assignment on biodiversity

Biology Article
Biodiversity

Biodiversity and its Types

Table of Contents

Types of Biodiversity

Importance of Biodiversity

Biodiversity in india, biodiversity definition.

“Biodiversity is the variation among living organisms from different sources including terrestrial, marine and desert ecosystems, and the ecological complexes of which they are a part.”

What is Biodiversity?

Biodiversity describes the richness and variety of life on earth. It is the most complex and important feature of our planet. Without biodiversity, life would not sustain.

The term biodiversity was coined in 1985. It is important in natural as well as artificial ecosystems. It deals with nature’s variety, the biosphere. It refers to variabilities among plants, animals and microorganism species.

Biodiversity includes the number of different organisms and their relative frequencies in an ecosystem. It also reflects the organization of organisms at different levels.

Biodiversity holds ecological and economic significance. It provides us with nourishment, housing, fuel, clothing and several other resources. It also extracts monetary benefits through tourism. Therefore, it is very important to have a good knowledge of biodiversity for a sustainable livelihood.

Species diversity

Species diversity refers to the variety of different types of species found in a particular area. It is the biodiversity at the most basic level. It includes all the species ranging from plants to different microorganisms.

No two individuals of the same species are exactly similar. For example, humans show a lot of diversity among themselves.

Genetic diversity

It refers to the variations among the genetic resources of the organisms. Every individual of a particular species differs from each other in their genetic constitution. That is why every human looks different from each other. Similarly, there are different varieties in the same species of rice, wheat, maize, barley, etc.

Ecological diversity

An ecosystem is a collection of living and non-living organisms and their interaction with each other. Ecological biodiversity refers to the variations in the plant and animal species living together and connected by food chains and food webs.

It is the diversity observed among the different ecosystems in a region. Diversity in different ecosystems like deserts, rainforests, mangroves, etc., include ecological diversity.

Also Read: Biodiversity in Plants and Animals

Biodiversity and its maintenance are very important for sustaining life on earth. A few of the reasons explaining the importance of biodiversity are:

Ecological Stability

Every species has a specific role in an ecosystem. They capture and store energy and also produce and decompose organic matter. The ecosystem supports the services without which humans cannot survive. A diverse ecosystem is more productive and can withstand environmental stress.

Economic Importance

Biodiversity is a reservoir of resources for the manufacture of food, cosmetic products and pharmaceuticals.

Crops livestock, fishery, and forests are a rich sources of food.

Wild plants such as Cinchona and Foxglove plant are used for medicinal purposes.

Wood, fibres, perfumes, lubricants, rubber, resins, poison and cork are all derived from different plant species.

The national parks and sanctuaries are a source of tourism. They are a source of beauty and joy for many people.

Ethical Importance

All species have a right to exist. Humans should not cause their voluntary extinction. Biodiversity preserves different cultures and spiritual heritage. Therefore, it is very important to conserve biodiversity.

India is one of the most diverse nations in the world. It ranks ninth in terms of plant species richness. Two of the world’s 25 biodiversity hotspots are found in India. It is the origin of important crop species such as pigeon pea, eggplant, cucumber, cotton and sesame. India is also a centre of various domesticated species such as millets, cereals, legumes, vegetables, medicinal and aromatic crops, etc.

India is equally diverse in its faunal wealth. There are about 91000 animal species found here.

However, diversity is depleting at a drastic rate and various programmes on biodiversity conservation are being launched to conserve nature.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is biodiversity, what are the different types of biodiversity.

The three types of biodiversity are:

Species Diversity
Genetic Diversity
Ecological Diversity

What is ecological diversity?

What is the role of biodiversity in maintaining environmental balance, what is the importance of biodiversity.

Maintaining the balance of the ecosystem: Recycling and storage of nutrients, combating pollution, stabilizing climate, protecting water resources, forming and protecting soil and maintaining eco-balance
Provision of biological resources: Provision of medicines and pharmaceuticals, food for the human population and animals, ornamental plants, wood products, breeding stock and diversity of species, ecosystems and genes.
Social benefits: Recreation and tourism, cultural value and education and research.

Explore more:

How do mutations cause evolution?
How are species and populations related?
How many types of environment are there?
Why was Charles Darwin’s theory important?
Why should we conserve biodiversity short answer?
What are the six different major levels of organization?

Put your understanding of this concept to test by answering a few MCQs. Click ‘Start Quiz’ to begin!

Select the correct answer and click on the “Finish” button Check your score and answers at the end of the quiz

Explore BYJU’S for more concepts on Biology

Your result is as below

Request OTP on Voice Call

Register with BYJU'S & Download Free PDFs

Essay on Biodiversity for Students and Children

500+ words essay on biodiversity.

Essay on Biodiversity – Biodiversity is the presence of different species of plants and animals on the earth. Moreover, it is also called biological diversity as it is related to the variety of species of flora and fauna. Biodiversity plays a major role in maintaining the balance of the earth.

Furthermore, everything depends upon the biological diversity of different plants and animals. But due to some reasons, biodiversity is decreasing day by day. If it does not stop then our earth could no longer be a place to live in. Therefore different measures help in increasing the biodiversity of the earth.

Methods to Increase Biodiversity

Building wildlife corridors- This means to build connections between wildlife spaces. In other words, many animals are incapable to cross huge barriers. Therefore they are no able to migrate the barrier and breed. So different engineering techniques can make wildlife corridors. Also, help animals to move from one place to the other.

Set up gardens- Setting up gardens in the houses is the easiest way to increase biodiversity. You can grow different types of plants and animals in the yard or even in the balcony. Further, this would help in increasing the amount of fresh air in the house.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Protected areas- protected areas like wildlife sanctuaries and zoo conserve biodiversity. For instance, they maintain the natural habitat of plants and animals. Furthermore, these places are away from any human civilization. Therefore the ecosystem is well maintained which makes it a perfect breeding ground for flora and fauna. In our country, their various wildlife sanctuaries are build that is today spread over a vast area. Moreover, these areas are the only reason some of the animal species are not getting extinct. Therefore the protected areas should increase all over the globe.

Re-wilding – Re-wilding is necessary to avert the damage that has been taking place over centuries. Furthermore, the meaning of re-wilding is introducing the endangered species in the areas where it is extinct. Over the past years, by various human activities like hunting and cutting down of trees the biodiversity is in danger. So we must take the necessary steps to conserve our wildlife and different species of plants.

Importance of Biodiversity

Biodiversity is extremely important to maintain the ecological system. Most Noteworthy many species of plants and animals are dependent on each other.

Therefore if one of them gets extinct, the others will start getting endangered too. Moreover, it is important for humans too because our survival depends on plants and animals. For instance, the human needs food to survive which we get from plants. If the earth does not give us a favorable environment then we cannot grow any crops. As a result, it will no longer be possible for us to sustain on this planet.

Biodiversity in flora and fauna is the need of the hour. Therefore we should take various countermeasures to stop the reduction of endangering of species. Furthermore, pollution from vehicles should decrease. So that animals can get fresh air to breathe. Moreover, it will also decrease global warming which is the major cause of the extinction of the species.

Customize your course in 30 seconds

Which class are you in.

Travelling Essay
Picnic Essay
Our Country Essay
My Parents Essay
Essay on Favourite Personality
Essay on Memorable Day of My Life
Essay on Knowledge is Power
Essay on Gurpurab
Essay on My Favourite Season
Essay on Types of Sports

Download the App

school Campus Bookshelves
menu_book Bookshelves
perm_media Learning Objects
login Login
how_to_reg Request Instructor Account
hub Instructor Commons
Download Page (PDF)
Download Full Book (PDF)
Periodic Table
Physics Constants
Scientific Calculator
Reference & Cite
Tools expand_more
Readability

selected template will load here

This action is not available.

5.1: Introduction to Biodiversity

Last updated
Save as PDF
Page ID 14612

Matthew R. Fisher
Oregon Coast Community College via OpenOregon

Earth is home to an impressive array of life forms. From single-celled organisms to creatures made of many trillions of cells, life has taken on many wonderful shapes and evolved countless strategies for survival. Recall that cell theory dictates that all living things are made of one or more cells. Some organisms are made of just a single cell, and are thus referred to as unicellular . Organisms containing more than one cell are said to be multicellular. Despite the wide range of organisms, there exists only two fundamental cell plans: prokaryotic and eukaryotic. The main difference these two cell plans is that eukaryotic cells have internal, membrane-bound structures called organelles (see chp 2.3). Thus, if you were to microscopically analyze the cells of any organism on Earth, you would find either prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells depending on the type of organism.

Biologists name, group, and classify organisms based on similarities in genetics and morphology. This branch of biological science is known as taxonomy . Taxonomists group organisms into categories that range from very broad to very specific (Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\)). The broadest category is called domain and the most specific is species (notice the similarities between the words specific and species ). Currently, taxonomists recognize three domains: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya. All life forms are classified within these three domains.

Domain Bacteria

Domain Bacteria includes prokaryotic, unicellular organisms (Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\)). They are incredibly abundant and found in nearly every imaginable type of habitat, including your body. While many people view bacteria only as disease-causing organisms, most species are actually either benign or beneficial to humans. While it is true that some bacteria may cause disease in people, this is more the exception than the rule.

Bacteria are well-known for their metabolic diversity. Metabolism is a general term describing the complex biochemistry that occurs inside of cells. Many species of bacteria are autotrophs , meaning they can create their own food source without having to eat other organisms. Most autotrophic bacteria do this by using photosynthesis, a process that converts light energy into chemical energy that can be utilized by cells. A well-known and ecologically-important group of photosynthetic bacteria is cyanobacteria . These are sometimes referred to a blue-green algae, but this name is not appropriate because, as you will see shortly, algae are organisms that belong to domain Eukarya. Cyanobacteria play important roles in food webs of aquatic systems, such as lakes.

Other species of bacteria are heterotrophs , meaning that they need to acquire their food by eating other organisms. This classification includes the bacteria that cause disease in humans ( during an infection, the bacteria is eating you ). However, most heterotrophic bacteria are harmless to humans. In fact, you have hundreds of species of bacteria living on your skin and in your large intestine that do you no harm. Beyond your body, heterotrophic bacteria play vital roles in ecosystems, especially soil-dwelling bacteria that decompose living matter and make nutrients available to plants.

Domain Archaea

Like bacteria, organisms in domain Archaea are prokaryotic and unicellular. Superficially, they look a lot like bacteria, and many biologists confused them as bacteria until a few decades ago. But hiding in their genes is a story that modern DNA analysis has recently revealed: archaeans are so different genetically that they belong in their own domain.

