Biodiversity: Who cares?. A B Which do you like better?
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Transcript of Biodiversity: Who cares?. A B Which do you like better?
Biodiversity:
Who cares?
A B
Which do you like better?Which do you like better?
What do you think biodiversity means?
Bio =
BioBiodiversitydiversity
What does “Bio” mean?
BioBiodiversitydiversity
Diversity = Variety
What does “Diversity” mean?
http://youtu.be/iThpkXWVeqE
Why is biodiversity important?Why is biodiversity important?• Human beings are dependent for their health, well-being
and enjoyment of life on basic biological systems and processes.
• People get food and many medicines and industrial products from the wild and domesticated components of biological diversity.
What is biodiversity
• Biodiversity is the variety of life in an area that is determined by the number of different species in that area.
• Biodiversity increases the stability of an ecosystem and contributes to the health of the biosphere.
Threats to biodiversity
Habitat Fragmentation
Pollution
Species Introductions
Global Climate Change
Exploitation
Habitat Fragmentation
• When habitats are destroyed or partially destroyed– Ex. Cutting down trees in forests to develop the
land
Pollution
When humans place synthetic materials into the ecosystem carelessly
Ex- throwing a plastic bag into to lake or trash onto the ground
Species Introductions
• Bringing a new species into an already established ecosystem. This could result in a predator-prey relationship– Ex: there was an Asian fish introduced into
Lakes in Chicago, this fish eats a tremendous amount of food, causing a depletion of resources available to other fish
Global Climate Change
When a change in temperature results in the destruction of habitats
ex- ice caps are melting due to global warming, causing polar bears to lose their environments (they are now endangered species)
Exploitation
• The over-usage of a species for unnecessary needs– Ex- fur coats require hundreds of animals to be
killed for a profit
– Ex- Elephants are currently endangered due to exploitation for their tusks made out of Ivory
Threats to Biodiversity• Extinction and
population reductions– Pollution
– Climate change
– Invasive species
16 June 2010 Biodiversity.ppt 14
Threats to Biodiversity
• Extinction is a process that happens when an entire species permanently disappears from the biosphere due to the death of the species’ last member.
• Endangered Species- any species who's numbers become so low that extinction is possible
Threats to Biodiversity
• Threatened species – when a population of a species is likely to become endangered.
• Threatened
• Endangered
• EXTINCT