11) Biodiversity - Conserving Species-1

Because learning changes everything.
ENVIRONMENTAL
SCIENCE
A Global Concern,
16th edition
William P. Cunningham
Mary Ann Cunningham
Catherine M. O’Reilly
Katherine E. Winsett
© McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.
Because learning changes everything.®
Lecture Outline
Chapter 11
Biodiversity: Preserving Species
Biodiversity: Preserving Species
A standoff between a bull elk and a

wolf pack in Yellowstone National Park.
● Reintroducing a top predator stabilizes
prey populations and revitalizes the
ecosystem.
© McGraw Hill LLC NPS photo by Doug Smith 3

Outline
1) Biodiversity and the Species Concept
• Varied Definitions.
2) What Threatens Biodiversity?
• Natural and Human-Caused Reductions.
3) Endangered Species Protection
• Convention on Biological Diversity and the
Endangered Species Act.
• CITES.
• Gap analysis.
4) Rebuilding Biodiversity
© McGraw Hill LLC 4
Benchmark data
Among the ideas and values in this chapter, the
following are a few worth remembering.
5,560 Number of mammal species
22% Mamal species endangered
100,000 Estimated number of insect species
$156 billion usd Amount spent per year in the US on bird and
wildlife viewing and photography
80% Area of remaining sage grouse habitat opened
for oil and gas drilling by Trump administration

1) Biodiversity of the Species Concept
What is Biodiversity?
• Genetic Diversity - measures variety of different
versions of same genes within a species.
• Species Diversity - measures number of different
kinds of organisms within a community.
• Ecological Diversity - measures richness and
complexity of a community.

What is Biodiversity?
Species Diversity
• Species Richness -
total number of
species in a
community.
• Species Evenness
-relative abundance
of individuals within
each species.
This coral reef has both high abundance of some
species and high diversity of different genera.
● What will be lost if this biologically rich
community is destroyed?
© McGraw Hill LLC © Georgette Douwma/Getty Images RF 7

What is biodiversity?
Species richness could be high, for example, in a
lawn that was 99 percent of one grass species and
just a few individuals of nine other species.
● The total species count would be 10, but most people
would not consider the lawn very diverse.
● A meadow containing even representation of 10
species would appear more diverse, and it would
function differently, perhaps producing a greater
variety of food sources or habitat for birds and
butterflies.

What Are Species?
Species definitions
• Reproductive isolation - organisms that breed in
nature and produce fertile offspring.
• Phylogenetic species - defines species according to
phylogeny, or descent from a common ancestor.
• This approach is especially useful for fossil
species,where we cannot know if they were
reproductively isolated.
• Evolutionary species - defines species in terms of
evolution and historic terms.

Molecular Techniques
DNA sequencing and other molecular
techniques give insight into taxonomic
and evolutionary relationships.
• Genome - total DNA sequence that
characterizes a species.
• Species classification or even identification of
an individual can be done from samples such
as blood, fur, or feces.
• Biologists identified a new tiger subspecies (Tigris
panthera jacksoni) in Southeast Asia based on
blood, skin, and fur samples from zoo and
museum specimens, although no members of this
subspecies are known to still exist in the wild
Genetic analysis can help resolve taxonomic
uncertainties in conservation.
● In some cases, an apparently widespread and low risk
species may, in reality, comprise a complex of distinct
species, some rare or endangered.
● Genetic studies have shown that the northern spotted owl is a
genetically distinct subspecies from its close relatives, the
California spotted owl and the Mexican spotted owl, and
therefore deserves continued protection.

How Many Species Are There?
Currently 1.7 million species identified
Estimates range between 3 to 50 million
• Recent data support an estimate of 4 to 6 million
insect species alone.
• Invertebrates make up 65% of all known species, and
probably most of yet to be discovered species.
Tropical rainforests and coral reefs are biodiversity

hotspots.
• 34 hotspots (1.4% of world’s land area) contain 75%
of the world’s most threatened mammals, birds and
amphibians.
Known Versus Threatened Species 1
Table 11.1 Estimated Number of Species Described
Group EST. PCT. PCT