Many archaean species are found in some of the most inhospitable environments, areas of immense pressure (bottom of the ocean), salinity (such as the Great Salt Lake), or heat (geothermal springs). Organisms that can tolerate and even thrive in such conditions are known as extremophiles . ( It should be noted that many bacteria are also extremophiles ). Along with genetic evidence, the fact that a large percentage of archaeans are extremophiles suggests that they may be descendants of some of the most ancient lifeforms on Earth; life that originated on a young planet that was inhospitable by today’s standards.

For whatever reason, archaeans are not as abundant in and on the human body as bacteria, and they cause substantially fewer diseases. Research on archaeans continues to shed light on this interesting and somewhat mysterious domain.

Domain Eukarya

This domain is most familiar to use because it includes humans and other animals, along with plants, fungi, and a lesser-known group, the protists. Unlike the other domains, Domain Eukarya contains multicellular organisms, in addition to unicellular species. The domain is characterized by the presence of eukaryotic cells. For this domain, you will be introduced to several of its kingdoms. Kingdom is the taxonomic grouping immediately below domain (see Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\)).

Kingdom Animalia is comprised of multicellular, heterotrophic organisms. This kingdom includes humans and other primates, insects, fish, reptiles, and many other types of animals. Kingdom Plantae includes multicellular, autotrophic organisms. Except for a few species that are parasites, plants use photosynthesis to meet their energy demands.

Kingdom Fungi includes multicellular and unicellular, heterotrophic fungi. Fungi are commonly mistaken for plants because some species of fungi grow in the ground. Fungi are fundamentally different from plants in that they do not perform photosynthesis and instead feed on the living matter of others. Another misconception is that all fungi are mushrooms. A mushroom is a temporary reproductive structure used by some fungal species, but not all. Some fungi take the form of molds and mildews, which are commonly seen on rotting food. Lastly, yeast are unicellular fungi. Many species of yeast are important to humans, especially baker’s and brewer’s yeast. Through their metabolism, these yeast produce CO2 gas and alcohol. The former makes bread rise and the latter is the source for all alcoholic beverages.

Protists refer to a highly disparate group that was formerly its own kingdom until recent genetic analysis indicated that it should be split in to many kingdoms (Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\)). As a group, protists are very diverse and include unicellular, multicellular, heterotrophic, and autotrophic organisms. The term ‘protist’ was used as a catchall for any eukaryote that was neither animal, plant, or fungus. Examples of protists include macroalgae such as kelps and seaweeds, microalgae such as diatoms and dinoflagellates, and important disease-causing microbes such as Plasmodium , the parasite that causes malaria. Sadly, malaria kills hundreds of thousands of people every year.

With this cursory and fundamental understanding of biological diversity, you are now better equipped to study the role of biodiversity in the biosphere and in human economics, health, and culture. Each life form, even the smallest microbe, is a fascinating and and complex living machine. This complexity means we will likely never fully understand each organism and the myriad ways they interact with each other, with us, and with their environment. Thus, it is wise to value biodiversity and take measures to conserve it.

Contributors and Attributions

This work by Matthew R. Fisher is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website.

If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked.

To log in and use all the features of Khan Academy, please enable JavaScript in your browser.

High school biology - NGSS

Course: high school biology - ngss > unit 9, creative thinking in science: exploring biodiversity.

Biodiversity
Understand: biodiversity

How many species are there?

What is creative thinking, let’s use creative thinking to answer the question.

First, try breaking the question down into smaller, more manageable questions. For example, you might list different types of ecosystems on each continent and estimate species numbers for each.
To help with your estimates, draw on your own knowledge. Think about the ecosystem outside your door. Or, think of one that you have visited, such as a local or national park. How might you determine the number of species there?
Try turning off the “error-checker” part of your brain. Let yourself come up with as many ideas as you can. There are no wrong answers. It’s the process of thinking through the problem that is important.

What is your estimate?

How many species did you estimate to be on Earth?
How did you arrive at that number?
Did any tricky issues come up as you worked out your estimate?
What assumptions or limitations did you have to make?

Let’s get visual

Want to join the conversation.

Upvote Button navigates to signup page
Downvote Button navigates to signup page
Flag Button navigates to signup page

Translate this page

Lesson ideas.

Teaching Activities About Ecology and Biodiversity

This collection highlights teaching activities, hands-on lessons, and online simulations we found on the web that can help students learn about ecology and biodiversity . They are created by science educators and partner education organizations. Just as all our original content is free, we only recommend external resources that are free for teachers.

1. Endangered Whales Activity

This activity was authored in 2018 by teachers Beth Marass and Jayne Ricciardi as part of summer educator programs offered by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute ( MBARI ). Included are a lesson plan, lesson presentation, student handouts, and YouTube video tutorials on the online tools used during the lesson. In this activity, students use genetic sequences to determine if whale meat in fish markets is from endangered species . Students will use the NCBI website and BLAST tools to compare DNA sequences.

Image from MBARI

Activity : web page
Topic : genetics, marine mammals, biotechnology, DNA sequencing, forensic science
Level : high school

2. Coral Reef Activity

This activity was published in 2017 by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) as part of an extension collection of educator resources . The 26-page lesson plan includes teacher materials, student handouts, and assessments that introduce students to coral reefs and how humans can impact the marine environment.

Image from NOAA

Activity : PDF
Topic : coral reefs, ecology, marine habitat
Level : middle school

3. Marine Protected Areas Activity

This activity was published by NOAA as part of its extensive educator resources. The 8-page lesson plan includes teacher materials, a student handout, and an assessment tool. In this activity students will learn about the importance of marine protected areas and how they can be successful, creating a “gallery wall” of their findings to share with the class or school.

Topic : conservation, marine habitat
Level : middle school, high school

4. Virtual Field Trips of Elkhorn Slough

This activity is offered by Elkhorn Slough, a wetland reserve located on the California coast. Originally published in 2020 as “virtual field trips,” these activities appear to have been rebranded as “flyover” visits. As of September 2023, links to student and teacher resources appear on a pop-up bar from their Education Resources page while the videos are found on YouTube. Lessons focus on animal adaptations, energy flow through the ecosystem, watershed functioning, and human impacts in the estuary.

Image from Elkhorn Slough

Activities : Flyover 1 is a 5-minute virtual exploration of “Trail to Parsons Overlook.” Worksheets are available for students in K-1 , 2-3 , 4 , and 5-6 . Flyover 2 is a 4-minute virtual exploration of “Salt Marsh to Mud Flats.” A worksheet is available for students in K-8 .
Topic : adaptation, energy systems, watersheds, human impacts
Level : varies

5. Lesson Sets from WWF

These 19 lessons sets are topical collections of digital and print classroom materials published by the World Wildlife Foundation ( WWF ), an international interest group founded in 1961 to “protect places and species that were threatened by human development.” Some of them (currently eight) are available in Spanish. They also link to videos the WWF has compiled to supplement the core lesson plans. In these lessons, students of various levels will learn about biodiversity, endangered species, and ecological interactions.

Image from WWF

Lesson sets : English , Spanish
Topic : biodiversity, conservation, endangered species, ecology
Levels : varies

6. Right Whale Investigation

This activity was published in 2008 by the Smithsonian Institute’s Office of Educational Technology as part of its Learning Lab collections. It offers a “multi-step lesson” with supplemental audio and visual resources drawing from the Smithsonian’s natural history, postal museum, and magazine units. In this activity, students go on an interactive investigation into the movement and behavior of North Atlantic Right Whales . This exploration helps students make connections between endangered species and human protections for animals.

Image from Smithsonian Institute

Topic : conservation, endangered species, marine mammals, natural history

7. Ecosystem Mapping Activity

This activity was developed by three researchers – Ed Barbanell, Meghann Jarchow, and John Ritter – for the InTeGrate program at Carleton University that operated from 2012 to 2019 with funding from the National Science Foundation. It includes a PowerPoint presentation, student materials, and a student worksheet with teacher key. In this activity, students use GoogleEarth to learn about and assess ecosystem services in areas.

Image from InTeGrate

Topic : ecology, ecosystems, technology

8. Land Use Mapping Activity

This activity was published in May 2018 (with updates in 2020) by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute ( HHMI ), a private biomedical research organization founded in 1953. It features a video – with an “audio descriptive version” – showing Indigenous communities in Darién, Panama, mapping their land with drones . In this activity students use a worksheet to reflect on this video. Worksheets and materials are available in both English and Spanish.

Image from HHMI

Topic : conservation, land use, technology, human impacts

9. Nitrogen Cycle Game

This activity was developed by Lisa Gardner and was last updated in 2022. It is published by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), a multi-university research institute funded by the National Science Foundation and based in Boulder, Colorado. In this game, students learn about the nitrogen cycle and the reservoirs in which nitrogen can be found. Game station signs and student sheets are available in both English and Spanish.

Image from UCAR

Topic : nitrogen, atmosphere, life cycles

10. Nitrogen Cycle Activities

This activity was published in 2014 by the Utah State University Extension as part of its Stream Side Science materials. It includes a core classroom activity as well as suggested extension activities. In this activity, students learn about the nitrogen cycle and do experiments testing water from different sources.

Image from USUE

Activity : web page , PDF
Topic : nitrogen, water, human impacts

11. Everglades Activities

This collection is published by the Everglades Foundation , a nonprofit group founded in 1993 to “restore and protect the greater Everglades ecosystem .” Resources are organized by grade groups (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12) or by special focus (science content, media materials, dual language). Activities include age-appropriate content like coloring sheets, videos, games, scientific explorations, and more. While English is the primary language offered, some supplements are available in Spanish or Haitian Creole.

Image from Everglades Foundation

Collection : web page , dual language
Topic : conservation, ecology, ecosystem

That’s Not All!

Check out our full collections of adapted research articles on Ecology and Biodiversity . Each article comes with tailored teaching resources, lessons, labs, and other activities for your students.

Title photo by Saad Alaiyadhi

September 26, 2023

Share this Lesson Idea

Check out this related lesson idea, how can leopard seals survive climate change.

Latest Scientific Articles

Why don’t whales get cancer?

+ Audio version of article + Links to lessons on DNA and cancer

How can AI make online chats kinder?

+ Audio version of article + Blackboard version of article + Links to lessons on political discourse and civil debates

How can doctors treat endometriosis?

+ Audio version of article + Links to activities about reproductive health and macrophages + Blackboard version of the article

How do bumble bees play?

+ Audio version of article + Links to lessons on bees and animal behavior + Blackboard version of article with bee footage

We want to hear from you!

