17: Conservation and Biodiversity
Biologists recognize that human populations are embedded in ecosystems and are dependent on them, just as is every other species on the planet. Agriculture began after early hunter-gatherer societies first settled in one place and heavily modified their immediate environment: the ecosystem in which they existed. This cultural transition has made it difficult for humans to recognize their dependence on living things other than crops and domesticated animals on the planet. Today our technology smoothes out the extremes of existence and allows many of us to live longer, more comfortable lives, but ultimately the human species cannot exist without its surrounding ecosystems.
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- 17.1: Introduction
- Biologists estimate that species extinctions are currently 500–1000 times the rate seen previously in Earth’s history when there were no unusual geological or climatic events occurring. Biologists call the previous rate the “background” rate of extinction. The current high rates will cause a precipitous decline in the biodiversity (the diversity of species) of the planet in the next century or two. The losses will include many species we know today. Although it is sometimes difficult to predict
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- 17.2: Importance of Biodiversity
- Biodiversity exists at multiple levels of organization, and is measured in different ways depending on the goals of those taking the measurements. These include numbers of species, genetic diversity, chemical diversity, and ecosystem diversity. The number of described species is estimated to be 1.5 million with about 17,000 new species being described each year. Estimates for the total number of eukaryotic species on Earth vary but are on the order of 10 million.
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- 17.3: Threats to Biodiversity
- The core threats to biodiversity are human population growth and unsustainable resource use. To date, the most significant causes of extinction are habitat loss, introduction of exotic species, and overharvesting. Climate change is predicted to be a significant cause of extinction in the coming century. Habitat loss occurs through deforestation, damming of rivers, and other activities.
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- 17.4: Preserving Biodiversity
- Five mass extinctions with losses of more than 50 percent of extant species are observable in the fossil record. Recent extinctions are recorded in written history and are the basis for one method of estimating contemporary extinction rates. The other method uses measures of habitat loss and species-area relationships. Estimates of contemporary extinction rates vary but are as high as 500 times the background rate, as determined from the fossil record, and are predicted to rise.
Thumbnail: A blue starfish and corals at the Cairns Aquarium in Australia.(CC0 License; David Clode , via Unsplash )