Chapter 22 Sustaining Wild Species Mrs. Cook Environmental Science

Chapter 22Sustaining Wild Species

Mrs. Cook

Environmental Science

Human Impacts on Biodiversity

• How have human activities affected the earth’s biodiversity?

• Are human activities causing an extinction crisis?

• Why should we care about biodiversity and species extinction?

• What human activity endanger wildlife?• How can we prevent premature extinction

of species?• How can we manage game animals more

sustainably?

The Passenger Pigeon Gone Forever

• How can a species that was once the most common bird in N. America become extinct in only a few decades?

• In the early 1800’s Alexander Wilson watched a single flock of migrating passenger pigeons (approx 2 million) darken the sky for 4 hours.

• By 1914 they were gone forever.


• Main reasons for extinction of this species:• Uncontrolled commercial hunting• Loss of the bird’s habitat and food supply as

forests were cleared to make room for farms and cities.

• They were good to eat• Their feathers made good pillows• Their bones were used for fertilizer• Easy to kill because they flew in gigantic

flocks• Nested in long, narrow colonies


• Commercial hunters • would capture one pigeon alive• Sew its eyes shut• Tie it to a perch called a stool• Curious flocks would land beside the “stool

pigeon”• Birds would then be shot or ensnared by

nets• May trap more than 1,000 birds at once


• Shooting galleries used live birds as target• In 1878, one professional pigeon trapper

made $60,000 by killing 3 million birds at their nesting grounds near Petoskey, Michigan

• By early 1880’s, only a few thousand birds remained.

• Recovery of the species at this point was doomed because the females laid only one egg per nest.

• March 20, 1900, a young boy in Ohio shot the last known wild passenger pigeon.


• The Story of Martha-• The last passenger pigeon on earth

was a hen named Martha- named for Martha Washington.

• She died at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914

• Her stuffed body is displayed at the Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFpaVfFIMFQ


• Factors that Increase Biodiversity:• A physically diverse habitat• Moderate environment disturbance• Small variations in environmental conditions

such a nutrient supply, precipitation, and temperature

• evolution


• Factors that Decrease Biodiversity• Environmental Stress• Large disturbances• Extreme environmental conditions• Limitation of essential resources• Introduction of alien species• Geographic isolation


• Human Activities• Human have taken over, disturbed, or

degraded 40-50% of the earth’s land surface- Filling in wetlands (1/2 are gone)- Converting grassland & forests to crop

fields and urban areas

• Humans use, waste, or destroy about 27% of the earth’s total potential net primary productivity


• Human Impact on Extinction• The current global extinction rate of

species is 1000x faster than it would be without human involvement

• Expected to grow to 10,000x

• The rate of premature extinction is expected to increase during this century as more people use more of the world’s resources.


Projected Status of Biodiversity1998–2018

Critical and endangered Threatened Stable or intact

NORTHAMERICA

EUROPE

AFRICA

ASIA

SOUTHAMERICA AUSTRALIA

PacificOcean

PacificOcean

Tropic Of Cancer

Tropic Of CapricornIndianOcean

AtlanticOcean

150°90°60°E0°30°W90°120°150°0°

60°

30°N

30°S

Arctic CircleArctic Circle

Food supply and demand

Freshwatersupply and

demand

Forest productsupply and

demandClimate change

Biodiversity loss

Habitatchange

Changes intranspirationand albedo Loss

of cropgenetic

diversity Reducedresistanceto change

Loss andfragmentation

of habitat

CO2 emission

Habitat changeand fragmentation

of habitat

Changes inprecipitation

and temperature

Water availability

Water use and pollutionand soil nutrient loss

CO2, CH4,

N2O emissions

Erosion,pollution, and

changes inwater flow

Loss and fragmentation

of habitat

Loss and fragmentation

of habitat

DeforestationDeforestation

Fig. 22.2, p. 551

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8pMMw3mtSw

Biodiversity in the USA• Approx 539 species have become extinct

• 1/3 of plant and animals species may suffer premature extinction

• Species in US most at risk are• Flowering Plants (70%)• Freshwater Aquatic Species

such as mussels (70%)• Crayfishes (50+%)• Amphibians (38%)

67% Secure

1% Probably extinct

7% Critical

8% imperial

16% vulnerable

1% other

Should we focus on Sustaining Species or Ecosystem?

