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Extinction
The Definition and Causes
What is Extinction?
Extinction occurs when the last existing
Causes of Extinction
Genetics and Demographics
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
Causes Cont.
Predation
Competition Disease
Predation
Introduction of predators
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 Last one was 65M years ago
Mass Extinction
Nearly 2/3rds (or more) of all animal
a specific species.
Though all point the finger to climate change.
Mass Extinction
Began about three-million years ago
(Continental Glaciations).
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)
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
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
Top Human Causes of Extinction: Increased human population Destruction/Fragmentation of habitat Pollution Climate change/Global warming
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
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
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.
including
the classification of hotspot by what recovery or lack of prevention is taking place in each area.
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/Hotspot
http://www.zeroextinction.org/pointmapper/aze
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
Pollution Loss of tropical forest Spread of urban areas Warfare Large dam construction Road building Tourism Loss of traditional lifestyles
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
become susceptible to pests or viruses 75% of crop varieties are extinct Due to the spread of modern agriculture
Cover 13% of Earth Home to 50% of all known plant and animal species FAO reports 15.4 million hectares are destroyed annually
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
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>.