Biodiversity - Science Articles

Consequences of Changing Biodiversity

Interesting Quotes

“Fossil-fuel combustion and deforestation have increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) by 30% in the past three centuries (with more than half of this increase occurring in the past 40 years).”

“We have more than doubled the concentration of methane and increased concentrations of other gases that contribute to climate warming.”

“In the next century these greenhouse rate as a consequence of human activities. Already we have caused the extinction of 5–20% of the species in many groups of organisms and current rates of extinction are estimated to be 100 1,000 times greater than pre-human rates.”

“In the absence of major changes in policy and human behavior, our effects on the environment will continue to alter biodiversity.”

What the Article is About

The article included many informing graphs, such a a graph on the global number of species of birds, mammals, fish and plants that are currently threatened with extinction. Other included graphs showed the ecosystem and societal consequences of change in biodiversity over time.The article is also about how the human impact on the world and how it has triggered the sixth major extinction event in the history, causing so many disruptions in the natural environment. These changes in the biodiversity affected the ecosystems and led to many consequences for the free services we get from nature. We need to preserve our biodiversity for future global environmental problems.

Biodiversity Hotspots for Conservation Priorities

Interesting Quotes

“The 25 hotspots contain the remaining habitats of 133,149 plant species (44% of all plant species world-wide; Table 1) and 9,645 vertebrate species (35%; Table 2). These endemics are confined to an aggregate expanse of 2.1 million square kilometres, or 1.4% of the Earth's land surface. They formerly occupied 17.4 million square kilometres or 11.8% of the Earth's land surface. They are so threatened that, having already lost an aggregate of 88% of their primary vegetation, they all seem likely, in the absence of greatly increased conservation efforts, to lose much if not most of their remaining primary vegetation within the foreseeable future.”

“We could go far towards safeguarding the hotspots and thus a large proportion of all species at risk for an average of $20 million per hotspot per year over the next five years, or $500 million annually. Although this is 12.5 times the annual average of the $400 million spent on hotspots over the past decade, it is still only twice the cost of a single Pathfinder mission to Mars, which has been justified largely on biodiversity grounds (the search for extraterres-trial life). The $500 million annually is to be compared, moreover, with a recent estimate47 for a comprehensive conservation programme to protect biodiversity world-wide costing $300 billion annuallyÐa total that should, in turn, be compared with subsidies of various sorts that degrade environments and economies alike, amounting to $1.5 trillion annually world-wide.”

What the Article is About

This article was on 'biodiversity hotspots'. Conservationists can not assist all the species under a treat only due to lack of funding, which is why they mapped out the 'biodiversity hotspots' where concentrations of species are going through a large loss of habitat. The idea is to support the most species, at the least cost. As many as 44% of all species of vascular plants and 35% of all species in four vertebrate groups are confined to 25 hotspots comprising only 1.4% of the land surface of the Earth.

Citing My Sources

Chapin III, Stuart, Erika Zavaleta, Michelle Mack, Sandra Díaz, Valerie Eviner, Rosamond Naylor, Peter Vitousek, Heather Reynolds, David Hooper, Sandra Lavorel, Osvaldo Sala, and Sarah Hobbie. "Consequences of changing biodiversity ." Insightreview Articles 11 May 2000: 234-242. Print.

Myers, Norman, Russell Mittermeierē, Cristina Mittermeierē, Gustavo Fonsecaģ, and Jennifer Kent. "Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities ." Nature Feb. 2000: 1-6. Print.

Nathan Lewis Presentation Responce

In the attempts to go about our daily lives, we find ourselves in the midsts of a dying planet. What this means for us, is that our whole existence relies on our planet and all the biodiversity it offers. The problem is trying to figure out an eco-friendly and cheap way to get energy to satisfy the needs of the people. About 85 percent of all energy consumption (including the generation of electricity) comes from oil, gas and coal, with the world consuming about 13 trillion watts of energy every day. All which have let out tremendous amounts of CO2 into our atmosphere over the years. “Fossil energy is the lowest-cost energy we have on the planet today,” Lewis said. “Using the axis of optimization based on cost, it’s pretty clear cost optimization will lead us to rely almost exclusively on fossil energy for decades to come.”

By the 2050, the human population is expected to rise up to 10 billion people, which in hence, would double the demands for energy. What will this mean for the planet? “We won’t know until we open the door in 2050,” Lewis said. “We know at the rate we are going, assuming we conserve energy like never before, and if we have a pure natural gas economy, the carbon dioxide levels within our lifetime will be at least twice as high as anything that has been on our planet in the last million years.” We are at a point where we have to put money aside and do what is right for our planet for a change.

