NATURE UNBOUNDLESSON 5 – EXTINCTION: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES

Conservation

Mr. Dieckhoff

USING YOUR COMPUTERS/PHONES

Working with the people at your table, determine what the following animals have in common: Carolina parakeet Gray Wolf Passenger Pigeon White-Footed Mouse

EXTINCTION VSEXTIRPATION

Extinction – 99.9% of all species

have gone extinct

Extirpation –

TYPES OF EXTINCTIONS

Natural (Background) Extinction – Example – fescue

grass replaces prairie grass

Mass Extinction – 5 previous mass

extinctions Some believe we are

in the 6th

ENDANGERED Endangered –

In Missouri: 600 plants 300 animals (Eastern Spotted Skunk in picture)

What species are endangered in Missouri? Take 5 minutes. Research one of Missouri’s endangered

plants or animals. http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/endangered-

species http://

www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/lists/missouri-cty.html What is the habitat of the species? What is it’s food supply? How is it distributed across Missouri? In your opinion, why is this species endangered in

Missouri?

FAILURE TO ADAPT

Extinction is a result of natural selection – species disappear when they fail to adapt to changing ecological conditions

CAUSES OF EXTINCTION1.

Fragmentation – carving of large blocks of habitat into smaller, scattered pieces

Example – Carolina parakeet

2. Adapt quickly to a new location and

push out native species Example – see next slide

3. Hunted, fished, or harvested to

extinction Example – Passenger Pigeons

4. Changes in global temperatures have wide-range

effects on environmental conditions and are expected to cause population changes

INVASIVE SPECIES

Exotic, non-native species – organism that has moved into an area in which it previously did not exist

Invasive – Examples:

1. Emerald Ash Borer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JTKjszvOLw

2. Zebra Mussels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svlSW40uU2g

3. Sericea Lespedeza https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlFBexymTjk

SAVING SPECIES FROM EXTINCTION

Problem – Grassland birds are declining faster and more consistently than birds in other ecosystems (example – Eastern Meadowlark)

Native grasslands have been replaced by urban sprawl and tall fescue

Solution Ideas? Work with the people at your table to come up

with what Missouri should do to help grassland birds.

WHY SOME SPECIES ARE MORE PRONE TO EXTINCTION?

Generalist –

Specialist – Tend to be smaller

populations with less genetic variation because of inbreeding

PREDICTING EXTINCTION

Factors which affect extinction: Niche

tolerance Populations

size Geographic

range

CONCLUSION

1. Extinction2. Extirpation3. Endangered4. Causes of Extinction5. Invasive Species6. Predicting Extinction7. Consequences of Extinction