1. Human Impact on the Biosphere

2. Those Pesky Humans! Humans have a large impact on the environment and the organisms we share it with. This is due to our – Ever increasing population size. – Ever increasing use of both renewable and non-renewable resources.

3. Humans Affect the Biosphere in 4 Essential Ways: A. Global Climate Change and Acid Rain B. The Ozone Layer C. Biological Magnification/Bioaccumulation D. Threatening Biodiversity

4. GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND ACID RAIN A.

5. Human Activity and the Carbon Cycle We are releasing CO 2 and other related forms of carbon into the atmosphere at a much faster rate than they are absorbed. This is due to the ever increasing rate at which we: – Clear-cut and burn forests for housing and farming – Burn fossil fuels These activities have resulted in the phenomenon of global warming.

6. Global temperatures have increased 0.5-1.0°F since the late 19th century. FACTS WE KNOW http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/8/87/280px-Instrumental_Temperature_Record.png

7. The snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere and floating ice in the Arctic Ocean have decreased. FACTS WE KNOW Graph & glacier pix: http://nsidc.org/sotc/glacier_balance.html polar bears: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=35720&in_page_id=34

8. What’s so bad about warming up a little? Coastal flooding Cartoon from Brookings Register http://healthandenergy.com/images/global2.gif

9. What’s so bad about warming up a little? More severe storms http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/WEATHER/08/25/tropical.storm/story.katrina.915p.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina

10. What’s so bad about warming up a little? http://zfacts.com/metaPage/lib/Atlantic_conveyor.jpg Changes in Gulf Stream http://www.claybennett.com/pages/ocean_temps.html

11. What’s so bad about warming up a little? Weather extremes Brookings Register Heat waves and drought

12. What’s so bad about warming up a little? Changing habitats means loss of species http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=35720&in_page_id=34

13. Acid Rain The burning of fossil fuels also releases nitrogen and sulfur compounds. These compounds combine with water vapor in the air to produce acids. The acids then migrate for miles and fall as acid rain.

15. Effects of Acid Rain

17. THE OZONE LAYER B.

18. OZONE LAYER The ozone layer protects us from UV light. UV light causes cancer, eye damage, and can damage plant tissue http://pubweb.bnl.gov/users/xujun/www/bnl/ozone_layer_1.gif

19. WHAT WE KNOW Scientists have been monitoring the ____________ of ozone in our atmosphere and have discovered a hole in the ozone layer over ____________. depletion Antarctica http://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/facts/hole.html

20. What’s the cause of Ozone Depletion? Chlorofluorocarbon molecules _______ released from air conditioners, aerosol spray cans, fire extinguishers, and industry ________________ destroy ozone http://www.atm.ch.cam.ac.uk/tour/part3.html (CFC’s)

21. _____________spray cans no longer contain CFC propellants. Gases in ___________________ and _____________ are collected and recycled. THAT’S WHY... AEROSOL AIR CONDITIONERS http://www.roundrocktexas.gov/images/spray_cans_large.jpg refrigerators

22. Pop Quiz Have out a sheet of Paper and number it 1-4. Read each question and write down only the letter of your choice. Good Luck

23. Pop Quiz 1.Which of the following is an example of ecological succession? A. spring followed by summer B. tadpole becoming a frog C. meadow replacing a field D. predators eating prey 2.What is the main suspected environmental problem associated with the burning of fossil fuels? A. depletion of fresh water B. depletion of ozone C. global cooling D. global warming

24. Pop Quiz 3. Which of the following is a side effect of acid rain. A.Large animals B.Cancer C.Damage to trees D.Rusty cars The ozone layer protects Earth by absorbing – A. cosmic dust B. solar heat C. ultraviolet radiation D. white-light frequencies

25. BIOACCUMULATION C.

26. Biological Magnification/ Bioaccumulation Biological magnification/ Bioaccumulation occurs when pesticides build up in animal tissue as you move up a food chain.

27. Example: _____ was first modern insecticide It was cheap, stayed active for long time, and kills many different insects Used to control agriculture pests and disease carrying _______________ DDT http://www.michigan.gov/images/mosquito_65147_7.jpg MOSQUITOES

28. DDT in Borneo DDT was used in Borneo to kill mosquitoes. Lizards ate the mosquitoes. Cats ate the lizards. Cats began dying. With no cats, the rat population grew. Rats began spreading disease. They came up with an interesting solution…..

29. Parachuting Cats http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/ARG/21033~Parachute-Cats-Posters.jpg

30. DDT in the United States DDT causes birds to lay eggs with ___________ shells so eggs would break when sat on. American Bald Eagle was declared endangered in 1967. It has since been reclassified as _____________________ fragile “threatened”

31. THREATENING BIODIVERSITY D.

32. The sum of the genetically based variety of all the organisms in the biosphere = ___________________ Biodiversity gives __________ to the ecosystems that we are so dependent on, enhances their ____________, and provides an important source of new _____, ________, and other _________. BIODIVERSITY stability productivity food medicine products

33. Threatening Biodiversity There are 3 basic ways that human actions threaten biodiversity: Introducing non-native species Hunting organisms to extinction Habitat destruction

34. BIODIVERSITY THREAT One of most important threats to biodiversity come from apparently harmless plants or animals that humans transport into new habitats = _____________________ New habitats don’t have ____________ and parasites that control the population in their native habitats, so invasive species populations _____________ rapidly. INVASIVE SPECIES PREDATORS INCREASE

35. EXAMPLES OF INVASIVE SPECIES http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Wild_rabbit.jpg 24 rabbits turned loose for hunting in 1859 in Australia, reproduced at such a rapid rate they have taken over the continent. http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/a/australia/images/australiamap.gif It is still a major problem and rabbit diseases have been purposely introduced to try to control the population

36. Hunting Organisms to Extinction

37. Habitat Destruction Development of natural areas for cities or agriculture http://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files/SG_ShoppingCenter.JPG

38. BIODIVERSITY THREAT http://www.lubee.org/images/about-threats-1.jpg Tropical rainforests are disappearing at a rate of about 80 acres per minute.

39. BIODIVERSITY THREAT The tropical rainforests once covered more than 14% of the earth's total land surface, but now cover less than 6%. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200506/s1384632.htm Changes in Brazilian rainforest over 30 years

40. Can lead to species Extinction

42. Endangered Species

45. Worlds Rarest Animal

46. ONCE THOUGHT EXTINCT

47. WHAT CAN WE DO??? So…

48. WHAT DOES IT MEAN? REMEMBER! Everything is connected. BIODIVERSITY is a measure of the health of an ecosystem. Image from: Pearson Education Inc, publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall ©2006

49. Examples of efforts to keep a species from becoming extinct: ___________________ (raised and protected in zoos until population is stable, then returned to wild CONSERVING BIODIVERSITY Captive breeding http://www.blackfootedferret.org/

50. End

51. This lesson connects to: Ecological Succession – Primary vs secondary Population Ecology Notes – Graphs, growth rate, factors that effect population size Human and the Environment – DDT, Acid Rain, Ozone layer, biodiversity, global warming

52. Key Vocabulary: - ozone layer- global warming - biodiversity- ecosystem diversity - species diversity- genetic diversity - extinction- endangered species - invasive species- conservation - renewable resource- soil erosion - nonrenewable resource- sustainable use - desertification- deforestation - aquaculture- smog - pollutant- acid rain - poachers