1. Sustaining Aquatic Biodiversity Chapter 11

2. Core Case Study: A Biological Roller Coaster Ride in Lake Victoria  Loss of biodiversity and cichlids  Nile perch: deliberately introduced for human food  Frequent algal blooms Nutrient runoff Spills of untreated sewage Less algae-eating cichlids

3. Lake Victoria Is a Large Lake in East Africa

4. Natural Capital Degradation: The Nile Perch

5. 11-1 What Are the Major Threats to Aquatic Biodiversity?  Concept 11-1 Aquatic species are threatened by habitat loss, invasive species, pollution, climate change, and overexploitation, all made worse by the growth of the human population.

6. We Have Much to Learn about Aquatic Biodiversity  Greatest marine biodiversity Coral reefs Estuaries Deep-ocean floor  Biodiversity is higher Near the coast than in the open sea In the bottom region of the ocean than the surface region

7. Human Activities Are Destroying and Degrading Aquatic Habitats  Habitat loss and degradation Marine Coastal Ocean floor: effect of trawlers Freshwater Dams Excessive water withdrawal

8. Natural Capital Degradation: Area of Ocean Bottom Before and After a Trawler

9. Invasive Species Are Degrading Aquatic Biodiversity  Invasive species Threaten native species Disrupt and degrade whole ecosystems  Three examples Water hyacinth: Lake Victoria (East Africa) Asian swamp eel: waterways of south Florida Purple loosestrife: indigenous to Europe Treating with natural predators—a weevil species and a leaf-eating beetle—Will it work?

10. Invasive Water Hyacinths

11. Science Focus: How Carp Have Muddied Some Waters  Lake Wingra, Wisconsin (U.S.): eutrophic Contains invasive species Purple loosestrife and the common carp  Dr. Richard Lathrop Removed carp from an area of the lake This area appeared to recover

12. Lake Wingra in Madison, Wisconsin (U.S.)

13. Population Growth and Pollution Can Reduce Aquatic Biodiversity  Nitrates and phosphates mainly from fertilizers enter water Leads to eutrophication  Toxic pollutants from industrial and urban areas  Trash in water hazardous to aquatic animal life

14. Hawaiian Monk Seal

15. Climate Change Is a Growing Threat  Global warming: sea levels will rise and aquatic biodiversity is threatened Coral reefs Swamp some low-lying islands Drown many highly productive coastal wetlands New Orleans, Louisiana, and New York City

16. Science Focus: Protecting and Restoring Mangroves  Protect and restore mangroves Reduce the impact of rising sea levels Protect against tropical storms and tsunamis Cheaper and more effective than building concrete sea walls Mangrove forests in Indonesia

17. Overfishing and Extinction: Gone Fishing, Fish Gone  Marine and freshwater fish Threatened with extinction by human activities more than any other group of species  Commercial extinction  Collapse of the cod fishery and its domino effect  Bycatch

18. Natural Capital Degradation: Collapse of the Cod Fishery Off the Canadian Coast

19. Case Study: Industrial Fish Harvesting Methods  Trawler fishing Deep water species  Purse-seine fishing Airborne survey  catch surface fish  Longlining Meters long fishing lines with thousands of hooks  Drift-net fishing Long nets catching all near fish, wanted and unwanted

20. Fig. 11-7, p. 256 Fish farming in cage Spotter airplane Trawler fishing Sonar Purse-seine fishing Long line fishing lines with hooks Deep sea aquaculture cage Drift-net fishing Float Buoy Fish caught by gills Stepped Art

21. 11-2 How Can We Protect and Sustain Marine Biodiversity?  Concept 11-2 We can help to sustain marine biodiversity by using laws and economic incentives to protect species, setting aside marine reserves to protect ecosystems, and using community-based integrated coastal management.

