Human Factors that Endanger Biodiversity

Biological extinction

– is a major consequence of human activity.

ANE ( Asia and Near East) – Region is perhaps the most biodiverse area on earth.

The ANE region has already lost ninety-five percent of its frontier forest; countries in the
region have lost seventy to ninety percent of their original wildlife habitats and forest lost
has accelerated.

The six reasons why we are losing Biodiversity.

H – Habitat Destruction, Degradation and Fragmentation.

I – Invasive (nonnative) species.

P – Population using too many resources

P - Pollution

C – Climate change

O- Overexploitation

International Union for Conversation of Nature – an organization dedicated to

conserving the earth’s natural resources.

Extinct (Ex) – a species that has completely disappeared either through human activity
or inability to adapt to changes in the environment.

Extinct in the wild (EW) – a species whose only living members are kept in captivity or
as naturalized population outside its traditional habitat.

Critically endangered (CR) – Organisms with an extremely high risk of becoming

extinct.

Endangered (EN) – a population which is at risk of becoming extinct because there are
only a few surviving members that could soon become extinct.

Vulnerable (VN) – a species that is likely to be endangered unless the circumstances

threatening its survival and reproduction improve.

Conservation Dependent (LR/CD) – species which depend on conservation efforts to

prevent it from becoming threatened with extinction.
Near threatened (NT) – species which may be considered threatened with extinction in
the near future.

Least Concerned (LC) – extant (living) species which have been evaluated but do not
qualify for any category.

Data deficient (DD) – not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction.

Habitat fragmentation occurs when humans break larger habitats into smaller,
isolated, scattered places.

Exotic species, also know as non-native species can threaten biodiversity. These alien
species can either deliberate or accidentally introduced in the new era.

Pollution is the addition of harmful su stances inti the biosphere and can endanger
certain species.

Pesticides such as dichloro-diphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and dieldrin were found

to degrade very slowly in the environment. Their molecules can pass through the tropic
levels in the food chain in increasing concentration. This process is known as Biological
magnification or biomagnification.

Acid Rain

-Scientist also discovered the connection of coal-burning power plants release smoke
with high concentrations of sulfur. Sulfur combines with water vapor and produces
sulfuric acid, which returns to land through rain, hale, or snow in which case it is now
called Acid Rain.

Human activities that release too much carbon dioxide, however, can cause an
enhanced greenhouse effect, which contributes to the rising in global terms. Another
issue that is accelerating global warming is stratospheric ozone depletion. Ozone
found in the stratosphere shields us against ultraviolet radiation from the sun. UV
radiation is a mutagen that can damage our DNA and can cause mutations. The ozone
levels were thirty percent lower than 10 years earlier. The breakdown of the ozone layer
has grown so large that there seems to be a formation of a low-ozone region now called
as ozone hole. The major root cause of the ozone depletion is the worldwide use of a
class of synthetic chemicals know as chloroflourocarbons (CFCs)

Many people engage in an illegal activity called pouching. Hunters kill animals for their
skin, teeth, meat, fur, horns, or claws which later on be sold to make raw materials for
medicines, belts, shoes, bags, or jewelry.

Overharvesting of aquatic resources known as commercial extinction can also

happen if we consume them faster than they can reproduce.