Living ResourcesThe Lives We Depend On

By Karmin Dhaliwal, Ashley Biddlecombe, and

Olivia Zander

We Need This Stuff!

As humans we rely on the natural environment

Living resources, animals and plants (Fauna and Flora) sustain us.

Connections We Depend On Unfortunately, we are destroying many

species of Flora and Fauna that we depend on for things such as food, medicine, building supplies, aesthetic value, tourism, oxygen, filtration, rubber.... The list is very long. And because all species are connected in a vast food chain, when one species is lost it can affect many other species in unforeseen ways. The multitude of complex relationships that exist within an ecosystem are very delicate.

What would happen if one of these things were gone?

So why are we destroying it?

It seems that humans tend to care more about their own needs than those of animals and plants

3 main factors that lead to Canadian endangered species are over exploitation, habitat destruction and pollution.

Over exploitation: We use some animals/plants so much that they die off, and are unable to be brought back. We do this to make money, and to sustain the ever growing human population

in other words we harvest a renewable resource to the point of no return

Habitat Destruction: Humans need space to live, grow food, work, play, and learn. All of this takes away space from flora and fauna. We also need wood to build stuff. We cut down forests to serve our own needs.

Pollution: We also wreck a lot of wild areas with pollution, and other contaminants.

What’s the Biggest Threat to Flora and Fauna?

The main reasons for species loss today is the change to their habitats

Our world is rich in species, and most of them are found in the Tropics

This is why deforestation in places such as the Amazon rainforest is so unfortunate. The lost habitat means we also lose species.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txa-XcrVpvQ&NR=1&feature=endscreen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejmuhOJyPzw

What Do We Use Most of Their Land For? Well, to Eat Meat of Course!

So What Does it Mean to Be An Animal at Risk? There are 3 levels

Endangered species - A population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because their numbers are very low and they face threats such as a changing habitat.

Extirpated - To destroy or remove completely a species from a certain area.

Extinct - the end of an organism or of a group of organisms, normally a species, they no longer exist.

Who are these Animals Facing Extinction?

Who has already become Extinct?

Since 1600, 90 species of birds and 40 species of mammals  have become extinct

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq89Nd0jeaU

What Have We Done!? Fish Tomatoes?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY3w73d6JTI&feature=related

The green revolution is the modifying of domestic species to suit humans own needs.

Over thousands of years through mutation and recombination we have modified the organisms we rely on.

Positives from the green revolution: we are able to grow crops with higher yields that are drought resistant, and animals that weigh more.

Negatives: the complex nature of the changes involved. Social problems arise because farmer and capitals are favoured. This has widened the gap between rich and poor even more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE2OFfmrJRI

So What Can Humans do?

To prevent a further decline in endangered species, numbers must be boosted with captive breeding programs, and habitats protected and enhanced. We can create laws to stop poachers, use selective logging techniques to save forests, reduce our consumption of meat to save land, implement laws that allow for sustainable use of Flora and Fauna, set restrictions of agricultural boundaries, look into vertical farming, and care. We must recognise the value in life of all forms, because we really do need plants and animals to survive and thrive.

Atlantic Sturgeon declared an endangered species

CURRENT EVENT

What

As of January 31st 2012 the Atlantic sturgeon was declared an endangered species.

This provides greater legal protection then just some petition that the natural resource and defence put in effect.

When

Fishing the Atlantic sturgeon has been illegal for more then a decade.

But it was declared endangered on January 31st 2012 when the NOAA put it under the endangered species act.

Who

NOAA put the Atlantic sturgeon under the endangered species act.

Types of Atlantic sturgeon under act are as followed: The Chesapeake Bay, New York Bight, Carolina, and South Atlantic populations of Atlantic sturgeon.

Where

This is happening all over the world

No one is allowed to fish the Atlantic Sturgeon

Why

Atlantic sturgeon are large, slow-growing, late-maturing, long-lived, estuary-dependent fish that live most of their lives in salt water, but hatch and spawn in freshwater, a lot of their time is spent travelling.

Conclusion

The Atlantic Sturgeons population is decreasing rapidly because they can not reproduce as fast as they were being fished out of the ocean. Even though they were not fished for over ten years it was not good enough to help them repopulate. Lets hope that now that they are a endangered species that their numbers will grow.

Questions

Do you think there is anymore they can do then just list the Atlantic sturgeon as an endangered species? What is that?

Why do you think they did not list the Atlantic Sturgeon as an endangered species before now?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euY7vdM5mpE

QUIZ ALERT