• Species-by Species Approach- Identify most at-risk species- Understand the species- Focus on protecting them

• Ecosystem Approach

- Major goal is to assure that there is enough protected land and water to provide habitat

The Species Approach The Ecosystem Approach

Goal

Protect species frompremature extinction

Strategies

• Identify endangered species

• Protect their critical habitats

Tactics• Legally protect endangered species

• Manage habitat

• Propagate endangered species in captivity

• Reintroduce species into suitable habitats

Goal

Protect populations ofspecies in their naturalhabitats

Strategy

Preserve sufficient areasof habitats in differentbiomes and aquaticsystems

Tactics• Protect habitat areas through private

purchase or government action

• Eliminate or reduce populations of alien species from protected areas

• Manage protected areas to sustain native species

• Restore degraded ecosystems

Species Extinction• Three Levels of Species Extinction

- Local extinction: species is no longer found in an area it once inhabited but is still found elsewhere in the world

-Loss of 1 or more populations

The northern

long-eared bat

on the verge of

extinction in PA.

Species Extinction

• Ecological Extinction:- so few members of a species are left that it can no longer play its ecological roles in the biological communities where it is found.

Sea otters maintain The overall kelp and Sea urchin populations. Once overhunted for their pelts, they are still trying tomake a comeback.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnBOwQNwdtQ

Species Extinction

• Biological Extinction-

- when a species is no longer found anywhere on the earth.

- Biological Extinction is forever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPJePIZrP0E

Endangered and Threatened Species• Endangered Species:

- So few individual survivors that the species could soon become extinct over all or most of its natural range.

- They can quickly become critically endangered- minimal living in the wild but mainly only found in captivity

Endangered and Threatened Species

• Threatened or Vulnerable Species

Red List Species:

- is still abundant in its natural range but because of declining numbers is likely to become endangered in the near future.

- these organisms have characteristics that make them more vulnerable than others to ecological and biological extinction.

- specialist

- indicator species


• http://www.iucnredlist.org/• The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species founded in

1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species.

• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species.

• A series of Regional Red Lists are produced by countries or organizations, which assess the risk of extinction to species within a political management unit.


• Current Red List Species:

- Black Rhinocerous- Critically Endangered, declined

by an estimated 97.6% since 1960, with numbers bottoming out at 2,410 in 1995, mainly as a result of poaching.

- Beluga- Near Threatened, Russian

Arctic. Significant threats include hunting for human consumption, oil and gas development, expansion of fisheries, hydroelectric development, and pollution.


• The Steller Sea Lion was previously assessed as Endangered, but is now Near Threatened thanks to a genuine improvement in its situation.

• Caquetá Tití Monkey has been assessed for the first time in 2012 as Critically Endangered. It is endemic to eastern Colombia, and occurs in an area subject to intense human colonization that has caused widespread habitat destruction and fragmentation.


• The King Cobra is widely distributed in south and southeast Asia. It remains common in good habitat in Thailand, where it is a protected species. This species is harvested for skin, food, medicinal purposes, and the pet trade.

• Previously thought to be extinct, the Hula Painted Frog of Israel was rediscovered in 2011. The Huleh marshes were drained in the 1950s in an attempt to both eradicate malaria and

to make the land suitable for agricultural use. This frog is now listed as Critically Endangered.

Mass Extinction vs. Background Extinction

• Background Extinction

- small, naturally occurring, low rate extinction

- Fossil Record shows 1-4 species a year (approx 1 species/million or 0.0001%/year.)

• Mass Extinction- A rise above the background rate, often

catastrophic and global. - Estimated to be five in the past 500 million years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENR2KNEAYEw

Concerns of a New Extinction Crisis

• 2/3 of mammals and plants will be extinct by the end of the century

• Approx. 14,000 species go extinct each year

• Thousands of times faster than the natural rate

• Massive loss in a few decades as opposed to thousands-millions of years

• We are completely destroying habitat that served as the basis of recovery.

Why Care about Biodiversity?

• Conservation Biologists and ecologist contend that we should act to preserve the earth’s overall biodiversity because they have

- Intrinsic Value: they exist regardless of whether they have any usefulness to us

*we have an ethical responsibility to: 1. protect species from becoming prematurely

extinct as a result of human activities 2. prevent degradation of the world’s

ecosystems and it overall biodiversity

- Instrumental value: usefulness to humans


• Instrumental Values (usefulness to humans)- Utilitarian or “use”

a. Economic Goods: food, fuel, fiber, lumber, medicine,

etc

- at least 40% of all medicines (worth at least $200 billion per year)

- 80% of the top 150 prescription drugs used in the United States were originally derived from living organisms.

