Sustaining Aquatic Biodiversity

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Chapter 24

• Sustaining Aquatic Biodiversity

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Chapter Objectives

• Define aquatic biodiversity
• Determine its economic and ecological importance
• Determine the role of human impacts on
  biodiversity
• Determine ways to protect and sustain diversity

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A. Patterns of Marine Biodiversity

• 3 most diverse regions of the oceans
• Reefs, Estuaries, and Ocean floor
• Diversity is higher near the coasts
• Diversity increases moving south to the equator

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Oceans

• Cover 71 of Earths surface
• Contain 63 of 25,000 known fish species
• Very little of the ocean has been explored

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Cobia
Hogfish
Kelp
Pacific sailfish
Carrageen
Moray
Yellow jack
Red snapper
Red algae
Batfish
Bladder kelp
Striped drum
Angelfish
Chinook salmon
Sea lettuce
Orange roughy
Devilfish
Porcupine fish
Great barracuda
Laminaria
Sockeye salmon
Grouper
Chilean sea bass
Dulse
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Freshwater

• Contain 37 of 25,000 known fish species
• Very vulnerable to environmental degragation

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Brook trout
White waterlily
Bluegill
White bass
Bulrush
Muskellunge
Rainbow trout
Rainbow darter
Water lettuce
Bowfish
Water hyacinth
Bladderwort
Largemouth black bass
Black crappie
White sturgeon 
Yellow perch
Velvet cichlid
American smelt
Walleyed pike
Eelgrass
Longnose gar
Duckweed
Common piranha
Carp
Egyptian white lotus
Channel catfish
African lungfish
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B. Environmental and Ecological Importance of
Aquatic Biodiversity

• Food
• Drugs
• Recreation
• Employment
• Natural resources

• Climate moderation
• Nutrient recycling
• Waste dilution
• Habitat
• Reduced storm impact

Only 4 of total federal budget used in aquatic
research
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Economic Value of Marine Resources

• 22.5 trillion/yr
• Sea Weed is used in pharmaceuticals and
  cosmetics (400 million/yr)
• Many Species have anticancer properties

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• Sea Weed and Octopus treat Hypertension
• Bone Reconstruction from coral
• Chemicals from Sponges fight Herpes
• Barnacles produce binding adhesive for tooth
  fillings

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C. Human Impacts on Aquatic Biodiversity

• 1.) Species Loss and Endangerment
• Overfishing
• Habitat Destruction
• Pollution
• 1/3 of all fish species are threatened with
  extinction

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2. Marine Habitat Loss and Degradation

• ½ of the worlds coastal wetlands have been
  destroyed

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• ½ of the worlds mangroves have disappeared
• 70 of beaches have serious erosion problems
• Dredging destroys bottom habitats

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3. Freshwater Habitat Loss and Degradation

• 60 of the worlds rivers are strongly fragmented
  by dams

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4. Overfishing

• 60 of the worlds commercially valuable fish are
  fished to the limit or beyond
• Overfishing leads to Commercial Extinction when a
  fishermens population of ocean organisms becomes
  so low he cannot make a profit
• Unravels food chains
• Extinction of unintentionally caught species (Sea
  Turtles and Dolphins)

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Global freshwater
3.5
3.4
3.3
3.2
3.1
3.0
Mean trophic level
2.9
2.8
2.7
2.6
2.5
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
Year
20
Freshwater Species at Risk
lt5
2029.9
Species at risk
59.9
gt 30
Fig. 24.6, p. 634
1019.9
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5. Nonnative Species

• Species deliberately or accidentally introduced
• Examples
• Asian Swamp Eel
• Zebra Mussels
• Asian Carp
• Snakehead

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Asian Carp
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vmUssO68D2eM
Snakehead Fish
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6. Pollution

• Oil
• Acid
• Oxygen demanding wastes
• Toxic Chemicals (Cyanide and DDT)
• Coastal development
• Sedimentation
• 7. Global Warming
• Alters migration patterns
• Destroys Coral Reefs (Bleaching and
  Acidification)
• Raise water levels (Melting glaciers Expansion)

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D. Protecting and Sustaining Marine Biodiversity

• Why is it difficult to protect marine
  biodiversity?
• Much of the damage is not visible
• Most of the ocean is outside the jurisdiction of
  an one nation
• No effective international agreements

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How can we protect and sustain Biodiversity?

