The Diversity of Life-BIOL 121

Summer Term 2019

Day-14

Dr. Manar Angrini

 PLANTAE
Multicellular photosynthetic - Most land plants don't move,
cell walls (cellulose) although gametes of some plants
move using cilia or flagella.
≈ 290,000 spp. - Organelles include chloroplasts (p/s)

Kingdoms

Domain Eukarya
Agenda and objectives for today
✔ Define invasive species
✔ Identify functional extinction
✔ Explore the cause of habitat loss
✔ Discuss human influence of biodiversity and ecosystem
✔ Discuss the anthropogenic causes/threats of biodiversity loss
Some species have an especially large impact on the
structure of a community because they:

1 - are highly abundant (dominant spp.)

2 - play a pivotal role in community dynamics (keystone spp.)

3 - effect the stability & structure of communities (invasive spp.)

 Some keystone species act as facilitators that have
positive effects on the survival and reproduction of some of the
other species in the community.

Number of plant species

6

0
With Without
Juncus Juncus
Salt marsh with Juncus
Conditions
(foreground)

ØJuncus = “rushes” – flowering plants often grow on unfertile soils - modify the
soil for other plants.
ØAlso provide cover for many bird and animal species
 3. Introduced and invasive species
Brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis)

Guam

• introduced accidentally to the island of Guam in the 1950’s

• destroyed native bird populations, which had evolved in the
absence of predators and lacked the ability to fly (caused local
extinctions of at least 12 spp.)
• threat to many native small mammals & other reptiles (extinctions
of 6 lizard species)
 Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)

• Native to the Caspian Sea

region of Asia
• First discovered in
Lake St. Clair,
near Detroit in 1988

• Introduced to the Great Lakes via ballast water from trans-oceanic ships
 Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)

• Since 1988, they

have spread rapidly to
all of the Great Lakes
and connected
waterways in many US
states, as well as
Ontario and Quebec

•Zebra mussels eat algae, which deprives young fish and fish larvae
from the food they need to survive. When the fish population declines,
so does the bird population, as some species of birds feed on fish. ...
• Eating fish from water “contaminated” with zebra mussel may
increase human exposure to pollutants.
Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)

• Extreme bio-fouling activity (accumulate microorganisms)

• Outcompeted native mussel species

Why worry about invasive species?

qTend to crowd out /replace native species

qCan severely damage ecosystem health

qHarm human activities (agriculture, forestry, fisheries)

– $137 billion/ year in damages and pest control costs

------> reduction in species diversity in

communities & ecosystems
 Why are invasive species often so successful?

• Better competitors than the native species

• Pioneer species- prey organisms lack anti-predator defenses

•They grow rapidly and compete with other plants or animals

•They produce large numbers of seeds/offspring at a young age

Species diversity in ecosystems changes over time
Mass extinctions

Extinction = Loss of species (i.e. no longer exist)

Functional extinction !!!!

Functional extinction
• only a reduced number of individuals are left
• population no longer viable - no longer plays a significant role
in ecosystem function
– chances of reproduction are very low
Extinction vortex – a model of downward spiral of population decline from
which it can not naturally recover, can be caused by inbreeding & genetic drift

Note: All species have a minimal

population size [= minimum viable
population]
 Committee on the status of endangered wildlife in Canada
COSEWIC
•A group of academics, consultants and non-governmental organization
biologists
COSEWIC meets and
assesses the risk status
of wildlife species twice
per year, in November
and April, and reports
the results of these
assessments to the
Minister of the
Environment and
Climate Change Canada
 Species’ status: They can be described as -
Extinct = a species that has disappeared/been lost globally
Extirpated = a species that has disappeared/been lost locally (region)

- 5 bird & 5 mammal spp. known to be present in Canada when Europeans

arrived are now extinct or extirpated as of 2011

sea mink (Mustela macradon)

greater prairie chicken globally extinct – end 19th century
(Trympanuchus cupido)
great auk (Pinguinus impennis)
Extirpated in Canada – 1980’s
globally extinct – end 19th century
 Species’ status: They can be described as -

Endangered = a species that is facing imminent extirpation or extinction

Threatened = a species likely to become endangered in nothing is done to
reverse the factors causing its decline
Special concern = a species that may become threatened or endangered
because of a combination of biological characteristics & identified threats

Not at risk = species not at risk of extinction under

current circumstances

• Approximately one-third of all Canadian mammals are listed as

endangered, threatened or of special concern
 Beluga whale
(Delphinapterus leucas)
endangered species

• In eastern Hudson Bay has declined by 50% since 1985

• predicted to go extinct within 20 years, if hunting levels not reduced

•Video: facts about Beluga whale

•https://int.search.tb.ask.com/search/video.jhtml?searchfor=Beluga+whale+in+dangered+&n=7839e7c8&p2=%5EBSB%5Exdm008%5ETTAB02%5Eca&ptb=D766C310-F070-
42CC-B0EB-54BE866E8B40&qs=&si=CMLi9tThr9QCFQgKaQodyVICOw&ss=sub&st=sb&tpr=sbt&ts=1522637059088
 Swift fox
(Vulpes velox)
threatened species

• Extirpated in 1928
• Seventy years later – reintroduced to southern Saskatchewan
• Population grew > 600 individuals
• 2009 status changed from endangered to threatened
 Extinction rates (natural average) - World

§Background extinction rate: Normal extinction of various species as a

result of changes in local environmental conditions.
§Rate of species loss in the absence of human activities
§The average extinction rate is about 9% of species per million years.
§Average extinction rate are estimated: 1 to 10 species/5 years

