Habitat Loss

Humans rely on technology to modify their environment and replace certain functions that were once performed by the natural ecosystem. Other species cannot do this. Elimination of their habitat—whether it is a forest, coral reef, grassland, or flowing river—will kill the individuals in the species. Remove the entire habitat within the range of a species and, unless they are one of the few species that do well in human-built environments, the species will become extinct. Human destruction of habitats (habitats generally refer to the part of the ecosystem required by a particular species) accelerated in the latter half of the twentieth century. Consider the exceptional biodiversity of Sumatra: it is home to one species of orangutan, a species of critically endangered elephant, and the Sumatran tiger, but half of Sumatra’s forest is now gone. The neighboring island of Borneo, home to the other species of orangutan, has lost a similar area of forest. Forest loss continues in protected areas of Borneo. The orangutan in Borneo is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), but it is simply the most visible of thousands of species that will not survive the disappearance of the forests of Borneo. The forests are removed for timber and to plant palm oil plantations (Figure 7.8). Palm oil is used in many products including food products, cosmetics, and biodiesel. A 5-year estimate of global forest cover loss for the years from 2000 to 2005 was 3.1 percent. Much loss (2.4 percent) occurred in the humid tropics where forest loss is primarily from timber extraction. These losses certainly also represent the extinction of species unique to those areas.

Figure 7.8 An oil palm plantation in Sabah province Borneo, Malaysia, replaces native forest habitat that a variety of species depended on to live. (credit: Lian Pin Koh)

Habitat destruction can affect ecosystems other than forests. Rivers and streams are important ecosystems and are frequently the target of habitat modification through building and from damming or water removal. Damming of rivers affects flows and access to all parts of a river. Altering a flow regime can reduce or eliminate populations that are adapted to seasonal changes in flow. For example, an estimated 91 percent of river lengths in the United States have been modified with damming or bank modifications. Many fish species in the United States, especially rare species or species with restricted distributions, have seen declines caused by river damming and habitat loss. Research has confirmed that species of amphibians that must carry out parts of their life cycles in both aquatic and terrestrial habitats are at greater risk of population declines and extinction because of the increased likelihood that one of their habitats or access between them will be lost. This is of particular concern because amphibians have been declining in numbers and going extinct more rapidly than many other groups for a variety of possible reasons. Habitat destruction, even when undertaken on behalf of humans, can lead to negative effects for us as well. Excessive soil erosion after forest removal, for example, can remove fertile soil and make river water toxic. Scientists and conservationists such as Wangari Maathai, who founded the Green Belt movement in Kenya, focus on replanting trees to repair habitats and prevent damage from deforestation. Maathai was awarded a Nobel Prize for her work, but unfortunately passed away in 2011.

Overharvesting

Overharvesting is a serious threat to many species, but particularly to aquatic species. There are many examples of regulated fisheries (including hunting of marine mammals and harvesting of crustaceans and other species) monitored by fisheries scientists that have nevertheless collapsed. The western Atlantic cod fishery is the most spectacular recent collapse. While it was a hugely productive fishery for 400 years, the introduction of modern factory trawlers in the 1980s and the pressure on the fishery led to it becoming unsustainable. The causes of fishery collapse are both economic and political in nature. Most fisheries are managed as a common resource, available to anyone willing to fish, even when the fishing territory lies within a country’s territorial waters. Common resources are subject to an economic pressure known as the tragedy of the commons, in which fishers have little motivation to exercise restraint in harvesting a fishery when they do not own the fishery. The general outcome of harvests of resources held in common is their overexploitation.

For the most part, extinction in fisheries is not equivalent to biological extinction—the last fish of a species is rarely fished out of the ocean. But there are some instances in which true extinction is a possibility. Whales have slow-growing populations and are at risk of complete extinction through hunting. Also, there are some species of sharks with restricted distributions that are at risk of extinction. The groupers are another population of generally slow-growing fishes that, in the Caribbean, includes a number of species that are at risk of extinction from overfishing.

Coral reefs are extremely diverse marine ecosystems that face peril from several processes. Reefs are home to 1/3 of the world’s marine fish species—about 4000 species—despite making up only one percent of marine habitat. There are studies showing that populations of some species have declined in response to harvesting, indicating that the harvest is not sustainable at those levels. There are also concerns about the effect of the pet trade on some terrestrial species such as turtles, amphibians, birds, plants, and even the orangutans.

Bush meat is the generic term used for wild animals killed for food. Hunting practices in equatorial Africa and parts of Asia are believed to threaten several species with extinction. Traditionally, bush meat in Africa was hunted to feed families directly; however, recent commercialization of the practice now has bush meat available in grocery stores, which has increased harvest rates to the level of unsustainability.  Species threatened by the bush meat trade are mostly mammals including many monkeys and the great apes living in the Congo basin.