• Protect endangered and threatened species
• Establish protected areas
• Regulate and prevent ocean pollution
• Manage marine fisheries

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Problems for the Sea Turtles

• 3 out of 8 major turtle species are endangered
• Due to
• Loss or degradation of habitat
• Legal and illegal taking of eggs
• Increased use for food, pharmaceuticals and
  jewelry
• Unintentional capture

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Bowhead whale
Bowhead whale
Bowhead whale
Humpback whale
Bowhead whale
Northern right whale
Saimaa seal
Northern right whale
Fin whale
Hawksbill turtle
Mediterranean monk seal
Japanese sea lion
Kemp's ridley turtle
Humpback whale
Hawksbill turtle
Fin whale
Hawksbill turtle
Olive ridley turtle
Olive ridley turtle
Leatherback turtle
Hawaiian monk seal
Olive ridley turtle
Green turtle
Green turtle
Leatherback turtle
Leatherback turtle
Leatherback turtle
Humpback whale
Green turtle
Hawksbill turtle
Green turtle
Humpback whale
Hawksbill turtle
Hawksbill turtle
Humpback whale
Leatherback turtle
Fin whale
Fin whale
Seal
Fig. 24.10, p. 637
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A Mammal Pushed to Extinction due to fishing
By-Catch
One of the last known baiji, photographed in
captivity before its death in 2002. Nobody eats
baiji, but it became a bycatch of other fishing.
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Major Species of Sea Turtles
Hawksbill 89 centimeters
Olive ridley 76 centimeters
Australian flatback 99 centimeters
Loggerhead 119 centimeters
Black turtle 99 centimeters
Green turtle 124 centimeters
Leatherback 188 centimeters
Kemp's ridley 76 centimeters
Fig. 24.12, p. 638
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Turtle Exclusion Devices (TED)

• Until recently 55,000 turtles were killed a year
  by shrimp trawling
• US Government requires shrimp trawlers to use TED

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TED allows shrimp to be captured while letting
the Turtles pass through a trap door.
Shrimp trawler
Area enlarged right
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vsTuB88KaIpQ
Fig. 24.13, p. 640
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SHARK FINNING
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Humans Kill 100 million sharks a year by finning
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vU0qkr2cIe5c
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Many are killed to make Shark-Fin Soup
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Whaling
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Whaling

• Easy to Kill
• Large size and the need to get to the surface to
  breathe
• Fast ships, harpoon guns, inflation lances and
  explosives.

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Whaling
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The Peril of the Blue Whale
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IWC (International Whaling Commission)

• Set annual quotas
• Had no power to enforce the regulations
• USA stopped whaling in 1970
• Japan, Norway, Iceland and Russia are attempting
  to overthrow the IWC and CITES Treaty

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National and International Laws to Protect Marine
Species

• CITES Treaty
• 1975 Convention on International Trade of
  Endangered Species
• Protects endangered species by a series of
  permits
• Includes plants or animals, Dead or alive.

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Examples of Other Laws and Treaties

• 1979 Global Treaty on Migratory Species
• 1972 US Marine Mammal Protection Act
• 1973 US Endangered Species Act
• 1976 US Whale Conservation and Protection Act
• 1995 International Convention on Biological
  Diversity

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• B. Establish protected areas
• Antarctica 1991 Ban on
• Mineral and oil exploration
• Wildlife protection, marine pollution and
  environmental monitoring
• Oceans around Antarctica are not covered

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Other Areas of Concern

• United Nations wants to establish the following
  regions
• Black Sea
• Persian Gulf
• Red Sea
• South Pacific

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Integrated Coastal Management

• Community-based attempt to use resources in
  sustainable manner
• Fishers, Scientists, business, politicians
• Identify shared problems and and establish goals
  
• Agree to workable and cost-effective solutions
  that preserve biodiversity.

