webpage. Integrative Biology 335: The course evaluation will also be on Monday. Systematics of The final lecture exam is on Friday, May 7th, from Web Resources: Biodiversity 1:30 to 4:30 PM in this room. This exam will be comprehensive, but again with emphasis on the last Some of the information presented below parallels that used in IB third of the course. It will be worth 20% of your 100/101. This information was prepared by Prof. Downie many Announcements: final grade. There is a sample final exam in the years ago when he was teaching in that course. Today's lecture on biodiversity will be given by Dr. back of your Class Notes (pp. 269-284) and the Scientific Definitions of Biodiversity, California Ken Robertson of the Illinois Natural History exam will be similar in style to what you saw in Biodiversity Council Survey. Lecture Exam 2. For the final, be sure to review all Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, assessing readings, quizzes and assignments. You should also the consequences of ecosystem change for Lecture Assignment 5 will be due, in lecture, on review your past two lecture exams (by coming by human well-being Monday, May 3rd. Late assignments (after class on Prof. Downie's office and looking at your graded World Conservation Monitoring Centre, an due date) will incur a 50% penalty; assignments exams). overview of biodiversity more than 24 hours late will not be accepted. World Resources Institute, the diversity of life If there is interest, there will be a final lecture Biodiversity and Conservation, a hypertext exam review (most likely on Reading Day; time The final lab exam is on Tuesday, May 4th book and place TBA). Currently, there will NOT be a (stations in lab) and Wednesday, May 5th (slides in Biodiversity and Conservation: The Web of lecture review, as only two students have indicated lecture). The exam will be comprehensive, but with Life, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago an interest. emphasis on the last half of the course. This exam Illinois Natural History Survey, Institute of is worth 15% of your final grade. Clark will offer a Natural Resource Sustainability lab review (this Sunday, May 2nd, 4-7 PM), and I Lastly, since this is our last formal lecture, any will review families/subfamilies in lecture on further announcements I need to make will be presented on the General Course Announcements Monday, May 3rd. Objectives:

"How Systematics Works" specimens, which were sent back to herbaria; After studying this material you should be able to: sometimes seeds were also collected and set back to Field botanists explore the world's ecosystems botanical gardens. Botanical explorers were, and 1. Define the term biodiversity and explain how and collect herbarium specimens are, interested in collecting: the three levels of biodiversity (genetic, species, These specimens are examined and identified to and ecosystem) are related and dependent on known species (if indeed possible) native plants growing wild one another. New species are formally described, named, and new agricultural crops 2. Define what a species is and discuss why this published new horticultural plants definition is important in knowing how many These names are eventually incorporated into medicinal plants species there are. identification manuals (or floras) 3. Have an idea how many species of flowering Herbarium specimens that have been identified The scientific discipline of "" or species have been described, how many are then placed in herbaria "systematics" grew out of the need to formally may actually exist, and where in the world Scientists study herbarium material and, when describe, name, and classify all the newly species richness is the greatest. possible, living plants to understand how discovered species. The original goal of taxonomy 4. Know approximately how many species of species, genera, and families are circumscribed was to catalog life on earth. flowering plants occur natively in Illinois today, and related to each other as well as how many species are endemic to Molecular studies often use herbarium Taxonomy progresses with the gain of accumulated Illinois. specimens by extracting DNA from them; knowledge and advances in technology. 5. Explain how biodiversity is lost, how rapidly it phylogenies derived from molecular data can be Consequently, in the past 250 years, the science of is currently being lost, and some of the reasons used to answer all sorts of systematic and taxonomy and systematics has grown and why we might be concerned about this loss. evolutionary questions. diversified. Today, it can be said, perhaps a bit 6. Explain the role of systematics in studying simplistically, that there are two major branches in biodiversity. For several hundred years now, botanists have systematics: explored the far regions of the world, as different parts became accessible, and collected herbarium cataloging, that is the basic process of exploring, collecting herbarium specimens, and describing Genetic diversity and naming new species and other taxa. Species diversity studies that concentrate on inferring Ecosystem diversity evolutionary histories within and among taxa across all hierarchical levels. Simply put, biodiversity increases when new genetic variation is produced, a new species arises, While also simplistic, most current research in the or a novel ecosystem (or habitat) is formed. cataloging takes place at major botanical gardens, . arboreta, and natural history museums, while most Biodiversity decreases when genetic variation evolutionary work is concentrated at universities. within a species decreases, a species becomes extinct, or an ecosystem (or habitat) is lost. In this lecture, the emphasis is on the cataloging aspect of taxonomy Biodiversity is a dynamic process, and what we see and on the more general topic of today is the product of hundreds of millions of BIODIVERSITY. years of evolutionary history. Left: Of all the genes in humans, 10,000 are outwardly (visibly) expressed and vary from person to person. Right: Carrot diversity, by Philip W. Simon. BIODIVERSITY = Biological Genetic Diversity: Diversity The variety of genetic information contained in all of the individual plants, animals, and The world's living species and populations of microorganisms in the world. organisms along with their associated habitats and ecological systems. It occurs within and between populations of the same species, as well as between species. Biodiversity is defined at three levels:

