Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stability

Biodiversity Types and Concepts

• Species Richness considers the total number of species within a given area.

Global Biodiversity

• Estimated range of total species on Earth at any given time: 8.7 million to 30 million.

Ecological Biodiversity

• Compares two ecosystems and provides the number of species that do not overlap between ecosystems.
• Refers to the diversity of ecosystems, including the variety of habitats, nutrient cycling, and ecological processes.

Genetic Biodiversity

• Considers the genetic variation within an ecosystem.
• Low genetic diversity between individuals of a species can indicate inbreeding or small population size.

Threats to Biodiversity

• Habitat destruction is a major threat to biodiversity.

Importance of Biodiversity

• Biodiversity is important for an ecosystem's stability, as it allows ecosystems to recover from disturbances.

Ecological Consequences of Low Biodiversity

• Ecosystems with low biodiversity are more vulnerable to invasive species, disease outbreaks, and extinction.

Observing Biodiversity

• Biodiversity can be observed at genes, species, and ecosystem levels.

Genetic Diversity and Population Stability

• Populations with low genetic diversity are more vulnerable to extinction and inbreeding.

Genome Size

• Refers to the total amount of DNA contained within a single set of chromosomes.

Conservation Biology

• Cheetah populations are decreasing due to low genetic diversity, habitat fragmentation, and human-wildlife conflict.

Biodiversity Definition

• The term "biodiversity" refers to the variety of all species of plants, animals, and microorganisms that live in an ecosystem or on Earth as a whole.