22. Legal Protection of Some Endangered and Threatened Marine Species  Why is it hard to protect marine biodiversity? Human ecological footprint and fishprint are expanding Much of the damage in the ocean is not visible The oceans are incorrectly viewed as an inexhaustible resource Most of the ocean lies outside the legal jurisdiction of any country

23. Case Study: Protecting Whales: A Success Story… So Far  Cetaceans: Toothed whales and baleen whales  1946: International Whaling Commission (IWC)  1970: U.S. Stopped all commercial whaling Banned all imports of whale products  1986: moratorium on commercial whaling

24. Baleen whales Blue whale Fin whale Bowhead whale Right whale Sei whale Humpback whale Gray whale Minke whale 024681012141618202224262830 Meters Fig. 11-8a, p. 258 Toothed whales Sperm whale with squid Killer whale Narwhal Bottlenose dolphin 024681012141618202224262830 Meters Stepped Art

25. Norwegian Whalers Harpooning a Sperm Whale

26. Case Study: Holding Out Hope for Marine Turtles  Carl Safina, Voyage of the Turtle Studies of the leatherback turtle  Threats to the leatherbacks Trawlers Pollution Climate change  Communities protecting the turtles

27. An Endangered Leatherback Turtle is Entangled in a Fishing Net

28. Individuals Matter: Creating an Artificial Coral Reef in Israel  Reuven Yosef, Red Sea Star Restaurant Coral reef restoration Reconciliation ecology- environmentally sound ways for us to continue to use the land for our own benefit. Treatment of broken coral with antibiotics

29. Marine Sanctuaries Protect Ecosystems and Species  Offshore fishing Exclusive economic zones –designated areas requiring fishing only with governmental permission High seas- unregulated  Law of the Sea Treaty- Coastal nations control 36% of ocean surface and 90% of fish stock  Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) 4000 worldwide

30. Establishing a Global Network of Marine Reserves: An Ecosystem Approach (1)  Marine reserves Closed to Commercial fishing Dredging Mining and waste disposal Core zone No human activity allowed Less harmful activities allowed E.g., recreational boating and shipping

31. Establishing a Global Network of Marine Reserves: An Ecosystem Approach (2)  Fully protected marine reserves work fast Fish populations double Fish size grows Reproduction triples Species diversity increase by almost one-fourth

32. Protecting Marine Biodiversity: Individuals and Communities Together  Integrated Coastal Management Community-based group to prevent further degradation of the ocean

33. An Atoll of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef

34. Video: Humpback whales

35. Video: Loggerhead turtles

36. 11-3 How Should We Manage and Sustain Marine Fisheries?  Concept 11-3 Sustaining marine fisheries will require improved monitoring of fish populations, cooperative fisheries management among communities and nations, reduction of fishing subsidies, and careful consumer choices in seafood markets.

37. Estimating and Monitoring Fishery Populations Is the First Step  Maximum sustained yield (MSY): traditional approach  Optimum sustained yield (OSY)  Multispecies management  Large marine systems: using large complex computer models  Precautionary principle

38. Some Communities Cooperate to Regulate Fish Harvests  Community management of the fisheries  Comanagement of the fisheries with the government

39. Government Subsidies Can Encourage Overfishing  2007: World Trade Organization, U.S. Proposed a ban on fishing subsidies  Reduce illegal fishing on the high seas and in coastal waters Close ports and markets to such fishers Check authenticity of ship flags Prosecution of offenders

40. Some Countries Use the Marketplace to Control Overfishing  Individual transfer rights (ITRs) Control access to fisheries New Zealand and Iceland Difficult to enforce  Problems with the ITR approach

41. Consumer Choices Can Help to Sustain Fisheries and Aquatic Biodiversity  1997: Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), London Supports sustainable fishing Certifies sustainably produced seafood  Manage global fisheries more sustainably Individuals Organizations Governments

