HABITAT DESTRUCTION CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES HABITAT DESTRUCTION Every

HABITAT DESTRUCTION CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES

HABITAT DESTRUCTION Every living thing requires somewhere to live, find food and reproduce. This is known as its habitat. In order for a species to be viable its habitat must have sufficient territory, necessary food and water and a range of necessary physical features. These features can include tree cover, rocky hills or deep pools, as well as the organisms and ecosystems that are needed to complete the life cycle. Habitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present. In this process, the organisms that previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity. Whenever we humans take over natural areas for our own use, we are encroaching on the habitat of another creature and progressively we are doing this at an alarming rate.

HABITAT DESTRUCTION Causes of Habitat Destruction • Deforestation • Desertification • Urbanization • Introduction of invasive Species of Plants or Animals • Pollution • Natural causes such as Wildfires, Volcanism and Climate Change

FOREST HABITATS Human activity is responsible for the loss of around half of the forests that once covered the Earth. Although these can recover and can even be sustainably harvested, their rate of loss is about ten times higher than the rate of regrowth. Because of Rainforest habitat loss it is estimated that at least 120 out of the 620 living primate species (apes, monkeys, lemurs and others) will be extinct within the next 10 to 20 years. Example : Gorilla It is estimated that about 80 percent of the gorilla population is extinct. Gorillas face threat in wherever place they live. Destruction of habitat, hunting by humans and diseases caused by Ebola virus are the reasons for extinction.

FOREST HABITATS Major Causes of Deforestation in India • Agriculture. With raise in the demands for agricultural products, forests are being destroyed to render space for cultivating crops and building farms, where especially cultivators are encouraged by the government to work on the areas. Moreover, the planters use fire in the development, which leads to the emission of large amounts of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide in an environment that creates a pessimistic blow on the biology. • Wood Harvesting. Trees are cut down for attaining lumber or timber that is a wood used for constructing houses and making furniture. It is the most significant cause of deforestation. • Grazing Land. Forests are also cleared for cattle grazing, which have made them one of the most heavily exploited. • Mining. Excavating a diamond or coal means clearing of all woodland cover with the help of trucks and many other types of equipment • Palm Oil. Palm oil has been in great demands in the market and its intensifying costs making it more priceless. Therefore, farmers are exploiting acres of land of forests to reap it.

FOREST HABITATS Example : Bengal Tiger The Bengal tiger is an extremely endangered species living in the mangrove forests of the Sundarban regions of India, Bangladesh, China, Siberia and Indonesia. At present there are less than 2, 500 of this species left, while there were more than 45, 000 in 1900. Poaching and destruction of habitat are the reasons for this species getting endangered. India's National Parks are being mismanaged, and there are not enough guards to stop the poaching of tigers. Example : Asiatic Lion The Asiatic lion currently exists as a single subpopulation, and is thus vulnerable to extinction from unpredictable events, such as an Epidemic or Large Forest Fire. The Gir forest was heavily degraded and used by livestock, which competed with and restricted the population sizes of native ungulates.

FOREST HABITATS Consequences Of Deforestation • Loss of Species. Seventy percent of the world’s plants and animals live in forests and are losing their habitats to deforestation. Loss of habitat can lead to species extinction. • Carbon Emissions. Healthy forests help absorb greenhouse gasses and carbon emissions that are caused by human civilization and contribute to global climate change. Without trees, more carbon and greenhouse gasses enter the atmosphere. To make matters worse, trees actually become carbon sources when they are cut, burned, or otherwise removed. • Water Cycle. Trees play an important part in the water cycle, grounding the water in their roots and releasing it into the atmosphere. In the Amazon, more than half the water in the ecosystem is held within the plants. Without the plants, the climate may become dryer. • Soil Erosion. Without tree roots to anchor the soil and with increased exposure to sun, the soil can dry out, leading to problems like increased flooding and inability to farm.

FOREST HABITATS Example : Red Sandalwood Tree It is only found in south India in Kadapa, Chittoor, mostly in the hilly region of Nepal, in Pakistan and in Sri Lanka. This species is listed as Endangered by the IUCN, because of overexploitation for its timber. Example : Kulavetti Tree In 1998 the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed the tree species as in extreme danger of extinction when less that 200 were reported from Kerala, the only place in the world where the tree grows. The primary cause of this loss was habitat destruction.

