Biodiversity and Extinction
RENE N. RAMILO Ch.E, LPT
Faculty, Tarlac Montessori School
“ You think you own whatever land you land on
The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim
But I know every rock and tree and creature
Has a LIFE, Has a SPIRIT, has a Name.”
- from “Colors of the Wind”, Pocahontas
“It’s the CIRCLE of Life, and it moves us all”
- from “The circle of Life”, The Lion King
BIODIVERSITY ( biological diversity)
It was coined during the National Forum for
Biodiversity in 1985
It refers to variety of life forms that thrive on
Earth
It describes the differences and relationships
within various ecosystems, including all living
organisms and their habitats.
The Convention of Biological Diversity
Mission Statement
“The objectives of this convention
are the conservation of biological
diversity, sustainable use of its
components and the fair and
equitable sharing of the benefits
arising out of the utilization of
genetic resources.”
Natural Capital: Major Components of
the Earth’s Biodiversity
COMPONENTS OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
1. ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY
REFERS TO THE MEASURE OF THE
NUMBER OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF
ECOSYSTEM IN AN AREA
(physical and chemical environment )
Climate and sunlight provide unique
environmental factors that can house
different organisms adaptable to said habitat
COMPONENTS OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
2. FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY
The biological and chemical
processes such as energy flow and
matter recycling needed for the
survival of species, communities
and ecosystem.
3. GENETIC DIVERSITY
REFERS TO THE SUM TOTAL OF GENETIC
INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE GENES
OF AN ORGANISMS ( their breed, color, size,
etc.)
A healthy population of organisms possess a
diversity of traits
Genes are segment of hereditary material
responsible for a particular traits which are
inherited by the organisms from their parents
4. SPECIES DIVERSITY
REFERS TO THE VARIETY OF LIFE FORMS
AND THE NUMBER OF SPECIES PRESENT IN
A BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITY
Species diversity is a major component of
biodiversity and tends to increase the
sustainability of ecosystems.
Species Diversity: Variety, Abundance of
Species in a Particular Place
Species diversity
• Species richness
• Species evenness
Diversity varies with geographical location
• Most species-rich communities
• Tropical rain forests
• Coral reefs
• Ocean bottom zone
• Large tropical lakes
Species richness the number of
different kinds of species in a particular
area
Species evenness the abundance of the
individual members within a particular
species
Species richness seems to increase
productivity and stability or sustainability
Variations in Species Richness and
Species Evenness
Role of Species Play in Ecosystems
Each species plays a specific
ecological role called its niche.
Any given species may play one
or more of five important roles—
native, nonnative, indicator,
keystone, or foundation roles—in a
particular ecosystem.
Range of tolerance―all species
perform best under certain
environmental conditions. These
abiotic conditions are known as
the range of tolerance for that
particular species.
The concept of “niche” is a useful one in
ecology and can be discussed in several ways,
including the following:
Realized niche―the range of abiotic and
biotic conditions under which a species lives.
This determines the species distribution, or
areas of the world where it lives.
Niche generalist―species that live under a
wide range of conditions
Niche specialist―species that live only in
specific habitats
EVOLUTION BY RANDOM PROCESSES
1. Mutation―occurs randomly and can
add to the genetic variation of a
population
Most mutations have very little or no
effect (neutral mutation) or decrease
the likelihood of an individual
reproducing (deleterious mutations
EVOLUTION BY RANDOM PROCESSES
2. Genetic drift―change in the genetic
composition of a population over time as a result
of random mating
3. Bottleneck effect―a reduction in the genetic
diversity of a population caused by a reduction
in number of organisms
4. Founder effect―a change in a population
descended from a small number of colonizing
individuals
Speciation and Extinction Determine
Biodiversity: Two Forms of Speciation
Allopatric speciation―new species are created
by geographic or reproductive isolation
Sympatric speciation―one species evolves into
two species without being geographically
isolated speciation, usually through polyploidy,
which is an increase in the number of sets of
chromosomes
ALLOPATRIC SPECIATION
SYMPATRIC SPECIATION
Niches Can Be Occupied by Native and
Nonnative Species
Native species
Nonnative species; invasive, alien, or exotic
species
• May spread rapidly
• Not all are villains
Indicator species (Serve as Biological Smoke Alarms)
• Can monitor environmental quality
• Trout
• Birds
• Butterflies
• Frogs
IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY
According to the World Wide Fund (WWF) for
nature, an international nongovernmental
organization dedicated to protecting the
environment, that biological diversity is a “WEB
OF LIFE” which means that if there is
biodiversity crisis, our health, and livelihood are
at risks too.