Climate and Biodiversity Senior Project Brainstorm

At first, I was interested in showing how negatively the world would be effected if the plants and animals we take for granted became extinct. But now, I feel like I can go much deeper with that idea by tracing it back to the cause of their extinction known as climate change, to the raised levels of C02, and all the way to humanity. I feel that it would be interesting to show how people can effect mother nature and change the natural courses of our planet. “As the climate continues to warm, major changes may occur in ecosystem structure and function, species’ ecological interactions, and species’ geographic ranges, with predominantly negative consequences for biodiversity.”

Climate change has an effect on every aspect of our planet. A few degree change can mean consequences for our biodiversity. We are endangering the lives of many plants and animals because we are changing their natural habitat at such a fast rate, biodiversity does not have enough time to adapt. Climate change does not only hurt us, plants, and animals, but along with our water resources, natural disasters, and energy as well. “Human societies depend on ecosystems for the natural, cultural, spiritual, recreational and aesthetic resources they provide.”

In one of the articles I read, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reviewed relevant published studies of biological systems and found out that 20 %to 30% of species assessed may be at risk of extinction from climate change impacts within this century if global mean temperatures exceed 2-3 °C (3.6-5.4 °F) relative to pre-industrial levels. With the levels of CO2 rising, it is our duty to bring it back down and fix the mistakes we have made in the past. We have so many natural resources such as plants and animals that we take for granted and put at stake.“By 2100 ecosystems will be exposed to atmospheric CO2 levels substantially higher than in the past 650,000 years, and global temperatures at least among the highest as those experienced in the past 740,000 years. This will alter the structure, reduce biodiversity and perturb functioning of most ecosystems, and compromise the services they currently provide.”

In the documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” Al Gore presents his ideas across in a manner that I found highly affective. I have already began to brainstorm ideas for my senior project using similar tactics seen in the movie. I want to create my own documentary that is entertaining, insightful, informative, and inspiring. I want to show the public exactly what they are doing to our environment and take off the ignorant blind fold that our nation has covered our eyes with for so long. I feel that it is the right of the people to know why climate change this is a big issue, how it will affect our lives and the lives of other human beings, and what we can do to prevent it from getting worse.

Cites and Annotated Resources

Article 1

"Frequent Questions - Effects | Climate Change | U.S. EPA." U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. N.p., 8 Sept. 2009. Web. 9 Feb. 2010. .

Good Quotes

“As the climate continues to warm, major changes may occur in ecosystem structure and function, species’ ecological interactions, and species’ geographic ranges, with predominantly negative consequences for biodiversity.”

What the Article was About

Climate change has an effect on every aspect of our planet. A few degree change can mean consequences for our biodiversity. We are endangering the lives of many plants and animals because we are changing their natural habitat at such a fast rate, biodiversity does not have enough time to adapt. Climate change does not only hurt us, plants, and animals, but along with our water resources, natural disasters, and energy as well.

Article 2

"Ecosystems and Biodiversity | Climate Change - Health and Environmental Effects | U.S. EPA." U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. N.p., 8 Sept. 2009. Web. 11 Feb. 2010. .

Good Quotes

“Climate change is a factor that has the potential to alter ecosystems and the many resources and services they provide to each other and to society.”

“Human societies depend on ecosystems for the natural, cultural, spiritual, recreational and aesthetic resources they provide.”

“Climate is an integral part of ecosystems and organisms have adapted to their regional climate over time.”

“By 2100 ecosystems will be exposed to atmospheric CO2 levels substantially higher than in the past 650,000 years, and global temperatures at least among the highest as those experienced in the past 740,000 years. This will alter the structure, reduce biodiversity and perturb functioning of most ecosystems, and compromise the services they currently provide.”

What the Article was About

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reviewed relevant published studies of biological systems and found out that 20 %to 30% of species assessed may be at risk of extinction from climate change impacts within this century if global mean temperatures exceed 2-3 °C (3.6-5.4 °F) relative to pre-industrial levels. Biodiversity has such a huge impact on humanity because we depend on it for everything. With the levels of CO2 rising, it is our duty to bring it back down and fix the mistakes we have made in the past. We have so many natural resources such as plants and animals that we take for granted and put at stake.

Article 3

ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 11, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/01/090121091239.htm

Interesting Quotes

“The critical thing is to protect the forests surrounding the mountain, so that the lowland species are able to reach the cooler conditions that they may need,”

What the Article was About

Three undergraduates who studied moths on Mount Kinabalu in Borneo, initialized the new research that discovered that on average, the species had moved uphill by about 67 meters over the years to cope with changes in climate. That was the first demonstration that “climate change is affecting the distributions of tropical insects, the most numerous group of animals on Earth, thus representing a major threat to global biodiversity”. As the moths migrate higher up the mountain, they have less space and suitable habitats to thrive, resulting in the deaths of many moths.