24.11.15: Biodiversity

• Genetic Diversity: genetic variation among individuals in a population (e.g. redheads, blondes, black hair)
  
• Species Diversity: number of species in an ecosystem (moose, wolf, bear)
  
• Habitat Diversity: number of habitats in an ecosystem (forest, plains, swamp)
  

• Genetic variation occurs because reproduction is always a combination of factors: genetics, environment, even lifestyle (kinin potentiation: health impacts genetic variation)
  
• When a population suffers a massive reduction in population (e.g. whales being hunted) the total genetic variation in the remaining population is lower.
  
• This is called a Population bottleneck
• This makes them vulnerable to disease and threats that apply to that limited gene pool.
  
• A greater genetic variation, like ideas, makes for a richer population, able to survive and thrive in different challenging conditions.
  
• They are also able to diversify food sources, shelter and the ability to withstand environmental challenges.
  
• The opposite of this biodiversity has a perfect example: monocropping, where one threat can wipe out an entire group of crops (no diversity)
  
• Habitat diversity has two categories: specialists and generalists
• Specialists can only live in certain limited conditions, and tend to be located in niches
• Generalists can live in many conditions, and many invasive species tend to be generalists
• Species richness means many different species in an ecosystem
• Species evenness means no one species takes over

Recall our main themes: energy->water->food->culture

Food!

Three main groups: 

• Proteins: always include Nitrogen
  
• Carbohydrates: CHO in chains (starches) or simple (sugars)
  
• Fats: CHO again, but in a special branch structure (glycol backbone) that is good for energy storage and insulation (e.g. killer whales, eskimos)
  

Proteins: complex molecules of CHO and N. 

• Look up amino acids, note the common structure.
  
• Now look up the amino acid methionine. 
  
• What element does it contain as well? 
  
• Why do rotten eggs, swamps (and Kilauea volcano) stink?
  

CHO=carbohydrates (clever name), 

• usually in a chain, short chains are sugars (used for fuel), 
  
• longer ones are starches and can be used for structures (e.g. cellulose in plants) or pasta...
  
• smallest: sugars, all end in -ose (glucose, sucrose) LOOK THESE UP, CHECK OUT THEIR MOLECULE SHAPE
  
• glucose is a "monosaccharide" created by photosynthesis
  
• longer chains: starches (rice, pasta) slowly digested (see diabetics, and glycemic index)
  
• structural CHO: cellulose-little boxes with goo inside, need enzymes to break these down (cows)
  
• ENZYMES ALL END IN -ASE
  

Fats/lipids: same chemical structure as CHO, but built along a glycol (alcohol) backbone. 

• If the fats have long carbon chains with only single bonds, they are saturated (lots of Hydrogen atoms) and can hold together (e.g. animal fat)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturated_fat
  
• If the long chains have double bonds and don't fit together, they melt easier (e.g. oils) and are called "unsaturated", usually better for your health.
  
• n.b. McDonalds® got into real hot water a while ago for frying all of their stuff in "supersaturated fats". Ugh...
  

Notes: Frog book

• Frog 12.3 Agriculture
• Frog 12.4 Food Production

Industrial Farming (and fishing)
Agribusiness: 

• Just what it sounds like, the larger conglomerates taking over instead of smaller privately owned family farms.
  
• Often use monoculture crops to increase profits (economy of scale), as well as patented seeds and herbicides (e.g. "roundup ready corn")
  

Hybrid crops vs. GMO crops:

Started as a good thing: 

Hybrid crops"Selective breeding" works for animals (dogs, etc.) and crops called "hybrid crops" created by mixing pollen from one breed of plant (e.g. large kernel corn) with another breed of the same plant (e.g. short stalk corn) to form a "hybrid".
Green Revolution, Norman Borlaug-Mexican famine averted by development of hybrid (not GMO) wheat, called dwarf wheat (large kernel, short stalk).dwarf wheat
GMO crops:in the beginning were just to withstand frost, now into a larger patent issue with GMO seeds and "round up ready crops"What is the impact on lesser developed countries of this business model?

Genetically modified organisms (GMO) are different: they are done by splicing one part of a gene from an organism (like a frost resistant bacteria) into a totally different species (like a tomato) to make it frost resistant."IP" means intellectual property

• Monsanto spends money creating GMOs, so they patent the process, meaning using their seeds requires an IP license from them (just like software).If your farm has these seeds, intentionally or by accident, you have to pay them.
  
• You also cannot "re-use" seeds in the next season without paying for them.
  
• This is just like software in that you could buy the software or pay a monthly fee to use it.
  
• Which makes more money for the company?
  
• What is the impact on poorer countries?
  