Exotic Species

Exotic species are species that have been intentionally or unintentionally introduced by humans into an ecosystem in which they did not evolve. Human transportation of people and goods, including the intentional transport of organisms for trade, has dramatically increased the introduction of species into new ecosystems. These new introductions are sometimes at distances that are well beyond the capacity of the species to ever travel itself and outside the range of the species’ natural predators.

Most exotic species introductions probably fail because of the low number of individuals introduced or poor adaptation to the ecosystem they enter. Some species, however, have characteristics that can make them especially successful in a new ecosystem. These exotic species often undergo dramatic population increases in their new habitat and reset the ecological conditions in the new environment, threatening the species that exist there. When this happens, the exotic species also becomes an invasive species. Invasive species can threaten other species through competition for resources, predation, or disease.

Lakes and islands are particularly vulnerable to extinction threats from introduced species. They are often home to species that have evolved in isolation from mainland populations. Because of this isolation, these endemic species have often not had to compete with other species for resources or defend against certain predators. This lack of competition and predation pressure may mean that these species have not developed the same level of defense mechanisms or competitive advantages that mainland species may have. In Lake Victoria, the intentional introduction of the Nile perch was largely responsible for the extinction of about 200 species of cichlids. The accidental introduction of the brown tree snake via aircraft (Figure 7.9) from the Solomon Islands to Guam in 1950 has led to the extinction of three species of birds and three to five species of reptiles endemic to the island. Several other species are still threatened. The brown tree snake is adept at exploiting human transportation as a means to migrate; one was even found on an aircraft arriving in Corpus Christi, Texas. Constant vigilance on the part of airport, military, and commercial aircraft personnel is required to prevent the snake from moving from Guam to other islands in the Pacific, especially Hawaii. Islands do not make up a large area of land on the globe, but they do contain a disproportionate number of endemic species because of their isolation from mainland ancestors.

Figure 7.9 The brown tree snake, Boiga irregularis, is an exotic species that has caused numerous extinctions on the island of Guam since its accidental introduction in 1950. (credit: NPS)

Early evidence suggests that a fungal pathogen, Geomyces destructans, introduced from Europe is responsible for white-nose syndrome, which infects cave-hibernating bats in eastern North America and has spread from a point of origin in western New York State (Figure 7.11). The disease has decimated bat populations and threatens extinction of species already listed as endangered: the Indiana bat, Myotis sodalis, and potentially the Virginia big-eared bat, Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus. How the fungus was introduced is unknown, but one logical presumption would be that recreational cavers unintentionally brought the fungus on clothes or equipment from Europe.

Figure 7.11 This little brown bat in Greeley Mine, Vermont, March 26, 2009, was found to have white-nose syndrome. (credit: modification of work by Marvin Moriarty, USFWS)

Climate Change

Climate change, and specifically the anthropogenic warming trend presently underway, is recognized as a major extinction threat, particularly when combined with other threats such as habitat loss. Anthropogenic warming of the planet has been observed and is hypothesized to continue due to past and continuing emission of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide and methane, into the atmosphere caused by the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. These gases decrease the degree to which Earth is able to radiate heat energy created by the sunlight that enters the atmosphere. The changes in climate and energy balance caused by increasing greenhouse gases are complex and our understanding of them depends on predictions generated from detailed computer models. Scientists agree the present warming trend is caused by humans and some of the likely effects include dramatic and dangerous climate changes in the coming decades. Scientists are not sure about the likely magnitude of the effects on extinction rates, with estimates ranging from 15 to 40 percent of species committed to extinction by 2050. Scientists do agree that climate change will alter regional climates, including rainfall and snowfall patterns, making habitats less hospitable to the species living in them. The warming trend will shift colder climates toward the north and south poles, forcing species to move with their adapted climate norms, but also to face habitat gaps along the way. The shifting ranges will impose new competitive regimes on species as they find themselves in contact with other species not present in their historic range. One such unexpected species contact is between polar bears and grizzly bears. Previously, these two species had separate ranges. Now, their ranges are overlapping and there are documented cases of these two species mating and producing viable offspring. Changing climates also throw off the delicate timing adaptations that species have to seasonal food resources and breeding times. Scientists have already documented many contemporary mismatches to shifts in resource availability and timing.

Range shifts are already being observed: for example, on average, European bird species ranges have moved 91 km (56.5 mi) northward. The same study suggested that the optimal shift based on warming trends was double that distance, suggesting that the populations are not moving quickly enough. Range shifts have also been observed in plants, butterflies, other insects, freshwater fishes, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals.