If you are a teacher and you used some of our resources in class, we want your feedback! Please fill out this Teacher Feedback survey!

Journal funding support from:

Recommended by:

133 Biodiversity Topics & Examples

🔝 top-10 biodiversity topics for presentation, 🏆 best biodiversity project topics, 💡 most interesting biodiversity assignment topics, 📌 simple & easy biodiversity related topics, 👍 good biodiversity title ideas, ❓ biodiversity research topics.

Biodiversity loss.
Global biodiversity conservation.
The Amazon rainforest.
Animal ecology research.
Sub Saharan Africa.
Marine biodiversity.
Threats to ecosystems.
Plant ecology.
Importance of environmental conservation.
Evolution of animal species.
Biodiversity Hotspots: The Philippines The International Conservation has classified the Philippines as one of the biodiversity hotspots in the world. Additionally, the country is said to be one of the areas that are endangered in the world.
Aspects, Importance and Issues of Biodiversity Genetic diversity is a term used to refer to the dissimilitude of organisms of the same species. Species diversity is used to refer to dissimilitude of organisms in a given region.
Biodiversity Benefits for Ecology This variation of species in the ecosystem is a very important concept and factor that indeed is the basis for sustaining life on our planet. Moreover, the most important supporter of life, which is soil […]
Biodiversity Conservation: Tropical Rainforest The forest is not a threat to many species and that, therefore, helps in showing that conserving this forest will be of great benefit to many species. The disadvantage of conserving the Mangrove Forest is […]
Loss of Biodiversity and Extinctions It is estimated that the number of species that have become extinct is greater than the number of species that are currently found on earth.
Habitat Destruction and Biodiversity Extinctions The instance of extinction is by and large regarded as the demise of the very last character of the genus. Habitat obliteration has played a major part in wiping out of species, and it is […]
How Biodiversity Is Threatened by Human Activity Most of the marine biodiversity is found in the tropics, especially coral reefs that support the growth of organisms. Overexploitation in the oceans is caused by overfishing and fishing practices that cause destruction of biodiversity.
Biology Lab Report: Biodiversity Study of Lichens As a consequence of these results, the variety of foods found in forest flora that include lichens may be linked to varying optimum conditions for establishment and development.
Natural Sciences: Biodiversity and Human Civilisation The author in conjunction with a team of other researchers used a modelling study to illustrate the fact approximately 2 percent of global energy is currently being deployed in the generation of wind and solar […]
How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity The disturbance of the ecosystem has some effects on the dynamics of vectors and infectious diseases. Change of climate is a contributing factor in the emergence of new species and infectious diseases.
Biodiversity: Aspects Within the Sphere of Biology Finally, living objects consist of cells, which are the basic units of their function and structure. The viruses’ structure depends on which nucleic acid is included, which denotes that there are DNA and RNA viruses.
Coral Reef and Biodiversity in Ecosystems Coral reefs are formed only in the tropical zone of the ocean; the temperature limits their life – are from +18 to +29oS, and at the slightest deviation from the boundaries of the coral die.
Biodiversity and the Health of Ecosystems Various opinions are revealed concerning biodiversity, including the human impact, reversal of biodiversity loss, the impact of overpopulation, the future of biodiversity, and the rate of extinction.
Wild Crops and Biodiversity Threats However, out of millions of existing types of wild crop cultures, the vast majority have been abandoned and eradicated, as the agricultural companies placed major emphasis on the breeding of domesticated cultures that are easy […]
Biodiversity, Interdependency: Threatened and Endhangered Species In the above table, humans rely on bees to facilitate pollination among food crops and use their honey as food. Concurrently, lichens break down rocks to provide nutrient-rich soil in the relationship.
Invasive Processes’ Impact on Ecosystem’s Biodiversity If the invasive ones prove to be more adaptive, this will bring about the oppression of the native species and radical changes in the ecosystem.
Conserving Biodiversity: The Loggerhead Turtle The loggerhead sea turtle is the species of oceanic turtle which is spread all over the world and belongs to the Cheloniidae family.
Biodiversity and Dynamics of Mountainous Area Near the House It should be emphasized that the term ecosystem used in this paper is considered a natural community characterized by a constant cycle of energy and resources, the presence of consumers, producers, and decomposers, as well […]
National Biodiversity Strategy By this decision, the UN seeks to draw the attention of the world community and the leaders of all countries to the protection and rational use of natural resources.
Rewilding Our Cities: Beauty, Biodiversity and the Biophilic Cities Movement What is the source of your news item? The Guardian.
Biodiversity and Food Production This paper will analyze the importance of biodiversity in food production and the implications for human existence. Edible organisms are few as compared to the total number of organisms in the ecosystem.
Restoring the Everglades Wetlands: Biodiversity The Act lays out the functions and roles of the Department of Environmental Protection and the South Florida Water Management District in restoration of the Everglades.
Biodiversity: Importance and Benefits This is due to the fact that man is evolving from the tendency of valuing long term benefits to a tendency of valuing short terms benefits.
A Benchmarking Biodiversity Survey of the Inter-Tidal Zone at Goat Island Bay, Leigh Marine Laboratory Within each quadrant, the common species were counted or, in the case of seaweed and moss, proliferation estimated as a percentage of the quadrant occupied.
Ecological Consequences Due to Changes in Biodiversity The author is an ecologist whose main area of interest is in the field of biodiversity and composition of the ecosystem.
Biodiversity: Population Versus Ecosystem Diversity by David Tilman How is the variability of the plant species year to year in the community biomass? What is the rate of the plant productivity in the ecosystem?
Biodiversity Hotspots and Environmental Ethics The magnitude of the problem of losing biodiversity hotspots is too great, to the extend of extinction of various species from the face of the earth.
The Importance of Biodiversity in Ecosystem The most urgent problem right now is to maintain the level of biodiversity in this world but it has to begin with a more in-depth understanding of how different species of flora and fauna can […]
Natural Selection and Biodiversity These are featured by the ways in which the inhabiting organisms adapt to them and it is the existence of these organisms on which the ecosystems depend and therefore it is evident that this diversity […]
Scientific Taxonomy and Earth’s Biodiversity A duck is a domestic bird that is reared for food in most parts of the world. It is associated with food in the household and is smaller than a bee.
Global Warming: Causes and Impact on Health, Environment and the Biodiversity Global warming is defined in simple terms as the increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s surface including the air and oceans in recent decades and if the causes of global warming are not […]
Loss of Biodiversity in the Amazon Ecosystem The growth of the human population and the expansion of global economies have contributed to the significant loss of biodiversity despite the initial belief that the increase of resources can halt the adverse consequences of […]
California’s Coastal Biodiversity Initiative The considered threat to California biodiversity is a relevant topic in the face of climate change. To prevent this outcome, it is necessary to involve the competent authorities and plan a possible mode of operation […]
Biodiversity: American Museum of Natural History While staying at the museum, I took a chance to visit the Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life and the Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians.
Biodiversity and Animal Population in Micronesia This means that in the future, the people living in Micronesia will have to move to other parts of the world when their homes get submerged in the water.
Urban Plants’ Role in Insects’ Biodiversity The plants provide food, shelter and promote the defensive mechanisms of the insects. The observation was also an instrumental method that was used to assess the behavior and the existence of insects in relation to […]
Earth’s Biodiversity: Extinction Rates Exaggerated This is because most animals and plants have been projected to be extinct by the end of this century yet the method that is used to forecast this can exaggerate by more than 160%.
Biodiversity Markets and Bolsa Floresta Program Environmentalists and scholars of the time led by Lord Monboddo put forward the significance of nature conservation which was followed by implementation of conservation policies in the British Indian forests.
Brazilian Amazonia: Biodiversity and Deforestation Secondly, the mayor persuaded the people to stop deforestation to save the Amazon. Additionally, deforestation leads to displacement of indigenous people living in the Amazonia.
Defining and Measuring Biodiversity Biodiversity is measured in terms of attributes that explore the quality of nature; richness and evenness of the living organisms within an ecological niche.
Biodiversity, Its Importance and Benefits Apart from that, the paper is going to speculate on the most and least diverse species in the local area. The biodiversity can be measured in terms of the number of different species in the […]
Biodiversity, Its Evolutionary and Genetic Reasons The occurrence of natural selection is hinged on the hypothesis that offspring inherit their characteristics from their parents in the form of genes and that members of any particular population must have some inconsiderable disparity […]
Climate Change’s Negative Impact on Biodiversity This essay’s primary objective is to trace and evaluate the impact of climate change on biological diversity through the lens of transformations in the marine and forest ecosystems and evaluation of the agricultural sector both […]
Biodiversity Hotspots: Evaluation and Analysis The region also boasts with the endangered freshwater turtle species, which are under a threat of extinction due to over-harvesting and destroyed habitat.
Marine Biodiversity Conservation and Impure Public Goods The fact that the issue concerning the global marine biodiversity and the effects that impure public goods may possibly have on these rates can lead to the development of a range of externalities that should […]
Biodiversity and Business Risk In conclusion, biodiversity risk affects businesses since the loss of biodiversity leads to: coastal flooding, desertification and food insecurity, all of which have impacts on business organizations.
Measurement of Biodiversity It is the “sum total of all biotic variation from the level of genes to ecosystems” according to Andy Purvus and Andy Hector in their article entitled “Getting the Measure of Diversity” which appeared in […]
Introduced Species and Biodiversity Rhymer and Simberloff explain that the seriousness of the phenomenon may not be very evident from direct observation of the morphological traits of the species.
Ecosystems: Biodiversity and Habitat Loss The review of the topic shows that the relationship between urban developmental patterns and the dynamics of ecosystem are concepts that are still not clearly understood in the scholarly world as well as in general.
When Human Diet Costs Too Much: Biodiversity as the Ultimate Answer to the Global Problems Because of the unreasonable use of the natural resources, environmental pollution and inadequate protection, people have led a number of species to extinction; moreover, due to the increasing rates of consumerist approach towards the food […]
The Impact of Burmese Pythons on Florida’s Native Biodiversity Scientists from the South Florida Natural Resource Center, the Smithsonian institute and the University of Florida have undertaken studies to assess the predation behavior of the Burmese pythons on birds in the area.
Essentials of Biodiversity At the same time, the knowledge and a more informed understanding of the whole concept of biodiversity gives us the power to intervene in the event that we are faced by the loss of biodiversity, […]
Threat to Biodiversity Is Just as Important as Climate Change This paper shall articulate the truth of this statement by demonstrating that threats to biodiversity pose significant threat to the sustainability of human life on earth and are therefore the protection of biodiversity is as […]
Cold Water Coral Ecosystems and Their Biodiversity: A Review of Their Economic and Social Value
Benchmarking DNA Metabarcoding for Biodiversity-Based Monitoring and Assessment
Prospects for Integrating Disturbances, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning Using Microbial Systems
Enterprising Nature: Economics, Markets, and Finance in Global Biodiversity Politics
Institutional Economics and the Behaviour of Conservation Organizations: Implications for Biodiversity Conservation
Fisheries, Fish Pollution and Biodiversity: Choice Experiments With Fishermen, Traders and Consumers
Last Stand: Protected Areas and the Defense of Tropical Biodiversity
Hardwiring Green: How Banks Account For Biodiversity Risks and Opportunities
Governance Criteria for Effective Transboundary Biodiversity Conservation
Marine Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas for Penguins in Antarctica: Targets for Conservation Action
Ecological and Economic Assessment of Forests Biodiversity: Formation of Theoretical and Methodological Instruments
Environment and Biodiversity Impacts of Organic and Conventional Agriculture
Food From the Water: How the Fish Production Revolution Affects Aquatic Biodiversity and Food Security
Biodiversity and World Food Security: Nourishing the Planet and Its People
Climate Change and Energy Economics: Key Indicators and Approaches to Measuring Biodiversity
Conflicts Between Biodiversity and Carbon Sequestration Programs: Economic and Legal Implications
Models for Sample Selection Bias in Contingent Valuation: Application to Forest Biodiversity
Optimal Land Conversion and Growth With Uncertain Biodiversity Costs
Internalizing Global Externalities From Biodiversity: Protected Areas and Multilateral Mechanisms of Transfer
Combining Internal and External Motivations in Multi-Actor Governance Arrangements for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
Balancing State and Volunteer Investment in Biodiversity Monitoring for the Implementation of CBD Indicators
Differences and Similarities Between Ecological and Economic Models for Biodiversity Conservation
Globalization and the Connection of Remote Communities: Household Effects and Their Biodiversity Implications
Shaded Coffee and Cocoa – Double Dividend for Biodiversity and Small-Scale Farmers
Spatial Priorities for Marine Biodiversity Conservation in the Coral Triangle
One World, One Experiment: Addressing the Biodiversity and Economics Conflict
Alternative Targets and Economic Efficiency of Selecting Protected Areas for Biodiversity Conservation in Boreal Forest
Analysing Multi Level Water and Biodiversity Governance in Their Context
Agricultural Biotechnology: Productivity, Biodiversity, and Intellectual Property Rights
Renewable Energy and Biodiversity: Implications for Transitioning to a Green Economy
Agricultural Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services of Major Farming Systems
Integrated Land Use Modelling of Agri-Environmental Measures to Maintain Biodiversity at Landscape Level
Changing Business Perceptions Regarding Biodiversity: From Impact Mitigation Towards New Strategies and Practices
Forest Biodiversity and Timber Extraction: An Analysis of the Interaction of Market and Non-market Mechanisms
Poverty and Biodiversity: Measuring the Overlap of Human Poverty and the Biodiversity Hotspots
Protecting Agro-Biodiversity by Promoting Rural Livelihoods
Maintaining Biodiversity and Environmental Sustainability
Landscape, Legal, and Biodiversity Threats That Windows Pose to Birds: A Review of an Important Conservation Issue
Variable Mating Behaviors and the Maintenance of Tropical Biodiversity
Species Preservation and Biodiversity Value: A Real Options Approach
What Is Being Done to Preserve Biodiversity and Its Hotspots?
How Are Argentina and Chile Facing Shared Biodiversity Loss?
Are Diverse Ecosystems More Valuable?
How Can Biodiversity Loss Be Prevented?
Can Payments for Watershed Services Help Save Biodiversity?
How Can Business Reduce Impacts on the World’s Biodiversity?
Are National Biodiversity Strategies Appropriate for Building Responsibilities for Mainstreaming Biodiversity Across Policy Sectors?
How Does Agriculture Effect Biodiversity?
Are There Income Effects on Global Willingness to Pay For Biodiversity Conservation?
How Does the Economic Risk Aversion Affect Biodiversity?
What Are the Threats of Biodiversity?
How Has the Increased Usage of Synthetic Pesticides Impacted Biodiversity?
What Does Drive Biodiversity Conservation Effort in the Developing World?
How Does the Plantation Affect Biodiversity?
What Does Drive Long-Run Biodiversity Change?
How Does the United Nations Deal With Biodiversity?
What Factors Affect Biodiversity?
How Are Timber Harvesting and Biodiversity Managed in Uneven-Aged Forests?
When Should Biodiversity Tenders Contract on Outcomes?
Who Cares About Biodiversity?
Why Can Financial Incentives Destroy Economically Valuable Biodiversity in Ethiopia?
What Factors Affect an Area’s Biodiversity?
In What Ways Is Biodiversity Economically Valuable?
Which Human Activities Threaten Biodiversity?
How Can Biodiversity Be Protected?
In What Ways Is Biodiversity Ecologically Value?
In Which Countries Is Biodiversity Economically Valuable?
Does Species Diversity Follow Any Patterns?
How Is Biodiversity Measured?
What Is a Biodiversity Hotspot?
Chicago (A-D)
Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, February 22). 133 Biodiversity Topics & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/biodiversity-essay-topics/

