The Atlas of Global Conservation CHANges, CHalleNges, AND OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE A DIffeRENce JONATHAN M. HOEKSTRA, JENNIFER L. MOLNAR, MICHAEL JENNINGS, CARMEN REVENGA, MARK D. SpALDING, TIMOTHY M. BOucHER, JAMES C. ROBERTSON, AND UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS BERKELEY LOS ANGELES LONDON THOMAS J. HEIBEL, WITH KATHERINE ELLISON THE NATURE CONSERVANCY EDITED BY JENNIfeR L. MOLNAR Contents To future generations, and the planet they will inherit, ACKNOWleDgmeNts x and in recognition of the generous support and vision of FOREWORD • A NEW VIEW OF OUR HOME xii Mark Tercek, The Nature Conservancy Bill Barclay and Ofelia Miramontes FOREWORD • CONSERVATION CONNECTIONS xiv Paul R. Ehrlich, Stanford University 1. INTRODUctION 1 WHY ECOREGIONS? 6 Citation: Hoekstra, J. M., J. L. Molnar, M. Jennings, C. Revenga, M. D. Spalding, T. M. Boucher, J. C. Robertson, Taylor Ricketts, World Wildlife Fund T. J. Heibel, with K. Ellison. 2010. The Atlas of Global Conservation: Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities to Make a Difference. Ed. J. L. Molnar. Berkeley: University of California Press. Terrestrial Ecoregions, Realms, and Biomes 8 Freshwater Ecoregions and Basins 10 University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are Marine Ecoregions, Provinces, and Realms 12 supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. THE STORIES THat MAPS Tell 14 Jon Christensen, Stanford University University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California 2. HabItats 19 University of California Press, Ltd. London, England Forests and Woodlands: Giving Trees 22 Grasslands: Where the Buffalo Roamed 24 The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. Deserts and Aridlands: Hardy Life under Harsh Conditions 26 © 2010 by the Regents of the University of California Rivers and Wetlands: The Planet’s Lifeblood 28 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lakes: Fragile Pools of Life 30 Caves and Karst: Troves of Subterranean Species 32 The atlas of global conservation : changes, challenges and opportunities to make a difference / Jonathan M. Hoekstra [et al.] ; edited by Jennifer L. Molnar. HOPE IN HABITATS 34 p. cm. Steven J. McCormick, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-520-26256-0 (cloth : alk. paper) Coasts and Shelves: The Sea’s Sunlit Margins 36 1. Conservation of natural resources. 2. Environmental protection. 3. Globalization. I. Hoekstra, Jonathan M. 38 II. Molnar, Jennifer L. Coral Reefs: Crown Jewels of the Ocean S936.A75 2010 Mangrove Forests: Bridging Land and Sea 40 333.95'16--dc22 2009023617 Seagrass Beds: Marine Meadows 42 Project Management: Michael Bass Associates Cartography: Paula Robbins, XNR Productions Salt Marshes: Living Filters along Our Coasts 44 Design and Composition: Nicole Hayward Design High Seas and Deep Oceans: Earth’s Uncharted “Inner Space” 46 Text: Adobe Garamond Pro Display: Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk Prepress, Printing, and Binding: FourColour Imports, Ltd. 49 Title page photo: Ami Vitale 3. SPECIES Plants: A Vital Variety 52 Manufactured in China Freshwater Fish: A Diverse Cast 54 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Amphibians: Fragile Markers of the Planet’s Health 56 Reptiles: Prehistoric Survivors 58 This book has been printed on FSC Paper to be environmentally conscientious. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso z39.48-1992 (r 1997) (Permanence of Paper). ∞ nature.org/atlas Jennifer Molnar Jennifer MIGRATIONS 60 Dams and Reservoirs: Clogging Earth’s Arteries 124 Martin Wikelski, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology and Konstaz University, and 126 David S. Wilcove, Princeton University Sediment Flow: Starving Some Habitats, Smothering Others Melting Ice and Rising Seas: Squeezing the Coasts 128 Birds: Everyday, Everywhere Wildlife 64 Disappearing Glaciers: Ice Storage on a Slippery Slope 130 Mammals: Shared Destiny with Our Closest Kin 66 NATURE CONSERVATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE 132 Endemic Species: In the Narrowest Niches 68 Jonathan M. Hoekstra, The Nature Conservancy Evolutionary Distinction: Branches on the Tree of Life 70 Terrestrial Invaders: Unwelcome Guests 134 PROMOTING LIVELIHOODS, SAVING NATURE 72 Freshwater Invaders: Good Intentions with Costly Consequences 136 Greg Mock, former editor, World Resources Report Marine Invaders: Stowaways Attacking Our Coasts 138 4. A WORLD OF CHANge 75 Terrestrial Animals at Risk: More in Jeopardy Each Year 140 Human Population: Outnumbering Nature 78 Freshwater Animals at Risk: Are Their Futures Drying Up? 142 Consuming Nature: Running Out of Planet? 