Task 1B: HIPPCO

As we have looked at in Task 1A, humans are the driving cause for extinction right now.

The role that we play can be summarized as HIPPCO. Each letter in the acronym stands for one of the ways that we impact the environment in a negative way. We will look into each of the 6 ways.

Habitat Loss, Degradation, and Fragmentation

shrinking ranges.pdf

Look at the map to the left.

What do you notice about the ranges of the animals?

How have they changed in the last 300 years?

The main causes for habitat destruction are agriculture, aquaculture, oil and gas exploration, industrial development, deforestation, and water diversion.

Habitat loss is the number one cause of extinction, especially in species that have a narrow range of environmental conditions.

Habitat fragmentation can also cause extinction in smaller populations because it divides the population which limits the reproductive capacities. This makes the population more likely to go extinct because there is not as much reproductive success as there used to be.

Habitat fragmentation can be caused by roads, dams, houses, cities, bridges, and anything else that will prevent animals from inhabiting the space they used to.

One cool solution to habitat fragmentation caused by roads is animal overpasses. In Banff National Park (in Canada), these overpasses are built over the highways. The overpass is a continuation of the natural surroundings that allows the animals to safely cross the road. This helps minimize the effect of fragmentation because populations are not separated from each other or their resources.

Invasive Species

Invasive species are the second leading cause of extinction.

Some of the negative effects they have are:

Preys upon or parasitizes native species
Competes for food
Transmit disease
Alter the environment
Negatively impact human health or economic activities
Can spread rapidly because they don’t have natural predators

Some examples you might have heard of are:

Asian Carp

Kudzu Vine

Burmese Python

Red Fire Ant

Removing an invasive species is almost impossible because they have no natural predators in a new area.

This makes removing them very expensive and not very successful.

As a result, the focus is on Prevention and Control.

Strategies include:

Research characteristics of successful invaders

Identify natural predators, parasites, bacteria, and viruses that could control them

Track invasive species

Computer models to predict spread

Ban transfer of invasive species between countries

Step up inspections

Educate public about dangers of releasing exotic pets and plants

Population Growth and Resource Use

As the human population has grown, so has our resource use per person. This increased resource use has led to an increase in extinctions.

Look at the graph below, what do you notice about human population and extinctions?

For obvious reasons, we can't just start trying to reduce the population or limit the population growth. However, what we can do is limit our ecological footprint.

If you remember from unit one, we learned about ecological footprints and some things that can make it larger or smaller. By making our ecological footprints smaller as a society, we can reduce the amount of resources we use.

Pollution

Pollutants, like chemicals, contaminate the air, soil, and water. These chemicals can kill organisms, impair reproductive success, and inhibit normal function.

While it may not seem like a big deal if a little bit of pesticide ends up in the massive ocean, it is for 2 reasons:

If everyone thinks "it's just a little bit" then it eventually turns into a lot.
Biomagnification.

Watch the video below to understand biomagnification.

We can limit pollution by reducing our use of plastics, chemicals, and other harmful substances. We can also reduce carbon emissions and other greenhouse gases that pollute the air.

Climate Change

We have already studied climate change quite a bit.

Look at the graph to the left, what do you notice about global temperatures now?

How do they compare to the highs in the 1940s?

One of the biggest causes for the rise in global temperatures is the rise of greenhouse gasses. These gasses trap heat in the atmosphere, which warms up the Earth. Watch this video about the polar bear crisis to better understand the problem we are facing.

Overexploitation

Overexploitation can occur through overharvesting or exotic pet trade.

Either way, the result is a population that can no longer sustain itself because too many members have been taken out.

Exotic pet trade is a huge problem for many species. For every live animal that is captured, there are many that were killed or died during transport. In addition to this, many animals are killed for precious resources (fur, skin, horns, teeth, etc.).

Below I have included some species that are sold on the black market. Look at the prices they are sold for, especially the endangered species.

Hyacinth Macaw

$10,000+

Capuchin Monkey

$8,000

Live Eastern Mountain Gorilla

800 left in the wild

$150,000

White Lion Cub

$140,000

Giant Panda Pelt

1,864 left in the wild

$100,000

Tiger Fur Coat

3,200 left in the wild

$100,000

Black Rhinoceros Horn

5,000 left in the wild

$500,000

Elephant Ivory Tusks

$375,000

In order to stop overexploitation, we need to protect endangered species from hunting and poaching. We can also make sure that we are living sustainably and not overusing animals for food.

Checkpoint 2:

For your checkpoint, pick one of the human impacts from HIPPCO. Keep in mind that the first part of your competency exam will be about one of these impacts, so you can pick the same one for both.

Do some more research into it and create a poster:

the name of the impact you chose
2-3 problems it causes
2-3 potential solutions (one solution for every problem)
drawings/images to represent the issue

Make sure your poster is neat and easy to read. Come to my room to get supplies (paper, markers, etc.) if you need them. You will need to bring a hard-copy of your poster to me.

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