9.10 Human Impacts on Biodiversity

Explain how human activities affect biodiversity and strategies to combat the problem.

• HIPPCO (habitat destruction, invasive species, population growth, pollution, climate change, and over exploitation) describes the main factors leading to a decrease in biodiversity.
• Habitat fragmentation occurs when large habitats are broken into smaller, isolated areas. Causes of habitat fragmentation include the construction of roads and pipelines, clearing for agriculture or development, and logging.
• The scale of habitat fragmentation that has an adverse effect on the inhabitants of a given ecosystem will vary from species to species within that ecosystem.
• Global climate change can cause habitat loss via changes in temperature, precipitation, and sea level rise.
• Some organisms have been somewhat or completely domesticated and are now managed for economic returns, such as honeybee colonies and domestic livestock. This domestication can have a negative impact on the biodiversity of that organism.
• Some ways humans can mitigate the impact of loss of biodiversity include creating protected areas, use of habitat corridors, promoting sustainable land use practices, and restoring lost habitats.
• Enduring understanding EIN-4: The health of a species is closely tied to its ecosystem, and minor environmental changes can have a large impact.