Environmental Science Lesson 7.3-Protecting Biodiversity

Lesson 7.3: Protecting Biodiversity

Multiple Choice

the variety of species in an ecosystem is called

• biogeography

• biodiversity

• resilience

• resistance

Multiple Choice

a species at risk, but not yet endangered

• endangered

• exotic

• endemic

• threatened

Multiple Choice

The lionfish is a venomous fish found primarily in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. In the 1990s, lionfish were accidentally released into the Atlantic Ocean, where they found abundant resources and favorable environmental conditions. Which of the following scenarios is most likely to result in the lionfish having a major impact on the communities into which they were introduced?

• With no natural predators, the lionfish population will become very large.

• Some native species of invertebrates will quickly develop a resistance to lion fish venom.

• The lion Fish will develop a mutualistic relationship with the other fish in the area

Lesson Objectives

• Explain the Legal Actions Nations can take to protect biodiversity

• Explain what a Species Survival Plan is

  • Understand its Goal

• Describe three strategies for managing whole ecosystems and habitats

Methods of protecting Biodiversity

• Three main methods, can be used together

  • Legal Approach

  • Single Species Approaches

  • Ecosystem and Habitat Approaches

Legal Approaches-The Endangered Species Act

• The Endangered Species Act (ESA) 1973

  • U.S. law that protects biodiversity

  • Has three major parts:

    • Forbids governments and citizens from harming listed species and habitats

      • Harm can be both direct or indirect

    • Forbids trade in products made from listed species

    • Requires U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to maintain official list of endangered and threatened species, and to develop recovery plan for each listed species

ESA Successes

• Peregrine Falcon, Bald eagle and other birds no longer endangered

• 40% of once declining populations are now stable

  • Some are recovering

• Most Americans support the idea of the ESA after seeing results

ESA Costs

• Protected species can use resources that can have an economic impact

  • Spotted owl trees can’t be cut down, so loggers loose work

• Private landowners inconvenienced if threatened species found on their property

Legal Approaches-CITES

• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, 1975)

  • Bans international trade in body parts of endangered species.

  • Protects species such as elephants or tigers

Legal Approaches-COBD

• Convention on Biological Diversity (1992)

  • International treaty with 3 goals

    • to conserve biodiversity

    • Use biodiversity in a sustainable manner

    • Ensure fair distribution of biodiversity Benefits

  • Helped increase markets for environmentally responsible products

    • Example: Shade grown coffee does not require forests to be cut down

  • United States signed the treaty, but it still needs to be ratified

Multiple Choice

What nation enacted the ESA (Endangered Species Act) in 1973?

• Canada
• U.S
• Spain
• England

Multiple Choice

Name and describe the major international treaty authorized in 1975 for protecting biodiversity.

• CAPS - bans the international trade of live endangered species
• CITES – bans the international transport of body parts of endangered species

Single-Species Approaches to Conservation

• Species Survival Plan: Program to save individual species, includes captive breeding, education, and research

  • Currently the Association of Zoos & Aquariums has SSP’s for more than 180 Species

• Captive breeding programs: Raising and breeding organisms in controlled conditions, such as zoos or aquariums

Single-Species Approaches to Conservation- Cloning

• Cloning

  • New theory of preservation

  • Inserting DNA from an endangered species into a cultured egg cell;

  • process involves implanting eggs into mothers of closely related species

  • Has Ethical concerns

  • Doesn’t solve the problem because the threats still exist

  • Can cause problems with genetic diversity

Ecosystem & Habitat Approaches

• Biodiversity Hotspots: areas where the greatest number of species can be protected with the least effort.

  • At least 1500 plant species found nowhere else in the world

    • Endemic: When a species is found in only one location in the world

  • Already lost 70% of their habitat as a result of human activity

• The 34 biodiversity hotspots are home to 50% of Earth’s plant species and 42% of terrestrial vertebrate species.

Economic Approaches

• Economic Approaches to conservation

• Many conservation efforts today attempt to balance protection of land and wildlife with the economic interests of local people:

  • Ecotourism: Brings money and trade to a country

  • Debt-for-nature swap: Conservation organizations raise money to pay off a nation’s debt in return for improved conservation measures.

• Conservation concession: Conservation organizations buy the rights to conserve resources, instead of harvesting them.

Ecosystem & Habitat Approaches- Wildlife Corridors

• Wildlife Corridors: Connect habitat fragments enabling once-isolated populations to interbreed

  • Interbreeding increases genetic diversity.

  • Conservation biologists hope that a planned 250-km long corridor in Australia will enable the endangered southern cassowary to recover from population declines.

Multiple Choice

Some conservation biologists focus on areas where the greatest umber of unique species can be protected with the least amount of effort. These areas are called...

• Wildlife Corridors

• Habitat Fragmentats

• Biodiversity Hotspots

• Conservation Concessions

Multiple Choice

The goal of captive breeding programs is...

• breeding and raising organisms in controlled conditions
• Giving shelter and food to organisms

Multiple Choice

Which one is NOT a benefits of wildlife corridors:

• Connects habitats fragments together
• It keeps species apart so they don't fight each other
• Allows populations to interbreed

Multiple Choice

The Eastern long beaked echidna is an egg laying mammal found only in New Guinea. Which of the following terms describes an organism that is found in one place and nowhere else in the world?

• Endemic

• Endangered

• Threatend

• Conserved