How Can We Help Save Biodiversity?

Conservation of Endangered Species

Endangered Species Top Ten List!

According to the World Wildlife Federation, the following are the ten most endangered species on earth….

#10 – The mako shark

#9 – Green-cheeked parrot

# 8 – Big leaf mahogany

# 7 – Hawksbill Turtle

# 6 – Alligator Snapping Turtle

# 5 - Goldenseal

# 4 – Beluga sturgeon

# 3 - Tiger

# 2 – Giant panda

# 1 The black rhinoceros

Conservation Biology What is it? What are the concepts that guide it?

Large habitats are more effective at safeguarding species that several habitat fragments

Large areas of habitat typically have the potential to support greater species richness.

It is better if areas of habitat for a given species are located close together rather than far apart.

Conservation Biology Areas that are inaccessible to humans

are better than human accessible areas. It is more effective and more economical

to preserve intact ecosystems in which many species live than to work on preserving individual species one at a time.

Higher priority is given to preserving areas that are more biologically diverse than others. (Remember the Hot Spots?)

Three Techniques of Conservation BiologyEcosystem Approach In situ conservation

Protecting habitats Restoring damaged or destroyed habitats Preserve balanced populations of species

in their native habitat Establish legally protected wilderness

areas and wildlife reserves Eliminate or reduce the populations of

nonative species

Three Techniques of Conservation Biology

Species Approach Identify endangered species and give

them legal protection Preserve and manage crucial habitats Ex situ conservation

Zoos, aquarai, botanical gardens, seed banks

Reintroducing endangered species to nature

Three Techniques of Conservation Biology

Wildlife Management Approach Manages game species by:

Using laws to regulate hunting Establishing harvest quotas Developing population management

plans Using international treaties to protect

migrating game species such as waterfowl

Wildlife Refuges Teddy Roosevelt established

Pelican Island off Florida’s Atlantic coast as the 1st wildlife refuge to protect the brown pelican (1903)

Now have 508 refuges, 85% are in Alaska

¾ are wetlands for protection of migratory waterfowl

Bioinformatics

Organizing and storing useful biological information about wild species

Provides computer tools to find, visualize, analyze, and communicate biological information

Laws, Acts, and Organizations

CITIES Lacey Act Endangered Species Act Wild Bird Conservation Act Magnuson Fisheries Management

and Conservation Act

International Protection

CITIES: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (1975) Signed by 136 countries and list

about 700 species that cannot be commercially traded as live specimens or wildlife products because they are endangered or threatened.

United States

Lacey Act (1900) Prohibits transporting live or dead

wild animals or their parts across state borders without a federal permit

Endangered Species Act (1973) Endangered or threatened species

cannot be hunted, killed, collected or injured in the United States

Rules of the Endangered Species Act National Marine Fisheries Services

(NMFS) identifies and list endangered and threatened ocean species.

U.S. fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) identifies and list all other endangered and threatened species.

Adding or removing a species from the list must be based on biology, not economic or political reasons

Rules of the Endangered Species Act

Forbids federal agencies to carry out, fund, or authorize projects that would either jeopardize, destroy or modify the critical habitat.

Fines and jail sentences can be imposed on private lands to ensure protection of the habitats of endangered species.

Rules of the Endangered Species Act There are over 1100 species on the list

– 60% are plants and 40 % are animals. Hawaii leads this list (298+). Each year about 85 species are added to the list

Requires all commercial shipments of wildlife and wildlife products enter or leave the country through one of nine designated ports.

Wild Bird Conservation Act

Imposed a moratorium on importing rare bird species

Magnuson Fisheries Management and Conservation Act

Gives the federal government authority to manage fisheries in the zone between 3 and 200 miles off the U.S. shore. There is no limit on the number of U.S. fishing vessels, but quotas can be imposed on the quantity of fish taken.

Other Solutions

Debt-For-Nature Swap Page 670 (old book

Biosphere reserves Page 633 (old book)

Reintroduction of endangered species