"133 Biodiversity Topics & Examples." IvyPanda , 22 Feb. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/topic/biodiversity-essay-topics/.

IvyPanda . (2024) '133 Biodiversity Topics & Examples'. 22 February.

IvyPanda . 2024. "133 Biodiversity Topics & Examples." February 22, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/biodiversity-essay-topics/.

1. IvyPanda . "133 Biodiversity Topics & Examples." February 22, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/biodiversity-essay-topics/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "133 Biodiversity Topics & Examples." February 22, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/biodiversity-essay-topics/.

Ecosystem Essay Topics
Climate Change Titles
Environment Research Topics
Disaster Essay Titles
Evolution Topics
Glaciers Topics
Hunting Questions
Global Warming Essay Titles

Jeweled Chameleon (Furcifer lateralis), Madagascar

UNESCO's commitment
Culture and values
Conservation and sustainable use
Local, indigenous and scientific knowledge
Education and awareness
Ocean Sciences
UNESCO Biodiversity Portal
International governance mechanisms
United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development
Ocean Biodiversity Information System

Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity

Biodiversity is currently being lost at up to 1,000 times the natural rate. Some scientists are now referring to the crisis as the ‘Earth’s sixth mass extinction’, comparable to the last great extinction crisis 65 million years ago. These extinctions are irreversible and pose a serious threat to our health and wellbeing. Designation and management of protected areas is the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation. However, despite an increase in the total number of protected areas in the world, biodiversity continues to decline.

An integrated landscape approach to conservation planning plays a key role in ensuring suitable habitats for species. However, many protected areas are not functioning as effectively as originally intended, due in part to limited resources to maintain these areas and/or enforce relevant legal frameworks. In addition, current protected area networks may need to be re-aligned to account for climate change. Efforts to preserve biodiversity must take into account not only the physical environment, but also social and economic systems that are well connected to biodiversity and ecosystem services. For protected areas to contribute effectively to a secure future for biodiversity, there is a need for measures to enhance the representativeness of networks, and to improve management effectiveness.

Growth in protected areas in many countries is helping to maintain options for the future, but sustainable use and management of territory outside protected areas remains a priority.
Measures to improve environmental status within conservation areas, combined with landscape-scale approaches, are urgently needed if their efficiency is to be improved.
Lack of adequate technical and financial resources and capacity can limit the upscaling of innovative solutions, demonstrating further the need for regional and subregional co-operation.
Capacity building is a key factor in the successful avoidance and reduction of land degradation and informed restoration.
Capacity development needs should be addressed at three levels: national, provincial and local.
There is a need for capacity building to enable sources outside government to inform relevant departments and policies on biodiversity (e.g. through consultancies, academia and think tanks).

Sites, connected landscapes and networks

Conserving biodiversity and promoting sustainable use.

UNESCO works on the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable use of its components through UNESCO designated sites, including biosphere reserves , World Heritage sites and UNESCO Global Geoparks . In 2018, UNESCO designated sites protected over 10 million km 2 , an area equivalent to the size of China. These conservation instruments have adopted policies and strategies that aim to conserve these sites, while supporting the broader objectives of sustainable development. One such example is the policy on the integration of a sustainable development perspective into the processes of the World Heritage Convention.

UNESCO is also the depository of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance . Countless species of plants and animals depend on these delicate habitats for survival.

The first comprehensive assessment of species that live within World Heritage sites reveals just how critical they are to preserving the diversity of life on Earth.

The MAB Programme and the World Network of Biosphere Reserves: connecting landscapes and reconciling conservation with development

Biosphere reserves are designated under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme and promote solutions reconciling the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use at local and regional scales.

This dynamic and interactive network of sites works to foster the harmonious integration of people and nature for sustainable development through participatory dialogue, knowledge sharing, poverty reduction, human wellbeing improvements, respect or cultural values and efforts to improve society’s ability to cope with climate change. Progress has been achieved in connecting landscapes and protected areas through biosphere reserves, however further efforts are needed.

World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR)
BIOsphere and Heritage of Lake Chad (BIOPALT)
Women for Bees - a joint Guerlain and UNESCO programme
Protecting Great Apes and their habitats
Ecosystem restoration for sustainable development in Haiti ( Français | Español )
Green Economy in Biosphere Reserves project in Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania *
More activities and projects

and the sustainable use of its components through UNESCO designated sites

Capacity building

Capacity building is needed to provide adequate support to Member States to attain the international biodiversity goals and the SDGs. In some countries, technical, managerial and institutional capacity to define guidelines for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity is inadequate. Additionally, existing institutional and technical capacity is often fragmented and uncoordinated. As new ways of interacting with biodiversity emerge, it is essential that stakeholders are trained and have sufficient capacity to implement new and varied approaches. Further efforts will be needed therefore to facilitate capacity building by fostering learning and leadership skills.

UNESCO is mandated to assist Member States in the design and implementation of national policies on education, culture, science, technology and innovation including biodiversity.

The BIOPALT project: integrated management of ecosystems

More than 30 million people live in the Lake Chad Basin. The site is highly significant in terms of biodiversity and natural and cultural heritage. The cross-border dimension of the basin also presents opportunities for sub-regional integration. The BIOsphere and Heritage of Lake Chad (BIOPALT) project focuses on poverty reduction and peace promotion, and aims to strengthen the capacities of the Lake Chad Basin Commission member states to safeguard and manage sustainably the water resources, socio-ecosystems and cultural resources of the region.

