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Major Threats to Biodiversity 1. Human population growth 2. Habitat destruction 3. Overexploitation 4. Invasive species 5.

Global climate change

Human Population Growth


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POPULATION (millions)

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http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/worldpopinfo.html

World Vital Events Per Time Unit: 2007


Time unit
Year Month Day Hour Minute Second

Births
132,639,868 11,053,322 363,397 15,142 252 4.2

Deaths
55,238,376 4,603,198 151,338 6,306 105 1.8

Natural increase
77,401,492 6,450,124 212,059 8,836 147 2.5

Human population growth and biological extinctions

proportion of avian species threatened

Log10 (human population density

Forecasting human population growth and its consequences

Population Growth Rates

420 400 380 360 340 320 300 280 260 240 1980

U.S. Population (millions)

60% of the population increase in the United States between 1994 and 2050 will be attributable to immigration and the descendants of immigrants.

1990

2000

2010

2020

2030

2040

2050

2060

Year

Data from U.S. Census Bureau

No population can increase without limit


As a population increases, the amount of essential resources per capita approaches a minimum (Liebig's Law) Resources become distributed unevenly among individuals
Struggle for Existence Intraspecific Competition

Resources eventually become limiting for population growth

Is the human population approaching the Earths carrying capacity? Density-dependent effects

Will the human population overshoot the Earths carrying capacity causing environmental degradation?

The famine of Tamil Nadu at around 1876-78 where an estimated 3.5-4 million people died

Evidence of environmental degradation

Dregne, H. E., and N-T. Chou. 1992. Global desertification dimensions and costs. In Degradation and restoration of arid lands. Lubbock: Texas Tech. University

Global population tripled in the 20th century, but water usage increased by a factor of six. Assuming that the world population increases from six to eight billion by 2025, there is growing concern that four billion people - or as much as 50% of world population in 2025) globally may face water stress. Under particular stress are key regions in China, India, the Middle East, Europe, Australia, and North America, including the western part of the United States.
According to UNEP's definition, an area is experiencing water stress when annual water supplies drop below 1,700 m3 per person. When annual water supplies drop below 1,000 m3 per person, the population faces water scarcity.

http://www.sos2006.jp/english/rsbs_summary_e/2-4-food-and-water.html

Locations in the basins of southern California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico where substantial ground-water level declines have been measured.

U.S Geological Survey Fact Sheet 103-03 November 2003

Major Threats to Biodiversity 1. Human population growth 2. Habitat destruction 3. Overexploitation 4. Invasive species 5. Global climate change

Habitat Destruction

New Mexico

Major Threats to Biodiversity 1. Human population growth 2. Habitat destruction 3. Overexploitation 4. Invasive species 5. Global climate change

Overexploitation
loss of genetic diversity change in relative abundances
food web structure ecosystem function species interactions

local or global extinction


SCOPE: the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 75% of the worlds commercial fish stocks are fished at, or above mean sustainable yields. in 76% of sub-regions, overexploitation of fisheries is severe
Southeast Asia Africa South America

http://woodsmoke.edc.uri.edu/Portal/

Joel Asaph Allen (1838-1921)

Photograph from the mid-1870s of a pile of American bison skulls waiting to be ground for fertilizer

Major Threats to Biodiversity 1. Human population growth 2. Habitat destruction 3. Overexploitation 4. Invasive species 5. Global climate change

Invasion Biology
Charles Elton (1958) argued that biological invasions ...are so frequent nowadays in every continent and island, and even in the oceans, that we need to understand what is causing them and try to arrive at some general viewpoint about the whole business.
Elton, C.S. (1958) The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants, Chapman & Hall

"On a global basis...the two great destroyers of biodiversity are, first habitat destruction and, second, invasion by exotic species - E.O. Wilson
Wilson, E. 0. 1997. Strangers in Paradise. Island Press, Washington, D.C.

Types of Economic Impacts


Production Impacts
loss or reduced efficiency of agricultural production...

Price and Market Impacts


[effects on] the quantities of a commodity demanded or supplied.

Trade Impacts
losing competitive advantage in an export market and possibly the premium from supplying disease-free products.