Number Evaluated1 Threatened2
Mammals 6,513 91% 22
Birds 11,158 100 13
Reptiles 11,341 75 17
Amphibians 8,309 87 34
Fishes 35,797 61 15
Insects 1,053,578 1 18
Molluscs 81,719 11 26
Crustaceans 80,122 4 23
Corals 2,175 40 27
Arachnids 110,615 0.4 55
Known Versus Threatened Species 2
Est. PCT. PCT

number Evaluated1 Threatened2
Mosses 21,925 1.3% 59
Ferns and allies 11,800 6 39
Gymnosperms 1,113 91 40
Flowering plants 369,000 14 40
Fungi, lichens, 141,317 0.30 57
protists
1
Percentage of species that have been evaluated for
threatened/endangered status.
2
Percentage of evaluated species.
Source: Data from IUCN Red List, 2021.

Threatened and endangered species
The numbers of endangered species shown in table
11.1 are those officially listed by the International
Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources (IUCN).
● The number of species understood to be threatened
or vulnerable to extinction has risen as biologists
have had time to assess more species.
● Still, the actual number of threatened species is
likely to be much greater than we yet know.

Biodiversity Hotspots
Biodiversity “hot spots,” identified by Conservation International, tend to be in

tropical or Mediterranean climates and on islands, coastlines, or mountains
where many habitats exist and physical barriers encourage speciation.
● Numbers indicate endemic species.
Access the text alternative for slide images.

Hot spots have exceptional
biodiversity
Anthropologists point out that many regions with
high biodiversity have high cultural diversity as
well.
● It isn’t a precise correlation; some countries, like
Madagascar, New Zealand, and Cuba, with a high
percentage of endemic species, have only a few
cultural groups.
● By preserving some of the 7,200 recognized language
groups in the world -more than half of which are
projected to disappear in this century- we might also
protect some of the natural settings in which those
cultures evolved.

Benefits of Biodiversity 1
Food
• Wild plants could provide new sources of food or more
genetic diversity for existing crops.
Drugs and Medicines
• More than half of all modern medicines contain some
natural product from a wild species.
• Pharmaceutical companies actively prospect tropical
countries for products.
• Resources often extracted without compensation
(biopiracy). Sharing profits provides an incentive to
preserve native species.
We benefit from biodiversity
Mangosteens have been
called the world’s
best-tasting fruit, but they
are practically unknown
beyond the tropical
countries where they grow
naturally.
● There may be thousands of
other traditional crops and
wild food resources that A 1975 study by the National
could be equally valuable Academy of Science (U.S.) found
that Indonesia has 250 edible fruits,
but are threatened by only 43 of which have been cultivated
extinction. widely.
Rosy Periwinkle makes anti-cancer
drugs
Before alkaloids derived from
the Madagascar periwinkle were
introduced, childhood leukemias
were invariably fatal.
● Now the remission rate for
some leukemias is 99 percent.
Hodgkin’s disease was 98
percent fatal a few years ago,
but is now only 40 percent fatal,
© William P. Cunningham thanks to these compounds.
The rosy periwinkle from Madagascar ● The total value of the
provides anticancer drugs that now make periwinkle crop is roughly $150
childhood leukemias and Hodgkin’s - $300 million usd per year,
disease highly remissible. although Madagascar gets little
of those profits.
Some natural medicinal products
The UN
estimates the
value of
pharmaceutical
products
derived from
developing world
plants, animals,
and microbes to
be more than
$30 billion per
year.

Natural capital
These plant species are examples of nature’s pharmacy.

● Once the active ingredients in the plants have been
identified, scientists can usually produce them
synthetically.
● The active ingredients in 9 of the 10 leading prescription
drugs originally came from wild organisms.
We benefit from biodiversity
The UN Convention on Biodiversity calls for a more
equitable sharing of the gains from exploiting nature
between rich and poor nations.
● Bioprospectors who discover useful genes or
biomolecules in native species will be required to
share profits with the countries where those species
originate.
● This is not only a question of fairness; it also provides an
incentive to poor nations to protect their natural heritage.

Ecological Benefits
Soil formation, waste disposal, air and water purification,
nutrient cycling, solar energy absorption, and
biogeochemical and hydrological cycles all depend on
biodiversity.
• We do not fully understand biological communities.
• Loss of a seemingly insignificant species can be damaging.
The total value of ecological services is at least $33
trillion per year, or about half the total world GNP.

