I.

SpeciesExtinction
A.ThreeTypesofExtinction
Localextinction:whenaspeciesisnolongerfoundinanareaitonceinhabited
butisstillfoundelsewhereintheworld
EcologicalExtinction:whensofewmembersofaspeciesareleftthatitcanno
longerplayitsecologicalrolesinthebiologicalcommunitiesitisfound
BiologicalExtinction:Aspeciesisnolongerfoundanywhereonearth.
permanent
B.EndangeredandThreatenedSpecies
EndangeredSpecies:sofewindividualsurvivorsthatthespeciescouldsoon
becomeextinctoverallormostofitsnaturalrange
ThreatenedSpecies:stillabundantinitsnaturalrangebutbecauseofdeclining
numbersitislikelytobecomeendangeredinthenearfuture
C.EffectsofHumanActivitiesonExtinctionRates
Theextinctionrateisabout0.0001%
Mostbiologistsconsiderextinctionratesof0.01%to1%tobeconservative
estimatesforseveralreasons:
Boththerateofspecieslossandtheextentofbiodiversitylossarelikelyto
increaseduringthenext50100yearsbecauseoftheprojectedgrowthof
theworldshumanpopulationandresourceuseperperson

 Currentandprojectedextinctionratesaremuchhigherthantheglobal
averageinpartsoftheworldthatareendangeredcentersoftheworlds
biodiversity
Hotspotsareareasofmuchhigherextinctionrates
Weareeliminating,degrading,andsimplifyingmanybiologicallydiverse
environmentsthatserveaspotentialcolonizationsitesfortheemergence
ofnewspecies
III.HabitatLoss,Degradation,andFragmentation
A.HabitatDestruction,Degradation,andFragmentation:HIPPO
Habitatdestruction,degradation,andfragmentation
Invasivespecies
Populationgrowth(toomanypeopleconsumingtoomanyresources)
Pollution
Overharvesting
Thegreatestthreattowildspeciesishabitatloss
HabitatFragmentation:occurswhenalarge,continuousareaofhabitatisreduced
inareaanddividedintosmaller,morescattered,andisolatedpatchesorhabitat
islands
IV.InvasiveSpecies
A.DeliberatelyIntroducedSpecies
BioticPollution:invasivespecieslackpredatorsandreduceorwipeout
populationsofmanynativespeciesandtriggerecologicaldisruptions

V.ProtectingWildSpecies:LegalandEconomicApproaches
A.TheFutureoftheEndangeredSpeciesAct
EffortstoweakentheESAhaveincludedthefollowingsuggestions:
Makingprotectionofendangeredspeciesonprivatelandvoluntary
Havingthegovernmentcompensatelandownersifitforcesthemtostop
usingpartsoftheirlandtoprotectendangeredspecies
Makingitharderandmoreexpensivetolistnewlyendangeredspeciesby
requiringgovernmentwildlifeofficialstonavigatethroughaseriesof
hearingsandpeerreviewpanelsandrequiringharddatainsteadof
computerbasedmodels
Summary:InthisChapterwelearnedaboutthemajorproblemofprematureextinctionofspecies
duetohumanactivities.Includingmanywaysinordertoreducethethreattotheworlds
biodiversity.Someofthequestionsansweredinthischapterare,whyshouldwecareabout
protectingwildspecies,whatactivitiesareendangeringspecies,howcanwehelpprevent
prematureextinctionofspecies.
TheMajorFigureinthisChapter:

Figure117(229)Thisillustrationshowsthebasicandsecondarycausesofthedepletionand
prematureextinctionofnonhumanspecies.