“The pale blue dot” …. Earth from the Voyager spacecraft, > 4 billion miles away
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Transcript of “The pale blue dot” …. Earth from the Voyager spacecraft, > 4 billion miles away
“The pale blue dot” …. Earth from the Voyager spacecraft, > 4 billion miles awayhttp://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2148
http://www.solstation.com/stars/earth.htm http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogallery-mars.html
http://www.thew2o.net/#
http://www.misterteacher.com/rainforestwebquest.html
http://www.misterteacher.com/rainforestwebquest.html
Earth Mars
CO2 0.035% 95%
N2 77% 2.7%
H2O 1% 0.007%
Ar 0.93% 1.6%
O2 21% trace
http://science.kennesaw.edu/~jdirnber/BioOceanography/Lectures/LecPhysicalOcean/LecPhysicalOcean.html
Earth History
4.5
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Ear
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Old
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4.5 million to present
(1/1000th of earth history)
All genera
“well described” genera
The “big five” Mass Extinction Events
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Phanerozoic_biodiversity_blank_01.png
Millions of Years Ago
Th
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Gen
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Permian mass extinction: 96% of all marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species
(% o
f G
ener
a)
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/prehistoric-world/mass-extinction/
http://we.vub.ac.be/~dglg/Web/Claeys/Chicxulub/Chixproject.html
ecological collapse
Almost all animals over 25kg (~55 lbs) went extinct.
(The things that require the most energy to survive)
BIODIVERSITY NOW
http://www.coral.org/node/3230
Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (2006)
http://englishontour.blogspot.com/2011/03/beetles.html
http://www.illuminatedorigin.com/The_Illuminated_Origin_of_Species/Blog/Entries/2011/9/22_Beetles!.html
http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/jcabbott/abbottlab/
DetritivoresPollinatorsInsect predatorsHerbivores
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/photography/42636-incredible-costa-rican-euglossine-bees.html
PollinatorsInsect Parasitoids (lay eggs on other insects)Insect Predators
Malagasy Sunset Butterfly
Jewel Bug
http://magicbelles.com/flutterbudclub/special-wonders/beetles
http://buggirl.tumblr.com/post/12568644622/bugs-that-break-the-rules-the-madagascar-sunsethttp://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_flies/images/PWC_8410.jpg
HerbivoresPollinatorsParasitesDetritivores
http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Africa/South_Africa/West/Eastern_Cape/Kob_Inn/photo915391.htm
HerbivoresDetritivores
http://www.paulsanghera.com/infonential-Contact.html
http://www.flowersociety.org/Redwood-profile.htm
PRODUCERS
Most vertebrate species are fishes
http://www.elp.manchester.ac.uk/pub_projects/2003/MNZO0MLK/lecture1.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Blue_Whale
http://freakz.info/2011/09/21/10-interesting-seahorse-facts/
http://ambergriscaye.com/critters/redeyedtreefrog.html
http://www.hodag.info/what%E2%80%99s-going-on-here-then-100
http://australian-animals.net/plat.htm
http://www.pbase.com/image/37557333
Herbivores, Predators, Detritivores, Pollinators
But do we NEED all these species??
http://katherinegerdes.com/portfolio/11/rainy-day-jewels
There’s a lot of redundancy in nature…
Are all species equally important? If not, which ones are critical?
with
without
We don’t know which species are critical
So we need to save them all to maintain ecosystem function
But what does biodiversity do??
1) Biodiversity increases “productivity” ... FOOD
Monoculture
They all need the same things at the same concentrations; they compete.
Monoculture Polyculture
Combinations of different plants can be planted at higher density, and they use different "niches" and coexist. Even if abundance of "most productive" species drops, this loss can be offset.
They all need the same things at the same concentrations; they compete.
“Niche Complementarity”
Monoculture Polyculture
Nitrogen fixing legumes (beans) nutrify the soil, increasing the growth of other plants. And you have beans!
without beans
with beansThey all need the same things at
the same concentrations; they compete.
“Positive Effects”
2) Biodiversity improves ecosystem services
Estimates of various Ecosystem Services - $U.S. trillionsEcosystem services
Value(trillion $US)
Soil formation 17.1Recreation 3.0Nutrient cycling 2.3Water regulation and supply
2.3
Climate regulation (temperature and precipitation)
1.8
Habitat 1.4Flood and storm protection
1.1
Food and raw materials production
0.8
Genetic resources 0.8Atmospheric gas balance 0.7Pollination 0.4All other services 1.6Total value of ecosystem services
33.3
Source: Adapted from R. Costanza et al., “The Value of the World’s Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital,” Nature, Vol. 387 (1997), p. 256, Table 2. TOTAL GLOBAL GNP (1997) = 18 trillion.
3) Aesthetics and Inspiration: Biodiversity enriches our cultures
3) Aesthetics and Inspiration: Biodiversity enriches our cultures
How is our biodiversity doing?
Genetic diversity within species
Species diversity in communities
Ecosystem diversity
How is our biodiversity doing? Humans used hundreds of crop species worldwide; now 3 species (rice, wheat, corn) provide 60% of our calories from crop plants.
According to the FAO of the UN, 70% of the genetic diversity of crop plants has been lost in the last 75 years as we’ve shifted to industrial farming and the use of GM strains.
How is our biodiversity doing?
2000 Pacific Island bird species (15% of global total) have gone extinct after human colonization
20 of the 297 mussel species in N.A. have gone extinct in the last 100 years; 60% are endangered
40 of 950 fish species in N. A. have gone extinct in the last century; 35% are threatened or endangered
http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/the-real-biodiversity-crisis/1
http://www.nps.gov/sacn/planyourvisit/st-croix-currents.htm?customel_dataPageID_206517=289024
http://www.fishdecoys.net/pages/LDC_Collection/BenzieJoDecoys.htm
Yellow-finned cutthroat trout
How is our biodiversity doing?
1 in 4 mammal species is endangered
1 in 8 bird species is endangered
1 in 3 amphibian species is endangered
48% of primate species are threatened
Data from: http://iucn.org/what/tpas/biodiversity/
How is our biodiversity doing?
35% of mangrove habitat has been lost in the last 20 years
In the Caribbean, hard coral cover has declined from 50% to 10% in the last 20 years
Since 2000, 232,000 sq miles of old growth forest have been lost (size of Texas).
WHY?
7 billion in 2011 (12 years later)
http://news.mongabay.com/2011/1009-amazon_deforestation_revised.html
13,000 sq kilometers is about the size of Connecticut
http://mvh.sr.unh.edu/mvhinvestigations/old_growth_forests.htm
Extent of Virgin Forest, Contiguous U. S.
Millenium Assessment 2006
1
10 million?
Humans use/control 40% of the ‘food’ produced on the planet.
Fragmentation
PLANTS
HERBIVORES
CARNIVORES
LARGE AREA OF HABITAT
Area Effects
Fragmentation
HABITAT FRAGMENTATION
Fragmentation
HABITAT FRAGMENTATION
Fragmentation
1)Carnivores lost - (reduce diversity)2)Herbivores compete – (reduce diversity)3)Plants overgrazed – (reduce diversity)
We are a geological force, operating on an ecological timescale
Mountaintop removal in West Virginia
We are a geological force, operating on an ecological timescale
Gold mining in Peruvian Amazon
We are a geological force, operating on an ecological timescale
We are a geological force, operating on an ecological timescale
We are a geological force, operating on an ecological timescale
Hmmmm….
All genera
“well described” genera
The “big five” Mass Extinction Events
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Phanerozoic_biodiversity_blank_01.png
Millions of Years Ago
Th
ou
san
ds
of
Gen
era
Sixth major mass extinction event - NOW
22 May 2010 –Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:
“Biodiversity loss is moving ecological systems ever closer to a tipping point beyond which they will no longer be able to fulfill their vital functions.”
What Can We Do?
We need to protect and preserve large intact, biodiverse ecosystems.
This is great, but it ain’t gonna do it…
We need to rethink our model of community…
Development
nature
nature
Development
Development
Development
We need to find out what’s out there!
We need to appreciate the societal and economic value of biodiversity
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)http://www.justmeans.com/Stop-Loss-CSR-Biodiversity/28856.html
“Protection of biodiversity should be the underlying reason for every CSR effort. Biodiversity loss is the most severe threat to human-wellbeing on the planet. It rates even higher than climate change and related problems….
The head of Deutsche Bank's Global Markets predicts that our current rate of biodiversity loss could see 6% of global GDP wiped out as early as 2050.
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity executive summary (2010) reports that “over 50% of CEOs surveyed in Latin America and 45% in Africa see declines in biodiversity as a challenge to business growth. In contrast, less than 20% of their counterparts in Western Europe share such concerns”
If we recognize the grandeur of life, we might appreciate it…
If we appreciate it, we might value it…
If we value it, we might sustain it…
If we sustain it, we might be able to sustain our societies and economies, as well.
ECONOMY
SOCIETY
ENVIRONMENT
If we don’t, we won’t…
A few extinct animal species.
Thylacine - 1936
Quogga - 1883
Golden Toad - 1989
Tecopa Pupfish - 1981
Yangtze River Dolphin - 2006
Vietnamese Rhinoceros - 2010