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Humans’ Impact. Involving the introduction of new diseases . Dutch Elm Disease. Introduced in 1910 from Asia Caused by elm bark beetles which carried the fungi, Ascomycota Native elms did not have time to evolve resistance to the disease They were wiped out by the thousands.
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Humans’ Impact Involving the introduction of new diseases
Dutch Elm Disease • Introduced in 1910 from Asia • Caused by elm bark beetles which carried the fungi, Ascomycota • Native elms did not have time to evolve resistance to the disease • They were wiped out by the thousands
Smallpox & Native Americans • Caused by the first direct European contact • Native Americans did not have resistance to the disease because they had never seen it before • Wiped out 30% of the population
Potato Blight • Potato disease called Phytophthorainfestans • Causes them to rot from the inside • Spreads quickly through the population • Ruins potato crops, thus causing events such as the Irish Potato Famine
Conclusion • The introduction of new diseases due to human meddling can be devastating to populations because they have not been previously exposed to it • The lack of resistance can cause large-scale global and local changes due to massive deaths of organisms devastating native species, and therefore, the whole ecosystem
