Conservation of Biodiversity

Conservation of Biodiversity

• Focuses on biodiversity's existence in many forms
• Biodiversity consists of the variety of life found in an area and is best in reasonable numbers
• A healthy ecosystem consists of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms
• Ecosystem diversity has the largest viewpoint, for example, the Great Barrier Reef
• Individual reefs connected share waters, and species found differ between reefs
• Ecosystem biodiversity is high; providing stability with high species and genetic diversity
• Species diversity is the second largest viewpoint, divided into species richness and evenness
• Species richness consists of the number of different species
• Species evenness consists of the relative abundance of each single species and species proportion
• A healthy ecosystem has both richness and evenness, giving species evenness more importance
• Genetic diversity is the lowest viewpoint.
• Individuals with greater genetic diversity, having a large gene pool with all allele/gene types of a population, are more likely to survive change and environmental pressures
• Larger populations have higher genetic diversity, while small populations struggle with it
• Has biodiversity changed over time
• Biodiversity has increased compared to the past
• The rate of extinction can be traced back to human activity
• Speciation, or the formation of new species, is part of evolution
• A higher total number of species occurs when speciation is bigger than extinction
• Anthropogenic species extinction is extinction caused by human activity
• Mass extinctions include the asteroid strike that killed dinosaurs 65 million years ago
• Earth is facing the sixth mass extinction due to anthropogenic species
• Case studies include the North Island giant moas and the Caribbean monk seals
• Loss of whole ecosystems and species extinction leads to loss of genetic diversity
• Case studies include the loss of the mixed dipterocarp forest in Southeast Asia
• Other causes include clear cutting and monoculture
• Important to use reliable sources on ecologically critical issues with valid data
• Surveys of biodiversity need to be repeated to provide evidence of change
• IPBES provides scientific guidance for policy makers, providing global extinction risk
• IUCN Red List is a continuously updated list of the world's threatened species
• Causes of biodiversity loss include increasing human population due to birth rate
• This then leads to needing more resources and more pollution
• Resources are sourced from ecosystems that damage biodiversity.
• Over-exploitation, hunting, deforestation, monoculture, pollution, invasive species, urbanization, and spread of disease have a negative impact on biodiversity
• Management approaches are needed for unique biodiversity issues
• In situ efforts include managing natural areas, national parks, and nature reserves
• Rewilding damaged areas regenerates wildlife and increases biodiversity
• Reclamation of degraded landscapes aims to rebuild and replant ecosystems
• Ex situ involves breeding programs and botanic gardens
• Seed and animal tissue banks safely store germplasm for restoration efforts
• The EDGE of existence programme selects evolutionary distinct species
• These selected species are promoted for priority status in conservation programmes.
• Process: consultation of IUCN red list, score of endangeredness is then evaluated for evolutionary history
• Prioritize species that are the most endangered and most evolutionarily unique
• Aims to inform governments, organizations, and local populations of ecological peril of different species.

Adaptation to the Environment

• A habitat is a place where organisms live with basic needs such as shelter, food, water, oxygen and light
• A community habitat provides a community of species
• Described by geographical/physical location and by type of ecosystem
• Organisms share habitats where each has an impact
• Adaptation to the abiotic environment consists of the sand dune grass species, sea oats
• Maximize water through drought resistance and root system and reduce transpiration
• Mangrove tree species are the red mangrove
• Prop roots absorb oxygen and roots filter out salt along with protecting the habitat
• Abiotic factors are non-living components of an ecosystem like water availability, soil composition, temperature, light and salinity
• Distribution of living organisms is dependent on many abiotic factors.
• A limiting factor is when an abiotic factor is outside of an organism's tolerance
• Semi-natural habitats are dominated by wild species although may have been influenced by humans
• Transects lay a scaled line along the area and count the organism of interest
• Line transects and belt transects are used to determine if and when an organism is present
• Coral reefs contain 25% of all marine species and are the result of symbiotic relationships with algae
• Ocean acidity impacts coral growth and calcium carbonate is important
• Other factors in coral reefs consist of water depth, water temperature, salinity, and water clarity
• Biomes and Communities
• A biome is a larger geographical area that contains plants and animals that have adapted
• This determined by dominant vegetation type
• They are characterised by temperature and rainfall levels
• Any one type of biome can be scattered across many different places
• Plants and animals have similar morphology and physiology that have little genetic similarity
• Convergent evolution occurs when organisms solve an environmental problem by independent genetic adaptions
• Similiar species have similar genes and common ancestors, and adaptions work best because abiotic conditions are similar