Aesthetic and Cultural Benefits

• Hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, wildlife watching.
• Contact with nature can be psychologically and emotionally
restorative.
• Many moral philosophies and religious traditions hold that we
have an ethical responsibility to care for creation and to save
“all the pieces” as far as we are able.
• Ecotourism can be an important form of sustainable

economic development and environmental education.
• Existence (intrinsic) value -organisms have value in
and of themselves.
Services and aesthetic benefits
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service estimates that
Americans spend 156
billion annually on
nature-based activities.
● This is about as much as
is spent every year on
alcohol. Nature appreciation is
● Roughly one- third of all economically important.
Americans enjoy wildlife,
including those who watch,
feed, or photograph wildlife.
END OF SECTION 1

2) Threats to Biodiversity
Extinction – is the elimination of a species on earth.
Natural Extinction.
• In undisturbed ecosystems, the background rate appears to be
one species per decade.
Fossil record suggests more than 99% of all species ever

in existence are now extinct.
Periodically, the Earth has experienced mass extinctions.
• Permian period - 95% of marine species and nearly half of all
plant and animal families died out 250 million years ago.
• End of Cretaceous - Dinosaurs and 50% of existing genera
disappeared.

Major Mass Extinctions
Major mass extinctions through history.

● We may be in a sixth mass extinction now, caused by human activities.

Accelerating Extinction Rates
In this century human impact may be accelerating
the natural rate by 100 to 1000x.
• From 1600 to 1850 it is estimated that two-three
species per decade were lost.
• Some estimate that if present trends continue, half of all
primates and one quarter of all bird species could go
extinct within 50 years.
• This is equivalent to other mass extinctions like that in
the Cretaceous period.

Human-Caused Reductions in
Biodiversity 1
E.O. Wilson summarizes the human threat to

wildlife with HIPPO (habitat destruction, invasive
3
species, pollution, population, and overharvesting).
Habitat Destruction
Biggest reason for current increase in extinction is
habitat loss.
• Conversion of forest to farmland, cities, etc.
• Habitat is fragmented into small, scattered plots.
• Loss of habitat due to mining, dams, destructive fishing
practices, oil and gas drilling, dam building.

Habitat degradation is a leading
cause of biodiversity loss
Expansive habitat is also
necessary to preserve larger,
wide- ranging predators like
tigers or wolves, and to
maintain complete ecological
communities.
● Even for smaller species,
Forest fragmentation,
such as these clear-cut
gaps like those in this figure
patches, destroys old- create barriers to movement.
growth characteristics ● If populations become small or
on which species, such isolated, they become
as the northern spotted vulnerable to events like bad
owl, depend. weather or epidemics of
disease.
Biodiversity 2
Invasive Species (either intentionally or

accidentally introduced)
Invasive organisms thrive in new territory where they
are free of usual predators, diseases, or resource
limitations that checked them in the original habitat.
• Over past 300 years, approximately 50,000 non-native
species have become established in the U.S.
• About 10 percent of introduced species become major
problems.

North American Invasive Species
A few of the approximately 50,000 invasive species in North America.

● Do you recognize any that occur where you live?
● What others can you think of?

Invasive Species
New Guinea brown tree snake
(Boiga irregularis) was
introduced onto the Pacific
Island of Guam sometime during
or shortly after World War II.
This large, venomous snake

quickly spread throughout the
island, eating all manner of birds,
lizards, small mammals, and bats.
The snake exterminated 12 native bird

species.
Carismáticas, pero peligrosas

Invasive species
Disease organisms and their
vectors can also be considered
destructive invasive species.
● Consider the example of avian
malaria.
● The protozoan parasites that cause
this disease and the mosquitoes that
spread them were accidentally
introduced to the Hawaiian Islands
sometime in the early 1900s.
● The disease has killed about one-half of
the islands’ native birds, many of which
were already rare and endangered.
Islands are vulnerable to invasive
species
New Zealand illustrates the damage that can be
done by invasive species in island ecosystems.
● More than 25,000 plant species have been
introduced to New Zealand, and at least 200 of these
have become pests that can create major ecological
and economic problems.
● Many animal introductions also have become major
threats to native species.
● Cats, rats, mice, deer, dogs, goats, pigs, and cattle
accompanying human settlers consume native vegetation and
eat or displace native wildlife.

