The Importance of Biodiversity
‘Define Biodiversity and using examples, explain why it is important’
Biodiversity is the variety of life on earth. A fuller definition is given in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) from the 1992 Earth summit: ‘Biodiversity is the variability among living organisms from all sources, including terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part ; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems’ (Hambler, C., 2004, 11).
Within planet earth today Biodiversity forms the foundation for the vast array of ecosystem services that critically contribute to human well being. It is as important in human managed ecosystems as well as natural ecosystems (Hambler, C., 2004, 15).
To begin to understand Biodiversity it must be considered on three different levels. Firstly there is species diversity, this includes bacteria and protists as well as the species of the multicellular kingdoms. Secondly there is genetic diversity, this involves the genetic variation within species among both geographically separate populations and among those individuals within single populations. The third and final level is community diversity which is related to the different biological communities and their interaction with their physical environment and ecosystems (Primack, R.B., 2002, 27).
There are many biodiverse locations in the world, most of them are inhabited forests and natural resources that cater to millions of species. One example of a biodiverse location is the coral reefs in the Florida keys. Humans are greatly impacting the acceleration and deterioration of biodiversity in this certain area (Pullin, A.S., 2002, 130). Coral reefs are formed from the calcareous skeletons of corals and other such organisms. Additionally, they are limited to depths of 50m as they rely on symbiosis with a unicellular algae that in turn requires the sunlight for photosynthesis. Furthermore, as coral reefs are limited to
Biodiversity is the variety of life on earth. A fuller definition is given in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) from the 1992 Earth summit: ‘Biodiversity is the variability among living organisms from all sources, including terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part ; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems’ (Hambler, C., 2004, 11).
Within planet earth today Biodiversity forms the foundation for the vast array of ecosystem services that critically contribute to human well being. It is as important in human managed ecosystems as well as natural ecosystems (Hambler, C., 2004, 15).
To begin to understand Biodiversity it must be considered on three different levels. Firstly there is species diversity, this includes bacteria and protists as well as the species of the multicellular kingdoms. Secondly there is genetic diversity, this involves the genetic variation within species among both geographically separate populations and among those individuals within single populations. The third and final level is community diversity which is related to the different biological communities and their interaction with their physical environment and ecosystems (Primack, R.B., 2002, 27).
There are many biodiverse locations in the world, most of them are inhabited forests and natural resources that cater to millions of species. One example of a biodiverse location is the coral reefs in the Florida keys. Humans are greatly impacting the acceleration and deterioration of biodiversity in this certain area (Pullin, A.S., 2002, 130). Coral reefs are formed from the calcareous skeletons of corals and other such organisms. Additionally, they are limited to depths of 50m as they rely on symbiosis with a unicellular algae that in turn requires the sunlight for photosynthesis. Furthermore, as coral reefs are limited to