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Threats to biodiversity
Species at RiskExtirpated: A species
that no longer exists in a specific area. Eg. Atlantic Walrus.
Endangered: A species facing imminent extinction or
extirpation. Eg. Barn Owl
Threatened: A species likely to become endangered if
factors reducing survival are not changed. Eg. Polar Bear
Extinct: A species that no longer exists anywhere in the world. Eg. Passenger pigeon.
Working with your
partner, brainstorm
and list the threats
to biodiversity.
What is threatening species?
Invasive Species
An invasive species is a non-native whose intentional or accidental introduction impacts the natural environment.
Habitat LossImagine that you are standing atop the CN tower, but could look 500 years back in time. What would it look like?
Habitat Fragmentation• Fragmentation of ecosystems reduces their
sustainability.• By fragmenting ecosystems, a larger area of the
habitat is exposed to the damaging effects of outside influences.
Habitat
Certain factors can improve the sustainability of fragmented ecosystems.
These should be considered during urban planning and national/provincial park design
Pollution
For most of human history, we produced little waste.
Two things changed that:1) Population growth2) Industrial processes
PollutionAcid Rain: Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from fossil fuel burning lead to acid rain.Acid rain causes species decline in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.
Oil Spills: Our use of oil tankers (eg. Exxon Valdezz), and oil drills (eg. Deepwater Horizon) may lead to oil spills. Oil is toxic and slow to break down.
Plastics at Sea: Plastics are long lasting, taking hundreds, or even thousands of years to decompose. Many plastics end up in our oceans.There is an ‘Island’ twice the size of Texas in the pacific.
Oil Spills
What if the deepwater horizon spill was in Toronto?
plastics@sea