Contemporary (current) extinction rates:

Believed that human activity has increased extinction rate by a factor of
1,000 -10,000 times
Since the year 1600, approx. 1000 species have become extinct
Contemporary (current) extinction rates: For example

For birds, natural extinction rates is 1-2 bird species per

100 years (up to the year 1800)
Contemporary (current) extinction rates: For example

For birds, natural extinction rates is 1-2 bird species per 100 years
(up to the year 1800)
However, since 1800, 106 species have been lost when only 2 to 4 species
should have been lost, i.e. 50 times the background extinction rate
 Contemporary (current) extinction rates: For example

Biodiversity crisis – In the past 100 years 20 species of mammals

and over 40 species of birds have gone extinct

Growth of human population is linked to number of extinctions

 Conservation of Biodiversity
Why should we conserve/protect biodiversity?
1. Intrinsic – valuable for its own sake
Ethical responsibility to protect what are our only known
companions in the universe
Humans derive enormous psychological/aesthetic benefits
through preserving biodiversity

2. Instrumental – beneficial to humans

- humans depend on plants, animals, algae and microorganisms

for a wide range of food, medicine, and industrial products

- Many of these species are threatened or endangered

Rosy periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus)
- 1970’s researchers discovered that this plant,
which grows on the island of Madagascar (off
Africa), contains alkaloids that inhibit cancer
cell growth

§ This discovery led to treatments for 2

deadly forms of cancer [Hodgkin’s
lymphoma & childhood leukemia] – results
in disease decrease in most cases

- Five related spp. of periwinkle on island (one approaching extinction)

loss of these species -------------> loss of any possible medical benefits they
may offer
Conservation of Biodiversity

• Why should we conserve biodiversity?

§Losing species can threaten the functioning of ecosystems

§Extinctions deprive the scientific community opportunities to study and

understand ecological relationships among organisms

Ecotourism: Environmentally responsible travel to natural areas

To support conservation efforts and observe wildlife.
Conservation of Biodiversity
• How can we conserve biodiversity ?
- Establish corridors that connect habitat fragments
Conservation of Biodiversity
• How can we conserve biodiversity?
§ Establishing protected areas
protecting biodiversity hotspots
creating nature reserves or zoned reserves
§ Restoring destroyed ecosystems to a natural state
-Bioremediation (use of organisms to detoxify polluted ecosystems)
- Biological growth (uses organisms to add essential materials to an ecosystem)
 Anthropogenic causes/threats of biodiversity loss
= an effect resulting from human activity
1. Habitat loss (destruction)- the most direct threat to biodiversity
2. Over-exploitation / over-harvesting
3. Introduction of species into an area
4. Global changes
- releasing toxins into environment [pollution]
- greenhouse gases & global warming
- depletion of atmospheric ozone
Habitat loss
Caused by demand for spaces for agriculture (crops & livestock),
constructions & mining (need for roads to access sites)

Example: Deforestation causes habitat destruction

Ø some animals and plants are forced into confined areas

populations of some species that are too small to survive

Ø approximately 98% of tropical dry forests of Central America &

Mexico have been cleared (cut down)
 Habitat loss

IUCN [International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural

Resources] shows that destruction of physical habitat ð73% of
the species that have become, extinct endangered or rare in last
few hundred years
 Habitat loss (cont.) State of Vernacruz (Mexico)
- more than 90% forest gone (isolated
patches remain)

- major threat to aquatic biodiversity

93% of coral reefs (earth’s most species rich
aquatic communities) have been
damaged by human activities
- at current rate of destruction, in the next
30-40 years, 40-50% of coral reefs will
disappear: home, to one-third of all marine fish species
 Over-exploitation Martha
Over-hunting

Giant tortoise (abingdoni subspecies)

dodo passenger pigeon Lonesome George: last Pinta Is.
giant tortoise died June 20th
- was once the most numerous bird on the 2014 (aged ≈ 100 yrs)
planet (forests of Nth. America east of
1800’s & 1900’s – sailors &
the Rockies)
pirates hunted large nos. of
- 19th century 1-4 billion birds (40% of all
these animals [food & oil]
birds in Nth America; over-hunted but
also affect of habitat destruction (loss of Subsequent loss of habitat by
nesting sites). grazing of introduced species
(pigs & goats)
Flightless bird, endemic to Mauritius
(island Indo-Pacific); by 1681 all dodos had
had been killed for fresh food by sailors.
Introduced dogs, cats & rats ----> extinct
Introduced and invasive species
Humans are constantly moving species between continents, islands
- deliberate or accidental
- some introduced species become “invasive” species Greater risk of
local extinction (= extirpation) on Islands or in confined ecosystems

Argentinian Ant
(Linepithema humile)

• Accidentally introduced into the USA

• Decimated the native ants species in California
• Exhibits low intraspecific competition, form large colonies, ecologically
very dominant species
 Stephen’s Island Wren (Xenicus
lyalli) 2.6 km 2

• Fossils showed this species was common in NZ

• in 1890’s only 10 pairs of this flightless bird left on
Stephen’s Island
• Now extinct
• 1984 – Lighthouse constructed
• Tibbles the cat killed all the birds
 Mosquitoes Ticks

Vectors of human and/or animal pathogens

Effects of climate change
Changes in species distributions:
increased risk of exposure to
Arthropod:
humans and animals
• metabolism
• reproduction
• survival
 Extinction is a process
mass extinction ?
opposite to speciation
contemporary extinction
attributed to human activity

Mass extinction: Is a relatively sudden, global decrease in the diversity of

large number of species within a relatively short period of geological time