Chapter 9: Sustaining Biodiversity: Saving Species and Ecosystem Services
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Section 1: What Role Do Humans Play in the Loss of Species and Ecosystem Services?
Concept 9-1: Species are becoming extinct 100 to 1,000 times faster than they were before modern humans arrived on earth, and by the end of this century, the extinction rate is projected to be 10,000 times higher than the background rate. Section 2: Why Should We Care about Sustaining Species and the Ecosystem Services They Provide?
Concept 9-2: We should avoid speeding up the extinction of wild species because of the ecosystem and economic services they provide, because it can take millions of years for nature to recover from large-scale extinctions, and because many people believe that species have a right to exist regardless of their usefulness to us. |
Section 3: How Do Humans Accelerate Species Extinction and Degradation of Ecosystem Services?
Concept 9-3: The greatest threats to species and ecosystem services are (in order) loss or degradation of habitat, harmful invasive species, human population growth, pollution, climate change, and overexploitation. Section 4: How Can We Sustain Wild Species and Their Ecosystem Services?
Concept 9-4: We can reduce species extinction and sustain ecosystem services by establishing and enforcing national environmental laws and international treaties, creating protected wildlife sanctuaries, and taking precautionary measures to prevent such harm. |
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