- What is biodiversity? Find an animal in a biodiversity hotspot that displays biodiversity and explain how the concept of this lecture fits the animal.
Biodiversity is described as the amount of variety and number of species of organisms living in a set environment or defined population. One animal that displays biodiversity is the maned wolf found in Cerrado in South America. The maned wolf is actually a fox and named for the mane that forms on its neck when it senses danger. The fox has long legs so it can see above the grass, the Cerrado is a grassland, part of their biodiversity, allowing them to hunt better because they can see their food. It has a long snout and black back, mouth and tail. (Maned Wolf). The fox has large ears that are able to pick up the sounds of their prey easily and from some distance. (White Oak.)“Maned Wolf.” Maned Wolf. WWF Global, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2016. <http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/species/profiles/mammals/wolf_maned/>.
“Maned Wolf | White Oak.” White Oak. White Oak, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2016. <http://www.whiteoakwildlife.org/animal-programs/maned-wolf/>.
- Find a biodiversity hotspot and explain what species live there, where it’s located,and if there are any threats to the ecosystem.
The Cerrado is a savanna in Brazil. It is found in the center of Brazil and is about 1.2 million square miles. It is the richest biologically diverse savanna in the world. The Cerrado is home to 10,000 plant species, 935 birds and 300 mammals. The Cerrado habitat is comprised mostly of grassland. Only 2% of the Cerrado is protected. The other 98% is faced with threats from agricultural expansion. Land is being cleared for crops and planting destroying the habitats of the animals and plants that live in the Cerrado. This is one of the major threats to biodiversity any where and represented by the first letter of H.I.P.P.O. Efforts like the Nature Conservatory are working to protect the biodiversity of the Cerrado so it is not all lost to soy bean production needs. Some of the animals found in the Cerrado include the maned wolf (as mentioned above), giant anteater, jaguar, marsh deer, pampas deer, (Nature Conservatory) and giant armadillo. Some of the birds include the red-legged seriema Spix’s macaw, which is critically endangered. (Cerrado).“Brazil.” Protecting the Cerrado. The Nature Conservatory, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2016. <http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/southamerica/brazil/placesweprotect/cerrado.xml>.
“Cerrado, the Brazilian Savanna.” Cerrado, the Brazilian Savanna. WWF Global, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2016. <http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/cerrado/>.
- Explain the acronym H.I.P.P.O.
In order to remember the major threats contributing to the destruction of biodiversity the acronym H.I.P.P.O. is used and can be broken down as follows.
Habitat Loss: Occurs when a section of land is changed due to industrial activities, agriculture, aquaculture, mining, deforestation, and water extraction usually and causes the land to no longer be able to support the wildlife. Soy bean production is a large cause of deforestation, resulting in loss of habitat.
Invasive Species: This can refer to an animal, plant, or microorganism. The intruding species will be introduced to a new environment and results in negative effects on the residents of the habitat/environment. A few ways this can occur are by the new species parasitizing the residents, hybridize with them, compete with them for food, bring unfamiliar diseases, modify habitats, or disrupt important interactions. One example of invasive species in PA is the Japanese hops, that forms senses patches and outcompetes native vegetation for space, nutrients and light.
Pollution: pollution occurs in the air, water, land from many different sources. Most common example is fossil fuels polluting the air. The example used in the module was the runoff from fertilizers creating a dead zone in waters due to the high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorous.
Human Population: the earth’s population has been increasing dramatically while to amount of resources on earth have been decreasing threatening biodiversity with the amount of resources used by humans, decreasing the resources available to microbes, plants and animals.
Overharvesting: overharvesting is when there is excessive hunting, gathering, or fishing that depletes the species/resource faster than it can be repleted. This has historically been an issue with the fish industry.
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Hello Samantha, this is Garrett Webster and im currently a Junior here at Penn State University Park. I liked where you took your learning activity, it gave me a chance to really focus on one part of the world and learn a good deal about it, from you. I know for a fact that Brazil is one of the leading producers and exporters of soybean in the world, top two actually. So i completely understand an area as bio-diverse as the Cerrado is. I was astonished by the sheer number of plants, bird species, and mammals living there. I also agree that Agriculture is a major threat to biodiversity in Brazil. Great job with your learning activity!
If you have the chance, check mine out here as well. I talk a little about my hometowns Pine Creek Gorge.
http://sites.psu.edu/geog30/2016/04/13/garrett-webster-biodiversity/