3-4: Biodiversity

Pre-Class Preparation

Objectives

Procedure

1. Read the summary information.

   Class images

2. Take the summary information quiz. Quizzes are available from your portfolio.

3. Additional Related Reading. Although you are not ultimately responsible for content listed in this section, we encourage you to fully explore the links in order to provide a better scope on the upcoming class discussion.

Class Discussion

• Problem to ponder...
  

• Class Discussion Summary:

  Summary Prepared by: Meghan Buckley and Jessica Decker

  Humans depend on biodiversity for techniques to increase crop yields, pharmaceutical drugs, natural wood, tourism, fishing, etc. Some of the things that affect biodiversity include fragmentation of landscapes, intensifying of agriculture and grazing, non-point source pollution, loss of or decrease in population of a species, over-exploitation, invasive (non-native) species, pollution/toxification, and climate changes. Fragmentation can be both negative and positive as some species need continuous space, but isolation is part of the process to make new species. In order to make informed and appropriate regulations, policy makers need to know

  • Economic services provided by threatened species,
    
  • Opportunities for economic benefit,
    
  • Benefits vs. cost of preservation, and
    
  • Rates of extinction (present/predicted vs. natural).

  Biodiversity purifies water, acts as a sink for atmospheric pollutants, regulates stream flow and diseases, provides a plant-pollinator system, and is resilient to stress caused by extremes (drought, floods, insect outbreaks, etc.). The economic value of ecosystem services is hard to calculate but includes new products, materials, food crops, genetic engineering, and the possibility to harness processes at the most fundamental levels of biological structure. Loss of or decrease in population of an individual species can affect the rates of nutrient cycling within a system, but this effect cannot be predicted well. Rates of losses are now 50 to 100 times greater than background rates, and this is expected to rise to as much as 10,000 times the natural level. However, the total number of species is unknown. About 2 million are currently described, and estimates range from 8 to 50 million total species. Online discussion follows three major threads. The class discussed human impacts on and human causes of biodiversity loss. Factors like arrogance, ignorance and greed have contributed. Greed and arrogance are seen by humans' belief that they should be able to exploit other species for their benefit. Ignorance is seen when new technology or practices are harmful in unexpected ways. Originally burning a little rainforest seemed like a good idea but its gotten out of control by people who don't know better.

  Another leading concern was species loss. One thing discussed at length was attempts at preservation; most students were undecided about this and able to see both benefits and downfalls without being sure which was the stronger argument. Many mentioned that the most adaptable species are also the most desirable.

  Finally a few mentioned alien species invasions and the problems it caused in the Great Lakes, national parks and some other areas.

Post-Class Activities

• Participate in the electronic dialog. Use this forum for:
  • continuing class discussion;
  • posing new questions to students or the instructor;
  • responding to issues/questions raised by students in class/electronic dialog.

• Recommended Reading Materials

  Biodiversity: Connecting with the Tapestry of Life, Smithsonian Institution Monitoring and Assessment of Biodiversity Program.

• References

  	UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
  	Jousson, O., J. Pawlowski, L. Zaninetti, F. W. Zechman, F. Dini, G. Di Guiseppe, R. Woodfield, A. Miller, and A. Meinesz, 2000: Invasive alga reaches Califoria. Nature 408, 157-158.
  	Showstack, R., 2000: Lake Michigan faces exotic species, dune sand mining, other challenges. EOS 81, 514-518.
  	Ruiz, G. M., T. K. Rawlings, F. C. Dobbs, L. A. Drake, T. Mullady, A. Hug and R. R. Colwell, 2000: Global spread of microorganisms by ships. Nature 408, 49-50.
  	Smith, S. D., T. E. Huzman, S. F. Zitzer, T. N. Charlet, D. C. Housman, J. S. Coleman, L. K. Fenstermaker, J. R. Seemann, and R. S. Nowak, 2000: Elevated CO2 increases produticity and invasive species success in an arid ecosystem. Nature 408, 79-82.
  	Calloway, R. M., and E. T. Aschehoug, 2000: Invasive plants versus their new and old neighbors: A mechanism for exotic invasions. Science 290, 521-523.
  	Bisby, R. A, 2000: The quiet revolution: Biodiversity informatics and the internet. Science 289, 2309-2312.
  	Edwards, J. L., M. A. Lane, E. S. Nielsen, 2000: Interoperability of biodiversity databases: Biodiversity information on every desktop. Science 289, 2312-2314.
  	Invasive Species Specialist Group
  	The Nation's Invasive Species Information System
  	The Amazing Story of Kudzu
  	Zebra Mussel Habitat Expansion
  	Zebra Mussels Colonizing Bottom of Lake Erie
  	Sea Grant Nonindigenous Species Site
  	Climate Change Information Kit
  	Biodiversity Glossary of Terms
  	CSERGE Publications