Individuals belonging to the same species are Morphological species concept: Plants that Flowering plants 250,000 300,000–500,000 Vertebrates 45,000 50,000 usually not identical genetically. look alike are treated as the same species Roundworms 15,000 500,00–1 million Biological species concept: Plants that are Mollusks 70,000 200,000 Differences in the amount and distribution of reproductively isolated from each other are Crustaceans 40,000 150,000 genetic variation within a single species can be treated as different species Spiders and mites 75,000 750,000–10 million attributed to the enormous variety and Genetic species concept: Species are defined Insects 950,000 8–100 million complexity of habitats, and the different ways by the amount of genetic distance between organisms have adapted to these habitats. them "Scientists have a better Phylogenetic species concept: A group of understanding of how many Genetic diversity can be measured using a common ancestry that is diagnosably distinct stars there are in the galaxy variety of DNA and protein-based techniques to from other such groups. (This means that than how many species there determine genotypic differences. It can also in geographic forms of the same species should are on Earth." part be catalogued based on differences in be treated as distinct species--they have expressed, phenotypic traits. evolved separately, have unique evolutionary An estimated 1.4 million species have been histories, and are diagnosably distinct. As described to date, and estimates for the total such, the PSC can inflate species numbers.) Species Diversity: number of species vary from 2 to 100 million. Some examples from: Systematics Agenda 2000: The variety of living species. For additional information: Charting the Biosphere How many species of flowering plants are there? from the World Resources The question "What is a species?" is very Group Number Described Estimated Total Species important, for it has implications on how many Viruses 5,000 about 500,000 Institute. species there actually are. Many different Bacteria 4,000 400,000–3 million Relative numbers of described species in definitions of species have been proposed: Fungi 70,000 1–1.5 million major taxa also from the WRI. Protozoans 40,000 100,000 –200,000 Algae 40,000 200,000–10 million How many species of flowering Zaire and Indonesia. For comparisons, 18,000 Group Taxa T & E Extirpated Extinct Bryophytes 506 2 plants are there? species are found in the US (includes Hawaii Club mosses 12 3 1 and Puerto Rico) and 2,000 occur in Illinois. Horsetails 12 3 1 Species of Flowering Ferns 75 13 2 Geographical Region Plants Conifers 14 7 World 280,000 – 400,000 Species diversity is not evenly Flowering Plants 1,955 329 53 1 Brazil + Zaire + Indonesia 125,000 distributed across the globe. In Total 2,574 355 59 1 United States (3,500,000 miles2)* 18,000 general, species richness is Panama (34,000 miles2) 7,123 Approximately 2,000 species of flowering plants Illinois (56,400 miles2) 2,000 concentrated in equatorial regions * Includes Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico (i.e., tropical rainforests) and occur natively in Illinois today. decreases as one moves to the poles There are over 280,000 species of angiosperms (or increases in altitude). Forty to Only two species of flowering plants are endemic described from throughout the world, with the fifty percent of all species are found to Illinois; one of these is now extinct. total number of extant species probably in wet tropical rainforests, a region that comprises Thismia americana, Burmanniaceae, collected reaching 400,000 by some counts. only 2% of the Earth's land surface. between 1912-1916 from a single site near

Number of Tree Chicago (Calumet) The number of angiosperm families is well over Location and Area Species 400. Borneo, 10 x 2.5 acre plots 700 Southeastern Asia, 2.5 acre plots 120 – 200 remota, , Kankakee Mallow, A recent estimate of the number of flowering Peru, 2.5 acres 300 restricted to Langham Island in the Kankakee 2 plant species arrived at a figure of 422,000. [No United States (3,400,000 miles )* 680 River Illinois (56,400 miles2) 137 ref. citation, but numerous webpages cite this [U of I Quad is 9 acres] number] * Includes Alaska

Approx. half of the world's angiosperm species How many species of plants occur in Illinois? are found in three tropical countries: Brazil,

soil rehabilitation, pest and disease regulation, on earth water quality, and pollination/dispersal mechanisms are maintained by a wide range of Currently, we are in a biodiversity crisis, the biologically diverse populations in natural sixth and fastest mass extinction in Earth's ecosystems. history.

