Biodiversity Overview

Biodiversity Overview

• Biodiversity is the variability within and between ecosystems, species, and genes.
• It's the biological wealth of the world.
• Biodiversity is the result of millions of years of evolution.

Species Biodiversity

• Approximately 8.7 million eukaryotic species exist on Earth.
• About 2.16 million species have been identified.
• Organisms capable of interbreeding belong to the same species.

Number of Described Species

• A significant number of species remain undescribed.
• Estimates vary depending on the taxonomic group.
• Insects, mollusks, and arachnids, among others, represent large taxonomic groups with many described species.

Importance of Biodiversity

• Essential for the well-being of the planet.
• Classified into different aspects, including ecological, economic, social, ethical, and scientific importance.

Ecological Importance

• Controls soil erosion, improving soil quality, essential for a healthy ecosystem, and protecting species.
• Pollination is crucial for many plants and food crops.
• Important for regulating atmospheric composition, recycling oxygen, and treating wastewater.
• Essential for nutrient recycling within ecosystems.
• Significant for medical and pharmaceutical discoveries relating to the earth's biodiversity.

Economic Importance

• Biodiversity is vital for food production.
• Natural resources from biodiversity also include fossil fuels, gas, and petrol.
• Natural resources include fertile soil, a vital healthy ecosystem, clean air, and water.
• Biodiversity is important for developing medicines.
• Source of raw materials for industries.
• Contributes to economic growth and reduces poverty.
• Natural tourism attractions, including wildlife and other activities like scuba diving and camping.

Social Importance

• Biodiversity provides social benefits, such as employment opportunities and other social services.
• Important for protecting all living things.

Scientific Importance

• Biodiversity is critical for research regarding organisms and their genomes.

Threats to Biodiversity

• Species extinction rates are significantly higher compared to pre-human times.
• About 1 million species are currently threatened with extinction.
• Ecosystem services have deteriorated by 60% over the past 50 years, due in part to land- and ocean-use practices.
• This limitation of evolutionary capacity hinders the ability of living organisms to adjust to environmental changes.

Causes of Biodiversity Loss

• Pollution
• Habitat loss
• Invasive species
• Overexploitation of certain species
• Natural disasters
• Hunting
• Climate change, and increased population growth, resource consumption, and urbanization.

Extinction Types

• Natural or background extinction rates involve a slow replacement of species with better adapted ones.
• Great oxygen catastrophe describes an event 2.4 billion years ago when living organisms resulted in mass extinction.
• Human interventions cause increased habitat loss, hunting, overexploitation, collection for zoos and research, introducing exotic species, pest/predator control, pollution, and deforestation.

Biodiversity Conservation

• Essential to maintain the human life support system and the biotic wealth of Earth.
• Protecting wild species is crucial.
• Safeguarding genetic variety is important.
• Living in harmony with nature, maintaining biodiversity's benefits, and sharing them with everyone.

In Situ Conservation Methods

• Involves conserving species in their natural habitats.
• Examples include biosphere reserves, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and other protected areas.

Ex Situ Conservation Methods

• Involves removing species from their natural habitats and preserving them in controlled settings.
• Examples include gene banks in fields and labs, storing in vitro, and zoos for animal conservation.

Efficient Biodiversity Conservation

• Requires a combined approach using both traditional and modern biological and biodiversity knowledge.

Biotechnological Tools in Conservation

• Tissue culture, cryopreservation, DNA banking, and plant genetic resource repositories are examples of tools used for effective biodiversity conservation.

Understanding Biodiversity

• Biodiversity involves documenting its composition, distribution, structure, and function.
• Understanding how genes, species, and ecosystems interact is also crucial.

Indirect Drivers of Biodiversity Loss

• Promoting public participation, respecting human rights, and improving information access.
• Sharing costs and benefits of biodiversity conservation among different nations.
• Promoting participatory biodiversity conservation.
• Creating biodiversity registries and integrated biodiversity observation systems.

Global Initiatives on Biodiversity

• Conventions, protocols, and frameworks are established to protect and sustainably use biodiversity.
• International agreements focus on conservation, sharing benefits, and protecting biodiversity from potential risks of living, modified organisms.

Explore the fascinating world of biodiversity, including its definition, significance, and the variety of species on Earth. This quiz highlights the estimated numbers of eukaryotic species and the ecological importance of biodiversity in sustaining life. Test your knowledge on the crucial role biodiversity plays in our ecosystems.