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Beach Erosion

• 70 of the worlds beaches are eroding due to
  natural and human causes
• Main problem is rising sea levels due to climate
  increases
• Since 1965 the U.S. has spent over 4 billion on
  replenishing beaches

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http//www.youtube.com/watch?v8YkILSCVibY
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Tsunami
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vchbbiSCczB8
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Engineered Methods to Reduce Beach Erosion

• Only temporary solutions
• Many ecologists oppose these methods
• It is felt that some of these methods increase
  the problem

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Groin
Current
-Structures that extend into water, help to trap
sand from the current. -Accumulate sand on upper
side, but it is decreased on lower side
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Seawall
-Barrier in front of property -Increase wave
energy/erosion to the sides and front of wall
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Importing Sand
-Sand brought in from offshore dredging -Very
disruptive to aquatic biodiversity and very
expensive
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Drainage system
-Water soaks through sand into pipes that allow
it to be pumped back in the ocean. -Expensive and
still in testing stages
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Beachsaver module
-Placed offshore to channel water upward and to
block sand loss -Expensive and still being tested
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Insuring the Coasts

• Proponents feel its necessary to stimulate the
  economy
• Some feel that govt susidized coastal flood
  insurance should be eliminated
• Individuals should pay if they choose to live in
  the high risk zones
• Ban wetland destructions

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Moving The Lighthouse
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• Regulating and preventing Ocean pollution
• -Industrial waste dumping off U.S. coasts
  has stopped
• -London Dumping Convention of 1972
• -1983 permanent ban on dumping radioactive
  wastes at sea

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Radioactive waste being dumped into the open ocean
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Fukushima radiation
http//www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-23930
132
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• Sustainable management of marine fisheries
• -Reduce Overfishing
• -Better measurement of fish populations
• -Controlling fishing methods and access to
  fisheries

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• Means of Projecting Fishery Populations
• Maximum sustained yield (MSY)
• -maximum number of fish that can be harvested
  annually from a fish stock.
• Optimum sustained yield (OSY)
• -Modification of the MSY
• -Accounts for interactions with other species
• -Provides room for error in estimates

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Individual Transfer Quotas

• Permit to catch a certain of fish
• Permits can be sold and traded
• Discuss Pros and Cons

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Protecting, Sustaining and Restoring Wetlands

• In USA a federal permit is required to fill any
  wetland larger than 3 acres
• Has cut losses by 75 since 1969

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Current U.S. Wetland Policy

• Zero Net Loss
• Mitigation Banking
• Allows destruction of a wetland as long as an
  equal area of the same type is created or
  restored

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Problems With Created Wetlands

• Most new wetlands fail to replace the lost ones
• Most created dont resemble the real ones
• Expensive

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Plans to Protect and Restore Wetlands

• Land use planning (steer developers away from
  wetlands)
• Have the created wetlands inspected before the
  original is destroyed
• Prevent the invasion of non-native species

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Can We Save The Everglades ?
Once 60 miles wide, knee deep from lake
Okeechobee to Florida Bay
Channelized
Unchannelized
FLORIDA
Lake Okeechobee
West Palm Beach
Fort Myers
GULF OF MEXICO
Naples
Fort Lauderdale
Agricultural area
Treatment marsh
Water conservation area
Miami
Canal
Everglades National Park
ATLANTIC OCEAN
FLORIDA
Key Largo
Florida Bay
Area of detail
Fig. 24.16, p. 651
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Problems with the Everglades

• US Army Corp of Engineers transformed 103mi
  Kissimmee river into a 50 mi canal
• Drained the wetlands in the north
• In the south vast farmland was planted and runoff
  has changed the plant life of the area
• The Everglades are ½ their original size
• Not as much freshwater flows into the Bay
  (getting salty)

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Everglades National Park

• Established in 1947 (20 of the Everglades)
• It is the Most Endangered National Park

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The Worlds Largest Ecological Restoration Project

• US Corp of Army Engineers (2000-2038)
• Replumb south Florida (7.8 billion shared
  between USA and State)
• Goals
• Restore the curving flow of the Kissimmee River
• Remove 250 mi of canals
• Buy and Flood farmland
• Tap into aquifers

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Protecting, Restoring and Sustaining Lakes and
Rivers

• Greatest Threats to Lakes
• Pollution, Invasive Species and Low water levels
• Greatest Threats to Rivers
• Pollution, Disruption of Flow and Overfishing

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National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act - 1968

• Kept free of development
• Cant be
• Widened, straightened, dredged, filled, dammed
• Only uses
• Camping, swimming, sport fishing, non-motorized
  boats

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Protecting the Oceans Resources
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• Multispecies management
• Studies relationships between species and how
  they interact within a food web.
• Large marine systems
• Areas of the oceans are controlled and
  regulated by multinational organizations.
• Precautionary principle
• Better safe than sorry