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