Every ecosystem on earth relies on the complex relationships made between individual species which have evolved over millions of years. In this jigsaw framework, the loss of any one individual species has a significant impact on the remaining species and the ecosystem, thereby affecting its biodiversity. Per Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, biodiversity is the whole collection of living organisms, consisting of different species of plants and animals, that cohabitate in an ecosystem. This term collectively describes approximately all 8.7 million unique species, including every class of bacteria, virus, plant, fungi, and animal, that coexist on earth. As such, biodiversity and the conservation of biodiversity is extremely important to the human population and the health of all ecosystems. For instance, biodiversity provides food and materials needed to strengthen our economy. The selling of various plants and animals for consumption, entertainment/ recreation, and building purposes keeps countless restaurants and supermarkets in business today. Also, through the study of a vast array of plants and herbs, scientists have discovered cures to disease and have lengthened the average human lifespan. By doing so, society has increased its research efforts in medical herbs and in studying genomic sequences of various endangered species in hopes to uncover new treatments and even piece together mysteries of the past, for instance, using molasses encased mosquitos to examine the spread
One issue that is rising due to deforestation is the loss of biodiversity in the deciduous forest. Biodiversity is defined as: the degree of
Biodiversity is life’s variety. It is the varying genetics that each species carries that makes it different and “unique”. Biodiversity is important, not only in evolution, but in survival; when sometimes those terms can mean the very same thing. Interestingly, biodiversity can mean a variance in the life itself – or within the genetics of a species. In keeping breeding habits within the same lineage, some animals risk lower biodiversity and sometimes even deformities and disease, as they are able to more easily pass on unfavorable hereditary traits. In increasing the overall biodiversity, the only risk is a
Biodiversity creates an interconnected system where each part builds off of one another to create a functional ecosystem. For example, a small insect such as a bee is critical for survival of many other species because it pollinates so many plants. Currently, the population of bees is dramatically decreasing due to anthropogenic actions such as using harmful pesticides. If the population of bees go extinct, so many species would follow because they would not get pollinated. This is problematic because humans do not have the time or the funds to replicate the vital work of the bee.
Conservation biology is the study of environmental problems that are caused by human actions. This would be the scientific study of the Earth’s biodiversity with the whole purpose from being extinct. In this field it helps in putting together many theories from other fields such as ecology, demography, taxonomy and genetics. This would help in the understanding of the management of species in their ecosystems, breeding, genetic analysis and their resoration of their
Biodiversity loss threatens to disrupt the function of ecosystems, with the potential of consequences for humans as well. Often this loss is measured by species extinction rates, but considerations should be made to include population diversity with measures including changes in size, number, distribution and genetic composition of population and potential implications those changes may have (Luck et al., 2003). Avise (2004) goes as far as to say biodiversity is genetic
Dictionary.com defines biodiversity as the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem. The increase in growth of both economic activity and population on the planet are the central sources of the sixth mass extinction, altering the overall biodiversity of Earth. Even though new animals, plants, and other species are being found all the time, many others are also being wiped out. “Conservation International estimates that one species now goes extinct every 20 minutes, a thousand times faster than the norm during earth’s history… [and] we may be the first generation in human history that literally has
The three levels of biodiversity are as follows: diversity of the ecosystems, diversity of species within the communities and diversity within species. The loss of species within the ecosystems and within the community can cause a catastrophic result, as species live and feed on other species. Species close to extinction are endangered species, therefore protecting them from predators and offering the chance to reproduce and repopulate. Unfortunately, with little support within the environment, a species can become extinct due to population density. Proper monitoring of an endangered species is required in order to keep species actively reproducing and changing with the environment around them.
Biodiversity is the variety of spices within plants and animals in the environment, it is an indicator of ecosystem health.
The earth's natural assets are made up of plants, animals, land,water, the atmosphere and humans! Together we all from part of the planet's ecosystems, which means if there is a biodiversity crisis, our health and livelihoods are at risk too. But we are currently using 25% more natural resources than the planet can sustain it's a result species, habitats and local communities are under pressure or direct threats (for example from loss of access to fresh water ). Biodiversity underpins the health of the planet and has a direct impact on all our lives. Even knowledge of biodiversity, is incomplete and strongly biased toward the species level, megafauna, temperate systems, and components used by people. This results in significant gaps in knowledge, especially regarding the status of tropical systems, marine and freshwater biota, plants, Invertebrates, microorganisms, and subterranean biota. Biodiversity influences climate at local, regional, and global scales, thus changes in land use and land cover that affect biodiversity can affect climate. The important components of biodiversity include plant functional diversity and type and distribution of habitats across landscape. Biodiversity is the foundation for human
The survival of humankind has depended on biodiversity since the beginning of time. Our dependency on biodiversity is more important today than ever before in our life time. Biodiversity is defined as the variety of species in an ecosystem or habitat on earth. There is an incredible amount of species of plants, animals and fungi. Sadly, many of these species have disappeared because of direct effects of human actions on our ecosystem. It is important that we consider that the advancements in human health technologies over the past decades have been possible because of many of these species of plants and animals which are now in danger of becoming extinct by the direct actions of humans. Many plants, animals, and fungi contain the
Biodiversity presents occurrence of variety of species and their natural community in which they live. By the definition it is “The degree of variation of life forms within a given species, ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. It is a measure of the health of ecosystems and is in part a function of climate.” (Rutherford) Ecosystem is on the other hand, “ community and its abiotic environment”( Rutherford). Biodiversity exists in every ecosystem, weather it is big one, or just ecosystem of one garden, it has the same importance because without it nature loses its ability to perform major functions needed for life on Earth, as it is oxygen production. Trough this investigation, two different ecosystems will be explored and
In addition, biodiversity will be crucial for humanities continued survival in the case of climate change or widespread crop failures. The majority of people on earth are reliant on four crops for subsistence; wheat, rice, corn, and millet. (11) These crops are threatened by climate change and the spread of disease facilitated by modern transportation. If humanity is to survive such an eventuality it must be ready to draw upon the earth’s biodiversity for replacements. And while there are approximately 50 thousand plant species that could offer alternatives, this bank of resources is quickly thinning as various ecosystems are being destroyed. (11)
Humans have existed since 200,000 years but the Earth has existed around 4.5 billion years. Nature has provided us with everything we have today - food, medicines, materials, chemicals, metals, minerals etc. It can only keep providing us when we maintain the right environment for it to exist. This environment depends on the biodiversity of Earth. The number of species of plants, animals and microorganisms and the various genes in these species, different ecosystems such as deserts, rainforests and coral reefs are all part of a biologically diverse Earth. Hence Biodiversity impacts everything. We will discuss how Biodiversity plays a crucial role on social, environmental, and economic factors. We will also discuss what
Soil is one of the most diverse habitats on Earth and it contains one of the most diverse arrays of living organisms, but soil is still one of the most poorly researched habitats of our planet. Invertebrates are the majority of the living organisms found in the soil habitat and even make up 95-97% of all animal species. These animals are characterized and known for lacking a backbone. There are many living organisms in the soil. This is called biodiversity. Without biodiversity, life on Earth would be impossible or will be significantly impaired. “Biodiversity encompasses all of the species, food chains, and biological patterns in the environmental system as small as a microcosm or large landscape or a geographic region” (Paoletti). The diversity of soil organisms is largely determined by a number of abiotic and biotic factors. Invertebrates play significant roles. Animals, plants, microorganisms and their complex interactions respond to human landscape management, which help protect biodiversity and for ecosystem health. Invertebrates’ highly complex and intimate interactions also help give the soil high resistance and resilience. Studies with bioindicators, “a species or ecological community that is so closely associated with particular environmental conditions that its presence is indicative of these conditions in a particular environment” (Bioindicator), apply biodiversity as a principal tool to evaluate the landscape and the quality and function and to assess different
Franck and Brownstone define biological diversity as 'the variety and variability of living organisms and the biological communities in which they live' (36). Decades of progress in both the scientific and political arenas have advanced environmental legislation to protect biodiversity at not only the ecosystem level, but for specific species and genetic material as well. Research has shown the importance of every organism and their role in the global ecosystem, and legislation has gradually matured to protect not only species which may become endangered, but the habitats they need to survive as well. Growing consciousness surrounding environmental issues has enabled these protections to be