42. Solutions: Managing Fisheries

43. Fig. 11-12, p. 265 SOLUTIONS Managing Fisheries Fishery RegulationsBycatch Set catch limits well below the maximum sustainable yield Use wide-meshed nets to allow escape of smaller fish Improve monitoring and enforcement of regulations Use net escape devices for seabirds and sea turtles Ban throwing edible and marketable fish back into the sea Economic Approaches Sharply reduce or eliminate fishing subsidies Charge fees for harvesting fish and shellfish from publicly owned offshore waters Aquaculture Restrict coastal locations for fish farms Control pollution more strictly Certify sustainable fisheries Protect Areas Establish no-fishing areas Depend more on herbivorous fish species Establish more marine protected areas Nonnative Invasions Rely more on integrated coastal management Kill organisms in ship ballast water Consumer Information Filter organisms from ship ballast water Label sustainably harvested fish Dump ballast water far at sea and replace with deep- sea water Publicize overfished and threatened species

44. 11-4 How Should We Protect and Sustain Wetlands?  Concept 11-4 To maintain the ecological and economic services of wetlands, we must maximize preservation of remaining wetlands and restoration of degraded and destroyed wetlands.

45. Coastal and Inland Wetlands Are Disappearing around the World  Highly productive wetlands  Provide natural flood and erosion control  Maintain high water quality; natural filters  Effect of rising sea levels

46. We Can Preserve and Restore Wetlands  Laws for protection  Mitigation banking Ecologists argue this as a last resort

47. Natural Capital Restoration: Wetland Restoration in Canada

48. Individuals Matter: Restoring a Wetland  Jim Callender: 1982  Scientific knowledge + hard work = a restored wetland in California, U.S.  Marsh used again by migratory fowl

49. Case Study: Can We Restore the Florida Everglades? (1)  “River of Grass”: south Florida, U.S.  Since 1948: damaged Drained Diverted Paved over Nutrient pollution from agriculture Invasive plant species  1947: Everglades National Park unsuccessful protection project

50. Case Study: Can We Restore the Florida Everglades? (2)  1970s: political haggling  1990: Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) Restore the curving flow of most of the Kissimmee River Remove canals and levees in strategic locations Flood 240 sq. km farmland to create artificial marshes Goal?

51. Case Study: Can We Restore the Florida Everglades? (3)  Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) cont… Create reservoirs and underground water storage areas Build new canals, reservoirs and efficient pumping systems  Why isn’t this plan working?

52. The World’s Largest Restoration Project

53. 11-5 How Can Protect and Sustain Freshwater Lakes, Rivers, and Fisheries?  Concept 11-5 Freshwater ecosystems are strongly affected by human activities on adjacent lands, and protecting these ecosystems must include protection of their watersheds.

54. Freshwater Ecosystems Are under Major Threats  Think: HIPPCO

55. Case Study: Can the Great Lakes Survive Repeated Invasions by Alien Species?  Collectively, world’s largest body of freshwater  Invaded by at least 162 nonnative species Sea lamprey Zebra mussel Good and bad Quagga mussel Asian carp

56. Zebra Mussels Attached to a Water Current Meter in Lake Michigan, U.S.

57. Managing River Basins Is Complex and Controversial  Columbia River: U.S. and Canada Dam system Pros and cons  Snake River: Washington state, U.S. Hydroelectric dams Pros and cons

58. Natural Capital: Ecological Services of Rivers

59. We Can Protect Freshwater Ecosystems by Protecting Watersheds  Freshwater ecosystems protected through Laws Economic incentives Restoration efforts  Wild rivers and scenic rivers  Sustainable management of freshwater fishes

60. Video: Salmon swimming upstream

61. 11-6 What Are the Priorities for Sustained Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services?  Concept 11-6 Sustaining the world’s biodiversity and ecosystem services will require mapping terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity, maximizing protection of undeveloped terrestrial and aquatic areas, and carrying out ecological restoration projects worldwide.

62. We Need to Set Priorities for Protecting Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services  2002: Edward O. Wilson Complete the mapping of the world’s terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity Keep old-growth forests intact; cease their logging Identify and preserve hotspots and deteriorating ecosystem services that threaten life Ecological restoration projects Make conservation financially rewarding