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Extinction and the Practice of Preventing Them

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Extinction and the Practice of Preventing Them 1 CHAPTER 10 Extinctions and the practice of preventing them Stuart L. Pimm and Clinton N. Jenkins In this chapter, we will outline why we consider the source of genes to protect crops from disease. species extinction to be the most important prob- Genetic uniformity can be catastrophic — the lem conservation science must address. Species famous example is the potato famine in Ireland extinction is irreversible, is progressing at a high in the 1840s. rate and is poised to accelerate. We outline the We simply do not know the genetic diversity of global features of extinctions — how fast and enough species for it to provide a practical measure where they occur. Such considerations should for mapping diversity at a large scale. There is, guide global allocation of conservation efforts; however, a rapidly increasing literature on studies they do to some extent, though the priorities of of the genetic diversity of what were once thought some global conservation organizations leave to be single species and are now known to be much to be desired. several. These studies can significantly alter our We conclude by asking how to go from these actions, pointing as they sometimes do to previous- insights to what tools might be used in a practical ly unrecognized species that need our attention. way. That requires a translation from scales of Martiny (Box 10.1) argues for the importance of about 1 million km2 to mere tens of km2 at distinct populations within species, where the di- which most conservation actions take place. versity is measured simply geographically. She Brooks (Chapter 11) considers this topic in some argues, inter alia, that the loss of local populations detail, and we shall add only a few comments. means the loss of the ecosystem services species Again, the match between what conservation de- provide locally. She does not mention that, in the mands and common practice is not good. USA at least, “it’sthelaw.” Population segments, such as the Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi)or grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis)intheconti- 10.1 Why species extinctions have nental USA are protected under the Endangered primacy Species Act (see Chapter 12) as if they were full species. Indeed, the distinction is likely not clear “Biodiversity” means three broad things (Norse to the average citizen, but scientificcommittees and McManus 1980; Chapter 2): (i) there is diversity (National Research Council 1995) affirm Martiny’s within a species — usually genetic-based, but with- point and the public perception. Yes, it’s important in our own species, there is a large, but rapidly to have panthers in Florida, and grizzly bears in the shrinking cultural diversity (Pimm 2000); (ii) the continental USA, not just somewhere else. diversity of species themselves, and; (iii) the diver- That said, species extinction is irreversible in a sity of the different ecosystems they comprise. way that population extinction is not. Some species The genetic diversity within a species is hugely have been eliminated across much of their ranges important as an adaptation to local conditions. and later restored. And some of these flourished — Nowhere is this more obvious than in the differ- turkeys in the eastern USA, for example. Aldo Leo- ent varieties of crops, where those varieties are pold’sdictumapplies:thefirst law of intelligent 181 © Oxford University Press 2010. All rights reserved. For permissions please email: [email protected] Sodhi and Ehrlich: Conservation Biology for All. http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199554249.do 182 CONSERVATION BIOLOGY FOR ALL Box 10.1 Population conservation Jennifer B. H. Martiny Although much of the focus of biodiversity uniform strains of the world’s three major crops conservation concentrates on species (rice, wheat, and maize) are widely planted; extinctions, population diversity is a key therefore, population diversity among wild crop component of biodiversity. Imagine, for relatives is a crucial source of genetic material to instance, that no further species are allowed to resist diseases and pests. go extinct but that every species is reduced to Perhaps the most valuable benefitof just a single population. The planet would be population diversity is the delivery of uninhabitable for human beings, because many ecosystem services such as the purification of air of the benefits that biodiversity confers on and water, detoxification and decomposition humanity are delivered through populations of wastes, generation and maintenance of soil rather than species. Furthermore, the focus on fertility, and the pollination of crops and species extinctions obscures the extent of the natural vegetation (see Chapter 3). These biodiversity crisis, because population services are typically provided by local extinction rates are orders of magnitude higher biodiversity; for a region to receive these than species extinction rates. benefits, populations that carry out the When comparing species versus