Human impact on biodiversity

Agricultural impacts

• removal of hedgerows

  • reduction in habitats

• pesticides/herbicide use

  • destroys food sources

• monoculture

Climate change

• melting ice caps

  • endangers species in that area could go extinct

  • animals are migrating north as their habitat space reduces

• rising sea levels

  • thermal expansion of oceans

  • floods low lying land

  • saltwater moves further up rivers and reduces habitats for freshwater plants and animals

• higher temperatures and less rainfall

  • xerophytes will become dominant

  • loss of non xerophytes will reduce animals that feed on them so animals that feed on xerophytes will increase

• insect life cycles

  • will change due to adaptation

  • pollinators of many plants so plants will be left behind

  • if vectors spread then tropic diseases may spread

Keystone species

• a species that plays a disproportionately large role in maintaining the structure, function, and biodiversity of an ecosystem relative to its abundance