GEOG 1070 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Local Extinction

• School: University of Iowa
• Department: Geography (Geographical and Sustainability Sciences)
• Course: GEOG 1070
• Professor: Eric Tate

Document Summary

Geog 1070: contemporary environment issues lecture 5. Distant past for every 1000 mammal species <1 went extinct every millennium: current extinction rate is 1000x higher. Threatened species the population has declined to the point that it may be at risk of extinction. Characteristics of endangered species: small (localized) range, requires large territories, lives on islands, low reproductive rates, needs specialized breeding areas, has specialized feeding habits. Biodiversity hotspots biological environments home to many endemic species: areas of concern: World: tropics: declining because of habitat loss, invasive species, pollution, and overexploitation, largest threat to biodiversity: human-induced land use change, 3 types, destruction, degradation, fragmentation the breakup for large habitats into small isolated patches. Invasive species exotic species introduced that causes environmental or economic harm. Preservation protecting natural resources from misuse.