Biodiversity is the variety of life. It can be studied on many levels. At the highest level, you can look
at all the different species on the entire Earth. On a much smaller scale, you can study biodiversity
within a pond ecosystem or a neighborhood park. Identifying and understanding the relationships
between all the life on Earth are some of the greatest challenges in science.
Biodiversity is More than Just Species
Species diversity is only one part of biodiversity. To properly catalogue all the life on Earth, we also
have to recognize the genetic diversity that exists within species as well as the diversity of entire
habitats and ecosystems
Ecological Biodiversity is the diversity of ecosystems, natural communities and habitats. In essence, it’s
the variety of ways that species interact with each other and their environment. The forests of Maine
differ from the forests of Colorado by the types of species found in both ecosystems, as well as the
temperature and rainfall. These two seemingly similar ecosystems have a lot of differences that make
them both special.
Genetic Biodiversity is the variation in genes that exists within a species. A helpful way to
understand genetic diversity is to think about dogs. All dogs are part of the same species, but their
genes can dictate whether they are Chihuahua or a Great Dane. There can be a lot of variation in
genes – just think about all the colors, sizes, and shapes that make up the genetic diversity of
dogs.
Why is important
Biodiversity is extremely important to people and the health of ecosystems. A few of the reasons are:
Biodiversity allows us to live healthy and happy lives. It provides us with an array of foods and materials
and it contributes to the economy. Without a diversity of pollinators, plants, and soils, our supermarkets
would have a lot less produce.
Most medical discoveries to cure diseases and lengthen life spans were made because of research into
plant and animal biology and genetics. Every time a species goes extinct or genetic diversity is lost, we
will never know whether research would have given us a new vaccine or drug.
Biodiversity is an important part of ecological services that make life livable on Earth. They include
everything from cleaning water and absorbing chemicals, which wetlands do, to providing oxygen for us
to breathe—one of the many things that plants do for people.
Biodiversity allows for ecosystems to adjust to disturbances like extreme fires and floods. If a reptile
species goes extinct, a forest with 20 other reptiles is likely to adapt better than another forest with only
one reptile.
Threats to Biodiversity
Extinction is a natural part of life on Earth. Over the history of the planet most of the species that ever
existed, evolved and then gradually went extinct. Species go extinct because of natural shifts in the
environment that take place over long periods of time, such as ice ages.
Today, species are going extinct at an accelerated and dangerous rate, because of non-natural
environmental changes caused by human activities. Some of the activities have direct effects on species
and ecosystems, such as: