Module 1 Presentation Final
Module 1 Presentation Final
Loss of
Biodiversity
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LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION, GOALS
AND METHODS
b. What problem set are we going to tackle and how?
Biodiversity is the foundation of all life on Earth and is crucial for the functioning
of ecosystems which provides us with products and services that we cannot live
without, food, provision of freshwater, clean air.
Biodiversity includes, animals, plants their habitats and their genes. Biodiversity
also includes the number of individuals of a particular species, the number of
different species in an area, the genetic wealth contained by each species, the
interrelationship between them and the natural areas where they occur such as
deserts, rainforests and coral reefs all form part of a biologically diverse Earth
(Shah, 2013).
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LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION, GOALS
AND METHODS
Biodiversity is all around us or everywhere, on land and in water, from
high latitudes to deep ocean trenches.
There are no price tags added to biodiversity and the ecosystem products
and services it offers.
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Orange River, South Africa
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Patterns of Speciation: Gradualism and Branching
LECTURE 2: GENERAL NOTIONS OF
BIODIVERSITY
b. Why is biodiversity important?
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Relative productivity of various ecosystems
LECTURE 2: GENERAL NOTIONS OF
BIODIVERSITY
Many of the poor communities relies directly on natural resources for
subsistence and household income, such as subsistence farmers on
their crops and cattle and coastal communities on marine and coastal
resources.
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Community member drying-out fish to Community member harvesting salt of
make bokkoms (a west coast salt pans in Papendorp, South Africa
delicacy) in Papendorp, South Africa
Snoek, West Coast, South Africa Rock lobster and mussel harvesting,
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South Africa
LECTURE 2: GENERAL NOTIONS OF
BIODIVERSITY
Ecosystem services includes, protection and purification of water resources, soil
formation and protection, nutrient storage and recycling, pollution breakdown
and absorption, contribution to climate stability, maintenance of ecosystems,
and recovery from unpredictable events such as, floods, fires, and droughts
(Global Issues, 2015).
Imagine for instance, a library that contains only a few books and
popular magazines, and compare it with a well-stocked library with
all sorts of literature and a wide variety of magazines. Which one
would you prefer?
Or what about two playgrounds, one with just a few options and the
other filled with all sorts of games, activities and options surely you
would choose the latter one.
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Mangroves act as protecting barriers
for Flash Floods and other natural
disasters
Pemba, Zanzibar
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LECTURE 2: GENERAL NOTIONS OF
BIODIVERSITY
c. Rates of Speciation and Extinction
Speciation is a key process in biodiversity and is the form of new and distinct
biological species.
The rate of speciation is a measurement of how many new species are born in a
specific interval in time, and in a particular environment (given habitat, ecosystem
and region). 23
LECTURE 2: GENERAL NOTIONS OF
BIODIVERSITY
Mathematical modelling shows that the smaller a population becomes,
the lower its ratio of births to deaths, and the longer it remains at low
numbers the more vulnerable it is to extinction.
The size of a species range can also have an effect, as the larger the range
the smaller the chance of extinction.
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Connection between human population and the current extinction crisis
LECTURE 2: GENERAL NOTIONS OF
BIODIVERSITY
Our planet, Earth, is now in the midst of its sixth extinction of plants and
animals, we are currently experiencing large numbers of species die-offs
since the loss of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago (Centre for Biological
Diversity, 2015).
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Background extinction rate: is the natural extinction rate of all species.
Rates are estimated by using fossil records.
There are about 5000 mammal species alive today and there background
extinction rate is estimated at 1 per 200 years
The past 400 years has seen 89 mammalian extinctions. Another 169
mammalian species are listed as critically endangered.
E.O. Wilson, a well-known biologist, thinks that the current rate of extinction
is 1000 times the background rate and that is caused by human activities.
The rate is estimated to be at 3 species per hour. The rate is not equally
spread but is worse in certain areas (hotspots)
Most biologists think we are now in the sixth mass extinction, called the
Holocene extinction event. This extinction event started 10 000 years ago
when large mammals such as the woolly mammoth and sabre-tooth tiger
became extinct. But the extinction rate has accelerated in the last 100 years.
This is mostly due to climate change, which is caused by one species,
humans.
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6TH Mass Extinction
The five major extinction episodes:
Ecological Role: No major predators on Mauritius so dodo had no need to develop flight. Dodo was a ground-
nesting bird.
Pressures: In 1505 Portuguese sailors used discovered Mauritius and used it as a restocking point on their
voyages to get spices from Indonesia. They ate the dodo as a source of red meat. Later the island was used a
penal colony (jail/prison) and rats, pigs and monkeys were introduced. These ate the dodo eggs and humans
killed the dodo for sport and food. Crab-eating macaque monkeys introduced by sailors also seemed to have
an impact as the stole the dodo eggs. The later conversion of forest to plantation also destroyed their habitat.
It was known to be extinct by 1681.
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LECTURE 3: THREATS TO
BIODIVERSITY
a. What is biodiversity loss?
Habitat Loss,
Invasive Species,
Pollution,
Human Population, and
Overharvesting.
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LECTURE 3: THREATS TO
BIODIVERSITY
b. Overpopulation
The human population since the 1800s have increased by a few billions.
As populations increased so do the pressure on biodiversity, as it leads to
an increase in the amounts of resources used by humans. Population
growth has led to increasing threats to biodiversity.
Overpopulation means that there are more people than there are
resources to meet their needs and sustain them. With the worlds
population growing at an unsustainably so do demands for water, land,
food, renewable and non-renewable resources, plants and animals.
Overpopulation: leads to the need to accommodate human activities like
agriculture, which is needed to support the human population.
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One of the biggest threats to biodiversity is the rapidly growing population of the world
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Overpopulation and its threat to biodiversity
LECTURE 3: THREATS TO
BIODIVERSITY
c. Habitat loss and degradation
Habitat loss is when a habitat has changed or altered in such a way that
usually adversely affects most or all species and the longer term survival
of the species within the habitat.
Habitat degradation is the primary cause of species becoming extinct in
many parts of the world today. Habitat degradation refers to the decline
in habitat quality and its effects can be temporarily or permanently.
Habitat fragmentation is the process whereby large natural areas are
separated by roads, towns, fences, fields, etc...This leads to a decrease in
ecological interactions between species and the isolation of populations.
This also leads to the interaction of wild and domestic species which
could spread diseases between the populations.
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Habitat loss and degradation in terms of land converted for human use
LECTURE 3: THREATS TO
BIODIVERSITY
d. Climate Change
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Climate change and habitat loss map which poses a threat to biodiversity
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(warming temperatures)
LECTURE 3: THREATS TO
BIODIVERSITY
e. Pollution
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LECTURE 3: THREATS TO
BIODIVERSITY
Industrialization contributes to pollution. Many species cannot cope with
rapid changes in the physical parameters which are occurring in our
environment.
While some substances stay in the environment for short period of time
while other stay very long and can end up entering the food chain. High
levels of pollution results in toxicity, and the level of occurrence affects
the capacity of organisms to tolerate the substance.
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Overflowing waste bins on Jomo Kenyatta
Public Beach, Mombasa
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Deforestation in the Congo Basin
affecting the livelihoods of the
baka pygmies community
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LECTURE 3: THREATS TO
BIODIVERSITY
g. Introduced species
New species can also parasitize or predate upon local species, hybridize
with them, compete with them for food, bring unfamiliar diseases,
modify habitats and or disrupt important interactions.
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Invasive alien species in South Africa
(http://www.capenature.co.za/conserving-water-factories-western-cape/)
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LECTURE 4: STATE AND FUTURE OF
BIODIVERSITY
a. What is the state of biodiversity in the world?
Scientists estimate that there are more than 100 million species of which
only 1.8 million have been named. While there are millions of species
there is also an unprecedented mass extinction of species on Earth.
Scientists have also estimated that between 150 and 200 species become
extinct each year. Possibly of species we have not even researched yet as
there are so many unknown and or unnamed species. 50
LECTURE 4: STATE AND FUTURE OF
BIODIVERSITY
The worlds oceans and forests are particularly threatened. The worlds
coral reefs are being lost due to overfishing, pollution, warming of the
oceans, and other causes. They are already severely damaged and
degraded in many places.
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Current global forest distribution
(http://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/blog/why-do-forests-matter-a-call.html)
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Coral reef global map
(http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v476/n7361/full/476375d.html)
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LECTURE 4: STATE AND FUTURE OF
BIODIVERSITY
The key findings of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) summarizes the state
of our planets biodiversity as the following:
There have always been periods of extinction in the planet's history, but this episode
of species extinction is greater than anything the world has experienced for the
past 65 million years the greatest rate of extinction since the vanishing of the
dinosaurs.
"Approximately 20-30 per cent of plant and animal species assessed so far are likely
to be at greater risk of extinction if increases in global average temperature exceed
1.5 to 2.5 Celsius" (2.7 to 4.5 Fahrenheit), according to a report in April 2007 by the
UN climate panel. Beyond that, it said ecosystems would face ever more wrenching 55
changes.
LECTURE 4: STATE AND FUTURE OF
BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity contributes directly or indirectly to many aspects of our well-being,
for instance, by providing raw materials and contributing to health. More than 60
per cent of the world's people depend directly on plants for their medicines.
Over the past century, many people have benefited from the conversion of
natural ecosystems to agricultural land and from the exploitation of
biodiversity. Although many individuals benefit from activities that lead to
biodiversity loss and ecosystem change, the full costs borne by society often
exceed the benefits.
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LECTURE 4: STATE AND FUTURE OF
BIODIVERSITY
b. What is the state of biodiversity in South Africa?
South Africa is truly one of the most biologically diverse countries. The
country consists of terrestrial, marine and aquatic ecosystems. South
Africa also has a number of biodiversity hotspots and a number of
biomes. The biomes includes the Fynbos, Forest, Succulent Karoo, Nama
Karoo, Savanna, Thicket and Grassland. Each of the biomes supports its
own collection of plant and animals species.
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Biomes of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland, 2006
(http://bgis.sanbi.org/vegmap/biomes.asp)
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Biodiversity hotspots in South Africa
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(http://bgis.sanbi.org/nsba/conservationAreas.asp)
LECTURE 4: STATE AND FUTURE OF
BIODIVERSITY
The background research paper on biodiversity and environmental health
informed the South African Environment Outlook and was part of the National
State of the Environment Project prepared in 2005, noted the following key facts:
South Africa occupies only 2% of the worlds land surface, yet contains a
disproportionately large share of global biodiversity, being home to nearly 10% of
the planets plant species and 7% of the reptile, bird and mammal species.
The country contains three globally recognized biodiversity hotspots, namely the
Cape Floristic Region, the Succulent Karoo, shared with southern Namibia, and
the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany hotspot, shared with Mozambique and
Swaziland. The Cape Floristic Region is the smallest (<90 000km2) and is the only
floral kingdom to occur exclusively within the geographical boundaries of one
country.
Its extraordinary plant diversity helps rank South Africa as the country with the
fifth highest number of plant species in the world. Our seas, which support many
livelihoods, include the Atlantic, Indian and Southern Oceans with a wide range of
habitats from kelp forests to coral reefs. Additionally our coast is home to 15% of
the worlds coastal species. 60
LECTURE 4: STATE AND FUTURE OF
BIODIVERSITY
South Africa has numerous protected areas, and it has research institutes
determining the best approaches to conserve our biodiversity.
List what you think the most important actions are that can be taken to
conserve biodiversity in our country would be.
Why, if we have laws and protected areas in place are we still losing
biodiversity?
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LECTURE 4: STATE AND FUTURE OF
BIODIVERSITY
Our protected area system is recognised as one of the best in Africa. One
of our national parks, the Addo Elephant National Park, contains what is
known as the Big Seven, in one single park!
For more information on the Big Seven, and to see footage of them visit
the following links:
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LECTURE 4: STATE AND FUTURE OF
BIODIVERSITY
ii) What is the Natural Capital Index (NCI)?
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LECTURE 4: STATE AND FUTURE OF
BIODIVERSITY
The NCI need to be relevant and appealing for policy development,
quantitative, sensitive, affordable, measurable and universally
acceptable. It was questions like the above and its answers that assisted
with decision-making for policy-makers and the public.
The NCI represents the entire ecosystem and must be associated with
socio-economic scenarios for projections. The NCI equals the product of
the percentage of the remaining are of natural ecosystems with the
quality of the remaining habitat the quality is measured on the basis of
the abundance of a group of selected species relative to baseline level.
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LECTURE 4: STATE AND FUTURE OF
BIODIVERSITY
iii) What are the effects of biodiversity loss?
Biological diversity is the web of life, linking all organisms on Earth. All families,
communities, nations and future generations depend on the natural resources
offered by the Earths biological diversity. Earths natural assets are animals,
plants, land, water, the atmosphere and humans.
Loss in biodiversity puts the health of our livelihoods at risk. The loss of
biodiversity can certainly have many consequences, some that we understand
and many that we do not.
Biodiversity depends upon the habitats and ecosystems which support them.
Losses in biodiversity in rainforests for example, cause significant changes in
ecosystem functioning. Loss of biodiversity also affect ecosystems as climate
change, pollution and other major forms of environmental stress. The loss of
biodiversity resulting in species extinctions can have major effects on our plant,
and we need to prepare for it.
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LECTURE 4: STATE AND FUTURE OF
BIODIVERSITY
iv) How can biodiversity be protected?
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