Wildlife Week BY

SUNDARAM

2 oct. – 7 oct.

Topics I Covered :o Biodiversity

oLoss And Extinction

oClimate Change

BIODIVERSITY• The variety of life on Earth, its

biological diversity is commonly referred to as biodiversity. The number of species of plants, animals, and microorganisms, the enormous diversity of genes in these species, the different ecosystems on the planet, such as deserts, rainforests and coral reefs are all part of Biodiversity. 

Biodiversity Offers Natural Services

Ecosystem services• Protection of water resources• Pollution breakdown and absorption• Contribution to climate stability

Biological resources• Food• Medicinal resources and pharmaceutical drugs• Breeding stocks, population reservoirs

Social benefits• Research & Education• Recreation and tourism

That is quite a lot of services we get for free!!!!!!

Massive Extinctions From Human Activity

• Despite knowing about biodiversity’s importance , human activity has been causing massive extinctions.

• The world environmental situation is likely to be further aggravated by the increasingly rapid, large scale global extinction of species. It occurred in the 20th century at a rate that was a thousand times higher than the average rate during the preceding 65 million years. This is likely to destabilize various ecosystems including agricultural systems.

categories of extinction risk 

Climate Change• The link between climate change

and biodiversity has long been established. Although throughout Earth’s history the climate has always changed with ecosystems and species coming and going, rapid climate change affects ecosystems and species ability to adapt and so biodiversity loss increases.

Declining Ocean Biodiversity

• The major causes of biological impoverishment and loss of marine biodiversity are: fishing and bycatch; hunting mammals, birds, turtles; toxic chemicals and nutrient pollution; habitat destruction; the human-assisted transport and release of species to environments where they did not previously exist; and possibly, the increased ultra-violet radiation due to ozone layer depletion.

Increasing Ocean Acidification