Roundup ready corn: seeds genetically modified to resist roundup (a herbicide)

• Result: plant their seeds, spray their herbicide and save money on weeding, more crops, more money (to whom?)
  
• Issue: exposure to roundup (a carcinogen) and possible impacts of mutated food
  
• Labeling? Where is this done so far?
  
• Transgenic seeds?
• Can you patent life?
• GMO from Food inc.

• Corn Lobby is very powerful (Iowa=presidential primaries)
  
• Corn: HFCS (food, meat, fish) and Corn Ethanol (energy, fuel)
  
• HFCS is in everything
  
• Corn is used to feed cattle, pork, poultry, even fish
  
• Cattle are not used to metabolizing corn, it makes them sick
  
• Bad for humans, increases incidence of diabetes
• HFCS from Food inc.
  

Main farming problems: 

• Irrigation-desertification
• Pesticides-persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
• Fertilizers-eutrophication

Mod 33: Sustainable agriculture (fishing too)

• Desertification (see above)
  
• intercropping vs. monocropping, see "the three sisters"
  
• Contour cropping: saves space, reduces runoff, preserves top soil (e.g. our garden, most of Asia)
  
• No-till ag: same idea, retains organic material in topsoil, reduces erosion by wind and water
• IPM: integrated pest management (see Lalamilo Farmers)
  
• Organic agriculture (also mentioned in Portlandia and Colin the Chicken)More than just N-P-K, also micronutrients, slower release time, low salinity
  
• CAFO: concentrated animal feed operation (e.g. chickens, pigs, cattle)Usually inorganic feed (purines), hormones and other drugs
  

• Methyl xanthines: caffeine, theobromine, theophyllineevolved plant poisons for insects:
  

• Xanthine: group name
• Caffeine: energy drinks, coffee, soft drinks (to offset drowsiness from insulin spike)
• Theobromine: chocolate
• Theophylline: tea (also a bronchodilator-helps breathing)

• nicotine: tobacco
• caffeine: coffee, tea
• cocaine: coca plants

See also Chapter 11 in the Frog Book (iPad)

Check out windy.com, zoom forward to Wednesday Nov. 29

Tragedy of the commons:

• First use of the term: 1833, village commons overgrazed (what is a commons?)
  
• Garret Harding 1968: modern use of the term to describe any public resource that is abused (no ownership)
  
• Think of places like this in your life: dorm commons, locker room, student union
• Basic premise: if nobody "owns" the resource, it eventually becomes abused
• Tragedy: nobody wins (fun fact: look up the Greek origin of this word)
• Is private ownership a solution? Lahaina fires were fed by neglected invasive grasses in the privately owned lands uphill...
• Possible solution: community ownership

• Externality: shedding financial responsibility for your impact the the whole
  
• If your company produces pollution, and expects the community or government to clean it up, it costs you nothing, you have "externalized" your cost (the cost is "external" to your business)
• This could also be used to refer to a resource you use without paying for it
• Think of places this happens in our community...
• Create an example here in class: someone makes money doing something, the community pays the price
  

In the US, we classify public lands as 

• Rangelands-open range, enables some ranching with leases (like the series "Yellowstone")
  
• National forests-old growth and new growth, limited forestry 
  
• National parks-national treasures, limits on visitors, infrastructure (e.g. Denali)
  
• National wildlife refuges-usually associated with an endangered species or transit/migration path (e.g. wolves)
  
• Wilderness areas-no development, often noise abatement as well (think of helicopters in Waipio or Haleakala)

We have several of these national parks here in Hawaii: https://www.nps.gov/state/hi/index.htm

• Kilauea Volcano (Madame Pele)
  
• Haleakala ("House of the sun")
  
• Kaloko-Honokohau ("City of Refuge")
  
• Pearl Harbor 
  
• Pu'u Kohola (Whale Heiau)
  
• Papa hanau moku a kea-Northwest Hawai'ian Islands NWHI
  
• Ala Kahakai (shore trail on this island)
  

Federal lands: owned by the people, but can be leased to individuals

• USFS (US Forest Service) believes in regular forest fires to deplete the amount of underbrush (as in nature)
  
• See also California and Australia wildfires: drought, no regular fires, buildup of underbrush
  
• See Yellowstone fire of 1988-result of overgrowth of underbrush
  
• Also 2009 SoCal fires and 2000 Los Alamos fires accident
• https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/npr/94114095/series-overview-yellowstone-s-evolution
  

• Rangeland: open dry grasslands for grazing
  
• Forests: land dominated by trees
  
• Clear-cutting: all trees, regrowth is all same age trees, promotes erosion, wildfires (litter)
  
• Selective cutting: older trees first
  

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