population ecosystem services need to exist nearby. For diversity, it is useful to define population instance, native bee populations deliver diversity as the number of populations in an valuable pollination services to agriculture but area. Delimiting the population units only to fields within a few kilometers of the themselves is more difficult. Historically, populations’ natural habitats (Kremen et al. populations can be defined both 2002; Ricketts et al. 2004). demographically (by abundance, distribution, Estimates of population extinctions due to and dynamics) and genetically (by the amount human activities, although uncertain, are much of genetic variation within versus between higher than species extinctions. Using a model intraspecific groups). Luck et al. (2003) also of habitat loss that has previously been applied propose that populations be defined for to species diversity, it is estimated that millions conservation purposes as “service‐providing of populations are going extinct per year units” to link population diversity explicitly to (Hughes et al. 1997). This rate is three orders of the ecosystem services that they provide. magnitude higher than that of species The benefits of population diversity include all extinction. Studies on particular taxa confirm the reasons for saving species diversity and more these trends; population extinctions are (Hughes et al. 1998). In general, the greater the responsible for the range contractions of number of populations within a species, the extant species of mammals and amphibians more likely that a species will persist; thus, (Ceballos and Ehrlich 2002; Wake and population diversity is directly linked to species Freedenberg 2008). conservation. Natural ecosystems are composed of populations of various species; as such systems REFERENCES are disrupted or destroyed, the benefits that those ecosystems provide are diminished. These Ceballos, G. and Ehrlich, P. R. (2002). Mammal population benefits include aesthetic values, such as the losses and the extinction crisis. Science, 296,904–907. firsthandexperienceofobservingabirdspecies Hughes, J. B., Daily, G. C., and Ehrlich, P. R. (1997). Pop- in the wild or hiking in an old growth forest. ulation diversity: Its extent and extinction. Science, 278, Similarly, many of the genetic benefits that 689–692. biodiversity confers to humanity, such as the Hughes, J. B., Daily, G. C., and Ehrlich, P. R. (1998). Pop- discovery and improvement of pharmaceuticals ulation diversity and why it matters. In P. H. Raven, ed. and agricultural crops, are closely linked to Nature and human society, pp. 71–83. National Acade- population diversity. For instance, genetically my Press, Washington, DC. continues © Oxford University Press 2010. All rights reserved. For permissions please email: [email protected] 1 EXTINCTIONS AND THE PRACTICE OF PREVENTING THEM 183 Box 10.1 (Continued) Kremen, C., Williams, N. M., and Thorp, R. W. Ricketts, T. H., Daily, G. C., Ehrlich, P. R., and Michener, C. D. (2002). Crop pollination from native bees at risk (2004). Economic value of tropical forest to coffee pro- from agricultural intensification. Proceedings of duction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the National Academy of Sciences of the of the United States of America, 101, 12579–12582. United States of America, 99, Wake, D. B. and Greenburg, V. T. (2008). Are we in the 16812–16816. midst of the sixth mass extinction? A view from the Luck, G. W., Daily, G. C., and Ehrlich, P. R. (2003). Popu- world of amphibians. Proceedings of the National lation diversity and ecosystem services. Trends in Ecology Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, and Evolution, 18, 331–336. 105, 11466–11473. tinkering is to keep every cog and wheel (Leopold group of species. So we ask first: at what rate are 1993). So long as there is one population left, how- birds becoming extinct? Then we ask: how similar ever bleak the landscapes from which it is missing, are other less well-known taxa? there is hope. Species extinction really is forever — To estimate the rate of extinctions, we calculate and, as we shall soon present, occurring at unprec- the extinction rate as the number of extinctions per edented rates. year per species or, to make the numbers more There are also efforts to protect large-scale eco- reasonable, per million species-years — MSY systems for their intrinsic value. For example, in (Pimm et al. 1995; Pimm and Brooks 2000). With North America, the Wildlands Project has as one of the exception of the past five mass extinction its objectives connecting largely mountainous re- events, estimates from the fossil record suggest gions from Yellowstone National Park (roughly that across many taxa, an approximate back- 42oN) to the northern Yukon territory (roughly ground rate is one extinction per million species- 64oN)—areas almost 3000 km away (Soulé and years, (1 E/MSY) (Pimm et al. 1995). This means we Terborgh 1999). A comparably heroic program in should observe one extinction in any sample where Africa is organized by the Peace Parks Foundation the sum of all the years over all the species under (Hanks 2003).
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