-About 74% of these medicines were derived from plants, mostly from tropical developing countries.


- Active Chemicals in about 85% of the antibiotics in current use were derived from various species of ascomycete fungi.

*only know value of 2%

- World’s flowering plants have been a source of alkaloids. Used to treat cancer.

*only know value of 3%

RauvolfiaRauvolfiaSoutheast Asia

Tranquilizer, high blood pressure medication

Europe

Digitalis for heart failure

FoxgloveFoxglove

Pacific yew

South America

Quinine for malaria treatment

Cinchona

Madagascar

Hodgkin's disease,

lymphocytic leukemia

Rosy periwinkleRosy periwinklePacific Northwest

Ovarian cancer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iEOTB1UjjQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzqqEJBazx4


b. Ecological Services- factors that sustain human economics and functions

- pollination of crops & other plants

- soil formation and maintenance

- nutrient recycling

- pest control

- climate regulation

- moderation of weather extremes

- flood control

-drinking & irrigation of water

-production of lumber, fodder, & biomass fuel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JbTuGt8o28&list=PL_5OKef10sqdjt8yvtjVeK4xLS7lInZjj


c. Information: - Genetic information in the genes of

species is used in genetic engineering to produce new types of crops and foods.

d. Recreation:- Americans spend over 3x more to watch

wildlife than they do movies.- male lion living to age 7 generates

$515,000 in tourist dollars in Kenya but only $1,000 if killed for its skin.

- Over 60 year lifetime of an elephant is worth $1 mill, many times more than the value of its tusk when sold illegally.

The Lion Whisperer

• http://www.cbs.com/shows/60_minutes/video/0zNRbSCvxGeZtU_XyNx9E_XcDdxtLwX6/the-lion-whisperer/


• Nonutilitarian (Nonuse) Values:

a. Existence- we find value in knowing that a redwood forest, wilderness, or an endangered species exists.

b. Aesthetic- We find value in resource such as a tree, forest, wild species,

or a vista because of its beauty.

c. Bequest- People are willing to pay to protect some forms of natural capital for

use by future generations.

Causes of Premature Extinction

A. Habitat loss, degradation, and depletion world wide is caused by:

1. Tropical Deforestation2. Destruction of Coral Reefs and wetlands3. Plowing of grasslands4. pollution of freshwater streams and lakes5. pollution of marine habitats

B. In the U.S. it is caused by 1. Agriculture/Grazing

2. Commercial Development3. Water Development (Dams, irrigation)4. Outdoor recreation including ATV’s.5. Pollution

Overfishing

Habitatloss

Habitatdegradation

Introducingnonnativespecies

Commercialhunting

andpoaching

Sale ofexotic pets

anddecorative

plants

Predatorand

pest control

Pollution

Climatechange

Basic Causes

• Population growth• Rising resource use• No environmental

accounting• Poverty

Fig. 22.13, p. 564



C. Habitat Fragmentation1. A large, continuous area of habitat

a. reduced in an area b. divided into a patchwork of isolated areas or fragments

2. Causes:a. decrease in the sustainable population size.b. Increase surface area or edge, which makes some species more vulnerable to predators, and competition from nonnative species

Asian or Indian Elephant

Former range

Range today(34,000–54,000 left)

Indian Tiger

Range 100 years ago

Range today(about 2,300 left)

Black Rhino

Range in 1700

Range today(about 2,400 left)

African Elephant

Probable range 1600

Range today(600,000 left)


D. Extinction threats from non native species:

- U.S. has 50,000 non native species

- 49% of 1,200 endangered and threatened species are threatened by non native

species

- Deliberate or accidental introduction of nonnative species


• Deliberately Introduced Species-

- Supply 99% of U.S. food

- can have detrimental affects with no predators, parasites, or competition to control numbers

Kudzu

Feral Pigs

Rice Plantations


• Accidentally Introduced- Many times they are transported in

shipping products

Fire Ants

Brown Tree Snake

• Expansion of the Fire Ant

1918

2000


E. Commerical Hunting and Poaching:

- International Trade of wild plant and animals is worth $10-$20 Billion dollars per year.

