What is Biodiversity?
Biodiversity refers to the number and variety of organisms present in an area and their spatial distribution.
Describes the variability among organisms on earth, and considers variation within and between species and within and between ecosystems.
*California Biodiversity Council
Genetic Diversity
Variation within a speciesMeasured by determining polymorphism across the genomeThe genetic diversity of a species directly relates to its ability to adapt, survive and evolve
*Charles Darwin
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Species Diversity
Within a defined area, the number of species of plants and animal presentThe abundance of a species in a community
*California Biodiversity Council
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/forests.php
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/tundra.php
versus
Ecosystem Diversity
Variety of functioning habitats and communities in an areaDefined by geological characteristicsEach organism has a particular place in a food web, community
Biodiversity Today ...
Now more than ever, there are many ethical concerns having to do with biodiversity on our planetMany factors are leading to the endangerment / extinction of certain species, and in turn constantly affecting other species and BIODIVERSITY
http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.seafriends.org.nz/issues/cons/woodcock.gif&imgrefurl=
Good or Bad?Climate change has negatively affected biodiversity in every continentThe earth’s biodiversity has declined 1/3 in the last 35 yearsExtinction rate has increased to 10,000 times the “accepted normal”
*Mr. Watts’ Homepage – Interesting Readings – Ecology Papers
Influencing Factors
Human InterferenceGlobal Warming / Climate Change“Domino Effect”
http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.seafriends.org.nz/issues/cons/woodcock.gif&imgrefurl=
Human Interference
Destruction of LandColonizationExploitation
PoisoningPollutionUse of unsafe products
Orang-utans70% of Indonesia’s rainforests lost
Palm oil manufacturing
FishAll fish and invertebrate extinct by 2048
Pollution (pesticides, plastic, hormones)
*Mr. Watts’ Homepage – Interesting Readings – Ecology Papers
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http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.agassiztrading.com/photos/photos-boneroom/fish-skele
Global Warming
If the average temperature increases by 2.5%,
biodiversity will
decrease 30%If it increases by 3.5%,
biodiversity will
decrease 70%
Polar Bears2/3 of polar bears gone by 2050
Habitat destruction
ShellfishDecrease in those with calcium carbonate shells. Increase in those without.
Acidity in oceans increasing
http://images.google.ca/images?q=sea+snail&hl=en&um=1&sa=2&start=0
http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://legalplanet.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/polar-bear.jpg&imgrefurl=http://lwordpress-obamas-interior-department/&us
The “Domino Effect”
All species within a web, community, ecosystem are interconnectedCannot remove one organism without directly influencing others
If one species becomes endangered or extinct, other species will always be directly affected by itWhen an organism’s habitat is disturbed, it is disturbedWhen one part of a chain is removed, all suffer
http://serc.carleton.edu/images/eslabs/fisheries/food_web.jpg
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