An ecosystem is a community of organisms and The rate of species extinction is 1,000–10,000 their physical environment interacting together. times higher now than at any time before An ecosystem can cover a large area, such as a humans evolved. . whole forest, or a small area, such as a pond. Left: Iliamna remota. Right: Thismia americana. In Illinois, 329 species of flowering plants are Ecosystem diversity is a precondition for genetic threatened or endangered. and species diversity. Ecosystem (Habitat) Diversity: Endangered Species Program, US Fish The natural community classification system used and Wildlife Service The variety of habitats, biological communities, in Illinois Endangered and Threatened Species in and ecological processes occurring within and Illinois between each type of ecosystem. The Sixth Extinction, by Niles Eldredge Reduction of Biological Ecological processes, such Diversity Population Loss (Loss of genetic variation): as water and nutrient The decline in numbers and sizes of cycling, energy flow, Species Loss (Extinction): populations succession, predation, In the geologic record, five competition, mutualism, parasitism, primary mass extinctions have re- Lack of variety in mate selection and production, decomposition of organic matter, set the level of biodiversity potential for inbreeding National Invasive Species Information habitat loss. biodiversity, from local grass root organizations to Center Their pictures and stories. international scale projects. Illinois is a leader Loss of genetic diversity in Illinois Habitat loss directly impacts species diversity because we have so few natural areas remaining. populations of the Greater Prairie and genetic diversity. Chicken Inventorying and Cataloging

Habitat Loss: There is considerable work going on in this Deforestation. About area. For example, see the research projects 60% of all the tropical being carried out at the Missouri Botanical rainforests which Garden. Fragmentation of once existed 100 years ago Today, most new species are discovered in continuous habitats into small remnants. are now gone. Now, 1– tropical regions, but still there are "botanical Illinois once had 22 million acres of prairie 2% of the remaining surprises" to be found in the United States! One (60% of Illinois). Now, only 2200 acres of tropical forests are removed each year. This example is Neviusia cliftonii, Shasta snow- high quality prairie exists (less than 1/100 of is equivalent to losing an area the size of wreath. 1%). Florida each year! This translates to about The All Species Foundation, which has a goal to "the complete inventory of all species of life on 2.4 acres (1 hectare) per second, equivalent Rainforest Action Network to two football fields (or 149 acres per minute Earth within the next 25 years — a human The Tallgrass Prairie in Illinois, an generation. " or an area larger than NYC every day). If endangered ecosystem in the state deforestation continues are current rates, it Biodiversity "Hotspots" is estimated that all tropical rainforests will be destroyed by the year 2030. Efforts to Preserve Biodiversity "The most remarkable places on Earth are also the most threatened, and many of them have been Also pollution and development causes There are many efforts to help preserve reduced to less than 10 percent of their original

vegetation. These are the Hotspots: the 25 richest heavily or entirely on biological products and most threatened reservoirs of plant and animal drugs derived from Biofuels, ethanol, life on Earth. Hotspots are one of CI's main areas of natural sources new hybrids and focus for biodiversity conservation." More than 20,000 species varieties of have been used for ornamental plants, Conservation Hotspots from Conservation medicinal purposes fibers, adhesives, International 41% of our prescription natural rubber, etc. I.U.C.N. Biodiversity Hotspots & CEB Research drugs have their active ingredients Sites derived from living organisms 4. Genetic I.U.C.N., The World Conservation Union 70% of promising anti-cancer drugs come from rain forest plants Efforts in Illinois Relatively few flowering plants have been examined for their medicinal properties Chicago Wilderness Ecosystem Partnership The Critical Trends Assessment Program 2. Food The Illinois Headwaters: An Inventory of the 30,000 plant species have edible parts; Region's Resources (Area around Champaign 7,000 species are grown and used as food; County) 20 species feed 90% of the world; just 3 resources species are major world-wide staples (rice, Land races (vs. modern, cultivated races) wheat and corn) are diverse genetically and are important What are the benefits of preserving biodiversity? Many underutilized food crops have the to augment the narrow genetic base of established food crops 1. Pharmaceuticals potential to become important in the future 80% of people in less- 5. Ecosystem level benefits developed countries rely 3. Wood and other Protection of water resources, soil formation and protection, pollution the organization of this knowledge into breakdown and absorption, recovery from classification systems disturbances, etc. Click here to get home! Phylogenetic classification systems are powerful 6. Ethical, Cultural, Historical predictive tools that help us understand, maintain, Who are we to decide on the value of a and effectively utilize this great biological wealth. species or an ecosystem?

For numerous other examples (and references), And finally ... access the IB 100/101 Biodiversity lecture webpage "When you take a in your hand and really look at it, it's your The importance of systematics in studying world for the moment. I want to give biodiversity that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, Much of our knowledge of biodiversity comes from they have no time to look at a flower. the basic activities of systematic biologists, namely: I want them to see it whether they want to or not." the inventorying of known species from the Georgia O'Keeffe, New York Post, May 16, 1946. world's ecosystems the discovery, description and naming of new This is our last formal lecture! We hope that species you've enjoyed the course, and we would like to the determination of their characteristics and think that next time you travel, eat, or simply evolutionary relationships to other species observe in passing, you'll have a whole new the understanding of how species arise appreciation of the plant life around you.