80 Marine Animals at Risk: Sea Life Unraveling 144 Climate Change: The Planetary Emergency 82 147 ULTIMATE AGENTS OF GLOBAL CHANGE 84 5. TAKING ActION Joel E. Cohen, Rockefeller and Columbia Universities Protected Areas on Land: Triumph for Nature 150 Habitat Loss on Land: Going, Going,… 88 Protecting Rivers, Lakes, and Wetlands: Thinking beyond Park Boundaries 152 Coastal Development: Reshaping the Seashore 90 Marine Protected Areas: Oases for Fish and People 154 Bottom Trawling and Dredging: Scouring the Seafloor 92 Protecting Nature’s Services: Dividends from the Wealth of Nature 156 Landscape Fragmentation: Going to Pieces 94 CONVERGENT CONSERVATION 158 Scott A. Morrison, The Nature Conservancy Thwarted Fish Runs: Up against a Wall 96 International Cooperation: Saving the Whales—and More 160 GLOBAL CONTAMINATION OF THE BIOSPHERE 98 John Peterson Myers, Environmental Health Sciences Greening the Marketplace: Certifiably Profitable 162 Freshwater Pollution: Clear but Hazardous 102 Collaborative Solutions: Problem-Solving Partnerships 164 Nitrogen Pollution: Too Much of a Good Thing 104 CONSERVATION ON OUR WATCH 166 Gretchen C. Daily, Marilyn Cornelius, and Charles J. Katz, Jr., Stanford University, and Ruin of the Reefs: Fading Jewels, Lost Wealth 106 Brian Shillinglaw, New Forests, Inc. Into the Wild: The Cost of Expanding Human Access 108 Rule of Law: Protecting the Commons 168 POVERTY AND nature’S SERVICES 110 Individual Action: Parting the Waters 170 M. Sanjayan, The Nature Conservancy Restoring Nature: Mending the Web of Life 172 Forest Clearing: Uprooting Nature 112 Water Stress: Overused and Undermanaged 114 6. CONclUSION OUR FUTURE, OUR CHOIces 175 Overfishing: Emptying the Oceans 116 Wildlife Trade: Sold into Extinction 118 APPENDIX A: ECOREGIONS INDEX MAPS 180 FUTURE OF FISHERIES 120 Jackie Alder, United Nations Environment Programme, and APPENDIX B: TECHNIcal NOTES AND RefeRENces 200 Daniel Pauly, University of British Columbia INDEX 229 Fire: Healthy Doses of Destruction 122 abOUT THE AUTHORS 234 2 Habitats climate and currents. But the pace of human-driven changes in land use, water management, and ocean exploitation is FOR cheetahs, it is African savannas like the Serengeti. so great that there is a mounting risk For heelsplitter mussels, it is the muddy side channels of the that habitats and the species that depend Mississippi River. For the bizarre parasite Symbion pandora, on them may not be able to adjust quickly enough. it is the lips of Norwegian lobsters. This section of the atlas explores the global variety and current distribution Habitats are homes where species find the frigid and dark winters to revel in the of major kinds of habitat. Each page their niches. They can be placid lakes, midnight sun of arctic summer. In between highlights the uniqueness of these habi- snowy mountaintops, arid deserts, or deep these extremes, different combinations tats, the benefits they provide, the ocean trenches—anywhere on Earth of temperature and precipitation sustain dangers faced from human development, where species can find food, shelter, and grasslands, evergreen and deciduous for- and some ways that people can act to opportunities to reproduce. ests, and deserts. protect them. As a global species, humans depend Lake and river habitats are molded by on many different habitats far beyond the topography, geology, and climate, and Shaped by, and shaping, topography. Lake and river habitats are molded by topography, towns and cities where most of us spend they in turn can shape their environment. geology, and climate. Mountains are pocked with cold, glacial lakes and cut by fast, cascading our lives. We rely on the oceans for fish, Steep mountains are pocked with cold, streams. Lowland plains let rivers meander and fill shallow lakes and wetlands. grasslands for farmland and pastures, and glacial lakes and cut by fast, cascading lakes and rivers for water. Forests provide streams that provide homes for aquatic wood and other natural resources, and insects and trout. In lowlands, wide plains they also help moderate changes in cli- let rivers meander and fill shallow lakes mate. Even if we rarely visit these habitats and wetlands that provide habitat for in person, we cannot live without them. larger fish and other species adapted to lanet Management Some habitats, like coral reefs and slower waters. P grasslands, are named after the domi- In the sea, habitats are shaped by cur- nant species found there, but all habitats— rents and temperature, and change with and the