Food Security and Nutrition Impacts


extent to which invasive pests and diseases either reduce the domestic supply of foods directly or restrict a country's international trade could harm its food security, especially for developing countries.

Human Health and the Environment Impacts


Assessing the human health and environmental impacts of invasive pests and diseases are difficult, because in many cases the impacts are not fully understood. Available evidence does suggest, however, that the incidence of invasive food-borne diseases is growing and that their health and socio-economic impacts are increasingly being felt in both developed and developing countries.

Financial Costs Impacts


Measures taken at the individual, collective, and international levels to control, eradicate, or mitigate invasive pests and diseases may have budgetary implications. Such costs could include the costs of inspections, monitoring, prevention, and response.

Economic Costs
Globally, the cost of damage caused by invasive species has been estimated at close to US$1.5 trillion annuallyclose to 5 percent of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In developing countries where agriculture accounts for a higher proportion of GDP, the negative impact of invasive species on food security and economic development is much higher.
http://web.worldbank.org

United States: 137 billion per year


Pimentel D.; Lach L.; Zuniga R.; Morrison D. 2000. Environmental and Economic Costs of Nonindigenous Species in the United States. BioScience, Volume 50, Number 1, pp. 53-65(13).

China : 14.5 billion per year


Mack et al. (2008) BioScience (April).

Flaws in the Pimentel study: First, the methods applied to estimating costs are anecdotal in nature. No systematic empirical methods of estimating costs, which would have provided a statistical basis to judge the validity of the estimates, were applied. There was also no attempt to incorporate ecosystems services. Finally, there was no explicit consideration of the potential benefits provided by some of these invasive species (such as the recreational benefits from introduced game fish).

Ecosystem Services
Purification and Detoxification
filtration, purification and detoxification of air, water and soils

www.eftec.co.uk

Cycling Processes
nutrient cycling, nitrogen fixation, carbon sequestration, soil formation

Regulation and Stabilization


pest and disease control, climate regulation, mitigation of storms and floods, erosion control, regulation of rainfall and water supply

Habitat Provision
refuge for animals and plants, storehouse for genetic material

Regeneration and Production


production of biomass providing raw materials and food, pollination and seed dispersal

Information/Life-fulfilling
aesthetic, recreational, cultural and spiritual role, education and research

Invasion Biology U.S.A.


approximately 50,000 non-native species are estimated to have been introduced into the United States
- as much as 17% of North American flora, and up to 33% of individual state floras are made up of invasive species.

economic damages associated with alien invasive species effects and their control amount to approximately $120 billion/year. about 400 of the 958 species that are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act are considered to be at risk primarily because of competition with and predation by non-indigenous species

Ecological Economics, Volume 52, Issue 3, 15 February 2005, Pages 273-288

Impact on native ecosystems


Invasive species impact 30-50% of the species currently listed as Threatened or Endangered under the U.S Federal Endangered Species Act. (Second only to habitat destruction.)

Kudzu (Pueraria montana)


introduced in 1876 as a display at the Plant Exhibition of the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. late nineteenth century - ornamental vine to shade porches and courtyards of southern homes. 1930s - about 85 million kudzu seedlings were given to southern landowners by the Soil Erosion Service for land revitalization and to reduce soil erosion. naturalized into about 20,000 to 30,000 square kilometers of land in the United States and costs around $500 million annually in lost cropland and control costs

Mammals
About 20 species of mammals have been introduced into the US
including dogs, cats, horses, burros, cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, and deer

goats (Capra hirus) introduced on San Clemente Island are responsible for the extinction of 8 endemic plant species as well as the endangerment of 8 other native plant species there are an estimated 250 million rats in the United States the total cost of destruction of stored grains by rats is estimated at more than $19 billion per year

There are an estimated 63 million pet cats in the United States plus as many as 30 million feral cats about 465 million birds are killed by cats per year the total damage to U.S. bird population is approximately $14 billion/yr feral dog packs in Texas cause more than $5 million in livestock losses each year
Pablo Picasso Cat Eating a Bird, 1939

an estimated 4.7 million people are bitten by feral and pet dogs annually, with 800,000 cases requiring medical treatment Centers for Disease Control estimates medical treatment for dog bites costs $165 million/yr, and the indirect costs, such as lost work, increase the total costs of dog bites to $250 million/yr