Women for bees: Women’s empowerment and biodiversity conservation

Women for Bees is a state-of-the-art female beekeeping entrepreneurship programme launched by UNESCO and Guerlain. Implemented in UNESCO designated biosphere reserves around the world with the support of the French training centre, the Observatoire Français d’Apidologie (OFA), the programme has actor, film maker and humanitarian activist Angelina Jolie for a Godmother, helping promote its twin objectives of women’s empowerment and biodiversity conservation.

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and capacity development

Capacity development is present in all areas of IOC ’s work, at the global programme level as well as within each of its three sub-commissions and the IOC-INDIO regional committee. In 2015, IOC adopted its Capacity Development Strategy. IOC is the custodian agency for SDG 14A.

In collaboration with the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) , IOC has implemented a network of Regional Training Centres under the OceanTeacher Global Academy (OTGA) project, which has seven such centres around the world (Belgium, Colombia, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Mozambique and Senegal). Through its network of centres, OTGA provides a programme of training courses related to IOC programmes, which contribute to the sustainable management of oceans and coastal areas worldwide. OTGA has developed an e-Learning Platform that hosts all training resources for the training courses and makes them freely available to any interested parties.

Since 2012, 270 scientists from 69 countries have been trained to manage marine biodiversity data, publish data through the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) , and perform scientific data analysis for reporting and assessment. Since 1990, IOC West Pacific Regional Training and Research Centres have trained more than 1,000 people in a variety of topics including:

monitoring the ecological impacts of ocean acidification on coral reef ecosystems,
harmful algal blooms,
traditional and molecular taxonomy,
reef health monitoring, and
seagrass and mangrove ecology and management.

Most courses take place in a face-to-face classroom environment, however training can also be conducted online using ICTs and the OceanTeacher e-Learning Platform, thereby increasing the number of people reached.

and peace-building through the promotion of green economy and the valorization of the basin's natural resources

BIOPALT project, capacity building in Niger to produce Balanite oil

Governance and connecting the scales

Governance systems in many countries function as indirect drivers of changes to ecosystems and biodiversity. At present, most policies that address biodiversity are fragmented and target specific. Additionally, the current design of governance, institutions and policies rarely takes into account the diverse values of biodiversity. There are also substantial challenges to the design and implementation of effective transboundary and regional initiatives to halt biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, climate change and unsustainable development. Another key challenge to successful policy-making is adequate mobilization of financial resources. Increased funding from both public and private sources, together with innovative financing mechanisms such as ecological fiscal transfers, would help to strengthen institutional capacities.

Governance options that harness synergies are the best option for achieving the SDGs.
There is a need to develop engagement and actions with diverse stakeholders in governance through regional cooperation and partnerships with the private sector.
Mainstreaming biodiversity into development policies, plans and programmes can improve efforts to achieve both the Aichi Targets and the SDGs.

UNESCO works to engage with new governance schemes at all levels through the LINKS Programme , the MAB Programme , the UNESCO-CBD Joint Programme and integrated management of ecosystems linking local to regional scales.

UNESCO supports the integrated management of ecosystems linking local to regional scales, especially through transboundary biosphere reserves, World Heritage sites and UNESCO Global Geoparks. The governance and management of a biosphere reserve places special emphasis on the crucial role that combined knowledge, learning and capacity building play in creating and sustaining a dynamic and mutually beneficial interactions between the conservation and development objectives at local and regional scales.

A transboundary biosphere reserve is defined by the following elements: a shared ecosystem; a common culture and shared traditions, exchanges and cooperation at local level; the will to manage jointly the territory along the bio-sphere reserve values and principles; a political commitment resulting in an official agreement between governmental authorities of the countries concerned. The transboundary biosphere reserve establishes a coordinating structure representative of various administrations and scientific boards, the authorities in charge of the different areas included the protected areas, the representatives of local communities, private sector, and NGOs. A permanent secretariat and a budget are devoted to its functioning. Focal points for co-operation are designated in each country participating.

Transboundary conservation and cooperation

The Trifinio Fraternidad Transboundary Biosphere Reserve is located between El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. It is the first transboundary biosphere reserve in Central America and represents a major contribution to the implementation of the Mesoamerican Corridor. It includes key biodiversity areas, such as Montecristo National Park and a variety of forest ecosystems.

Trifinio Fraternidad Transboundary Biosphere Reserve (El Salvador/Guatemala/Honduras)

Biodiversity

What is biodiversity.

Biodiversity Definition

Biodiversity is distributed into different components based on the level of differences.

Types of Biodiversity

Genetic Diversity – It is the diversity expressed at the genetic level by every single person in a species. No two individuals of the same species are accurately similar. For instance, humans show a lot of biodiversity between themselves. People living in different areas show a great level of differences.

Species Diversity – It is the biodiversity seen within a community. It signifies the number and distribution of species. The number of species in an area varies broadly according to the environmental surroundings. For instance, it is usually observed that a human society living nearby the water bodies display more species than the one compared to the areas far from water bodies.

Ecological Diversity – It is the diversity seen between the ecosystems in a region. Several ecosystems like rainforests, deserts, mangroves, etc., show a vast diversity of life forms living in them.

Genetic Diversity: It is the diversity expressed at the genetic level by every single person in a species. It is distinguished from genetic inconsistency, which describes the tendency of genetic features to differ.

Genetic diversity works as a way for populations to adjust to changing environments. With more differences, it is more likely that certain individuals in a population will have variations of alleles that are right for the environment. Those individuals are more expected to survive to yield offspring bearing that allele. The population will continue for extra generations because of the success of these individuals.

The abstract field of population genetics contains some hypotheses and theories about genetic diversity. The neutral theory of evolution suggests that diversity is the outcome of the accumulation of neutral replacements. Varying selection is the hypothesis that two subpopulations of a species exist in different surroundings that select for different alleles at an exact locus. This might occur, for example, if a species has a wide range relative to the flexibility of individuals within it. Frequency-dependent selection is the hypothesis that as alleles become extra common, they become extra vulnerable. This occurs in interactions between host and pathogen, in that a high rate of a defensive allele between the hosts means that it is more likely that a pathogen will spread if it is capable of overcoming that allele.

The difference in the populations’ gene pool permits natural selection to act upon characters that allow the population to adjust to changing environments. Selection for or against a characteristic can happen with changing the environment – resulting in a rise in genetic diversity (if a new mutation is selected for and preserved) or a drop in genetic diversity (if a disadvantageous allele is selected against). Therefore, genetic diversity plays a vital role in the survival and adaptability of a species. The ability of the population to adjust to the changing environment will rest on the presence of essential genetic diversity. The more genetic variety a population has the more possibility or the chance of the population will be able to adapt and survive. Equally, the vulnerability of a population to changes, like novel diseases or climate change will increase with a fall in genetic diversity. For instance, the inability of koalas to adjust to fighting the koala retrovirus (KoRV) and Chlamydia has been connected to the koala’s low genetic diversity. This low genetic diversity also has geneticists worried about the koala's ability to adjust to climate change and human-induced environmental variations in the future.

Species Diversity

It is the biodiversity seen within a community. It signifies the number and distribution of species. The effective number of species refers to the number of similar copious species needed to obtain the same mean proportional species abundance as that is seen in the dataset of interest. Species diversity contains three components: species taxonomic, richness or phylogenetic variety and species consistency. Species richness is a common count of species, taxonomic or phylogenetic diversity is the genetic relationship among different groups of species, whereas species consistency quantifies how equal the abundances of the species are.

Calculation of Diversity

The species diversity can be measured by first taking the weighted mean of species proportional plenty in the dataset, and then taking the opposite of this. The equation is:

\[ ^qD = \frac{1}{\sqrt[q-1]{\sum_{i=1}^{S} p_{i}p_{i}^{q-1}}} \]

The denominator equals average proportional species abundance in the dataset as measured with the weighted generalized mean with exponent q - 1. In the equation, S represents the total number of species (which is species richness) in the dataset, and the proportional abundance of the species is {\displaystyle p_{i}}pi. The proportional abundances themselves are considered as weights. The equation is often expressed in the equivalent form:

\[ ^qD = (\sum_{i}^{S}p_{i}^{q}) ^\frac{1}{(1-q)}\]

The value of q describes which kind of mean is used. q = 0 resembles the weighted harmonic mean, which is 1/S since the {\displaystyle p_{i}}Pivalues cancel out. q = 1 is undefined; excluding that the limit as x approaches 1 is well defined:

\[\lim_{{q }\rightarrow {1}}\] \[^{q}D = exp( - \sum_{i=1}^{S} p_{i }lnp_{i})\]

q=2 corresponds to the mathematics mean. As q reaches infinity, the generalized mean reaches the maximum Pi value. In practice, q modifies species weighting, such that increasing q raises the weight given to the most copious species, and less equally abundant species are therefore required to reach mean proportional abundance. As a result, large values of q will lead to minor species diversity than small values of q for a similar dataset. If all species are in the same way abundant in the dataset, altering the value of q has no effect, but species variety at any value of q is equal to species richness.

A similar equation can be used to measure the diversity with any taxonomy, not only species. If the persons are classified into functional types or general types, Pi is the proportional abundance of the genus or functional type, and qD is equal to genus variety or functional type variety, respectively.

Ecological Diversity

It is the diversity seen between the ecosystems in a region. Keeping both kinds of diversity is fundamental to the working of ecosystems and therefore to human welfare. India is one of the 12 centres of diversity and origin of numerous cultivated plants in the world. It is expected that 15,000 species of plants arise in India. The flowering plants contain 15,000 species of which some hundred (5000-7500) species are common to India. The region is also rich in fauna, holding about 65,000 species of animals.

Among them, more than 4,000 molluscs, 50,000 species of insects. 2,000 fish, 140 amphibians, 420 reptiles, 6,500 other invertebrates , 1,200 birds and 340 mammals are documented from India. This abundance in biological diversity is due to a huge variety of climatic and altitudinal conditions combined with diverse ecological habitats.

These differ from the cold desert of Ladakh and the icy mountains of the Himalayas to the warm coasts of peninsular India including the coastal region of Orissa, from the damp tropical Western Ghats to the hot desert of Rajasthan. Gandhamardan Hills of Sambalpur is rich in biodiversity. The Indian tradition teaches us that all types of life, human, animal, and plant are so closely related that disturbance in one gives rise to the imbalance to the other.

Importance of Biodiversity

All these diversities help in keeping the balance in nature. But, slowly there has been the loss of biodiversity. The loss of biodiversity can badly affect our environment as the balance is lost and the natural food chain is disturbed. So, as we realize its significance in our existence, biodiversity conservation has now become a matter of high significance.

