ENV118 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Living Planet Index, Cumberland Plain, Habitat Destruction
16 Nov 2018
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Document Summary
Biodiversity is the variety of all life forms. There are three levels of biodiversity: genetic diversity, species diversity, ecosystem diversity (interaction between communities to maintain the habitats) Humans get resources from the ecosystem through biodiversity. The living planet index showed that vertebrae species abundance declines by 58% between. 1970 and 2012: can become a novel predator (ex. Flora and fauna developed in relative isolation. Loss of terrestrial biodiversity for 50 million years. Highly diverse and highly endemic (93% of habitats on land (forests, savannahs, deserts) as well as anthropogenic environments (cities, agricultural fields, etc. ) Long-term climate change and environmental response (glacial cycles) Mega faunal extinction in australia, lost from unsustainable agriculture, fisheries, mining, and other human activities. 27 mammal species extinct, australia has the worst record of mammal extinctions in the world. Causes of historical extinctions: disease, fire, killing/hunting, clearing, competition, predation, or all of the above.
