the future of biodiversity abbreviated
TRANSCRIPT
William F. Laurance
Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science
James Cook University Cairns, Australia
The Future of Biodiversity
What is Biodiversity?
Richness of Species
Species
Subspecies Populations
– Genetic variation – Demographic variation – Behavioral variation
Biomes Ecosystems Communities
Within-species variation
Tiger salamanders
Crimson rosellas Amphidromus snails
Anemonefish calls
Species
Subspecies Populations
– Genetic variation – Demographic variation – Behavioral variation
Biomes Ecosystems Communities
Ecological interactions & co-evolution
How Much
Biodiversity?
?
Terrestrial vertebrates relatively
well known
Scheffers, Joppa, Pimm & Laurance (2012) Trends in Ecology & Evolution
Fungi
0
2
4
6
8
10
Spec
ies
(mill
ions
)
Known Lower Upper
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Spec
ies
(mill
ions
)
Known Lower Upper
Insects
Deep-sea Species
0
2
4
6
8
10
Spec
ies
(mill
ions
)
Known Lower Upper
?
Why So Much Confusion?
‘Missing’ species are different!
Hard to find!
Scheffers, Joppa, Pimm & Laurance (2012) Trends in Ecology & Evolution
Many are restricted endemics
Number of known restricted-endemic frogs in Brazil
Many are ‘cryptic’ Morphology often
misleading DNA Barcoding uses
1-2 fast-evolving genes to discriminate species
Very powerful with advances in DNA sequencing speed
60% of species now described from cryptic complexes
Astraptes fulgerator complex
Where is the
Biodiversity?
Global diversity of higher plants
Highest diversity: -wet tropics -Mediterranean regions
Global centers of species endemism
Highest endemism: -isolated & smaller -distinctive
What is the Future of
Biodiversity?
Critical factor: Fate of the Biodiversity Hotspots
Myers et al. (2000) Nature; Mittermeier et al. (2004) Hotspots Revisited.
>1500 endemic plants, >70% habitat loss
Growing Pressures on Hotspots
Cincotta et al. (2000) Nature
Forest loss is fastest in hotspot nations with higher population growth and lower human development (Dja & Bawa 2006)
Another critical factor: Fate of
protected areas
Eastern Bolivia
Laurance et al. (2012) Nature
Parks are not islands
Rabi Reserve, Gabon
Bukit Palong National Park, Malaysia
How much biodiversity will we lose
Public forum
Debating the Tropical
Extinction Crisis National Museum of
Natural History Washington, D.C.
13 February 2009
Many ‘missing species’ will be imperiled
Concentrated in hotspots and tropical regions Many are restricted endemics
Functional extinctions
Big animals
Apex predators
Old-growth trees
Ecological distortions & biotic homogenization
Disturbance-lovers Invaders
Opportunists
Great loss of genetic variation
Biodiversity is Invaluable
Myriad natural products Germ plasm for food crops Pharmaceuticals Ecosystem resilience Pollination services Carbon storage Tourism
TEEB
Pavan Sukhdev & colleagues
It’s not just about protecting nature -- it’s about ensuring we have a livable world
Thank you