Biomes

• Different communities that include climatic conditions and climate adaptions
• Hot Deserts have low, hot annual rainfall
• Grasslands have semiarid climates and temperature vary depending on latitude
• Tundras have cold, low precipitation and dark winters
• Taiga/conifer forests have cold winters and high precipitation
• Temperate forests have four seasons and have year-round precipitation
• Tropical forests have high rainfall and warm temperatures but poor soil

Desert and Tropical Rainforest Adaptations

• The Saguaro cactus has waxy skin, bristles, and massive roots.
• Fennec fox dissipates heat and avoids predators
• The Kapok tree needs abundant growth and creates competition
• Poison-dart frogs have toxic, bright skin acting a warning
• Ecological Niches
  • A niche is the unique role a species plays relating to spatial habitat and role in nature
  • Aspects of the habitat are abiotic factors
  • Biotic factors interactions include feeding relationships, shelter provision, presence of parasites
• Interactions are complex and include health, growth, reproduction, and survival rate
• How well a species reacts to the presence of tolerance in its environment
  • Aerobic respiration requires oxygen, anaerobic does not require oxygen
  • Obligate and facultative anaerobes react differently to oxygen
  • Obligate aerobes die in a reduced amount of oxygen
  • Photosynthesis uses air and water to create food
  • Organisms that cannot make food must eat others for nutrition and getting nutrients
  • Mixotrophic nutrition requires making one's own food as well as using others
  • Obligate mixotrophs need both systems while facultative primarily uses one
  • Saprotrophs or decomposers release important digestible enzymes and use molecules
• Nutrition in archaea includes chemosynthesis and heterotrophic nutrition

Tooth System Adaptions

• Humans are primates in the family of Hominidae and an organism's diet can be determined by teeth form
• Incisors cut bite-sized pieces, while canines rip tougher materials
• Premolars crush and slice up while molars grind food into paste
• Folivores are leaf eaters, and Frugivores eat fruit
• Orangutans are mostly fruit and insects while gorillas eats plant material
• Herbivores have large incisors and wide premolars and molars
• Omnivores have rounded premolars while carnivores have pointy incisors and canines
• Herbivores adapted to eat plant material
  • Aphids use modified mouthparts called stylets while grasshoppers use pinching mandibles
  • Herbivores like cows use back teeth to grind, breaking down cellulose
• Thorns and spikes deter herbivores
  • Silica causes stinging feelings
  • Phytotoxins produces nausea

Predator/Prey Adaptions

• Chemical adaptions lure or immobilise the prey
• Black mamba toxins paralyze its prey -Physical adaptions require senses like sight, smell, and echolocation
• Bats and Dolphins echolocation detect ultrasonic vibration
• Shark organs in their head detect electromagnetic fields
• Behavioral Adaptions
• Ambush Predators rely on hiding
• Pack Hunting requires teamwork for food -Pursuit Predators relies on speed for food
• Preyed resist predation with chemical and physical adaptions, along with warning vocalizations
• Often travel in packs -Harvesting the light from trees
  • Chloroplasts are concentrated on the top of the surface -Lianas are vines that disrupt sunlight for trees,
    • Epiphytes and Hemi-epiphytes use tree support.

