Declining Biodiversity

1
Declining Biodiversity

• Sarah Arlinghaus
• Amy Dukes
• Christie Latimer

2
What causes the decline in biodiversity?

• Overpopulation
• Deforestation
• Overgrazing of cleared lands
• While the consequences of these trends are not
  overwhelmingly visible today. . .they could lead
  to extreme conditions in the near future such as
  the extinction of many animal species around the
  world.

3

• Specie elimination is a natural part of
  evolutionary development, but not at the current
  rate
• 27,000 species per year are obliterated from the
  earth (Edward Wilson 1992)
• Thats 74 species every single day!!!
• Currently the number of species is declining thus
  reducing biological diversity on earth
• ¾ of the worlds bird species are declining in
  population
• All species of wild cats and most bears are
  seriously declining in numbers
• More than 2/3 of the worlds 150 primate species
  are threatened with extinction
• It is estimated that 20 of the earths species
  will be extinct 30 years from now

4
Major problems create by declining biodiversity

• Losing species that are of use to humans
• For example there are materials needed for
  things such as pharmaceuticals that can only be
  produced from living species
• Ecosystems thrive on complexity and diversity of
  the life they support therefore, at some point
  the decline in biodiversity will threaten the
  existence of human life
• Think about the food chain. . .what will happen
  when a link in the chain is broken?