biodiversity in the american west

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Biodiversity in the West 1/20/13

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This EcoWest presentation examines threats to the diversity of species and ecoregions in the American West. Learn more at EcoWest.org

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  • Biodiversity in the West 1/20/13

EcoWest missionInform and advance conservation in the AmericanWest by analyzing, visualizing, and sharing dataon environmental trends.1/20/13 EcoWest decksThis is one of six presentations that illustrate key environmental metrics. Libraries for each topic contain additional slides. IssueSample metrics WaterPer capita water consumption, price of water,trends in transfers Biodiversity Number of endangered species and candidates,biological diversity of ecoregions WildfiresSize and number of wildfires, suppression costs Land Area protected by land trusts, location ofproposed wilderness areas ClimateTemperature and precipitation projections Politics Conservation funding, public opinionDownload presentations and libraries atecowest.org1/20/13 Key pointsBiological diversity in the American West is . . . Impressive in terms of the number of native speciesand the sheer variety of ecosystems in one part of thecontinent Highly variable across the region and across types ofspecies, but tends to be concentrated in geographichotspots, many of which are imperiled Increasingly threatened by habitat loss, invasivespecies, and climate change, but overhunting andcollecting are less of a concern today Undergoing major changes as warmingtemperatures and altered precipitation patterns arecausing range shifts for plants and animals Biased, on the policy level, toward protectingcharismatic megafauna and species listed under theEndangered Species Act 1/20/13 Overview Biodiversity basics Biomes and ecoregions Species diversity and extinctions Red List and endangered species1/20/13 BIODIVERSITY BASICS1/20/13 The building blocks of biological diversityGeographyClimate Biome Latitude Temperature Soils Elevation Precipitation Plants Proximity to Humidity Animalsocean 1/20/13 Temperature and precipitation limit plant distribution Source: U.S. Global Change Research Program 1/20/13 Hottest and coldest areas found in the WestU.S. average temperatures: 1951-2006 Average temperature (F)Source: Climate Wizard 1/20/13 Patchy precipitation patterns in the West U.S. average precipitation: 1951-2002100th MeridianAnnual precipitation(inches) Source: Climate Wizard1/20/13 BIOMES 1/20/13 The Earthsterrestrial biomes Source: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Terrestrial biomes in the U.S.Source: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 The U.S. has the most biomes and ecoregions90%80%70%60%50%% of global area% of biomes40%% of ecoregions30%20%10%0%Former USSR Canada ChinaUnited States BrazilAustralia Source: Precious Heritage: The Status of Biodiversity in the United States 1/20/13 The U.S. ranks high in species diversity900Number of U.S. species 70% % of global species in U.S.80060%70050%600500 40%400 30%30020%20010% 1000 0%(#) = U.S. ranking worldwideSource: Precious Heritage: The Status of Biodiversity in the United States1/20/13 ECOREGIONS 1/20/13 The Earths 825 terrestrial ecoregions Source: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 The Wests terrestrial ecoregionsSource: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 The Earths 426 freshwater ecoregionsSource: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 The Wests freshwater ecoregionsSource: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Phylogenetic diversity of vertebrate species Source: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Phylogenetic diversity of vertebrate species Source: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Number of endemic vertebrate speciesSource: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Number of endemic vertebrate speciesSource: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Number of freshwater endemic species Source: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Number of globally threatened animal speciesSource: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Number of plant speciesSource: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Number of plant speciesSource: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Number of mammal speciesSource: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Number of freshwater mammal species Source: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Number of bird speciesSource: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Number of freshwater bird speciesSource: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Number of amphibian species Source: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Number of globally threatened amphibian speciesSource: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Number of lizard and snake speciesSource: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Number of freshwater turtle and crocodilian species Source: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Number of freshwater fish speciesSource: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Number of migratory fish speciesSource: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Degree of disruption of fish runsSource: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Number of harmful freshwater invasive speciesSource: The Nature Conservancy 1/20/13 Non-natives spreading in Europe and North America 1/20/13 SPECIES DIVERSITY1/20/13 How many species live on Earth? 