- ¼ of total is illegal sales

-Gorilla- $150,000

- Chimp- $50,000

- Rhino Horn- $13,000/ lb

- Bushmeat- $150 million/yr

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDMFuOGyLsw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogsg8SRAGJc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqrXqz6JVzs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZxgHik8uI0

Journal- Big Game Hunting in Texas

• http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7411224n

• 2014• http://www.lsonews.com/approved-three-amigos-come-

endangered-species-list/ • http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/New-Law-Could-

Be-Boon-To-Antelope-Hunts-In-Texas-251282071.html • http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-

countdown/2012/04/05/hunting-of-rare-exotic-antelopes-now-limited-under-new-u-s-rule/

Causes of Premature ExtinctionF. Exotic Pets

- For every live animal captured and sold on the balack market, an estimated 50 other animals are killed

- 25 million U.S. households have exotic birds, 85% of them imported

- leads to a loss of Ecotourism. More than 60 bird species, mostly parrots, are endangered or threatened because of the wild bird trade.

- Use of Cyanide to stun and capture tropical fish, killing the coral animals that create the reefs.

- Orchids and Cacti are endangered because people buy them for decoration

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuRn55OmjEw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4doOQgf2vU


G. Climate Change and Pollution

- Increase in global warming

- Introduction of pesticides/herbicides, etc

H. Loss of Genetic Diversity

- Decreased ability to reproduce and adapt to changing conditions

- Genetic Drift

- Inbreeding

- Bottleneck Effect

Protecting Wild Species: Research & Legal Approach

A. To Protect Biodiversity, we need basic information about the biology and ecology of wild species.

- Species Name

- Descriptions

- Distributions

- Status of Populations

- Habitat requirements

- Interactions

with other species


B. Bioinformatics: is the applied science of managing, analyzing, and communicating biological information.

- building computer databases

- developing computer tools to find, visualize, and analyze information

- communicating the information

*DNA sequence

*research stored in museums & zoos


• Species 2000 is a "federation" of database organizations working closely with users, taxonomists and sponsoring agencies.

• The goal of the Species 2000 project is to create a validated checklist of all the world's species (plants, animals, fungi and microbes). This is being achieved by bringing together an array of global species databases covering each of the major groups of organisms.

• http://www.sp2000.org/index.php


C. International Treaties: Several International Treaties and conventions help protect endangered or threatened wild species.

1. CITES (1975) Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

- an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.


• 177 Countries have now joined• Today, it accords varying degrees of protection to more

than 30,000 species of animals and plants, whether they are traded as live specimens, fur coats or dried herbs.

• Limited Success for CITES:• Difficult to enforce• Small fines for those convicted• Countries can exempt themselves• Many countries have not signed CITES• http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/parties/

chronolo.php


2. CBD- Convention on Biological Diversity: the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) convened the Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts on Biological Diversity in November 1988 to explore the need for an international convention on biological diversity.

• The first session of the Conference of the Parties was scheduled for 28 November – 9 December 1994 in the Bahamas

http://www.cbd.int/


D. National Laws:• Lacey Act (1900): prohibits transporting live or

dead wild animals or their parts across state borders without a federal permit.

• Endangered Species Act (1973. Amended 1982, 1989): makes it illegal for Americans to import or trade in any product made from an endangered or threatened species unless it is for scientific purposes.

The ESA turns 40!

• Forty years ago this week, the Endangered Species Act was signed into law by President Richard Nixon, making the United States the first nation on Earth to declare a basic right of existence for species other than our own.

• The goal of the ESA was simple: keep species from going extinct, no matter the cost. This was a law with a conscience, and by and large it has worked. Today about 40 percent of the plants and animals listed as endangered in the U.S. are stable or improving; many would be gone without it.

• Some species have recovered to such extent that they have been delisted - taken off the Endangered Species List. Many are pictured here.

Gray Whale

• The Gray Whale (Eschrichtius robustus), which has rebounded in numbers after hunting of the sea giants was banned, was the first sea mammal to be taken off the Endangered Species List. It is still guarded by the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The Palue Fantail Flycatcher• A Palau Fantail Flycatcher (Rhipidura lepida),, was delisted, as was

the Palau Ground Dove. • Forty-seven species have been delisted from the Endangered

Species List owing to recovery or to improved data collection about their populations. Nearly two dozen more species have been downlisted from "endangered" to "threatened," as threats to the species and their habitats are reduced.

American Peregrine Falcon• Two sub-species of the Peregrine

Falcon, including the American Peregrine (Falco peregrinus anatum), have recovered. Despite delisting, the peregrine continues to be protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

• Delisted species have no legal protective status under the ESA, but under an amendment to the law scientists continue to monitor populations for a minimum of five years after delisting.

