Post on 13-Dec-2015
NATURE UNBOUNDLESSON 5 – EXTINCTION: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES
Conservation
Mr. Dieckhoff
USING YOUR COMPUTERS/PHONES
Working with the people at your table, determine what the following animals have in common: Carolina parakeet Gray Wolf Passenger Pigeon White-Footed Mouse
EXTINCTION VSEXTIRPATION
Extinction – 99.9% of all species
have gone extinct
Extirpation –
TYPES OF EXTINCTIONS
Natural (Background) Extinction – Example – fescue
grass replaces prairie grass
Mass Extinction – 5 previous mass
extinctions Some believe we are
in the 6th
ENDANGERED Endangered –
In Missouri: 600 plants 300 animals (Eastern Spotted Skunk in picture)
What species are endangered in Missouri? Take 5 minutes. Research one of Missouri’s endangered
plants or animals. http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/endangered-
species http://
www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/lists/missouri-cty.html What is the habitat of the species? What is it’s food supply? How is it distributed across Missouri? In your opinion, why is this species endangered in
Missouri?
FAILURE TO ADAPT
Extinction is a result of natural selection – species disappear when they fail to adapt to changing ecological conditions
CAUSES OF EXTINCTION1.
Fragmentation – carving of large blocks of habitat into smaller, scattered pieces
Example – Carolina parakeet
2. Adapt quickly to a new location and
push out native species Example – see next slide
3. Hunted, fished, or harvested to
extinction Example – Passenger Pigeons
4. Changes in global temperatures have wide-range
effects on environmental conditions and are expected to cause population changes
INVASIVE SPECIES
Exotic, non-native species – organism that has moved into an area in which it previously did not exist
Invasive – Examples:
1. Emerald Ash Borer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JTKjszvOLw
2. Zebra Mussels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svlSW40uU2g
3. Sericea Lespedeza https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlFBexymTjk
SAVING SPECIES FROM EXTINCTION
Problem – Grassland birds are declining faster and more consistently than birds in other ecosystems (example – Eastern Meadowlark)
Native grasslands have been replaced by urban sprawl and tall fescue
Solution Ideas? Work with the people at your table to come up
with what Missouri should do to help grassland birds.
WHY SOME SPECIES ARE MORE PRONE TO EXTINCTION?
Generalist –
Specialist – Tend to be smaller
populations with less genetic variation because of inbreeding
PREDICTING EXTINCTION
Factors which affect extinction: Niche
tolerance Populations
size Geographic
range
CONCLUSION
1. Extinction2. Extirpation3. Endangered4. Causes of Extinction5. Invasive Species6. Predicting Extinction7. Consequences of Extinction