Biodiversity Hotspots: Madagascar

Biodiversity is the variety of living organisms on the entire earth, or in a particular habitat or ecosystem. Biodiversity increases the productivity of an ecosystem. All species, regardless of their size, play a big role. For this particular study, our group chose the beautiful island of Madagascar. Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot because of its unique animal and plant species, and the fact that the island is under extreme threat. Habitat destruction, fires used for agriculture, erosion, and high risk of species extinction are some of the factors that have affected the island negatively.

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Madagascar consists of several biomes- the savanna, desert, tropical rainforest, and mountain ecosystems. The savannah is a dry and hot grassland, while the desert is extremely dry, hot and has very little vegetation. The tropical rainforest is mostly on the east coast of Madagascar. The mountain ecosystems are found in higher elevations. The savannah and the desert are found along the western side of of the island, where most of the rain has fallen on the eastern side.The tropical rainforests are found on the opposite side of the savannah and desert biomes due to rainfall. "Madagascar is home to many particular animals, including: lemurs, chameleons, geckos, lizards, and endemic snakes." (Savannahs of Madagascar)

                                                                   Madagascar's Biomes
                                        

                         

  Aye-Ayes  are threatened by habitat loss (rainforest destruction).          

        

                                                                                                                       Lemurs are local to to the island of Madagascar.     

According to the Human Development Index of 2003, 70% of Malagasy people face malnutrition, and the average Malagasy makes about 1 US dollar a day. The economy is poor due to corruption caused by former leader/dictator Didier Ratsiraka. Madagascar and other areas have colonial-like economies focused on poor resource extraction, like mining. Many Malagasy locals live in rural areas and rely on slash-and-burn agriculture to survive. This results in habitat loss and possibly species extinction. The global economy influences these issues by having little interest in Madagascar. The small population of the area, lack of development, and sustainable industry causes investors to turn away, keeping the country in a cycle of poverty and degradation. 

The natural vegetation of Madagascar is moderately diverse. Tropical rainforests in Madagascar consists of western dry deciduous forests along the western coast. An unusual spiny desert, also referred to as "spiny thicket", covers the extreme south. The island is also host to various high mountain ecosystems such as Tsaratanana and Andringitra massifs. These ecosystems are covered in moss and lichens. Soil degradation and habitat loss result from farming, mining, and logging. Only 17% of the original forest remains in Madagascar today. Some threatened plant species include the Traveller's Palm and the Rosy Periwinkle.

                              Rosy Periwinkle


                                     Traveller's Palm

The species diversity is relatively high. There are at least 13,000 species of plants (90% endemic). The mammal and bird diversity is slightly low, but high with reptiles and amphibians. There are about 1,200 vertebrate species including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and freshwater fish (approximately 85% endemic). Hunting has harmed numerous animal populations. Invasive species like rats and cats eat some of the native species. Other invasive species, such as goats, consume the majority of food meant for the native species. Madagascar has several critically threatened species including the Silky Sifaka, a lemur, which is one of the rarest mammals on earth.  Another threatened species, the rare Ploughshare tortoise, is found only in a small area of northwestern Madagascar where as few as 1,000 of these animals survive. 

WWF aims to protect, restore and maintain Madagascar’s unique biodiversity in harmony with the culture and livelihoods of the local people. We work closely with governments, scientists, industry and local communities on several areas that present the best opportunities to secure the future for the island’s people and species.

WWF works with traditional fishermen and government authorities to manage marine and coastal resources so that they not only contribute to conservation but also benefit local communities.

The beautiful island of Madagascar is one of the most known biodiversity hotspots because of its range of diverse wildlife and uniqueness as a whole. This evolutionary treasure-house is of great importance from a worldwide perspective. Deforestation and habitat destruction, agricultural fires, soil degradation, over exploitation of living resources, and invasive species are all factors of the environmental problems of Madagascar. The human population must become more aware of the negative effects of their activities. Madagascar is a unique, diverse, and beneficial location worthy of attention.

