Extinction

when a species ceases to exist, or

when the last known individual of
a species dies.
 Projected Status of Biodiversity
19982018

Arctic Circle

60 EUROPE
NORTH
ASIA
AMERICA
30N

Tropic of Cancer Atlantic AFRICA Pacific

Pacific Ocean Ocean
Ocean
0 150 120 90 30W 0 60E 90 150
SOUTH Indian
Tropic of Capricorn AMERICA Ocean AUSTRALIA

30S

60 Antarctic Circle

ANTARCTICA
Critical and endangered Threatened Stable or intact
uses of Extinction
 Ecological Pressures:

Volcanic events
Ocean temperature change
Sea level changes
Meteorites
Glaciations
Global climate change
Competition/predation
 Socio-Political and Economic causes
HIPPO

Habitat destruction and fragmentation

Introduced species
Pollution
Population
Over consumption
 Extinction
Rate of Extinction: the number of species
becoming extinct per unit time.

Difficult to estimate, because we don't even know

how many species there are.

Fossil records can only reveal the average

"lifetimes" of species, or how long different classes
of plants and animals generally exist on the earth
before going extinct.
 Extinction continued

From this information, scientists can

determine a "background" rate of extinction,
or the natural rate of extinction without
human intervention.

Because of human intervention, the Earth's

species are dying out at an alarming rate up
to 1,000 times faster than their natural rate
of extinction.
 Fossil Records
By carefully examining fossil records and
ecosystem destruction, some scientists
estimate that as many as 137 species
disappear from the Earth EACH DAY
This adds up to an astounding 50,000 species
disappearing every year!
 Mammals average species lifespan is 1 million years.

With ~ 5,000 mammalian species, the background extinction rate

is 1 every 200 years.

In the past 400 years though, 89 extinctions have been recorded,

almost 45 times the natural rate.

Over 50 of those extinctions have

occurred in the past
CENTURY, which is
100 times the
background rate!!
EXTINCTION RATES OVER GEOLO
OW CAN WE PREVENT ENDANGERMEN
AND ULTIMATELY, EXTINCTION?
 Red List Criteria
The International Union for Conservation
of Nature (IUCN) Red List criteria are used
to determine extinction risk and
set numerical thresholds for
qualifications.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2LnoLD2ss0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VukyqMajAOU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7GQZsGmW5Y
 IUCN Mission Statement:
to influence, encourage and assist societies
throughout the world to conserve the integrity
and diversity of nature and to ensure that any
use of natural resources is equitable and
ecologically sustainable.
 Specific aims:
To provide a standardized system that can be applied
consistently by different people.
To improve objectivity by providing users with clear
guidance on how to evaluate different factors which affect
the risk of extinction.
To provide a system which will facilitate comparisons
across widely different taxa.
To give people using the threatened species lists a better
understanding of how individual species were classified.
 Categories
Least concern (LC) species not qualifying for the
other categories, including widespread and abundant
species.
 Near threatened (NT) close to qualifying for vulnerable
status.
 Vulnerable (V) facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
Endangered (EN)
facing a very high risk
of extinction in the wild.
 Critically endangered (CR) facing an
extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
 Extinct in the wild (EX)
 Extinct (EX)
 UNKNOWN (K) taxa that are suspected but not
definitely known to belong to any of the categories
because of lack of information.

Closing a deadly gateway

Why Should We Care About Biodiversity?
 Goods
Food, fuel, fiber, lumber, paper,
90% of todays food crops are unprocessed
40% of all medicines (85% of antibiotics) are
unprocessed

Foxglove Pacific yew

Digitalis purpurea, Taxus brevifolia,
Creates medicine Digitalis Potent treatment for
used for treating heart failure ovarian cancer
 Ecological Services:
Flow of materials, energy, and information in the
biosphere:
Photosynthesis
Pollination
Soil formation and maintenance
Nutrient recycling
Moderation of weather extremes
Purification of air and water
 Information:
Genetic information for adaptation and evolution
Genetic information for genetic engineering
Educational and scientific information

Option:
People would be willing to pay in advance to preserve the
option of directly using a resource such as a tree, an
elephant, a forest or a clean lake.
 Recreation:
Hunting, fishing, swimming, scuba diving
Eco-tourism

Non-utilitarian:
Existence
Aesthetic
Protect natural capital for future generations
 Conservation Organizations objective is to
preserve species and their habitats

Intergovernmental organizations like the UNEP (United Nations Environment Program)

coordinates with the United Nations to help LEDCs implement sound policies

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) like WWF (World Wildlife Fund) work with
businesses and governments around the world to create sustainable solutions.
IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)
-Set up the WWF

-Published the first Red List

-CITES (Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild

Flora and Fauna) was drafted as a result of a resolution at one of their
meetings. CITES aims to halt the sale and smuggling of plants and animals
and their body parts
One way to promote biodiversity is to set aside land as a protected area.

Preferred attributes:

-Size : the bigger the better

http://www.conservation.org/projects/Pages/New-Caledonia-Home-of-the-Worlds-
Largest-Marine-Park.aspx
-Edge Effects : limit the influence of surrounding area
-Wildlife Corridors : Create links between protected areas
-Buffer Zones : implement semi protected areas surrounding the area
-Management : Staff the area to manage the numbers of organisms in the area
(no one can be too dominant) and restore any damage done by humans