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CHAPTER 9 BIODIVERSITY

NATURE’S MEDICINE CABINET . CHAPTER 9 BIODIVERSITY. Will the bark of an ordinary tree in Samoa become a cure for cancer?. Do Now. Why is biodiversity important? Be specific. What do we “get” from nature? Be specific. What W e G et From Nature. Nature’s Medical Cabinet.

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CHAPTER 9 BIODIVERSITY

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  1. NATURE’S MEDICINE CABINET CHAPTER 9 BIODIVERSITY Will the bark of an ordinary tree inSamoa become a cure for cancer?

  2. Do Now • Why is biodiversity important? Be specific. • What do we “get” from nature? Be specific

  3. What We Get From Nature

  4. Nature’s Medical Cabinet • Medicinal plants provide health care and income to local communities • Medicinal plants worth $100 billion in 2011 • 50% of all prescription drugs originally derivedfrom plants (e.g.; aspirin) • How many more are left to be discovered?

  5. Ethnobotany The study of how different cultures usethe plants in their local environment “Mother Nature is the ultimate chemist.”

  6. Mamala tree leaves relieve symptomsof Hepatitis C

  7. Biodiversity A measure of all of the plant, animal& microbial species in an area or on Earth

  8. How many species are there? We don’t really know! 1.8 million species are known, but there could be ~100 millionstill to be discovered.

  9. Earth’s Natural Citizens

  10. WHAT IS NATURE WORTH? What would it cost to buy all of the ecosystem services we get for freefrom nature? minerals oxygen fossil fuels water Approximately $33,000,000,000,000 climate control biodiversity erosion control recreation (parks, etc.) medicine

  11. 80% of Samoa’s tropical oasis of biodiversity and medical cures has been lost due to deforestation.

  12. Endemism Plants and animal species that exist onlyat one location on Earth Biodiversity Hotspots Regions that contain large numbersof endemic and threatened species.

  13. Biodiversity Hotspots

  14. Extirpation • When a species is extinct in one regionbut still present elsewhere • Reintroduction to the extinct regionis possible.

  15. Taxonomic Distributionof Endangered Species

  16. Endangered Species Act The 1973 law protecting biodiversity inthe United States

  17. How to Conserve Biodiversity Single Species Approach • Focus is on well-known, charismatic species • Pandas, eagles, gray wolves • Has led to successful captive breeding programs • But, what about all the other species that need saving? Ecosystem Approach • Focus is much broader target – entire ecosystems • Preserves all of the species and their interactions • Emphasis often on biodiversity hotspots

  18. How to Conserve Biodiversity

  19. Debt-For-Nature Swap Developing nation’s foreign debt paidby preserving its natural areas

  20. Remember the Mamala tree? • Also produces prostratin • Effective in treating HIV • Has led to successful captive breeding programs • US firms attempting to produce synthetic version • Profit-sharing agreement: • Local Samoans receive 50% of all royaltiesfrom sale of prostatin

  21. “There is a strong link between the health of forests and the health of humans. If peopleunderstand that a rainforest might contain thebest cures for diseases that plague us, they willcare a whole lot more about saving it.” -Paul Cox

  22. What do these two chemicals have in common? Paclitaxel Docetaxel

  23. Pacific Yew Tree

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