We still have not branded all the species living on the earth but of all the ones known till now, several have now been marked as extinct. Recently, the rate of extinction has gone much higher and this is causing direct influence on our earth like overuse of resources at some portions, the overpopulation of some species, etc. This has produced a huge imbalance in nature. Thus, the importance of biodiversity has to be understood and steps have to be taken to preserve all three diversities.

Healthy Biodiversity delivers Many Natural Services for Everyone:

Ecosystem services, like

Soils formation and protection

Nutrient storage and recycling

Pollution breakdown and absorption

Protection of water resources

Contribution to climate stability

Maintenance of ecosystems

Recovery from unpredictable events

Biological resources

Future resources

Medicinal resources and pharmaceutical drugs

Ornamental plants

Wood products

Diversity in genes, species, and ecosystems

Breeding stocks, population reservoirs

Social benefits,

Research, education, and monitoring

Recreation and tourism

Cultural values

That is pretty a lot of services we get for free!

The cost of replacing these (if possible) would be enormously expensive. It hence makes economic and development sense to move towards sustainability.

More about Biodiversity

The term “biodiversity” usually refers to the broadest definition of the diverse array of living organisms found in an ecosystem. However, with many species becoming extinct, it is becoming increasingly important to consider the diversity of the world in ways other than just genetic diversity.

In the biological diversity, you'll find a rich array of living organisms from microscopic microorganisms and fungi to large animals and plants. Your biodiversity is a wonderful asset, for it provides you with several important benefits. By learning more about biodiversity and conserving it, you can improve your overall health and well-being.

Biodiversity is very important for you to be able to develop. It is important to remember that in nature there is always a balance between the food supply and the demand for it.

The food supply is what is called your food chain. When the food supply is greater than your demand, then there is plenty of food for the animals in the food chain. When the food supply is less than your demand, then the demand goes hungry. It is in your best interest to maintain a healthy and balanced food supply and demand.

Your food chain consists of plants, animals and soil. You should care for the soil because it is the base of the food chain. If there is a lack of a proper food chain it is very important to provide additional food in the form of plants.

The food supply of plants is very important and it is the base for all life. One of the major problems with biodiversity is that human beings are destroying it by its very presence.

It is important to remember that plants depend on the soil for their growth, not on the sun. Your soil is your biggest customer and it is what you must supply.

You cannot live without plants. There are so many that we never even notice them. Yet, they are an important part of your daily diet and of the environment that you live in. Plants convert your sunlight to energy for you. They absorb your toxins and give you the oxygen you breathe.

The soil is the only place where life begins. The soil also provides a living space for many animals to live on land. Without plants, we would not be able to grow any food. Many of our food items, even meat, come from plants.

Soil is the primary living component of your food chain. If you neglect the soil you will not have a healthy food chain. We live in an age where some people think of soil as something to move to get away from people. I believe that soil should be the first thing you protect. It is your first contact with nature. It is the only way to get a quality of life.

Some people are so removed from the soil that they never even notice it. It is a part of their existence and yet they have no idea of how important it is. The first place to start protecting your soil is to grow plants and to maintain the soil where you live.

The more organic matter you have in the soil, the more oxygen will be available for the microorganisms that live there. If you want to protect your soil you must have healthy soil. As you begin to understand the importance of soil you will have many health benefits. Let’s start with your lungs.

Plants and soil help to oxygenate our blood and as a result, they help to protect our lungs from the unhealthy air we breathe all the time. There are so many diseases associated with air pollution.

Your stomach will benefit from eating the soil you live in. The healthy microbes that live in the soil will help to create the microorganisms that protect your stomach lining and help to create an acidic balance in the stomach.

Plants absorb nutrients from the soil that help to feed them and in turn, the plants feed us. The plants do more for us than just keep us alive. They also have healing qualities as well.

Foods that contain plants help you to maintain a healthy digestive tract. Plants need light to live and the soil where you live protects you from the sunlight. Protecting the soil will help you to have a healthy immune system.

FAQs on Biodiversity

1. What is the definition of biodiversity?

Biological diversity largely describes the change of life from genes to ecosystems, comprising their existences, genetic variations, their environment, populations and the ecosystem in which they are existing and other evolutionary developments that keep the system functioning, changing and adapting. Biodiversity is distributed into different components based on the level of differences. Biodiversity – the entire collection of life forms on a particular planet – is a key component of a healthy environment. It is defined as the number and variety of species of all organisms, either living or once-living, present in a given area. It is also often referred to as biological diversity.

It is important to note that different forms of biodiversity, such as the genetic diversity of species or species diversity within an area, may or may not have the same biological significance. However, the scientific community is now generally agreed that measures of species diversity should be considered when assessing biodiversity.

The main sources of biodiversity are plants, animals and their offspring, which are in turn the sources of ecosystem goods and services, such as food production. So the value of these services is affected by the number and distribution of species. Although the diversity of a particular area may vary, overall diversity is thought to be fairly stable within a country but can be quite variable across continents.

Biodiversity is important for humans. While many studies have identified the benefits of biodiversity, there is no clear evidence that these benefits necessarily increase with the extent of biodiversity. We don’t know exactly why biodiversity is important, but it is almost certainly because of the way that biodiversity affects how life functions.

2. What is the formula for calculating the diversity?

The species diversity can be measured by first taking the weighted mean of species proportional plenty in the dataset, and then taking the opposite of this. The equation is

\[D = 1 - \frac{\sum n (n-1)}{N (N-1)}\]

n = number of individuals of each species

N = total number of individuals of all species

3. Where can I find the notes on Biodiversity - Definition, Types of Biodiversity and Its Importance?

Biodiversity is the variety and abundance of life, from the genetic level of a single cell to a whole ecosystem. Biodiversity includes many levels of biodiversity, including species, genetic diversity, genetic differences, gene pools, gene clusters, ecosystems, and communities. We are at a critical transition point in human history - one in which we face the greatest challenge in human history - the survival of the human species on this planet. Biodiversity is an invaluable element of our environment and an important element of our well-being. It is a key component of our sustainable future. Biodiversity provides the raw material for the natural selection process, the evolution of higher life forms, and the creation of new genes. Biodiversity provides a source of genetic resources, which is a key component of our future.

Biological diversity or Biodiversity is the differences and variety between the living organisms of all sources. It includes all terrestrial (land-dwelling), marine (aquatic) and other different ecosystems and ecological complexes. Vedantu is a platform that aims at making students well prepared for the final exams and therefore it provides answers to all the questions of previous year question papers obtained from expert teachers in the subject which can be downloaded either through the app or website.

4. What is the role of human beings in the Biodiversity conservation crisis? Explain with an example.

Around 1400 animal species and 15000 plant varieties have Borneo, an iconic southeast Asian island, as their only home. Wildlife varieties of rare breeds such as clouded leopard, rhinos, pygmy are found in abundance. It also houses some of the tallest southeast Asian tropical trees. Colour-changing frogs, a wide variety of slugs, orchids of rarest species are all present here. The island provides a wide treasure of hardwood trees, gold, rubber, coal, minerals, diamonds, which is continuously being exploited by us humans. Indirectly we humans are turning out to be the biggest threats to biodiversity.

Several forests have been wiped out just to make palm oil plantations extract oil. Many animals are sold in the Black Market for a high rate, both alive and in parts. The largest known carnivore is on the verge of extinction, more than one-fourth of the forests are cleared, and almost 50% of Borneo orangutans are endangered. If we continue to pluck threads from the original web, the biodiversity chain is bound to collapse.

5. What are Biodiversity and conservation?

Especially after answering questions like why is biodiversity important, or what is biodiversity and many more, we know clearly that all the different types of lives found in a particular area is the original definition of biodiversity. These lives consist of everything that is a part of nature, like even the bacteria and viruses you see around, fungi, plants, animals, various forms of creatures, and more. All these organisms work together as one to form an intricate web and support the basic essence of life or the ecosystem to maintain the balance of life. Biodiversity is something, which consists of everything that we need for survival, such as food, shelter, security, clothes and more.

The main threats to biodiversity are due to climatic changes and extreme exploitation of the earth's natural resources. We have already initiated an initial loss of our ecosystem and biodiversity by clearing out forests and polluting natural resources like water, air, soil, and more. The houses in the urban area are not the main victims of such changes, but the remote areas are being affected. Hence, the study of different types of biodiversity conservation becomes extremely important.

Biology • Class 12

ORIENTATION
ASSIGNMENTS
Program Home Page
LIBRARY RESOURCES
Getting Help
Engaging Course Concepts

Written Assignment 6: Biodiversity

This assignment  requires you to   write  a clear, well-organized paper (500-750 words) which responds to the prompt provided below and demonstrates you have read the material in the modules.

First and foremost, I am grading your comprehension of the course material. To get a good grade, you must show me that you have read and understood the content from the modules we have covered so far.

Second, I am grading for critical thinking and analysis. How well do you form and support your arguments with evidence from the course material or external sources?

Third, I am grading for clean and quality writing. This means your paper should be well-written, thoroughly proofread, answer all parts of the prompt, and cite and format any/all sources correctly (see course Orientation for guidance on the APA style we expect you to use in this class).

Written Assignment Instructions

First, please do some independent research on the links between biodiversity loss and the rise of zoonotic diseases, such as COVID-19.  You will need to cite at least 3 reputable outside sources that do not include the course modules for this assignment. For help evaluating what constitutes a reputable resource, please consult this guide from the Penn State libraries . Second, write a 500-750 word essay on the links between biodiversity loss and zoonotic disease which addresses the following questions:

How does biodiversity loss impact the emergence and frequency of zoonotic diseases, such as COVID-19?
Drawing on materials from the course, provide a policy recommendation to reduce the correlation between biodiversity loss and the emergence of zoonotic diseases.

You  must engage at least three course concepts  in your paper. Remember engaging a course concept means defining that concept and explaining how it helps you think about the theme of your paper.  Please bold the concepts you engage in your response .

Review the grading rubric before completing your assignment.

