, possibly due to habitat loss or resource limitations
Protection
• Endangered Species Preservation Act (1973):
Species are listed under Federal and Statewide basis. Therefore, they could receive protection under different categories.
American alligator – Federal
Threatened, varies statewide
IUCN: Red List Program
• The International Union for the Conservation of Nature established a program through the United Nations for global protection of species
• Under the Red List Program (www.iucnredlist.org) has a well organized system of species rankings.
Protection
• Enforcement of the Endangered Species Act is a Federal Mandate and falls under the following…
– U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
– National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries
U.S. Fish & Wildlife
• Department of the Interior.
• Responsible for all beaches, inland waters, except Great Lakes.
• Species management, control and manage lands that are moderately-restricted (over 500 refuges and rangelands).
“NOAA Fisheries Service conserves, protects, and manages living marine resources in a way that ensures their continuation as functioning components of marine ecosystems, affords economic opportunities, and enhances the quality of life for the American public” (NOAA 2007).
NOAA
• National Estuarine Research Reserve Program
• Sanctuaries and Protected Areas (called Marine Protected Areas
• Fisheries Quotas and Enforcement
Other players in management
• Multiple Use Lands..
National Forests which include over 150 Forests and 19 grasslands managed through the U.S. Forest Service
Other players in management
• Multiple Use Lands…
• The largest is the Bureau of Land Management which includes prairies, deserts, scrub forests and open spaces mostly in the western U.S.
Other players in management
• Restricted Use Lands
The National Park Service has over 370 units and 50+ major parks throughout with close to 50% in the wilderness (www.nps.gov).