The Importance Of Biodiversity

Long-term survival of a species depends on its ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions (Murphy, 1994). Genetic diversity within a species, which has taken 3.5 billion years to evolve, makes adaptations to these changing environments possible. Unfortunately, the rate of extinction of genetically diverse organisms is rapidly increasing, thus reducing this needed biodiversity, largely due to the human impacts of development and expansion. What was an average of one extinction per year before is now one extinction per hour and extinct species numbers are expected to reach approximately one million by the year 2000 (WWW site, Bio 65). As a result governmental and societal action must

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

Chapin III, F. S., Costanza, R., Ehrlich, P. R., Golley, F. B., Hooper, D. U., Lawton, J. H., ... & Tilman, D. (1999). Biodiversity and

This is bad because for cloning to occur because cloning is essential copying the DNA strands so the telomeres can be deleted. When amino acids are deleted that changes the sequence and that leads to many disorders. Biodiversity is very important because it provides better health to all species. In the novel, Brave New World, a character named Bernard was made just like everyone else but he still didn’t turn out like everyone else. “He stood eight inches centimeters short of a standard Alpha height and was slender in proportion” (Huxley, 64), this shows that just because something is done to follow procedure, it doesn’t prove that the genetically engineered organism is bound to be fit for its environment.

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.

In areas of the world different species are becoming extinct at a rapid pace. This could be due to the environmental forces acting against them or through acts such as hunting. The reason why conservation biology has a deadline is because the effects of rising populations and the destruction with habitats as a result of the increase. If the event where extinction could occur is caught early enough then scientists would be able to perform conservation biology; however, in many instances if the environmental forces such as pollution or warming climate continues then the species affected would perish. This is the deadline for many species as scientists have been able to predict what might happen in the future and have until that time to get the problem solved.

Biodiversity is the variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat, a high level of which is usually considered to be important and desirable. Slowly the Earth is changing because of climate change and biodiversity is very important now to ensure that a rapid loss of animals doesn’t affect the way the world will grow in the future. In this report the issues of extinction will be discussed along with an example of an extinct animal called the Diprotodon optatum. Sustainable practises, such as recycling, help to prevent the extinction of animal and plant life all over the world. This essay will argue that the prevention of extinction of animals is essential to ensure that the biodiversity of the Earth is sustained.

Surprisingly, in spite of scientist’s concern for the future of biodiversity and how many species might go extinct, scientists do not know the total number of species, in fact their best estimate is between three and ten million (Mora

in biodiversity is crucial now that we live in the anthropogenic age. A hot and debated

In an ever-expanding world where resource scarcity is discussed in side conversations and overpopulation is being combatted by concerned nations, worldwide struggle of equal allocation of vital resources persist. Biological resources and biodiversity in general are at the forefront of these concerns. Decreasing biodiversity does not just pose a problem for the plants and animals that are becoming increasingly endangered; individuals who have constructed their livelihood around the availability of such resources face dire circumstances as scarcity arises. The greater the variety of abundant plant and animal species present in the world, the greater the potential opportunity, opportunities such as medical discoveries and newfound scientific knowledge that increase the sustainability of life on Earth. However, tragedy of the commons, has led to overuse of biological resources across the globe, throwing the issue of sustainability into question. While species extinction is a natural process in the world ecosystem, the rate at which it has increased is not. In the past 65 million years the rate of extinction has gone from one to five species per year to roughly 1,000 to 10,000 times that rate (Diversity, 2013, pg. 1). This is no longer a matter of natural selection; this is a matter of ineffective resource regulation worldwide. Despite extensive amounts of environmental legislation actively in place, specie scarcity will continue to grow. The greatest challenge now

Chapter 9 on biodiversity and the ecosystem was interesting, especially the section on forests. Living in a forest area and being surrounded by them my entire life it was really interesting to learn so much more about forests. Even when humans think they are being responsible, they can still cause great harm. The building of roads to farm trees for instance, can cause damage to a forest because it increases erosion, water runoff, and it can harm the diversity of an ecosystem (Miller & Spoolman, 2010). One thing about growing up in a mountainous region is that you get to more than likely experience the dangers of fire (Miller & Spoolman). Fire is scary, but what has always impressed me is how fire can benefit a forest. Fire can make

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

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

Biodiversity – the amount of living things; animals, microorganisms and plants. It also includes the genetic information these living things contain, and the ecosystems and biomes they form.

Problems in Maintaining Biodiversity in the Modern World Biodiversity is the term used to describe the range of habitats and variety of species of animals and plants within them. (2) The maintenance and increase of biodiversity is important to keep an environment stable. If there is a loss of biodiversity then a population of a species will decrease and can only breed with each other. However, as inbreeding takes place genetic defects are caused leading to populations gradually becoming extinct.