IUCN ( International Union for Conservation of
Nature ) defines biodiversity as “The Foundation
of Life on Earth”
BENEFITS
Economic and Health Benefits
They provide us with basic
necessities such as food, raw
materials for medicines, shelter,
and clothing. Our environment also
provide us with wide assortment of
natural-made products sold in our
market place.
Ecological Benefits we are all
connected in a circle of life due to the
specific role we play in the
environment. Any change in a behavior
or population number of certain
species will have an effect on the
existing food chain in the environment
KEYSTONE SPECIES a species that can
influence the survival of other species
by controlling their population
Aesthetic Benefits another factor that we
consider in maintaining our biodiversity is to
preserve the innate beauty to maintain a
certain environment invites us to preserve its
current state for the enjoyment of future
generations
Ethical Benefits our role of stewards of
nature to protect our environment for further
destruction
Cultural and Spiritual Benefits the beauty of
nature for the sense of tranquility, relaxation,
and immense satisfaction
Education/Information Benefits
Monitoring the natural
environment allows scientists to
observe the indicators of healthy
environment and understands the
factors that affect it. Natural
environment is also a venue for
learning.
Regulating and Supporting Ecosystem
Services
Ecosystem Services refers to natural processes
that provide benefits such as :
1. Climate control
2. Pollution attenuation
3. Air and water purification
4. Flood Control
5. Nutrient cycling
6. Soil Formation
Carbon sequestration is the natural process
wherein the trees absorb the excess carbon
dioxide in air to prevent enhanced greenhouse
effect
EXTINCTION
the state when the entire population of a
species no longer exists.
When environmental conditions change
there are three possible scenarios that a
population of organism san demonstrate-
1. adapt to new situations
2. migrate to a new area with favorable
conditions
3. become extinct
FOUR TYPES OF EXTINCTION
1. BACKGROUND EXTINCTION
a gradual process of species
becoming extinct, using fossil
records and analysis of ice core
drills, scientist estimate the
average annual background
extinction rates is 1:5 species for
each million species.
2. Local Extinction
Occur when certain population
of organisms that are endemic to a
place died out
ENDEMIC means restricted or
peculiar to a locality or region
3. Premature Extinction
A kind of extinction that we are facing is
caused by the action of one superior species
– HUMANS.
ENDANGERED SPECIES- species who are in
danger of becoming extinct in the near future
THREATENED SPECIES- species that could
become endangered due to the threats in
their environment
4. Mass Extinction
The rate of extinction dramatically
increases as large populations of
organisms die out in a relatively short
period.
A widespread catastrophic and global
disastrous event that can wiped out
large group of organisms ranging from
25% - 95% of all living species
THE FIVE WORST MASS EXTINCTION
The Ordovician-Silurian
Third largest mass extinction in
Earth’s history some of 85% of sea
life were wiped out.
Cause by a huge ice sheet causes
the climate change and altered the
ocean chemistry
The Late Devonian Extinction
Three quarters of all species on
Earth died, sea bed became devoid
of oxygen, only bacteria can
survive .
CAUSE: changes in sea level,
asteroid impact, climate change
and new kinds of plants messing
with the soil
The Permian-Triassic Extinction
Also known as “Great Dying” 96%
of the species died out life on
Earth descended from the 4% that
survived CAUSE: asteroid impact,
flood basalt eruption, catastrophic
methane release, drop of oxygen
level, sea level fluctuations
The Triassic-Jurassic Extinction
Half of all the species including
large amphibians became extinct .
CAUSE: climate change, flood
basalt eruption, massive volcanic
eruption, ocean acidity and
asteroid impact
The Cretaceous-Tertiary
Extinction
Death extinction of the dinosaurs 50% of
all species were wiped out CAUSE asteroid
impact
THE SIXTH MASS EXTINCTION
Scientists feel that we are in our sixth
mass extinction, occurring in the last
two decades.