                                  Works Cited

-International, C. (2011). Biological diversity in Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands. Retrieved from http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/150623

-"Savannahs of Madagascar" 

http://www.eniscuola.net/en/argomento/savannah/savannah-biome/savannahs-of-madagascar/

-"Facts on the Rainforests in Madagascar"

http://traveltips.usatoday.com/rainforest-madagascar-43243.html

                                     

Learning About Food Webs and Energy Pyramids Summary

There are various types of organisms, all of which belong to ecosystems. Within an ecosystem,food chains, food webs, and energy pyramids are used to show how organisms interact/depend on each other to obtain nutrients. They show who eats who or who eats what through the study of trophic levels (relationships) that are put in order.Organisms are divided into two groups, autotrophs (producers) and heterotrophs (consumers). Producers are organisms that have the ability to make their own food by using energy from the sun (photosynthesis), carbon from CO2 in the air, and H2O from soil. Consumers are organisms that get their food (energy) from consuming those producers. Consumers are narrowed down into specific trophic levels such as primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers and so on. Those trophic levels form a food chain, which leads us to a food web. Food webs show how members in a range of food chains may interact with one another. With food chains and food webs comes the flow of energy. "Most of the food that is produced by photosynthesis is used to run all of the activities and processes going on in the plant's cells, including energy for growth and reproduction...in fact, most of the sun's energy either doesn't reach Earth's surface or doesn't fall on areas where plants live. When a primary consumer eats a plant, it only gets a small fraction of the original sunlight energy that made it to earth."("Unit 3 | Lab 9: Learning About Food Webs and Energy Pyramids Student Guide") When a primary consumer eats a producer, the primary consumer retains only 10% of the producer's energy. A secondary consumer ingests a primary consumer and once again retains only 10% of the primary consumer's energy. As this process continues, the amount of energy eventually reaches the point where no more energy can be transferred.

Photo: A food web representing some of the numerous creatures that lie in the aquatic biome of planet earth.

In my group's food web, the organisms all connect in some way. The order of the trophic levels in the picture (from top to bottom) are scavengers(organisms that consume dead animals), tertiary consumer, secondary consumers, primary consumers, and producers. In the second row (from top to bottom) a sea cucumber, sea turtle, sea star, oithona, and diatoms are shown. Diatoms use photosynthesis to get their energy. The oithona then feed on the diatoms and energy is transferred. Later, a sea star consumes the oithona. This flow of energy is continued as a sea turtle starts hunting for food and finds the star fish. Lastly, when the sea turtle inevitably dies, sea cucumbers feed on the decaying body of the turtle.

"Earth is divided into major divisions called biomes." ("Unit 3 | Lab 9: Learning About Food Webs and Energy Pyramids Student Guide") The type of food web my group's food web represents is the aquatic. The aquatic biome may be broken down into two basic regions, freshwater(streams and rivers, wetlands), and marine regions (oceans).("The Aquatic Biome") Our food web revolves more around the ocean which contains a great diversity of species. The organisms displayed in the photo come from three of the four zones of the the ocean regions. These zones are the intertidal zone, the pelagic zone, and the benthic zone.

                       

                                                                          Works Cited

"Unit 3 | Lab 9: Learning About Food Webs and Energy Pyramids Student Guide"

"The Aquatic Zone." Link: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/aquatic.html

Ecological Footprint Summary

The ecological footprint is a measure of how much of an impact you have on the environment. The amount of productive land and water required to produce the resources consumed by an individual or population is estimated. During the Ecological Footprint activity, I've learned numerous new facts about the planet earth, as well as how our daily activities contribute to the Ecological Footprint.

    Figure 1. The diagram above shows the ecological footprint. Comparisons are made between the consumption and production of renewable resources.

A big factor of the ecological footprint is biocapacity, short for biological capacity. Biocapacity is the ability of an ecosystem to provide biological resources.

     
Figure 2. The graph above shows a comparison between the ecological footprint and the biocapacity of a population. As presented, the ecological footprint exceeds the biocapacity.

When the needed amount of resources required for human demand exceeds the biocapacity, this results in ecological overshoot.

 "The data show that humanity’s demand on the biosphere for providing natural resources and absorbing carbon dioxide emissions is 44 percent more than what nature can provide. This ecological overshoot means it now takes approximately 18 months for the Earth to regenerate what we use in one year. The urgent threats we are facing today - most notably climate change, but also biodiversity loss, shrinking forests, declining fisheries and freshwater stress - are symptoms of this trend."

Figure 3. The T-Chart above shows the amount of planet earths required if everyone consumed a certain amount of resources.


Because of excessive use of energy, oil, water, and other resources, we consume much more than we produce. This routine results in a high ecological footprint, especially in more developed countries such as the U.S. (see Figure 3).There are multiple ways we can maintain sustainability. In order to live a sustainable life on earth, we must reduce our utilization of resources - such as water and energy. Recycling must be encouraged as using recycled materials will reduce waste. Forests and soil also need to be preserved.


References
Computer Lab Research. 24 October 2013. http://hmsclassroommaterials.blogspot.com/2013/10/ecological-footprint.html

http://www.footprintnetwork.org/images_ef/05_china_efbio.gif

http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/newsletter/bv/humanity_now_demanding_1.4_earths