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

View all journals
Explore content
About the journal
Publish with us
Sign up for alerts
Perspective
Published: 28 September 2016

Predicting and mitigating future biodiversity loss using long-term ecological proxies

Damien A. Fordham 1 ,
H. Resit Akçakaya 2 ,
John Alroy 3 ,
Frédérik Saltré 1 ,
Tom M. L. Wigley 1 , 4 &
Barry W. Brook 5

Nature Climate Change volume 6 , pages 909–916 ( 2016 ) Cite this article

3993 Accesses

35 Citations

53 Altmetric

Metrics details

Conservation biology
Ecological modelling
Palaeoecology

Uses of long-term ecological proxies in strategies for mitigating future biodiversity loss are too limited in scope. Recent advances in geochronological dating, palaeoclimate reconstructions and molecular techniques for inferring population dynamics offer exciting new prospects for using retrospective knowledge to better forecast and manage ecological outcomes in the face of global change. Opportunities include using fossils, genes and computational models to identify ecological traits that caused species to be differentially prone to regional and range-wide extinction, test if threatened-species assessment approaches work and locate habitats that support stable ecosystems in the face of shifting climates. These long-term retrospective analyses will improve efforts to predict the likely effects of future climate and other environmental change on biodiversity, and target conservation management resources most effectively.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 12 print issues and online access

195,33 € per year

only 16,28 € per issue

Buy this article

Purchase on Springer Link
Instant access to full article PDF

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Revealing uncertainty in the status of biodiversity change

Ecological time lags and the journey towards conservation success

Anthropogenic climate and land-use change drive short- and long-term biodiversity shifts across taxa

Dawson, T. P., Jackson, S. T., House, J. I., Prentice, I. C. & Mace, G. M. Beyond predictions: biodiversity conservation in a changing climate. Science 332 , 53–58 (2011).

Article CAS Google Scholar

Pimm, S. L. et al. The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution, and protection. Science 344 , 1246752 (2014).

CAS Google Scholar

Urban, M. C. Accelerating extinction risk from climate change. Science 348 , 571–573 (2015).

Woodward, G., Perkins, D. M. & Brown, L. E. Climate change and freshwater ecosystems: impacts across multiple levels of organization. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 365 , 2093–2106 (2010).

Article Google Scholar

Fordham, D. A. et al. Adapted conservation measures are required to save the Iberian lynx in a changing climate. Nat. Clim. Change 3 , 899–903 (2013).

Jackson, S. T. & Blois, J. L. Community ecology in a changing environment: perspectives from the Quaternary. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 112 , 4915–4921 (2015).

Dietl, G. P. & Flessa, K. W. Conservation paleobiology: putting the dead to work. Trends Ecol. Evol. 26 , 30–37 (2011).

Davies, A. L. & Bunting, M. J. Applications of palaeoecology in conservation. Open Ecol. J. 3 , 54–67 (2010).

Gill, J. L. et al. A 2.5-million-year perspective on coarse-filter strategies for conserving nature's stage. Conserv. Biol. 29 , 640–648 (2015).

Willis, K. J., Bailey, R. M., Bhagwat, S. A. & Birks, H. J. B. Biodiversity baselines, thresholds and resilience: testing predictions and assumptions using palaeoecological data. Trends Ecol. Evol. 25 , 583–591 (2010).

Harnik, P. G. et al. Extinctions in ancient and modern seas. Trends Ecol. Evol. 27 , 608–617 (2012).

Stigall, A. L. & Lieberman, B. S. Quantitative palaeobiogeography: GIS, phylogenetic biogeographical analysis, and conservation insights. J. Biogeogr. 33 , 2051–2060 (2006).

Wilmshurst, J. M. et al. Use of pollen and ancient DNA as conservation baselines for offshore islands in New Zealand. Conserv. Biol. 28 , 202–212 (2014).

Jackson, S. T. & Hobbs, R. J. Ecological restoration in the light of ecological history. Science 325 , 567–569 (2009).

Carnaval, A. C., Hickerson, M. J., Haddad, C. F. B., Rodrigues, M. T. & Moritz, C. Stability predicts genetic diversity in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest hotspot. Science 323 , 785–789 (2009).

Roberts, D. R. & Hamann, A. Predicting potential climate change impacts with bioclimate envelope models: a palaeoecological perspective. Glob. Ecol. Biogeogr. 21 , 121–133 (2012).

Blois, J. L., Williams, J. W., Fitzpatrick, M. C., Jackson, S. T. & Ferrier, S. Space can substitute for time in predicting climate-change effects on biodiversity. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 110 , 9374–9379 (2013).

Fordham, D. A., Brook, B. W., Moritz, C. & Nogués-Bravo, D. Better forecasts of range dynamics using genetic data. Trends Ecol. Evol. 29 , 436–443 (2014).

Schurr, F. M. et al. How to understand species' niches and range dynamics: a demographic research agenda for biogeography. J. Biogeogr. 39 , 2146–2162 (2012).

Thuiller, W. et al. A road map for integrating eco-evolutionary processes into biodiversity models. Ecol. Lett. 16 , 94–105 (2013).

Fordham, D. A., Akçakaya, H. R., Araújo, M. B., Keith, D. A. & Brook, B. W. Tools for integrating range change, extinction risk and climate change information into conservation management. Ecography 36 , 956–964 (2013).

Jackson, S. T. & Overpeck, J. T. Responses of plant populations and communities to environmental changes of the late Quaternary. Paleobiology 26 , 194–220 (2000).

Johnson, K. G. et al. Climate change and biosphere response: unlocking the collections vault. Bioscience 61 , 147–153 (2011).

Araújo, M. B., Pearson, R. G., Thuiller, W. & Erhard, M. Validation of species–climate impact models under climate change. Glob. Change Biol. 11 , 1504–1513 (2005).

Illán, J. G. et al. Precipitation and winter temperature predict long-term range-scale abundance changes in western North American birds. Glob. Change Biol. 20 , 3351–3364 (2014).

Lyman, R. L. A warrant for applied palaeozoology. Biol. Rev. 87 , 513–525 (2012).

Araújo, M. B. & Rahbek, C. How does climate change affect biodiversity? Science 313 , 1396–1397 (2006).

Brook, B. W., Sodhi, N. S. & Bradshaw, C. J. A. Synergies among extinction drivers under global change. Trends Ecol. Evol. 23 , 453–460 (2008).

Trondman, A. K. et al. Pollen-based quantitative reconstructions of Holocene regional vegetation cover (plant-functional types and land-cover types) in Europe suitable for climate modelling. Glob. Change Biol. 21 , 676–697 (2015).

Wilmshurst, J. M., Anderson, A. J., Higham, T. F. G. & Worthy, T. H. Dating the late prehistoric dispersal of Polynesians to New Zealand using the commensal Pacific rat. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 105 , 7676–7680 (2008).

Ramsey, C. B., Dee, M., Lee, S., Nakagawa, T. & Staff, R. A. Developments in the calibration and modeling of radiocarbon dates. Radiocarbon 52 , 953–961 (2010).

Ramsey, C. B., Higham, T. & Leach, P. Towards high-precision AMS: progress and limitations. Radiocarbon 46 , 17–24 (2004).

Liu, Z. et al. Transient simulation of last deglaciation with a new mechanism for Bølling-Allerød warming. Science 325 , 310–314 (2009).

Hofreiter, M. et al. The future of ancient DNA: technical advances and conceptual shifts. BioEssays 37 , 284–293 (2015).

Petchey, F. et al. High-resolution radiocarbon dating of marine materials in archaeological contexts: radiocarbon marine reservoir variability between Anadara , Gafrarium , Batissa , Polymesoda spp. and Echinoidea at Caution Bay, southern coastal Papua New Guinea. Archaeol. Anthropol. Sci. 5 , 69–80 (2013).

Orlando, L. & Cooper, A. Using ancient DNA to understand evolutionary and ecological processes. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 45 , 573–598 (2014).

Singarayer, J. S. & Valdes, P. J. High-latitude climate sensitivity to ice-sheet forcing over the last 120 kyr. Quat. Sci. Rev. 29 , 43–55 (2010).

Clark, P. U. et al. The Last Glacial Maximum. Science 325 , 710–714 (2009).

Steffensen, J. P. et al. High-resolution Greenland ice core data show abrupt climate change happens in few years. Science 321 , 680–684 (2008).

Jackson, S. T., Betancourt, J. L., Booth, R. K. & Gray, S. T. Ecology and the ratchet of events: climate variability, niche dimensions, and species distributions. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 106 , 19685–19692 (2009).

Pyke, G. H. & Ehrlich, P. R. Biological collections and ecological/environmental research: a review, some observations and a look to the future. Biol. Rev. 85 , 247–266 (2010).

Dormann, C. F. et al. Correlation and process in species distribution models: bridging a dichotomy. J. Biogeogr. 39 , 2119–2131 (2012).

Kearney, M. & Porter, W. Mechanistic niche modelling: combining physiological and spatial data to predict species ranges. Ecol. Lett. 12 , 334–350 (2009).

Guisan, A. et al. Predicting species distributions for conservation decisions. Ecol. Lett. 16 , 1424–1435 (2013).

Smith, A. B. et al. Evaluation of species distribution models by resampling of sites surveyed a century ago by Joseph Grinnell. Ecography 36 , 1017–1031 (2013).

Dobrowski, S. Z. et al. Modeling plant ranges over 75 years of climate change in California, USA: temporal transferability and species traits. Ecol. Monogr. 81 , 241–257 (2011).

Pearman, P. B. et al. Prediction of plant species distributions across six millennia. Ecol. Lett. 11 , 357–369 (2008).

Varela, S., Lobo, J. M. & Hortal, J. Using species distribution models in paleobiogeography: a matter of data, predictors and concepts. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 310 , 451–463 (2011).

Veloz, S. D. et al. No-analog climates and shifting realized niches during the Late Quaternary: implications for 21st-century predictions by species distribution models. Glob. Change Biol. 18 , 1698–1713 (2012).

Mouquet, N. et al. Predictive ecology in a changing world. J. Appl. Ecol. 52 , 1293–1310 (2015).

Lorenzen, E. D. et al. Species-specific responses of Late Quaternary megafauna to climate and humans. Nature 479 , 359–364 (2011).

Nogués-Bravo, D., Rodríguez, J., Hortal, J., Batra, P. & Araújo, M. B. Climate change, humans, and the extinction of the woolly mammoth. PLoS Biol. 6 , e79 (2008).

Metcalf, J. L. et al. Integrating multiple lines of evidence into historical biogeography hypothesis testing: a Bison bison case study. Proc. R. Soc. B 281 , 20132782 (2014).

He, Q., Edwards, D. L. & Knowles, L. L. Integrative testing of how environments from the past to the present shape genetic structure across landscapes. Evolution 67 , 3386–3402 (2013).

Brown, J. L. & Knowles, L. L. Spatially explicit models of dynamic histories: examination of the genetic consequences of Pleistocene glaciation and recent climate change on the American pika. Mol. Ecol. 21 , 3757–3775 (2012).