Islands are vulnerable to invasive
species
This small, furry marsupial was
introduced to New Zealand in 1837 to
establish a fur trade.
● In Australia possums are rare and
endangered.
● Freed from constraints in New Zealand,
possum populations exploded.
● Now at least 35 million possums chomp their
way through about 7 million tons of vegetation
per year in their new home.
● They destroy habitat needed by indigenous New
Trichosurus vulpecula
Zealand species, and also eat eggs, nestlings, and
even adult birds of species that lack instincts to
avoid predators.
Biodiversity 3
Pollution
• High mortality rates of Pacific sea lions, beluga whales in
the St. Lawrence estuary, and striped dolphins in the
Mediterranean are thought to be caused by accumulation
of toxic pollutants.
Population
• As our numbers grow, we will need to harvest more
timber, catch more fish, plow more land for agriculture, dig
up more fossil fuels and minerals, and use more water.
Overharvesting
• Of the world’s 17 principal fishing zones, 13 are now reported to
be commercially exhausted.
Pollution and poisoning
Lead poisoning is another
major cause of mortality for
many species of wildlife.
● Bottom-feeding waterfowl,
such as ducks, swans,
and cranes, ingest spent
shotgun pellets that fall
Eagles and other species at the top of the
into lakes and marshes.
food chain continue to die from lead
● They store the pellets in their
poisoning, as a result of lead shot in the fish
gizzards, and the lead slowly and mammals they consume.
accumulates in their blood ● Bans on lead shot have been proposed but
and other tissues. failed in most states.

Polar bears are threatened
If our population grows to 9 to
11 billion as current
projections predict, our
impacts will certainly
increase.
● The human population
growth curve is leveling off,
but it remains unclear
whether we can reduce
global inequality and provide
a tolerable life for all humans
while also preserving healthy
By mid-century, the Arctic Ocean could be free of summer natural ecosystems and a
ice, and polar bears may be limited to a small area around
Greenland and Canada.
high level of biodiversity.
Overharvesting
A classic example is the extermination of
the American passenger pigeon, probably
the world’s most abundant bird 200 years
ago.
● Although it inhabited only eastern North
America, its population is estimated to
have been possibly one-quarter of all birds
in North America.
● Market hunters caused the entire population to
crash between 1870 and 1890.
● They were able to eliminate so many birds so fast There may once have been 3
because of a ready abundance of firearms, as well to 5 billion of these birds in
as growing urban markets for wild bird meat. the United States, but they
were hunted to extinction in
● Rapid clearing of once-vast eastern forests for
the nineteenth century.
farmland also accelerated the decline.
Biodiversity 4
Commercial Products
and Live Specimens
Wildlife smuggling is very
profitable.
• Fur, horns, live specimens,
folk medicine.
• Rhino horn = $300,000 usd.
• Leopard fur coat = $100,000
usd.
• Mature cactus = $1,000 usd.
• Africa has lost 90 percent of its
original elephant population in
just the past 50 years.
Climate change transform
ecosystems
As regional climates become warmer or drier,
many species decline, unable to tolerate new
conditions or new competitors.
● Dry forest species may be replaced by savanna or
grassland species, and grasslands may transition
to arid desert conditions.
● Cold, high mountain habitats, already limited in extent
may disappear entirely.
● Longer, hotter summers cause drought stress in conifer
forests, but infestations of pine beetles and spruce beetles,
which thrive best in warm conditions, also kill millions of trees.

Climate change transform
ecosystems
An important effect of rising CO2 concentrations is
ocean acidification, which occurs as oceans
absorb CO2.
● Acidic conditions dissolve calcium carbonate, the
material that makes up the shells of marine
organisms.
● Marine plankton, snails, corals, and other organisms form
shells poorly.
● Reefs are expected to stop growing and to begin to
disintegrate around the globe when atmospheric CO2 reaches
560 parts per million which will probably occur by the end of
this century.
END OF SECTION 2