10 million? 50 million?100 million?1/20/13 Named species are mostly insects2,000,000 Algae Corals LichensFerns Reptiles1,600,000 Mushrooms Birds Amphibians MammalsFishes MossesCrustaceans OthersMollusksArachnids1,200,000Floweringplants 800,000Insects 400,000 0Source: Precious Heritage: The Status of Biodiversity in the United States 1/20/13 Mass extinctions repeat in the Earths historyGenera(thousands)All generaWell-defined generaTrend lineBig five mass extinctionsOther mass extinctionsMillions of years agoSource: Rohde and Muller (2005)1/20/13 Extinctions are now far above background rate 1/20/13 IUCNs global classification of speciesExtinct (EX) 801Extinct in the Wild (EW) 64AdequateCritically Endangered (CR)3,879DataThreatenedEndangered (EN) 5,689EvaluatedVulnerable (VU)10,00261,639Near Threatened (NT) 4,389Least Concern (LC)27,124Total >1.5Species millionData Deficient (DD) 9,709Not Evaluated (NE) Source: IUCN1/20/13 IUCN classification for U.S. species Extinct (EX) 258 Extinct in the Wild (EW)11 Adequate Critically Endangered (CR) 297 DataThreatened Endangered (EN)281 Vulnerable (VU)579 Evaluated4,926Near Threatened (NT) 336 Least Concern (LC) 472Total >200,000Species Data Deficient (DD) 2,692 Not Evaluated (NE)Source: IUCN1/20/13 IUCN has only assessed about 61,000 species Source: IUCN 1/20/13 Number of global species on IUCN Red List20,00018,00016,000Total criticallyendangered14,00012,000Totalendangered10,000 8,000Totalvulnerable 6,000 4,000 2,0000 Source: IUCN 1/20/13 Percent of global species assessed by IUCNBirds Mammals Amphibians ReptilesTerrestrial gastropods Crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shri mp, krill, barnacles PlantsInsectsSpiders, scorpions Fungi 0% 20%40% 60% 80% 100%Source: IUCN 1/20/13 Share of U.S. species at risk by plant/animal groupFreshwater Mussels69% Crayfishes51%Stoneflies 43% Freshwater Fishes 37% Amphibians36%Flowering Plants33% Gymnosperms24%Ferns/Fern Allies 22%Tiger Beetles 19%Presumed/Possibly Extinct (GX/GH )Butterflies/Skippers19% Critically Imperiled (G1) Reptiles18%Imperiled (G2)Vulnerable (G3)Dragonflies/Damselflies18% Mammals16%Birds14% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%60% 70%Percent of SpeciesSource: Precious Heritage: The Status of Biodiversity in the United States 1/20/13 Conservation status of U.S. plants and animals100%Other90%80%Secure70%60%50% Apparently40%secure30% Vulnerable20% Imperiled 10%Critically* Possibly andimperiled presumed extinct Extinct* 0%Animals Vascular plants Source: Precious Heritage: The Status of Biodiversity in the United States1/20/13 ENDANGERED SPECIES 1/20/13 Notable endangered species in the WestSpeciesWhere found?Conflicts and public policy issuesGrayNorthern Rockies and Opposition from ranchers and others animateswolfSouthwestdebate over delisting of Northern Rockies population; Southwest wolves doing poorly.SalmonPacific Coast andMajor impacts on dam operations, but alsoPacific Northwestaffected by land-use changes, such as logging of headwaters habitat.Spotted Pacific Coast states Need old-growth forests and have contributed toowl (northern) and significant declines in logging in the PacificSouthwest (Mexican)Northwest.DesertMojave Desert of Once threatened to derail growth in Las Vegas;tortoiseSouthern Californianow coming into conflict with solar energyand Nevada proposals.DeltaSacramento-SanContinuing to influence management of the hubsmeltJoaquin Delta in Californias water works.Canada Rocky Mountains Impacts ski industry and other development inlynx high-elevation areas. 1/20/13 600 400 200 10001600 0 8001200 1400196719701972Ford1973 Nixon/19751976197719781979Carter 19801981 1982 1983 19841985Reagan 19861987 1988 1989 19901991Bush I19921993 19941995Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 19961997Clinton 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002Number of species protected by the ESA 2003 2004 2005Bush II 2006 2007 2008 20091/20/13 20102011 2012Obama 100 2040 60 140 0 12080196719701972Ford1973 Nixon/19751976197719781979Carter 19801981 1982 1983 1984 1985Reagan 19861987 1988 1989 19901991Bush I 19921993 19941995 1996Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceNumber of species listed per year1997Clinton 1998 moratorium 1999 Congressional 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005Bush II 2006 2007 2008 20091/20/13 20102011 2012Obama Listings influenced by whos in the White House70Average number of species listed per year605040302010 0 Nixon/Ford Carter Reagan Bush I Clinton Bush II Obama Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service1/20/13 Waiting to board the ark: a backlog of candidates Number of candidates for ESA protection350300250200150100 50 01994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service1/20/13 Number of candidates for ESA protection Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1/20/13 