Habitat Loss

Orange County, California

Dingo Fence – The World’s Longest – New South Wales

The Dingo – Canis familiarus dingo

Earth, Fire, and Water

Erosion and loss of habitat on Round Island, Mauritius

Maori Use of Fire

Smokeythe bear- 1953

Smokey theBear - 1960

Longleaf Pine Savanna

Fire – Bitterroot National Forest,Montana, August 2000

EvergladesSurfaceWater Flow

Forests and Deforestation

• Deforestation occurs when forest converted to another type of ecosystem

• Forests cover less than 6% of the earth’s total surface area

• Forests are the habitat for the majority of the earth’s known species

• Forests are being lost faster than they are growing

U.S. National Forests (green) and Grasslands (yellow)

United States Virgin Forests

1650 1926

Global Forest Loss

• Africa has lost 30% of its forests, Brazil has lost 40%, the Philippines has lost 50% and Europe has lost 70%

• In developing nations, 10 trees are cut down for every tree planted; in Africa that ratio is 20 to 1

• FAO of the UN estimates that 100 million people in 26 countries face acute shortages of firewood

Gathering Firewood Kutum, Africa

SwiddenAgriculture

Swidden Agriculture

Swidden Agriculture

Cattle Ranching Brazil

Tropical Dry Forest

Desertification

• Desertification is the conversion of grassland and savanna habitat into relatively sparse, unproductive vegetation

• The main cause of desertification is overgrazing by livestock

RioPuercoBasinNM

Rio Puerco Basin

1885 1977

Rio Puerco Today

Overgrazing – Texas and England

Left good, right overgrazed Left good, right overgrazed

Wetlands

• Wetlands are lands that are transitional between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems

Freshwater Wetland Types

General Locations of U.S. Wetlands

Crane Species

• 1. Eurasian Crane, 2. Black-necked crane, 3. Munktrana,

• 4. Sandhill Crane,

• 5. Whooping Crane, 6. Japanese crane, 7. White-naped Crane, 8. Sarus Crane, 9. Australian Crane, 10. Siberian Crane, 11. Wattled Crane, 12. Demoiselle Crane, 13. Blue Crane, 14. Black Crowned Crane,

15. Grey Crowned Crane

Grey Crowned Crane

Grey Crowned Crane

Habitat Fragmentation

• Fragmentation is the breakdown of a habitat or ecosystem into smaller patches of that habitat or ecosystem that now are isolated from each other

HabitatFragmentation

Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace

The Galapagos

Galapagos Tortoise

Galapagos Mockingbirds

Galapagos Mockingbirds collected by Darwin

Malay Archipelago

Beetles and Moths Collected by A.R. Wallace

Butterflies from Malay Archipelago

Sphingid Butterfly Diversity Malay Archipelago

IslandHabitats inBaltic Sea

Reptile and Amphibian Species Area Curve for Caribbean Islands

Habitat IslandsIn the Great Basin

Bird Species

Mammal Species

Ant speciesOn NewGuinea andNearbyIslands

Real Slopes for Species-Area Curves

• Oceanic islands birds - New Guinea islands z=0.22• beetles - West Indies z=0.34• land plants - Channel islands z=0.37

• Habitat islands birds - Andes paramo z=0.29• birds - mtns of Great Basin z=0.165• mammals - mtns of Great Basin z=0.326• inverts -caves in West Virginia z=0.72