Canada and the World
Current Events with a Canadian Perspective
Last update
01 February 2011
Species Extinction is Speeding up
Honeybees are disappearing in huge numbers in a mysterious species die-
All around the world, bee colonies are vanishing at an alarming rate. One of the worst hit areas is North America and experts are, so far, baffled by the losses.
Experts are calling the problem Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and what’s causing
it is a puzzle. It’s normal for a colony to lose 10 to 15 percent of its population
over the winter. But, in recent years, the die-
Nobody knows what causes CCD, but it seems bees become disoriented, leave their hives, and die. There are no bee corpses left and other bees do not steal the honey left behind, which is something they would normally do with dying hives.
Empty beehives are being found by beekeepers all over the world. Fingers of suspicion are pointed at global warming, pesticide use, genetically modified crops, and a virus carried by mites that invade colonies. Some have even suggested that radiation from cell phones might be to blame.
Disappearing Wild Bees
The die-
Bees are vitally important to food production. As bees collect nectar from plants they also distribute pollen. This fertilizes plants and causes them to set nuts and fruit – everything from almonds to zucchini relies on honeybees for pollination.
Bees are responsible for pollinating between 80 and 90 percent of the fruit and vegetables grown in North America.
It’s a service that Agriculture Canada estimates is worth $1 billion a year.
There may be no single cause for CCD. It is possible it’s a combination of insults that is causing extreme stress among bee colonies. We know that extreme stress among humans can be deadly, so why not among insects and other life forms? We can see the setback among bees occurring among all sorts of species:
- Killer whales are disappearing off the coast of British Columbia;
- Common birds are declining in number all over the world;
- Seventy percent of the plants assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature are in jeopardy;
- Almost one third of amphibians are in danger of extinction;
- One prediction is that all the world’s commercial fisheries will have collapsed 40 years from now.
Commercial Fisheries Destroying Top Predators
Commercial fishing targets what are called top predators. Fish such as salmon, cod, and tuna are at the top of very complex food chains. Here’s how the Department of Fisheries describes the system.
These chains start with sunlight combining “with inorganic matter through photosynthesis
to create microscopic plant life known as phytoplankton. These organisms feed zooplankton:
larger, but still tiny, animals of many forms. Moving up the…levels of the food chain,
one finds crustaceans, both tiny and large, and small-
When top predators are removed from an ecosystem strange and unpredictable things
happen. In April 2005, National Geographic described the knock-
With the top predators out of the way, other species began to multiply. Mostly, these were plant eaters such as iguanas, leaf cutting ants, and howler monkeys. They quickly ate most of the plant material and destroyed the forest.
“It is a classic cautionary tale of the dangers of removing top predators from an ecosystem.”
World Tiger Population Declining
The population of one of the world’s most important top predators is in danger of collapse.
Officials attending the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
meeting in Doha, Qatar (March 13-
A large part of the population decline has been due to habitat destruction as forests have been cleared in Asia. However, another threat comes from poachers who are killing the animals to satisfy a demand for body parts used in traditional medicine.
In a press release CITES “is calling for countries to submit information about crime
against tigers, so that it can be analyzed and effective anti-
According to Tigers in Crisis, “The single greatest threat of extinction that looms over most Asian wildlife especially the endangered tiger, and pushes them to become endangered species, are massive demands for traditional medicine.”
Throughout Asia, but particularly in China, tiger bones are believed to strengthen muscles and bones and relieve pain and epilepsy. But, other body parts from tigers are specially sought after by increasingly affluent Asians.
Tigers in Crisis says that in Taiwan tiger penis soup is believed to increase virility and sells for $320 a bowl. Others seem willing to pay $170 for a pair of tiger eyes because they are thought to cure malaria and epilepsy.
Image credit
Babirusa
Sources
UN Global Environmental Outlook, GEO 4
“Without Top Predators, Ecosystems Turn Topsy-
“Powerful Alliance to Fight Wildlife Crime Comes into Effect.” Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, March 15, 2010.
© Canada and the World, December 2010
Updated February 2011
All rights reserved
FARMYARD LOSSES
Species extinction is not limited to the wild; domesticated animals are vanishing too. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization there are 6,800 breeds of animals that are raised on farms around the world and we are losing them at the rate of one a month.
White Leghorn chickens are egg-
The Holstein-
SOME VALUES
Often, we take for granted the provisions that Nature gives us. Until, a value is placed on these and their replacement cost is accounted for we will likely continue to raid these resources.
The United Nations Global Environment Outlook of 2007 put some numbers to a few of Nature’s gifts:
- Annual world fish catch – $58 billion;
- Anti-
cancer agents from marine organisms – up to $1 billion/year; - Global herbal medicine market – roughly $43 billion in 2001;
- Honeybees as pollinators for agriculture crops – $2 to $8 billion/year;
- Coral reefs for fisheries and tourism – $30 billion/year.
Cost of:
- Mangrove degradation in Pakistan – $20 million in fishing losses, $500,000 in timber losses, $1.5 million in feed and pasture.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says: “Current estimates of the number of species range from five to 30 million, with a best working estimate of eight to 14 million; of these, only around 1.8 million have been described.” In 2008, the IUCN had placed 44,837 species on its Red List of Threatened Species. The Iberian Lynx (pictured) is critically endangered, and the IUCN says that one in four other mammals is in danger of disappearing altogether.
(c)"Programa de Conservación Ex-
A FAILURE
TO PROTECT
Canada has a Species at Risk Act. It came into force in 2003, and it prohibits “killing, harming, harassing, capturing or taking species at risk, and…destroying their critical habitats.”
The Act also requires governments to develop strategies to protect those species that are in danger of extinction. But, Canada’s interim Environment Commissioner, Ron Thompson, said Ottawa had done of poor job of caring for endangered plants and animals. He pointed out that, by June 2007, only 55 protection strategies had been completed for the 228 species at risk.
In fact, in his 2008 Status Report Mr. Thompson said “The government has broken its own law and that’s not an inconsequential thing.”
Mr. Thompson said that then-
During 2007, a record 430 Grizzly Bears died in British Columbia – 400 of them were killed by hunters. According to the Raincoast Conservation Society, 11,000 Grizzlies have been killed in the province since 1975. The Society says this is unsustainable. The B.C. Wildlife Federation, which represents hunters, however, says the bear harvest is being correctly managed.
According to Jill Richardson, writing for AlterNet (December 10, 2010) a leaked memo
from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says a pesticide may be a cause of
dramatic bee die-
After inadequate testing, Clothianidin was allowed onto the market in 2004. Colorado beekeeper Tom Theobald believes this and other pesticides are behind the collapse of bee colonies.