Number of listed speciesSource: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1/20/13 Endangered species clustered in subset of countiesSource: Precious Heritage: The Status of Biodiversity in the United States 1/20/13 Hotspots for federally listed species Source: Precious Heritage: The Status of Biodiversity in the United States 1/20/13 Hotspots of rarity and richnessSource: Precious Heritage: The Status of Biodiversity in the United States 1/20/13 Critical habitat is dominated by a few species Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1/20/13 Military lands have more at-risk species than parksSource: Precious Heritage: The Status of Biodiversity in the United States 1/20/13 U.S. threatened and endangered species Corals 2Lichens 2Conifers and Cycads 3Arachnids 12 Crustaceans 22 Amphibians 24 Ferns and Allies 29Flowering Plants 759 Snails 36Reptiles 37Insects 60Clams 71Mammals 83 Fishes 139 Birds 92 Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service1/20/13 Major threats to imperiled or listed U.S. species Habitat loss/degradation Alien speciesPollution OverexploitationDisease100%90%80%70%60%50%40%30%20% 10% 0% Source: Wilcove et al. (1998)1/20/13 Top habitat threats for U.S. endangered species 0%5%10% 15%20% 25%30% 35% 40%AgricultureDisruption of fire regimesInfrastructure, roads Land conversion for developmentLivestock grazingLoggingMilitary activitiesMining, oil/gas, geothermalOutdoor recreation, off-roading PollutantsWater developmentSource: Precious Heritage: The Status of Biodiversity in the United States 1/20/13 Endangered species and Natural Heritage rankings 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% Other Secure 50% Apparently secure Vulnerable 40% Imperiled Critically imperiled 30% Presumed/possibly extinct 20%10%0%Listed ListedListedListed plantsListedendangered threatenedvertebrates invertebratesSource: Precious Heritage: The Status of Biodiversity in the United States1/20/13 Reasons for ESA delistings since 1973 Extinct9Recovered 20 Original Data in Error - Act Amendment1Original Data in Error - Erroneous Data1Original Data in Error - New Information Discovered6 Original Data in Error - Not a Listable Entity3Original Data in Error- Taxonomic Revision7Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1/20/13 Presumed and possibly extinct U.S. speciesInsectsFlowering plants SnailsFreshwater musselsBirds Freshwater fishesOther invertebratesPresumed extinct Possibly extinct CrustaceansNonvascular plants Ferns/fern alliesFungi Amphibians Mammals Gymnosperms Reptiles 0 20 406080100 120140 160 180Source: Precious Heritage: The Status of Biodiversity in the United States 1/20/13 Presumed and possibly extinct U.S. speciesSource: Precious Heritage: The Status of Biodiversity in the United States 1/20/13 Some extinct species once found in the WestTacomaPassenger Tecopa pocket gopher pigeon pupfishMerced Colorado monardella burrowingmayfly1/20/13 Conclusion Ecosystem and species diversity is one of the hallmarks of the American West This is due to its extremes in elevation, wide variation in climate, and unique assemblage of ecological communities Within this mosaic of ecoregions, the West harbors some of the nations hotspots for biological diversity Around the world, scientists believe we are losing species at a rate that far exceeds the natural ebb and flow Habitat loss and invasive species are among the greatest threats, but overhunting and illegal collecting are less of a problem today But we actually know very little about most species, with our attention focused mostly on mammals, birds, and other charismatic life forms 1/20/13 Download more slides and other librariesecowest.org Contact us by e-mailing [email protected] 1/20/13 EcoWest advisorsJon Christensen, Adjunct Assistant Professor and PritzkerFellow at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainabilityand Department of History at UCLA; former director of BillLane Center for the American West at Stanford.Bruce Hamilton, Deputy Executive Director for the SierraClub, where he has worked for more than 35 years; memberof the World Commission on Protected Areas; former FieldEditor for High Country News.Robert Glennon, Regents Professor and Morris K. UdallProfessor of Law and Public Policy, Rogers College of Law atthe University of Arizona; author of Water Follies andUnquenchable.1/20/13 EcoWest advisorsJonathan Hoekstra, head of WWFs Conservation ScienceProgram, lead author of The Atlas of GlobalConservation, and former Senior Scientist at The NatureConservancy.Timothy Male, Vice President of Conservation Policy forDefenders of Wildlife, where he directs the Habitat andHighways, Conservation Planning, Federal Lands, OregonBiodiversity Partnership, and Economics programs.Thomas Swetnam, Regents Professor ofDendrochronology, Director of the Laboratory of Tree-RingResearch at the University of Arizona, and a leading expert onwildfires and Western forests.1/20/13 Contributors at California Environmental AssociatesMitch TobinEditor of EcoWest.orgCommunications Director at CEAMicah DayAssociate at CEAMatthew Elliott Contact us by e-mailingPrincipal at CEA [email protected] LevineAssociate at CEACaroline OttResearch Associate at CEASarah WeldonAffiliated consultant at CEA1/20/13