1. APES Chapter 11: Day 1 Warm-up Objectives
Homework:
Chapter 11 Objectives
Objectives
Describe HIPPCO
List the threats to aquatic life
Agenda
Warm-up – 5
HIPPCO notes – 10
Strange Days – 10
HIPPCO Notes – 10
Computer Lab
Warm-up
What is the epilimnion? Hypolimnion?
How does the temperature of each change with season?

4. Sustaining Aquatic Biodiversity
Chapter 11

5. Core Case Study: A Biological Roller Coaster Ride in Lake Victoria
Shallow lake in East Africa
500 species of fish found nowhere else
Nile perch: deliberately introduced
Loss of biodiversity and cichlids (“SIK-lids”)
Increased poverty and malnutrition
Depleted forests (to preserve fish oil)

6. Core Case Study: A Biological Roller Coaster Ride in Lake Victoria
Frequent algal blooms
Nutrient runoff
Spills of untreated sewage
Less algae-eating cichlids

7. What are the major threats to aquatic biodiversity?
11.1
What are the major threats to aquatic biodiversity?

8. We Have Much to Learn about Aquatic Biodiversity
We have explored 5% of the global ocean!
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

9. Human Activities Are Destroying and Degrading Aquatic Habitats
Habitat loss and degradation
Marine
Coastal pollution and tourism
Ocean floor: effect of trawlers
Freshwater
Dams
Excessive water withdrawal H I
PPCO

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

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

12. Invasive Species Are Degrading Aquatic Biodiversity
Threaten native species
Disrupt and degrade whole ecosystems
84% of world’s coasts are being colonized by invasive species H I
PPCO

13. Invasive Species Are Degrading Aquatic Biodiversity
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? H I
PPCO

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

15. 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 H I
PPCO

16. 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 H I
PPCO

17. 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 H I
PPCO

18. Video Clip Strange Days on Planet Earth – Dirty Secrets
Bleaching the Reef

19. Overfishing and Extinction: Gone Fishing, Fish Gone
Marine and freshwater fish
Threatened with extinction by human activities more than any other group of species
Modern industry can cause 80% depletion of target species in years
Commercial extinction – occurs when it is no longer profitable to continue fishing an affected species H I
PPCO

20. Overfishing and Extinction: Gone Fishing, Fish Gone
Bycatch – nontarget species caught in fishing
Comprises almost 1/3 of world’s annual fish catch H I
PPCO

21. Case Study: Industrial Fish Harvesting Methods
Trawler fishing
Dragging funnel shaped nets held open at the neck along ocean bottom
Weighted down with chains or metal plates
Newer nets are large enough to swallow 12 jumbo jet planes!
Catch shrimp, cod, flounder, and scallops

22. Case Study: Industrial Fish Harvesting Methods
Purse-seine fishing
Spotter plane locates school of fish
Vessel encloses it with large net
Catch surface dwelling species (tuna, mackerel, anchovies, and herring)
Dolphins frequent bycatch

23. Case Study: Industrial Fish Harvesting Methods
Longlining
Putting out lines up to 80 miles long with baited hooks
Adjustable depths
Frequent bycatch (sea turtles and seabirds)

24. Case Study: Industrial Fish Harvesting Methods
Drift-net fishing
Fish caught by huge drifting nets
Hang as deep as 50 feet below surface
Extend 40 miles long
1992 UN ban on use of nets longer than 1.6 miles

25. Major Commercial Fishing Methods Used to Harvest Various Marine Species

26. 11.2

27. 11-2 How Can We Protect and Sustain Marine Biodiversity?
Concept 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.

28. 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

29. Case Study: Protecting Whales: A Success Story… So Far
Cetaceans: Toothed whales and baleen whales
Bite and chew food vs. filter feeders
1970: U.S.
Stopped all commercial whaling
Banned all imports of whale products
1986: moratorium on commercial whaling
Pros? Cons?
Tourism…

30. Norwegian Whalers Harpooning a Sperm Whale

31. Examples of Cetaceans

32. Examples of Cetaceans

33. Individuals Matter: Creating an Artificial Coral Reef in Israel
Reuven Yosef, Red Sea Star Restaurant
Coral reef restoration
Reconciliation ecology
Treatment of broken coral with antibiotics

34. 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

35. Marine Sanctuaries Protect Ecosystems and Species
Offshore fishing
A country’s offshore fishing zone extends 20 statute miles from its shores
Exclusive economic zones – foreign ships may extend into foreign waters when given governmental permission
High seas – free for all!
Law of the Sea Treaty – coastal nations have jurisdiction over 36% of ocean surface and 90% fish stocks

36. Marine Sanctuaries Protect Ecosystems and Species
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) – areas of ocean partially protected from human activities
4, 000 nationwide
200 US
Only partially protected
Harmful human activities still illegally occur

37. Establishing a Global Network of Marine Reserves: An Ecosystem Approach
Marine reserves – fully protected!
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

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

39. An Atoll of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef

40. 11.3

41. 11-3 How Should We Manage and Sustain Marine Fisheries?
Concept 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.

42. Estimating and Monitoring Fishery Populations Is the First Step
Maximum sustained yield (MSY): traditional approach; maximum amount of fish that can be harvested annually without causing a population drop
Difficult to estimate population size and growth rate
Optimum sustained yield (OSY): takes into account interactions among species

43. Estimating and Monitoring Fishery Populations Is the First Step
Multispecies management: also incorporates competitive and predator-prey interactions
Large marine systems: using large complex computer models
**Precautionary principle: sharply reducing fish harvest and closing some overfished areas until they recover
Need more information about what levels of fishing can be sustained

44. 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

45. Some Countries Use the Marketplace to Control Overfishing
Individual transfer rights (ITRs)
Control access to fisheries
Government gives each fishing vessel owner a specified percentage of total allowable catch (TAC) for a give year
New Zealand and Iceland
Difficult to enforce
Problems with the ITR approach
Illegally exceeding quotas

46. 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

47. Solutions: Managing Fisheries

48. Video Clip
Strange Days on Planet Earth: Baboons

49. 11.4

50. 11-4 How Should We Protect and Sustain Wetlands?
Concept To maintain the ecological and economic services of wetlands, we must maximize preservation of remaining wetlands and restoration of degraded and destroyed wetlands.

51. 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

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

53. Natural Capital Restoration: Wetland Restoration in Canada

54. 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

55. 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

56. 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?

57. 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?

58. The World’s Largest Restoration Project

59. 11-5 How Can Protect and Sustain Freshwater Lakes, Rivers, and Fisheries?
Concept Freshwater ecosystems are strongly affected by human activities on adjacent lands, and protecting these ecosystems must include protection of their watersheds.

60. Freshwater Ecosystems Are under Major Threats
Think: HIPPCO

61. 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

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

63. 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

64. Natural Capital: Ecological Services of Rivers

65. 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

66. Video: Salmon swimming upstream

67. 11-6 What Are the Priorities for Sustained Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services?
Concept 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.

68. 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