3) Endangered species protection
Awareness of the importance
of biodiversity has been
growing globally, following
studies that show how our
economies and societies
depend on healthy
ecosystems.
● In recent years, a growing
movement has called for “30
× 30” goals: a global
ambition to protect 30
percent of the world’s land
and water by 2030.
Species protection
The 30 × 30 goal has its roots, like many biodiversity
policies, in the UN Convention on Biological Diversity
(CBD).
● This convention, or agreement, was introduced at the
1992 “Earth Summit” in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
● The convention emphasizes the ecological, social, economic,
and cultural value of biodiversity and calls on countries to
conserve not just biodiversity, but also traditional rights and
ownership of genetic resources, medicinal products, and other
values.
● Since 1992, policies around the CBD have been refined and
strengthened, and 192 governments have developed conservation
plans.
COP-15 on Biodiversity (2022)

Species Protection
Hunting and Fishing Laws
By 1890’s, most states had enacted some hunting and
fishing laws.
• General idea was pragmatic, not aesthetic or moral
preservation.
• In general, regulations have been extremely successful for
some species-
• White tailed deer.
• Wild turkey.
• Snowy egret.

NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010
ESPECIES NATIVAS DE MÉXICO DE FLORA Y FAUNA SILVESTRES - CATEGORÍAS DE RIESGO
2.2 Categorías de riesgo

2.2.1 Probablemente extinta en el medio silvestre (E)
Aquella especie nativa de México cuyos ejemplares en vida libre dentro
del Territorio Nacional han desaparecido, hasta donde la documentación
y los estudios realizados lo prueban, y de la cual se conoce la existencia
de ejemplares vivos, en confinamiento o fuera del Territorio Mexicano.
2.2.2 En peligro de extinción (P)
Aquellas cuyas áreas de distribución o tamaño de sus poblaciones en
el Territorio Nacional han disminuido drásticamente poniendo en riesgo
su viabilidad biológica en todo su hábitat natural, debido a factores tales
como la destrucción o modificación drástica del hábitat, aprovechamiento
no sustentable, enfermedades o depredación, entre otros.

2.2.3 Amenazadas (A)
Aquellas que podrían llegar a encontrarse en peligro de desaparecer a
corto o mediano plazo, si siguen operando los factores que inciden
negativamente en su viabilidad, al ocasionar el deterioro o modificación
de su hábitat o disminuir directamente el tamaño de sus poblaciones.
2.2.4 Sujetas a protección especial (Pr)
Aquellas que podrían llegar a encontrarse amenazadas por factores que
inciden negativamente en su viabilidad, por lo que se determina la
necesidad de propiciar su recuperación y conservación o la recuperación
y conservación de poblaciones de especies asociadas.

Listing species is a tool for protection
Listing of inconspicuous species is especially
difficult.
● The public is unlikely to champion an endangered
clam or lizard as strongly as it does wolves, eagles,
or condors.
● Still, inconspicuous species are often more important than
we recognize.
○ Often they play important ecological roles.
○ Protecting them usually preserves habitat and a host of
unlisted species.

Recovery Plans 2
Some endangered species merit special

attention.
• Keystone species - species has major effect on
ecological functions
• Its elimination would affect many other members of the
biological community (bison).
• Indicator species - tied to specific communities or
successional stages
• They can be reliably found under certain conditions but not
others (brook trout).

Plans to rebuild populations
• Umbrella species - require large blocks of
undisturbed habitat.
• Saving this habitat also benefits other species (grizzly bear).
• Flagship species - attractive organisms to which

people react emotionally
• These species can motivate the public to preserve biodiversity
(giant panda, whooping crane, monarch butterfly).

Species with ecological value

Mexico’s most iconic endangered
species (biologicaldiversity.org)
Species NOM 059 status IUCN status Habitat population
Vaquita porpoise Endangered Critically endangered < 30 individuals
Leatherback sea turtle Endangered Critically endangered 633 individuals (2010)
Mexican gray wolf Extinct in the wild Not listed 21 individuals
Ajolote salamander Endangered Critically endangered < 100 individuals
Scarlet macaw Endangered Least concern < 300 couples
Monarch butterfly Special protection Not listed 109 million

Population reduction
Elkhorn coral Special protection Critically endangered exceeding 80% over the past
30 years
Population decline across

the entire range of this
Brown sea
Special protection Endangered species is calculated to be at
cucumber least 60% over the past
30-50 years
White nun orchid Endangered Not listed Unknown
Jaguar Endangered Near threatened < 4,000

Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys
coriacea) - Tortuga laud
The leatherback is the heaviest reptile on the planet
and the largest of all living turtles, growing over 2 mts
long and weighing up to 700 kgs.
● These sea turtles subsist on a diet of jellyfish, but
because of the transparent nature of their prey, they often
suffocate by eating drifting transparent plastic.
● Eggs are collected for human consumption, coastal
developments and irresponsible tourism have disrupted and
destroyed their nesting beaches, and city lights confuse baby
turtles who move inland towards the lights instead of out to
sea.
● Leatherback sea turtles are also hit by boats and drowned as bycatch
in fishing gillnets.
The East Pacific leatherback is
the most endangered sea turtle,
and these animals nest mainly in
Michoacán, Guerrero and
Oaxaca.
● To recover its population, the
Mexican government must regulate
motor vehicles and remove sources
of artificial lighting near priority
leatherback nesting beaches,
establish plastic removal programs,
prohibit the use of gillnets and “J”
form hooks in marine areas near
priority nesting beaches, and
increase enforcement to protect
nests from poachers and natural
predators.
Protecting Monarch Butterflies
Migratory monarch butterflies, which travel long
distances from their breeding grounds in the United
States and Canada to Mexico each year, were officially
placed on the International Union for Conservation of
Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species last 2022
summer.
● Both the Eastern and Western monarch butterflies
have suffered declines in their winter populations.
● Drought, wildfires caused by climate change, habitat loss,
illegal logging, agriculture and pesticides are the main culprits
in their steady decline.
● The Eastern monarch butterfly’s population, according to IUCN, has
decreased between 22% and 72% percent in the past decade, and
the Western population has plummeted by an estimated 99.9%.
Protecting Monarch Butterflies
In some good news, the
129,000-acre Monarch Butterfly
Biosphere Reserve in Mexico
saw a population increase of
overwintering butterflies by 35%
in the winter of 2021.
● Butterfly enthusiasts can witness
these striking insects on the
Kingdom of the Monarchs trip,
which welcomes travelers into the
El Rosario Butterfly Sanctuary,
one of many inside the reserve.

Jaguars on the road to recovery
The magnificent jaguar is the largest feline still
wandering the forests, wetlands, savannas and
mountain ranges of the Americas.
● For thousands of years, it’s been a key cultural and
mythological figure among Indigenous groups, and it
inhabited ranges all the way from Argentina to the
southern United States.
● Today, the apex predator’s stronghold is a fraction of its
former range, primarily in the Amazon region and the
Pantanal—the world’s largest tropical wetland, which
sprawls across Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia.

Jaguars on the road to recovery
● It is estimated that the wild jaguar
population numbers around 64,000 and
173,000; the species is listed as near
threatened on the IUCN’s Red List of
Threatened Species and was added to the
Endangered Species list in 1972.
In 2018, WWF, Panthera, the Wildlife
Conservation Society, the UNDP and
representatives from 14 jaguar range
countries came together to develop the
Jaguar 2030 Roadmap for the Americas.
● The ambitious timeline sets out to protect
the big cat’s existing range as well as to
secure 30 priority jaguar conservation
landscapes from Mexico to Argentina by
2030.
END OF SECTION 3

