BiodiversityGrade 9 Academic ScienceR.H. King Academy

Recap1. Define biodiversity2. Define sustainability3. How are biodiversity and sustainability

related?

How many species are on the planet? See Table 1.1. on p. 9 Which category of organisms has the

most species? There are about 2 million identified

species on Earth There are perhaps 5-100 million species

on Earth, but many still haven’t been identified

Number of species vs. number of organisms An ecosystem can have a high number of

organisms. But this does not mean it has high biodiversity. (E.g. 100000 pigeons)

What makes an ecosystem biodiverse is a high number of a variety species. (E.g. several bird species: pigeons, robins, sparrows, jays, grouse, starlings, hawks, etc).

Areas of low biodiversity Areas of low biodiversity tend to have:

Cooler temperatures Low precipitation More human disturbances

Urban areas tend to have lower biodiversity because most species’ niche does not allow them to live in urban areas with concrete, pollution, humans, cars, etc. Only a few species have managed to find a niche in

urban areas Examples: raccoons, squirrels, pigeons, wasps,

dandelions, etc.

Areas of high biodiversity The most biodiverse regions are those

with Warm temperatures High precipitation No/little human disturbance

Therefore, which biomes do you think have the most biodiversity?

Tropical Rainforest The Tropical Rainforest is the

biome with the most biodiversity in the world

It is called a “biodiversity hotspot”

However, it is being greatly threatened by human disturbances: Deforestation and logging Poaching and hunting Climate change

So why does biodiversity even matter? Low biodiversity makes an unsustainable ecosystem

because Fewer species are able to survive Disease is more likely to spread across the same species…

when there are many different species, disease likely won’t spread between them.

Biodiversity is needed to ensure sustainability for all life forms, including humans

Despite what you think, we are part of nature. We need ecosystems for our: Food Water Medicine Materials (e.g. paper)

What does biodiversity do for us? http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/bi

odiversity/biodiversity_and_you/

Videos David Suzuki

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5ssjM2Fjuc

Earth Focus: Biodiversity and Health (up to 20:00)

http://www.linktv.org/video/7724/biodiversity-and-health