Climate gradients will also move up mountains, eventually crowding species higher in altitude and eliminating the habitat for those species adapted to the highest elevations. Some climates will completely disappear. The rate of warming appears to be accelerated in the arctic, which is recognized as a serious threat to polar bear populations that require sea ice to hunt seals during the winter months: seals are the only source of protein available to polar bears. A trend to decreasing sea ice coverage has occurred since observations began in the mid-twentieth century. The rate of decline observed in recent years is far greater than previously predicted by climate models (Figure 7.12).

Figure 7.12 The effect of global warming can be seen in the continuing retreat of Grinnell Glacier. The mean annual temperature in Glacier National Park has increased 1.33°C since 1900. The loss of a glacier results in the loss of summer meltwaters, sharply reducing seasonal water supplies and severely affecting local ecosystems. (credit: USGS, GNP Archives)

Finally, global warming will raise ocean levels due to meltwater from glaciers and the greater volume occupied by warmer water. Shorelines will be inundated, reducing island size, which will have an effect on some species, and a number of islands will disappear entirely. Additionally, the gradual melting and subsequent refreezing of the poles, glaciers, and higher elevation mountains—a cycle that has provided freshwater to environments for centuries—will be altered. This could result in an overabundance of salt water and a shortage of fresh water.

Conservation of Biodiversity

The threats to biodiversity at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels have been recognized for some time. In the United States, the first national park with land set aside to remain in a wilderness state was Yellowstone Park in 1890. However, attempts to preserve nature for various reasons have occurred for centuries. Today, the main efforts to preserve biodiversity include legislative approaches to regulate human and corporate behavior, setting aside protected areas, habitat restoration, and the roles of zoos.

Habitat Restoration

Habitat restoration holds considerable promise as a mechanism for maintaining or restoring biodiversity. Of course once a species has become extinct, its restoration is impossible. However, restoration can improve the biodiversity of degraded ecosystems. Reintroducing wolves, a top predator, to Yellowstone National Park in 1995 led to dramatic changes in the ecosystem that increased biodiversity. The wolves (Figure 7.18) function to suppress elk and coyote populations and provide more abundant resources to the guild of carrion eaters. Reducing elk populations has allowed revegetation of riparian (the areas along the banks of a stream or river) areas, which has increased the diversity of species in that habitat. Suppression of coyotes has increased the species previously suppressed by this predator. The number of species of carrion eaters has increased because of the predatory activities of the wolves. In this habitat, the wolf is a keystone species, meaning a species that is instrumental in maintaining diversity within an ecosystem. Removing a keystone species from an ecological community causes a collapse in diversity. The results from the Yellowstone experiment suggest that restoring a keystone species effectively can have the effect of restoring biodiversity in the community. Ecologists have argued for the identification of keystone species where possible and for focusing protection efforts on these species. It makes sense to return the keystone species to the ecosystems where they have been removed.

Figure 7.18 This photograph shows the Gibbon wolf pack in Yellowstone National Park, March 1, 2007. Wolves have been identified as a keystone species. (credit: Doug Smith, NPS)

Other large-scale restoration experiments underway involve dam removal. In the United States, since the mid-1980s, many aging dams are being considered for removal rather than replacement because of shifting beliefs about the ecological value of free-flowing rivers. The measured benefits of dam removal include restoration of naturally fluctuating water levels (often the purpose of dams is to reduce variation in river flows), which leads to increased fish diversity and improved water quality.

The Role of Zoos in Captive Breeding and Education

Well-run zoos play a significant role in wildlife conservation, acting as hubs for research, education, and species preservation. Through captive breeding programs, zoos contribute to the conservation of endangered species that might otherwise face extinction. When done correctly, these programs are carefully managed to maintain genetic diversity and are often part of broader conservation efforts that include habitat restoration and protection. For species that have already been wiped out in the wild, captive breeding can sometimes be the only avenue left for their survival. Beyond breeding, zoos collaborate with various conservation organizations and allocate funds and resources to support in-situ conservation projects worldwide.

In addition to conservation efforts, zoos serve as educational platforms that can inspire a lifelong passion for wildlife and ecology. A trip to a well-maintained zoo offers the public a chance to learn about animals from across the globe, their habitats, and the challenges they face for survival. Informative displays, interactive sessions, and educational programs are often designed to engage visitors of all age groups. This kind of direct, hands-on learning can be a potent tool for raising awareness about conservation needs and encouraging responsible behavior towards the environment. In this way, zoos help bridge the gap between academic knowledge and public awareness, nurturing a more informed and committed citizenry.

Figure 7.19 Zoos and captive breeding programs help preserve many endangered species, such as this golden lion tamarin. (credit: Garrett Ziegler)