MARINE HABITATS Most areas of the world's oceans are experiencing habitat loss. But coastal areas, with their closeness to human population centers, have suffered disproportionately and mainly from manmade stresses. Habitat loss here has far-reaching impacts on the entire ocean's biodiversity. These critical areas, which include estuaries, swamps, marshes, and wetlands, serve as breeding grounds or nurseries for nearly all marine species.

MARINE HABITATS Sea Corals They are an important part of the ocean's ecosystem. Coral gives other sea creatures protection and a place to breed and spawn. ocean acidification and bottom trawling commercial fishing are its major threats. Hawksbill Turtle Found in the tropical regions of all the world’s oceans, gulfs and seas, this Hawksbill Turtle’s population has been estimated to have declined by 80% over the last century. Known to be a subject of heavy trafficking in the tourist trade in tropical regions for its meat and shells, these are being killed mercilessly for quite a period of time.

MARINE HABITATS Causes Of Marine Habitat Loss • Hurricanes and typhoons, storm surges, tsunamis and the like can cause massive, though usually temporary, disruptions in the life cycles of ocean plants and animals. Human activities, however, are significantly more impactful and persistent • Wetlands are dredged and filled in to accommodate urban, industrial, and agricultural development • Cities, factories, and farms create waste, pollution, and chemical effluent and runoff that can wreak havoc on reefs, sea grasses, birds, and fish • Inland dams decrease natural nutrient-rich runoff, cut off fish migration routes, and curb freshwater flow, increasing the salinity of coastal waters • Destructive fishing techniques like bottom trawling, dynamiting, and poisoning destroy habitats near shore as well as in the deep sea • Tourism brings millions of boaters, snorkelers, and scuba divers into direct contact with fragile wetland reef ecosystems. • Container ships and tankers can damage habitat with their hulls and anchors • Spills of crude oil and other substances kill thousands of birds and fish and leave a toxic environment that can persist for years

MARINE HABITATS The Pondicherry Shark This Shark is heavily endangered due to the large, expanding, and unregulated artisanal and commercial fisheries. It was found in the Indo-pacific region in shallow coastal seas. The Blue Whale The largest living mammal on earth, the blue whale could be found migrating from both poles in the oceans around the world. But the excessive commercial hunting has helped its population decrease drastically and now has posed a threat to its mere existence even though an international ban was constituted in 1966.

MARINE HABITATS Prevention and Conservation • Marine Protected Areas (MPAs): marine sites such as sanctuaries, fisheries management areas, state conservation areas, and wildlife refuges established to protect habitats, endangered species, and to restore the health of marine ecosystems in areas jeopardized by habitat and species loss. • Marine Reserves: marine sites that provide a higher degree of ecosystem protection by prohibiting fishing, mineral extraction, and other habitat-altering activities. Marine Reserves are far more effective than MPAs, but unfortunately, they are not as common. • Land use and development regulation: An integrated approach to land use and management based on scientific knowledge is needed to protect coastal areas. Policy makers need to be informed on the impact coastal development is having on marine habitats through accessible and evidence-based information. • Monitoring and reporting: some conservation efforts are empowering the citizens with the responsibility for monitoring water quality in their coastal communities through sampling and testing, photographing fouled areas, and providing information to local policy makers for action.

EFFECTS ON HUMANS Habitat destruction vastly increases an area's vulnerability to natural disasters like flood and drought, crop failure, spread of disease, and water contamination. Agricultural land can actually suffer from the destruction of the surrounding landscape. Over the past 50 years, the destruction of habitat surrounding agricultural land has degraded approximately 40% of agricultural land worldwide via erosion, salinization, compaction, nutrient depletion, pollution, and urbanization. Humans also lose direct uses of natural habitat when habitat is destroyed. Aesthetic uses such as birdwatching, recreational uses like hunting and fishing, and ecotourism usually rely upon virtually undisturbed habitat. Many people value the complexity of the natural world and are disturbed by the loss of natural habitats and animal or plant species worldwide. Across the globe, poor people suffer the most when natural habitat is destroyed, because less natural habitat means less natural resources per capita, yet wealthier people and countries simply have to pay more to continue to receive more than their per capita share of natural resources.

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