4) Rebuilding biodiversity
Policies to protect species and
their habitat are fundamentally
important, but in addition, there
are many strategies, from local
to global, that can help rebuild
populations.
● Habitat conservations plans
are examples of targeted efforts
to stem the loss of biodiversity.
● The field of restoration ecology
examines and promotes many of
these efforts
We can protect biodiversity locally
One way many of us can protect biodiversity is to
enhance habitat, at home, on our campuses, and in
local parks, to provide spaces where invertebrates
can survive, especially in winter.
● Pollinator gardens, including wildflowers, shrubs,
and tree species that pollinator species especially
like, can dramatically increase local biodiversity.
● Planting and protecting trees is also critical: oak trees
support over 400 different invertebrate species.
● These insects, spiders, and others, in turn, support warblers,
woodpeckers, and other birds and mammals, often right in our
back yards or local parks.
Protect biodiversity locally
Reduced mowing is can be an easy, and time-saving,
strategy to foster local biodiversity.
● Carpet-like green lawns are attractive, but they are also
nearly barren of biodiversity.
○ In this context, setting aside some unmowed areas can
make a big difference.
○ These areas provide shelter and food for countless
butterflies, bees, and other pollinating species.
○ Leaving the vegetation standing in the dormant season
provides a winter refuge for insect eggs, caterpillars, and
other larvae (see slide 70).
○ It’s also good to leave standing dead trees, as these
support whole ecosystems of fungi, insects, and birds.
Biodiversity advocates also encourage lawn
owners to “leave the leaves” in autumn.
● Fallen leaves can be a primary source of
organic matter for soils and for food webs (see
next slide).
○ Rather than rake up and remove leaves in the
fall, we can let them stay on the lawn, or we can
mulch leaves in place with a mower.
○ Providing some sheltering piles of brush and
leaves around the margins of a yard, as habitat
for bugs and birds, can also help provide a
refuge for invertebrates, and for the birds that
need those bugs for food.
Reduced mowing areas, as demonstrated at the Washington State Capitol

building in Olympia (a), can provide a refuge for biodiversity while also
saving carbon emissions in mowing, filtering rain runoff, and reducing
pesticide use.
● Leaving leaves in place in parts of a yard (b) also provides winter habitat for
invertebrates and their predators.

Gap analysis promotes regional
planning
An alternative strategy for species protection is to
identify and preserve whole ecosystems that support
maximum biological diversity, rather than battle for
the rarest species one at a time.
● By focusing on a few high-profile populations already
reduced to only a few individuals, we risk spending most
of our conservation funds on species that may be
genetically doomed no matter what we do.
● While flagship species such as mountain gorillas or Indian
tigers are reproducing well in zoos and wild animal parks, the
ecosystems they formerly inhabited have largely disappeared.

Gap Analysis
Gap analysis - seeks out
unprotected landscapes
rich in species
This biodiversity map of
the island of Hawaii shows
areas of high species
richness that are not
protected in any preserve
An example of biodiversity maps produced
and preserves that have by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
scenic and recreational ● Notice that few of the areas of endangered
value, but little in the way of species richness are protected in preserves,
which were selected more for scenery or
species protection. recreation than for biology.
International Wildlife Treaties
Convention on International Trade In Endangered
Species (CITES) – 1975.
• Regulates trade in living specimens and products derived
from listed species.
• Currently lists 700 species threatened with extinction by
international trade.
• Eliminating markets for endangered wildlife is an effective
way to stop poaching.
• Shark survival provides a good example of the need for
international cooperation in endangered species protection.

International treaties try to control
trade in species
Sharks and rays are killed, primarily to provide fins to
be made into shark fin soup, considered a delicacy in
some Asian countries.
● Marine scientists estimate that about one-third of all shark
species are currently threatened with extinction.
Several Pacific Island nations have banned shark fishing
in their territorial waters, but much shark fishing takes
place far offshore and is difficult to control.
● We need joint action to monitor both
fisheries and markets to protect these
important species.

Zoos Preserving Wildlife
Breeding programs in zoos and botanical gardens are
one method of saving threatened species.
• Botanical gardens help filter pollutants in the air, lower
temperatures (especially in urban areas).
• Many gardens feature special collections focusing on a
particular category of flora.
• Repositories of genetic diversity - most mammals in zoos
are now produced from captive-breeding programs.
• Zoos provide animals for reintroduction programs.
• But many species do not reproduce in captivity, and there are
not enough zoos to maintain every species.

Zoos can help
The California condor is
one of the best-known cases
of successful captive
breeding.
● In 1986, only nine of these
birds existed in their native
habitat.
● Biologists captured them and
brought them to the San
Diego and Los Angeles zoos,
which had begun breeding
programs in the 1970s.
● By 2022, the population had
reached 561 birds, including 347
flying free in the wild.
NeNe (Hawaiian endemic)
This goose was
successfully bred in
captivity and released.
By the 1950s there were
less than 30 birds due
to habitat loss and
invasive predators
Today there are more than
800 in wilderness, and
1,000 in captivity.
© McGraw Hill LLC © William P. Cunningham 77

White rhino (Ceratotherium simum)
These huge animals
were considered
extinct in the south
until a remnant herd
was found in Natal,
South Africa, in 1895.
● Today, there are an
estimated 17,500
southern white
rhinos in Africa,
mainly in national
parks and private
game ranches.
Captive Breeding Challenge
Natural habitat may disappear while we are busy
conserving the species itself.
If captive breeders succeed in saving a wild
species, will it have anyplace to be restored to?