Magazine Mountain Shagreen

• Magazine Mountain Shagreen (Mesodon magazinensis), a tiny snail found in the Ozarks of Arkansas, was the first invertebrate removed from the federal Endangered Species List, thanks to restoration efforts at its habitat.

Lake Erie Water Snake

• Biologist Angela Boyer holds a Lake Erie Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon insularum) during an annual survey. Listed as endangered in 1999, the species was delisted in 2011.

Red Kangaroo • American endangered species protections have also been extended to species beyond U.S. territories, such as the red kangaroo (left, wandering onto the Vines Golf Course in Perth, Australia), in order to ban the import of the species or products derived from them.

• Three kangaroo species were listed as threatened in 1974 due to commercial exploitation, but populations have recovered after four Australian states enacted stricter wildlife management programs.

Brown Pelican

• Pesticides wiped out the Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) in Louisiana in the 1960s, but the bird was reintroduced and was brought back from the brink of extinction.

Eggert's Sunflower

• Eggert's Sunflower (Helianthus eggertii), a plant native to Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky, was removed from the federal list of endangered and threatened plants in 2005, primarily after successful recovery efforts at Arnold Air Force Base in Tennessee, home to the largest known occurrence of the Eggert's Sunflower.

Aleutian Canada Goose• In the mid-1970s, the Aleutian

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis leucopareia), a subspecies of Canada geese found on Alaska's Aleutian Islands and in areas of the Pacific Northwest, numbered only in the hundreds. Today, after efforts by the Fish and Wildlife Service and through partnerships with Canada and private landowners, the numbers have rebounded, and the threat of extinction has passed.

Bald Eagle

• In 1963 nesting pairs of the Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) numbered as low as 400 in the lower 48 states. The species' dramatic recovery (there are as many as 10,000 nesting pairs today) led to its delisting in 2007.

Columbian White-Tailed Deer

• Habitat conservation efforts, including the founding of the Julia Butler Hansen Refuge in Washington State, have led to the recovery of the Columbian White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus leucurus), found in Oregon and Washington.

American Alligator• Hunting and habitat loss led to the decline in Southern

states of the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). Listing on the ESA led to its recovery, but it shares some protections when it shares habitat with the endangered American Crocodile, which is closely resembles.

Gray Wolf

• The gray wolf (Canis lupus), which has been delisted in some parts of the United States; the Fish & Wildlife Service recently held a public comment period on delisting the species throughout the lower 48 States, while also expanding recovery efforts for the Mexican Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi)

Celebrating 40 years….

• http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/the-endangered-species-act-celebrates-a-milestone/

• http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-endangered-species-act-turns-40/


• The lead federal agencies for implementing ESA are

1. the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)- maintains a worldwide list of endangered species

http://www.fws.gov/

2. U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service.

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/


• What have Land Owners Done to Avoid the ESA?

• Some land owners have managed their lands to reduce the use by endangered species.

• 1982, Congress amended the ESA to allow the secretary of the interior to use habitat conservation plans to strike a compromise between private land owners and interests of the endangered & threatened species.

- setting aside part of the species habitat as a preserve- paying to relocate the species to another suitable habitat- paying money to the government to buy suitable habitat elsewhere


• Problems with this plan?

- Once the plan is approved it can not be changed, even if new data show that the plan is inadequate to protect a species and help it recover.

- plans are being developed without enough scientific evaluation


• 1999- USFWS approved two new approaches:

a. Safe Harbor agreement

- land owners voluntarily restore habitat on their land

- in return, landowners get• Help from conservation agencies• Government assurance that land will not

face further restrictions• After agreement has expired landowners

can not face any penalties


b. Candidate Conservation Agreement:

- landowners volunteer to take steps to help declining populations not yet listed as endangered or threatened

- landowners receive:• Help from conservation agencies• Assurance that no further restrictions will be

imposed on the land covered by the agreement if the species is listed as endangered or threatened in the future

Should We Try to Protect All Endangered & Threatened Species?

• Because of limited funds, information, and trained personnel, analysts believe that only a few endangered & threatened species can be saved.

Focus on species:

- that have the best chance for survival

- have the most ecological value

- are potentially useful for agriculture, medicine, or industry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3CAhgXUUgs

Documents

Chapter 22 Sustaining Wild Species Mrs. Cook Environmental Science