Conservation 1- Biodiversity

Conservation 1- Biodiversity

1. Targets

   • 2010 biodiversity target- Hague 2002- COP 6
     • Sig reduction of current rate of biodiversity loss- global regional and national level
     • Contribution to poverty alleviation
     • Targets MISSED
   • 2020- Aichi Biodiversity targets- COP10- Japan 2011
     • A. Address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss--- mainstream biodiversity across GOV and society
     • B. Reduce the pressures on biodiversity and promote sustainable use
     • C. Improve biodiversity status--- safeguarding ecosystems and genetic diversity
     • D. Enhance benefits from biodiversity and ecosystem services
     • E. Enhance implementation through participatory planning, knowledge management and capacity building

2. Living planet index- LPI

   • Decline of 27%- 1970- 2005
   • WWF
   • 1970=1
   • Tropics- worst

3. Methods of estimation species richness

   • 1.8 million species so far described
   • 1. Canvassing experts--- assumption that they know groups well enough
   • 2. Proportion of undescribed species--
   • 3. Patterns of species description-- look at rate at which new species are described-- e.g.
     • Assume past patterns predict those in future--- extrapolate curve--- uncertainty for large taxa
     • Spectacled flowerpecker
       • Found in well studied site in N Borneo
       • Clearly still other new species to be discovered elsewhere
     • Well studied group-- rate changes through time-- slow, faster then slow again
   • 4. Focus on well studied groups and areas
     • Extrapolate areas where species numbers a well known and apply %'s to other areas
     • Assumes similar proportions of different taxa in each area

4. Bootstrapping

   • 1. Sprayed canopies of different tree species in forests in Panama with insecticide, collected and identified beetles
   • 2. 162 specialist species for one tree
   • 3. Beetles--- 40% of canopy arthropods-- estimated 400 species of arthropods
   • 4. 2/3 of arthropod species live in canopy--- estimated 600 arthropod species per species of tree
   • 5. 600 x no. of tree forests (50,000)--- 30 million species of arthropod in tropical forests, previously estimated to be 1.5 million
   • Probably an over estimate
     • Further sampling-- many more species occur on more than one tree
     • Erwin's estimate 5-10 fold too high
     • More recent sampling--- global estimate of 6 million is more accurate
     • Tropical beetles are likely to be less specialised than estimated, likely to be 2 or 3%

5. Body size and Species richness

   • more species of small organisms than large ones
   • Breaks down for <1 cm long--- under described
   • If relationship reaches down to 1mm long-- 10 million species
   • Goes down to 10 micrometres--- 10 billion species-- knowledge is very poor

6. DNA- based methods

   • Suggests previous estimates of bacterial and viral species richness--- huge under estimates
   • Samples of soil taken from a Norwegian forest-- found 5000 species per gram of soil--- equivalent to total number of species previously described
   • More recent analysis--- 8 million species per gram of soil
   • Difficult to say where one species starts and another ends

7. Extinctions

   • Natural phenomenom
   • More than 90% of species that have ever existed have gone extinct
     • 95% extinct at end of Permian
     • 75% end of Cretaceous period
   • Suggestions--- now entering 6th major extinction event-- 1998 survey
     • 70% of biologists believed 20% of species would go extinct in next 30 years
     • 30% believed up to half would go extint
     • BUT--- only 1,200 species have gone extinct out of 40 million since 1600