Sustaining Aquatic Biodiversity

1
Sustaining Aquatic Biodiversity
2
Questions for Today

• What are the major threats to aquatic
  biodiversity (HIPPCO)?
• How can we protect and sustain marine
  biodiversity?
• How should we manage and sustain marine
  fisheries?
• How can we protect and sustain wetlands?
• How can we protect and sustain freshwater lakes,
  rivers, and fisheries?

3
Remember

• The greatest biodiversity occurs in coral reefs,
  estuaries, and deep ocean floor.
• Biodiversity is higher near coasts because of the
  greater variety of producers and habitats in
  coastal areas.
• Biodiversity is greater in the bottom region of
  the ocean because of habitats and food sources.

4
HIPPCO!!!!Greatest Threats to Biodiversity ?

• H stands for Habitat Loss and Degradation.
• 90 of fish living in the ocean spawn in coral
  reefs, mangrove forests, coastal wetlands, or
  rivers.
• The above areas are under intense pressure from
  human activities. (dredging, trawling, dams,
  excessive water withdrawal)

5
HIPPCO

• I stands for Invasive Species!!
• These bioinvaders can displace or cause
  extinction of native species and disrupt
  ecosystem services.
• 84 of worlds coastal waters are being
  colonized by invaders! (Water hyacinth, Asian
  swamp eel, zebra mussel, purple loosestrife are
  some examplesp. 252 for details)

6
Water Hyacinths
7
Zebra Mussels in the Great Lakes
8
HIPPCO

• P
• The first P in HIPPCO is coastal Population
  Growth.
• More people moving to coastal areas destroy
  habitat and increases pollution.

9
HIPPCO

• P
• The second P is Pollution!! ?
• 80 of all pollution comes from land-based
  activities.
• Humans have doubled the flow of nitrogen, mostly
  from nitrate fertilizers since 1860. Similar
  inputs of phosphorous have occurred. (They cause
  eutrophication, which can lead to algal blooms,
  fish die-offs, and degradation of ecosystems.)

10

• Similar pressures are occurring in freshwater
  systems. Massive inputs of sediment and wastes
  from land due to construction of homes and
  recreation areas.
• Things that are polluting waters are toxic
  pollutants from industry and plastics dumped in
  water.

11
HIPPCO

• C
• The C in HIPPCO is Climate Change!
• Sea levels rise, destroying coral reefs, swamping
  islands, drowning highly productive coastal
  wetlands, and inundating coastal cities like New
  Orleans.
• Mangrove forests that protect islands will be
  destroyed or damaged.

12
HIPPCO

• The BIG O in HIPPCO is OVERFISHING!!
• Industrialized fishing has depleted marine life
  at an alarming rate.
• The fishprint is defined as the area of ocean
  needed to sustain the consumption of an average
  person, a nation, or the world.
• All the worlds nations together are overfishing
  the global oceans by an unsustainable 157!!!! ?
• In most cases, this leads to commercial
  extinction.

13

• Fish species are also threatened with biological
  extinction, mostly from overfishing, water
  pollution, wetlands destruction, and excessive
  removal of water from rivers and lakes.
• Marine and freshwater species are threatened with
  extinction by anthropogenic activities more than
  any other group of species!!! (OUR fault!)

14
(EVIL) Industrial Fish Harvesting Methods

• These methods are vacuuming the seas!!
• Trawlers
• Purse-seine
• Longlining
• Drift nets
• Sonar and Spotter airplanes help the fishers find
  their prey!

15
Fish farming in cage
Trawler fishing
Spotter airplane
Purse-seine fishing
Sonar
Drift-net fishing
Long line fishing
Float
Buoy
lines with hooks
Deep sea aquaculture cage
Fish caught by gills
Fig. 11-7, p. 256
16
Trawling Before and After
17
What can the government do?

• There are different ways the government can help
  the environment
• Pass Laws
• Regulate people and fine those that break the law
• Levy Taxes or subsidize for positive responses.
• Educate the people
• Community Outreach Organizations
• Public Service Announcements
• Create Reserves and Mitigate new land.

18
How Can We Protect and Sustain Marine
Biodiversity??

• CITES 1975 Convention on International Trade in
  Endangered Species
• The U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972
• The U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973
• U.S. Whale Conservation and Protection Act of
  1976
• 1995 International Convention on Biological
  Diversity

19
Wetlands are cool, K?

• Wetlands are important because
• they are natural filters
• they are breeding grounds for coastal wildlife
• they are very biologically diverse

20
How Should We Protect and Sustain Wetlands?

• Wetlands have been drained, filled in, or covered
  over to create rice fields, crop land, cities,
  and roads.
• Wetlands have been destroyed by processes of
  extracting minerals and oil.
• AND to reduce breeding grounds of disease causing
  insects.

21

• How to Preserve and Restore Wetlands??
• Mitigation banking allows destruction as long as
  an equal area is created or restored.
• Not the best idea though!
• Buy wetlands and restore them with help of EPA or
  US Corps of Engineers

22
FRESHWATER ISSUES! ?

• Aside from HIPPCO, one way that humans have
  destroyed freshwater ecosystems are through the
  creation of Dams.
• Dams create different economic and environmental
  benefits and problems.
• We will further discuss dams during our renewable
  energy unit.