Niche Stability

• Fundamental Niche determines an organism's tolerance level with adaptions
• Realized includes competition the species actually inhabits
• One main competitor will often replace the other
• Ecological organization looks at transfers of energy and matter in an open system
• Seeds are taken from trees, energy enters from sunlight, and open systems recycle matter
• The system's theory is used to predict certain scenarios with elements acting in the environment

Ecosystems

• They sustain from either sunlight or hydrothermal vents
• All life relies on sunlight, but photosynthesis is a process using chemical bonds.
• The flow of energy consists of links between abiotic and biotic environments referred to as producers who transform air and water into food
• Consumers eat producers, creating food chains and webs Def: food chain: shows energy and where it flows with species Def: food web: displays how multiple food chains are connected
• Saprotrophs and Detrivores break down non-living matter and release the energy for plant growth
  • Humus
    • Make their own organic molecules/Photoautotrophs/Carbon Fixation/Chemoautotrophs
    • Also known as producers
• Electrons are needed for ATP formation and Oxidation reactions
  • ATP is used with carbon dioxide to generate the organic molecule glucose
  • Chemosynthesis uses oxidation reactions instead of sunlight
• Heterotrophs obtain energy eating organic molecules from other organisms
  • Release of energy in cellulose respirations
• Trophic Levels indicate organisms with the energy in the system
• Energy Level is the highest production with producers and reduces as energy is released

Pyramids

• Sunlight affects Biomass Levels and the transfer from low to high energy with higher level organisms feeding on multiples of lower trophic levels
• Trophic Biomes have various Biomes that have differing energy levels which effect each other down the trophic levels
• the amount of carbon in the cycle impacts carbon relationships between autotrophs and atmosphere
• Various organic carbons are important regarding decay
• Fossil fuels provide energy as coal, crude oil, and natural gas
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) records Carbon Dioxide
• The dependence on carbon dioxide affects relationships between autotrophs and heterotrophs

Elements for Life

• All elements are recycled with solar energy
• Stable ecosystems cycle nutrients, are genetically diverse, and have abiotic factors
• Stability of natural ecosystems rely on steady energy with plant species
• Nutrient Recycling protects against earth-shattering events affecting populations
• Ecosystems respond and adapt to climate change; however, human activities are breaking those boundaries
• Ecosystems that are unable to do so reach tipping points and can either repair themselves

Mesocosms

• Mesocosms support living environments with extreme situations
• Various bacteria form which is based upon waste production and resource availability
  • Aerobic and Anerobic bacteria
• Keystone Species in charge of certain impacts caused but not their effect
  • Species have high number and activity
  • Losing a keystone predator can cause trophic cascade and negatively affect its ecosystem. such as forest browning
  • Natural and sustainable harvesting leads to low replacement rates

Harvest

• Chilean Sea bass are known as Patagonian Tooth Fish and are over-harvested. Regulating how many fish is caught changed.
• Black Cherry Trees are grown in Allegheny and cutting them down to save the area. Choosing which Cherry Trees to grow changed.
• Sustainability needs to reduce Soil Erosion
• Fertility is reduced because sources are often limited; using fertilizers as a fix is unsustainable
• Pollution and Carbon Footprint has to be managed in Agrochemicals

Pollution

• Clearing forest as transportation
• Eutrophication occurs when excessive nutrients are in the water
• Nutrients grow the algae and the species die
• When oxygen is depleted, animals die of BOD.
• Biomagnification occurs when the organisms are towards the top of food and harmful substances stay on the outside Mercury and DDT.

Plastics

• Plastic remains in the environment
• Types include macroplastics and microplastics, which lead to diseases to humans
• Plastics are ingested by marine life and cause massive wildlife death -Rewilding protects wilderness as ecosystem with reintroduced Keystone species, and limited agriculture and hunting and -Climate Changes occur for energy and heat and leads to weather and rain

Gases

• Various Gases affect the Atmosphere -Global Warming: - When animals die, carbon dioxide breaks them down due to sunlight intake affects. -Positive Loops - Need to remain balanced and due to global heat, the effect in offbalanced. - Albedo which helps with the reflection in the snow and when it diminishes global warming starts.
  • The El Nino Oscillation is between south America and Indonesia. Climate change raises its severity.

Tipping Points

• Snow effects lead to forests drying
  • Carbon travels through the soil -Range shifts occur from migrating north, but sometimes south There are certain limits to move with climate change for animals.
• Carbon Sequestration helps take away carbon out of the environment.
• Reforestation and afforestation.
• Wetlands help stop climate change.
• Definitions for -open and closed ecosystems, a food web

Population

• Size estimates relies on samples and individuals with methods in place.
• Quadrat: the sampling of sessile organisms
• Motile: sample is captured marked and released .
• Lincoln Index -total