Nutria (Myocastor coypus)


Introduced in the 1930s for fur production When the nutria fur market collapsed in the 1940s, thousands of nutria were released into the wild by ranchers who could no longer afford to feed and house them. Entrepreneurs began selling the herbivores to control noxious weeds. Wildlife agencies further expanded the range of the nutria by introducing the species into new areas of the United States.
APHIS Factsheet October 2005

Damages vegetation and destroys habitat in wetlands can serve as hosts for several pathogens, including tuberculosis and septicemia, which are transmissible to people, pets, and livestock. In addition, nutria can carry parasites, such as nematodes, blood flukes, tapeworms, and liver flukes. thought to be responsible for amount $6 million to crops alone

Birds
Approximately 97 of the 1,000 bird species in the United States are exotic - 56% are considered pests The single-most serious pest bird in the United States is the exotic common pigeon (Columba livia) cause an estimated $1.1 billion/yr in damages These control costs do not include the environmental damages associated with pigeons, which serve as reservoirs and vectors for over 50 human and livestock diseases, including parrot fever, ornithosis, histoplasmosis, and encephalitis

Fish
A total of 138 non-indigenous fish species has been introduced into the United States
Florida = 50 species California = 56 species Hawaii = 33 species

Forty-four native species of fish are threatened or endangered in the United States by non-indigenous fish species a conservative estimate puts the economic losses due to exotic fish at more than $1 billion annually

Cactus Moth (Cactoblastis cactorum)


native to northern Argentina and parts of Peru and Paraguay, and has been released into many parts of the world for the control of several Opuntia species. introduced into the Caribbean islands in the 1960s Detected in Florida in 1989, the cactus moth has established in areas as far north as South Carolina and as far west as the Florida panhandle. six species of native prickly-pear cactus have been attacked in Florida - the spread rate has accelerated to 158 kilometers per year

http://www.aphis.usda.gov

Projected Distribution

Hybridization
Of 26 animal species that have gone extinct since being listed under the Endangered Species Act, at least three were wholly or partly lost because of hybridization with invaders. Rainbow Trout x Cutthroat Trout x Gila Trout x Apache Trout Mallards x New Zealand Gray Duck x Hawaiian Duck x Florida Mottled Duck Sika Deer x Red Deer Ruddy Ducks x White-headed Ducks

Major Threats to Biodiversity 1. Human population growth 2. Habitat destruction 3. Overexploitation 4. Invasive species 5. Global climate change

Global Climate Change Is global warming real? Yes!


Evidence: Sea Surface Temperature

Evidence: Glacial Retreat

Evidence: Sea Ice


This satellite image shows the 2002 breakup of the Larsen B Ice Shelf in comparison of the US state of Rhode Island. This region, covering approximately 3250 km2 with 200 meter thick ice, had been continuously glaciated since before the end of the last glacial period (Domack et al. 2005).

Is global warming due to natural or anthropogenic causes? Probably anthropogenic


Evidence: Comparison of rates Are increases in temperature during the industrial period consistent with natural variation?

Evidence: Plausible mechanism Greenhouse Effect

Global Temperature and CO2 Over The Past 450 Thousand Years Source: UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Third Assessment Report, Climate Change 2001

What are the consequences of global warming? Depends on the magnitude of change

Climate Projections

What are the consequences of global warming? Abiotic effects


Increased frequency of extreme events
Hurricanes and typhoons Fires and floods Droughts

Sea-level rise

If The Ice Were To Melt


if all the ice in Greenland were to melt, then sea level would rise approximately 6.5 meters (21 feet) if all the ice in Antarctica were to melt, then sea level would rise approximately 60 meters (195 feet)

What are the consequences of global warming? Biotic effects


Increased rates of extinction Changes in agricultural production Changes in species distributions

Climate change will affect species distributions

Solenopsis invicta

Every 1C increase in sea surface temperatures (El Nio region 3.4 ) was followed by a 19.4% (95% CI: -4.7-43.5) increase in dengue incidence (18 weeks later). Climate and weather factors play a small but significant role in dengue transmission in Matamoros, Mexico.

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