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Accessibility Content: Text Alternatives for Images

Biodiversity Hotspots – Text Alternative
Return to parent-slide containing images.
The biodiversity hot spots marked on the map are as follows: California
Floristic Province 2,125, Caribbean Islands 7,000, Mesoamerican Forest
5,000, Chocó slash Darién slash Western Ecuador 2,250, Tropical Andes
20,000, Central Chile 1,605, Brazilian Cerrado 4,400, Atlantic Forest
6,000, Succulent Karroo 1,940, Cape Floristic Region 5,682, Eastern Arc
Mountains and Coastal Forest, Tanzania and Kenya 1,400, Guinean
Forest 2,250, Mediterranean Basin 13,000, Caucasus 1,600,
South-Central China Mountains 3,500, Indo-Burma 7,000, Philippines
5,832, New Guinea and adjacent archipelago 2,280, Madagascar/Indian
Ocean Islands 8,904, Southwestern Australia 4,331, New Zealand 1,865,
New Caledonia 2,551, Sundaland 15,000, Wallacea 1,500, Polynesia and
Micronesia 3,334, Western India and Sri Lanka 2,180.

Major Mass Extinctions – Text
Alternative
The graph’s lower horizontal axis is labeled Paleozoic on the left and
Mesozoic on the right and the upper horizontal axis is labeled glaciation,
climate change slash possible meteorite, and meteorite. The peaks on
the left are late Ordovician (450, 20), late Devonian (350, 10) and the
peaks on the right are Permia-Triassic (230, 15), late Triassic (200, 8),
and Cretaceous tertiary (70, 13). Fossils and skeletons of extinct animals
are marked on the graph. All values are estimated.

North American Invasive Species – Text
Alternative
The species in the illustration are as follows: Purple loosestrife, Asian

longhorn beetle, Round goby, Kudzu vine, Multiflora rose, Eurasian
milfoil, Zebra mussel, Grass carp, Sea lamprey, Gypsy moth, Leafy
spurge, Mongoose, Cheat grass, Asian tiger mosquito, Scotch broom
Glossy buckthorn, Water hyacinth, European green crab, Nutria,
Caulerpa taxifolia alga, Canadian thistle, Boll weevil, Russian thistle.

Gap Analysis – Text Alternative
The regions marked on the map are Mt. Kohala, Mauna Kea, Hilo,
Hualalal, Kona, Mauna Loa, and Naalehu. The preserves are marked on
the south and endangered species are mostly at the center with very few
at the top.


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Because learning changes everything.

Biodiversity: Preserving Species

A standoff between a bull elk and a

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Tropical rainforests and coral reefs are biodiversity

Table 11.1 Estimated Number of Species Described

Group EST. PCT. PCT

Est. PCT. PCT

Source: Data from IUCN Red List, 2021.

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Biodiversity “hot spots,” identified by Conservation International, tend to be in

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These plant species are examples of nature’s pharmacy.

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Aesthetic and Cultural Benefits

• Ecotourism can be an important form of sustainable

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Fossil record suggests more than 99% of all species ever

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Major mass extinctions through history.

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E.O. Wilson summarizes the human threat to

species, pollution, population, and overharvesting).

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Invasive Species (either intentionally or

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A few of the approximately 50,000 invasive species in North America.

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This large, venomous snake

The snake exterminated 12 native bird

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2.2 Categorías de riesgo

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Some endangered species merit special

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• Flagship species - attractive organisms to which

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Vaquita porpoise Endangered Critically endangered < 30 individuals

Leatherback sea turtle Endangered Critically endangered 633 individuals (2010)

Mexican gray wolf Extinct in the wild Not listed 21 individuals

Ajolote salamander Endangered Critically endangered < 100 individuals

Scarlet macaw Endangered Least concern < 300 couples