Number of species in different animal groups

3/4 of all animals (>1 million species)

are insects!

1,400,000 animal sp.320,000 plant sp.

Estimated # of tropical species (based on birds) = 2-3 x temperate = 2.8-4.2 million

So total = 4.2-5.6 million

Number of Species on Earth

The Creator, if He exists, has "an inordinate fondness for beetles".

– J.B.S. Haldane

Olson, D. M., et al (2001). Terrestrial ecoregions of the world: A new map of life on Earth.BioScience 51(11): 933-938.

Ecoregion: a large area of land or water that contains a geographically distinct assemblage of natural communities that (a) share a large majority of their species and ecological dynamics; (b) share similar environmental conditions, and; (c) interact ecologically in ways that are critical for their long-term persistence.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIES: Terrestrial ecoregions

261: California Coastal Chaparral Forest Shrub Province.

52 Ecoregions in U.S.

261: California Coastal Chaparral / Forest Shrub Province.• Climate. -- Hot, dry summers; rainy, mild winters.

– Annual temperatures average 50º to 65 º F (10 º to 18 º C). – Annual precipitation 10-50 in. with a pronounced summer drought.– Some moisture from fog in summer.– Fire is common, usually set by lightning during the summer dry

season.• Vegetation.

– Riparian forest with many broadleaf species grows along streams. Willow, Mulefat

– Sclerophyll forest on the hills and lower mountains. Live oak, white oak

– Chaparral on steep hill and mountain slopes too dry to support oak woodland or oak forest. Chamise and various manzanitas.

– Coastal Sage Scrub on exposed coastal areas. Buckwheat, Deerweed, Coyote bush, Black Sage, White Sage, California sagebrush, and bush lupine.

1.44% of the Earth's land surface, supporting ~70% of all plant species. Account for 44% of all plant diversity, 35% of all terrestrial vertebrate species, and 75% of all terrestrial animal species listed as threatened by the IUCN-World Conservation Union.

California Floristic Province

25 Biodiversity Hotspots

CALIFORNIA

• Biologically, most diverse state in the Union

• 40,000 species• More federally listed (i.e. Endangered and

Threatened) species than any other mainland state

• Human population expected to grow from 32 million to 49 million by 2025

Species Diversity by State

Endemic Species by State

Species Extinction by State

Listed Species by State

(Dobson et al., Science 275, 550 (1997)

Plants Birds

Fish Molluscs

Endangered Species in the U.S. Southern California: a "hot spot" of threatened biodiversity

Threatened, Endangered and Candidate Species in California

(terrestrial vertebrates)

California's native ecosystems (a selection)Percent lost

Noss, R.F. (1994) California's ecosystem decline. Defenders 69 (4) 34-35

Native grassland 99

Needlegrass steppe 99.9San Diego County coastal strand 100

Southern San Joaquin Valley alkali sink scrub 99San Diego County maritime sage scrub 92

Coastal redwood forest 85Riparian woodland 89Wetlands 91Central Valley wetlands 95Central Valley vernal pools 66-88

San Diego County vernal pools 97San Diego County freshwater marsh 90

San Diego County coastal salt marsh 88San Francisco Bay seasonal wetlands 90

Coastal sage scrub 70-90

California’s Native Ecosystems(a selection)

% lost

Where have they gone?

Forests - logged

Native grasslands - converted to agriculture, overgrazed, invaded by exotics

Wetlands - drained

Streams - channelized and dammed

Coastal sage scrub - converted to subdivisions, shopping malls, highways

California's natural communities

Sclerophylls: leaves are small , hard, stiff, waxy, evergreen

http://conserveonline.org/workspaces/global.med.assessment

Mediterranean ecosystems

• Five distinct regions • Hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters.• 2.2% of the Earth's surface, but support 20% of the world's plant species.• >50% of the plant species are endemic: found nowhere else • All threatened by urbanization, land conversion, invasive species,

altered fire regimes, excess grazing, tourism and climate change.

CA

• 0-1500 feet elevation• California sagebrush (Artemesia californica), black sage, white sage,

buckwheat and other drought-deciduous shrubs • ~90% lost to development• California Quail, Callipepla californica

Coastal Sage Scrub

California Ecosystems

500-4,500 feet elevation.  • Evergreen dense canopy 5-15 feet high containing chamise, manzanita,

ceanothus, lemonade berry, scrub oak, toyon, mountain mahogany, yucca• Leaves contain flammable resins, but the plants are fire-adapted

Chaparral

1,500-4,500 feet elevation. 

• Evergreen oaks and sycamores • Poison oak, elderberry, coffeeberry, manzanita.

Oak Woodland

> 4,500 feet elevation.  • Coulter pine, jeffrey pine, white fir, Incense cedar, black oak, canyon live

oak. Also shrubs and grasses• Huge losses to timber harvesting

Mixed Conifer Forest

• East of the Peninsular Mountains • Low rainfall, high evaporation• Many plants are succulent: they store water in their stems and/or

leaves• Creosote bush, desert willow, agave, indigo bush, chuparosa,

beavertail cactus, cholla cacti, barrel cactus, smoke tree, saltbush, ocotillo, palo verde tree, desert fan palm, lupine, primrose, and verbena.

Desert

http://www.prbo.org/calpif/plans.html

• Alongside streams and lakes• Willow, sycamore, cottonwood, mule fat.• Huge losses due to channelization and damming

Riparian

Wetlands

• Inundated or saturated by water at least part of the time.• Five major types: marine, estuarine, lakes (including vernal pools), rivers,

and marshes, swamps and bogs.• Most lost to draining, filling, harbor development

http://www.beachcalifornia.com/wetlands-california-birds-photos.html

Vernal Pools

• Seasonally flooded depressions on an impermeable layer

• Specially adapted plants that flower in succession as the pool dries, giving concentric rings of color

http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/