EXTINCTION

Prepared by: Ms. Mary-Rose

Casuyon
OBJECTIVES
At the end of the discussion, I can:
distinguish the different causes of extinction,
explain how natural factors can contribute to
biodiversity crisis and species extinction, and;
relate human activities to the premature
extinction of species.
 WHAT IS EXTINCTION?

• Extinction occurs when the last existing

member of a given species dies
• In other words…there aren’t any more left!

• It is a scientific certainty when there are not

any surviving individuals left to reproduce
 TYPES OF
EXTINCTION
 Natural
Extinction
Accelerated
Extinction
 Why are biologists
uncertain about how
many species are living
on Earth today?
BIODIVERSITY
LOSS
 The Biodiversity Synthesis Report

KEY FINDINGS:
• Decline in biodiversity due to human activities
more rapid in past 50 years than at any time in
human history.

• 12 % of birds, 23% of mammals, and 32% of

amphibians are threatened with extinction.
 CAUSES OF BIODIVERSITY LOSS
• Pollution
• Loss of tropical forest
• Spread of urban areas
• Warfare
• Large dam construction
• Road building
• Tourism
• Loss of traditional lifestyles
 CONSEQUENCES OF BIODIVERSITY LOSS
• Loss of food
• Decrease in biomass
• Collapse of food web
• Loss of keystone species
• Reduction of ecosystem
efficiency and community
productivity
• Loss of medicinal supplies
• Increased vulnerability of
species to disease and
predation
Causes of
Extinction
 NATURAL CAUSE OF
EXTINCTION

Extreme Heating and Cooling of the

Earth
the change in global temperature
caused by a number of factors affects
biodiversity
 CONTINUATION. . .

Changes in Sea Levels or Currents

the rising and lowering of the sea
level has a major impact on marine life
Scientists first described an “ozone hole”
• Over Antarctica in 1985; it has increased in size as ozone
depletion has increased

(a) October 1979 (b) October 2000

Natural factors usually occur at a slower
rate and therefore cause a low extinction
rate. Human activities occur at a faster
rate and cause higher extinction rates.
Human activities are mostly responsible
for the present extinction rates.

http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/sustain/extinct.pdf
 MAN-MADE CAUSE OF
EXTINCTION
Habitat Destruction
“Save the Rainforests!”
• Change in habitat
• Rainforest to pasture lands
• Leads to diminishing resources
• Increases competition
• Can be caused by natural processes
• Volcanoes, floods, drought, etc.
Tropical Forest Cutting

• Cover 13% of Earth

• Home to 50% of all known plant and animal species
• 15.4 million hectares are destroyed annually
 CONTINUATION. . .

Invasive Species
these are the organisms that are
not naturally from one particular
environment or habitat
(a) Brown tree snake (b) Kudzu
• Examples:
• Zebra mussels
• Kudzu plant
• Brown tree
snake
• Wild hogs
Does an invasive species normally
increase or decrease biodiversity
in an ecosystem?
 CONTINUATION. . .

Pollution
is the introduction of harmful
chemicals and compounds (pollutants) to
the environment- water, land, and air
How does extinction of
species impact other
species including
humans?
What actions could you
do to prevent more
species from becoming
extinct?
Questions:

1. How can one contribute to the

extinction of another species?

2. How have human activities

contributed to climate change and to
species extinction?
GROUPINGS!
 BIOMES JIGSAWS
Unto your groups
•Each group will be assigned a biome reporting.
1- Tropical Rain Forest
2- Taiga
3- Chaparral
4- Temperate Deciduous Forest
•Presentation: 15 minutes, each group will present major features
of their assigned biome. The rest of the class will fill in their
graphic organizers accordingly.
Assignment

In your social media account, write

a note discussing what can happen
to earth if biodiversity fails to
support the needs of its dependents.
You may passed your output
through tagging your teacher or
screenshot the post you made.
End of the discussion