Estimates of possible extinction rates
vary widely, from 2% to 25% by 2020.
In contrast to previous mass
extinctions, scientists agree that this
one is caused by humans.
MAJOR CAUSES OF EXTINCTION
A. Natural Causes of Extinction
1. Global cooling and warming
2. Major glaciations or ice ages
3. Fluctuation in sea level
4. Global reduction of oxygen level
5. Volcanic eruptions
6. Asteroid, comet and meteor impacts
7. Plate tectonic, continental drift
8. Gamma radiation
9. Diseases
B. Anthropogenic Causes of Extinction
1. H- Habitat Destruction
2. I- Invasive ( Non-native) species
3. P- Population using too many
resources
4. P- Pollution
5. C- Climate Change
6. O- Overexploitation
PROTECTION OF BIODIVERSITY FROM
PREMATURE EXTINCTION
Preservation of ecosystems and
monitoring species before they are
threatened
• Habitat restoration
• Captive propagation
• Sustaining genetic diversity
• Preserving keystone species
• Conserving ecosystems
HABITAT is the place where it lives or place
where one would go to find it “species address”
Ecological niche is more inclusive term that
includes the physical space occupied by an
organism ( spatial or habitat niche)
Tropic niche functional role in the
community
Multidimensional or hyper-volume niche its
position in environmental gradients of
temperature. moisture, pH, soil and other
conditional gradients
HABITAT RESTORATION
In many situations, habitat
conservation is no longer an option
Three programs for restoration,
depending on the cause of the habitat
loss
• 1. Pristine restoration
• 2. Removing introduced species
• 3. Cleanup and rehabilitation
CAPTIVE PROPAGATION
Recovery programs often involve direct
intervention in natural populations to avoid
extinctions
Case History: The Peregrine Falcon
• Population disappeared east of the Mississippi by
1960
• The culprit was DDT
• Causes eggs to break before they hatch
• DDT was banned by federal law in 1970
• Captive breeding program started using falcons
from other parts of the country
• Very good results
SUSTAINING GENETIC DIVERSITY
Smaller populations have little genetic
diversity
Case History: The Black Rhino
All five species of rhinoceros are
critically endangered
Black rhinos live in 75 small, widely
separated populations
• To increase genetic diversity,
individuals must be moved between
populations
PRESERVING KEYSTONE SPECIES
Removal of keystone species can have
disastrous consequences on ecosystems
Case History: Flying Foxes
Widespread on the South Pacific Islands
Often the only pollinator and seed
disperser
Were being driven to extinction by human
hunting
Legal protection, habitat restoration, and
captive breeding have produced a very
effective preservation program
CONSERVING ECOSYSTEMS
Isolated patches of habitat lose species far
more rapidly than large areas do
Conservation biologists have therefore
promoted the following
1. The creation of mega reserves
• Large areas of land that contain a
core of one or more undisturbed
habitats
2. The preservation of intact ecosystems
TWO FORMS OF ADAPTATION
1. Physiological Acclimatization refers
to the organism’s ability to adjust to
environmental changes
2. Genetic Adaptation refers to the
organism’s genetic composition to
change in response to environmental
change
CAUSES OF BIODIVERSITY LOSS
Pollution
Loss of tropical forest
Spread of urban areas
Warfare
Large dam construction
Road building
Tourism
Loss of traditional lifestyles
CONSEQUENCES OF BIODIVERSITY LOSS
Loss of food
Decrease in biomass
Collapse of food web
Loss of keystone species
Reduction of ecosystem efficiency and
community productivity
Loss of medicinal supplies
Increased vulnerability of species to disease and
predation
“Its humbling to realize for us who have been
given dominion over nature, how limited that
dominion is. We can light candles but we can’t
hold back the night. We can prepare from
storms but we can’t prevent them. We can’t
stop the rain in times of flood or start them in
times of drought. Upheavals come , suddenly,
unexpectedly and catastrophically.”
“Whenever they come, however they come, they
forever alter the terrain that once was our life”.