Wells, K. et al. Timing and severity of immunizing diseases in rabbits is controlled by seasonal matching of host and pathogen dynamics. J. R. Soc. Interface 12 , 20141184 (2015).

Prowse, T. A. A., Johnson, C. N., Bradshaw, C. J. A. & Brook, B. W. An ecological regime shift resulting from disrupted predator–prey interactions in Holocene Australia. Ecology 95 , 693–702 (2013).

Moritz, C. & Agudo, R. The future of species under climate change: resilience or decline? Science 341 , 504–508 (2013).

Botkin, D. B. et al. Forecasting the effects of global warming on biodiversity. BioScience 57 , 227–236 (2007).

Bremner, J. Species' traits and ecological functioning in marine conservation and management. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 366 , 37–47 (2008).

Hoffmann, A. A. & Sgrò, C. M. Climate change and evolutionary adaptation. Nature 470 , 479–485 (2011).

Foden, W. B. et al. Identifying the world's most climate change vulnerable species: a systematic trait-based assessment of all birds, amphibians and corals. PLoS ONE 8 , e65427 (2013).

Garcia, R. A. et al. Matching species traits to projected threats and opportunities from climate change. J. Biogeogr. 41 , 724–735 (2014).

Jiguet, F., Gadot, A.-S., Julliard, R., Newson, S. E. & Couvet, D. Climate envelope, life history traits and the resilience of birds facing global change. Glob. Change Biol. 13 , 1672–1684 (2007).

Massot, M., Clobert, J. & Ferrière, R. Climate warming, dispersal inhibition and extinction risk. Glob. Change Biol. 14 , 461–469 (2008).

Pearson, R. G. et al. Life history and spatial traits predict extinction risk due to climate change. Nat. Clim. Change 4 , 217–221 (2014).

Alroy, J. A multispecies overkill simulation of the end-Pleistocene megafaunal mass extinction. Science 292 , 1893–1896 (2001).

Bradshaw, C. J. A. et al. Predictors of contraction and expansion of area of occupancy for British birds. Proc. R. Soc. B 281 , 20140744 (2014).

Dunne, J. A., Labandeira, C. C. & Williams, R. J. Highly resolved Early Eocene food webs show development of modern trophic structure after the end-Cretaceous extinction. Proc. R. Soc. B 281 , 20133280 (2014).

Yeakel, J. D. et al. Collapse of an ecological network in ancient Egypt. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 111 , 14472–14477 (2014).

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN, 2010); www.iucnredlist.org

Mace, G. M. et al. Quantification of extinction risk: IUCN's system for classifying threatened species. Conserv. Biol. 22 , 1424–1442 (2008).

Akçakaya, H. R., Butchart, S. H. M., Watson, J. E. M. & Pearson, R. G. Preventing species extinctions resulting from climate change. Nat. Clim. Change 4 , 1048–1049 (2014).

Stanton, J. C., Shoemaker, K. T., Pearson, R. G. & Akçakaya, H. R. Warning times for species extinctions due to climate change. Glob. Change Biol. 21 , 1066–1077 (2015).

Stanton, J. C. Present-day risk assessment would have predicted the extinction of the passenger pigeon ( Ectopistes migratorius ). Biol. Conserv. 180 , 11–20 (2014).

Cooper, A. et al. Abrupt warming events drove Late Pleistocene Holarctic megafaunal turnover. Science 349 , 602–606 (2015).

Keppel, G. & Wardell-Johnson, G. W. Refugia: keys to climate change management. Glob. Change Biol. 18 , 2389–2391 (2012).

Davis, J., Pavlova, A., Thompson, R. & Sunnucks, P. Evolutionary refugia and ecological refuges: key concepts for conserving Australian arid zone freshwater biodiversity under climate change. Glob. Change Biol. 19 , 1970–1984 (2013).

Carnaval, A. C. et al. Prediction of phylogeographic endemism in an environmentally complex biome. Proc. R. Soc. B 281 , 20141461 (2014).

Yannic, G. et al. Genetic diversity in caribou linked to past and future climate change. Nat. Clim. Change 4 , 132–137 (2014).

Barrett, R. D. H. & Schluter, D. Adaptation from standing genetic variation. Trends Ecol. Evol. 23 , 38–44 (2008).

Keppel, G. et al. Refugia: identifying and understanding safe havens for biodiversity under climate change. Glob. Ecol. Biogeogr. 21 , 393–404 (2012).

Gavin, D. G. et al. Climate refugia: joint inference from fossil records, species distribution models and phylogeography. New Phytol. 204 , 37–54 (2014).

Graham, C. H., VanDerWal, J., Phillips, S. J., Moritz, C. & Williams, S. E. Dynamic refugia and species persistence: tracking spatial shifts in habitat through time. Ecography 33 , 1062–1069 (2010).

Ohlemüller, R., Huntley, B., Normand, S. & Svenning, J.-C. Potential source and sink locations for climate-driven species range shifts in Europe since the Last Glacial Maximum. Glob. Ecol. Biogeogr. 21 , 152–163 (2012).

Stewart, J. R., Lister, A. M., Barnes, I. & Dalén, L. Refugia revisited: individualistic responses of species in space and time. Proc. R. Soc. B 277 , 661–671 (2010).

Blois, J. L., Williams, J. W., Grimm, E. C., Jackson, S. T. & Graham, R. W. A methodological framework for assessing and reducing temporal uncertainty in paleovegetation mapping from late-Quaternary pollen records. Quat. Sci. Rev. 30 , 1926–1939 (2011).

Sutherland, C. S., Elston, D. A. & Lambin, X. A demographic, spatially explicit patch occupancy model of metapopulation dynamics and persistence. Ecology 95 , 3149–3160 (2014).

Kattge, J. et al. TRY – a global database of plant traits. Glob. Change Biol. 17 , 2905–2935 (2011).

Uhen, M. D. et al. From card catalogs to computers: databases in vertebrate paleontology. J. Vertebr. Paleontol. 33 , 13–28 (2013).

Rodríguez-Rey, M. et al. Criteria for assessing the quality of Middle Pleistocene to Holocene vertebrate fossil ages. Quat. Geochronol. 30A , 69–79 (2015).

Jackson, S. T. & Weng, C. Late Quaternary extinction of a tree species in eastern North America. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 96 , 13847–13852 (1999).

Palkopoulou, E. et al. Complete genomes reveal signatures of demographic and genetic declines in the woolly mammoth. Curr. Biol. 25 , 1395–1400 (2015).

Khaliq, I., Hof, C., Prinzinger, R., Böhning-Gaese, K. & Pfenninger, M. Global variation in thermal tolerances and vulnerability of endotherms to climate change. Proc. R. Soc. B 281 , 20141097 (2014).

Thomas, C. D. et al. Extinction risk from climate change. Nature 427 , 145–148 (2004).

Alroy, J. A simple Bayesian method of inferring extinction. Paleobiology 40 , 584–607 (2014).

Saltré, F. et al. Uncertainties in dating constrain model choice for inferring extinction time from fossil records. Quat. Sci. Rev. 112 , 128–137 (2015).

Fordham, D. A., Haythorne, S. & Brook, B. W. Sensitivity Analysis of Range Dynamics Models (SARDM): quantifying the influence of parameter uncertainty on forecasts of extinction risk from global change. Environ. Modell. Softw. 83 , 193–197 (2016).

Harris, I., Jones, P. D., Osborn, T. J. & Lister, D. H. Updated high-resolution grids of monthly climatic observations – the CRU TS3.10 dataset. Int. J. Climatol. 34 , 623–642 (2014).

Fordham, D. A., Wigley, T. M. L., Watts, M. J. & Brook, B. W. Strengthening forecasts of climate change impacts with multi-model ensemble averaged projections using MAGICC/SCENGEN 5.3. Ecography 35 , 4–8 (2012).

Download references

Acknowledgements

The Australian Research Council (ARC) supported D.A.F., F.S., T.M.L.W and B.W.B. (FT140101192, DP130103842, DP130103261); NSF DEB-1146198 supported H.R.A. B. Otto-Bliesner helped with the climate analysis. D. Nogués-Bravo and J. Gill provided useful ideas and comments.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

The Environment Institute and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, 5005, South Australia, Australia

Damien A. Fordham, Frédérik Saltré & Tom M. L. Wigley

Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, 11794, New York, USA

H. Resit Akçakaya

Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, 2109, New South Wales, Australia

National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, 80307, Colorado, USA

Tom M. L. Wigley

School of Biological Sciences, Private Bag 55, University of Tasmania, Hobart, 7001, Tasmania, Australia

Barry W. Brook

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

The ideas in this paper are the result of discussions involving all authors. D.A.F. wrote the initial draft of the manuscript and all authors contributed to the writing of the final version of the paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Damien A. Fordham .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Fordham, D., Akçakaya, H., Alroy, J. et al. Predicting and mitigating future biodiversity loss using long-term ecological proxies. Nature Clim Change 6 , 909–916 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3086

Download citation

Received : 03 September 2015

Accepted : 22 June 2016

Published : 28 September 2016

Issue Date : October 2016

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3086

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

This article is cited by

Forecasts of butterfly future richness change in the southwest mediterranean. the role of sampling effort and non-climatic variables.

Enrique García-Barros
Juan Pablo Cancela
Helena Romo

Journal of Insect Conservation (2022)

StableClim, continuous projections of climate stability from 21000 BP to 2100 CE at multiple spatial scales

Stuart C. Brown
Damien A. Fordham

Scientific Data (2020)

Extinction risks of a Mediterranean neo-endemism complex of mountain vipers triggered by climate change

Mohsen Ahmadi
Mahmoud-Reza Hemami
Niklaus E. Zimmermann

Scientific Reports (2019)

Climate-driven range shifts of the king penguin in a fragmented ecosystem

Robin Cristofari
Xiaoming Liu
Emiliano Trucchi

Nature Climate Change (2018)

Quick links

Explore articles by subject
Guide to authors
Editorial policies

Sample Assignment on Biodiversity PDF

Added on 2021-10-05

End of preview

Want to access all the pages? Upload your documents or become a member.

Impact of Pollution on Biodiversity: Causes, Effects and Solutions lg ...

Human impacts on the environment pdf lg ..., maritime management: issues and solutions lg ..., environmental citizenship lg ..., the different kinds of pollution such as noise lg ..., maritime studies question answer 2022 lg ....

IMAGES

Biodiversity Assignment
Essay On Loss of Biodiversity
Biodiversity assignment 1
(PDF) Biodiversity: Status Threats and its Conservation Strategies
ASSIGNMENT 4 ANSWERS Biodiversity Hotspots
Biodiversity Action Plan

VIDEO

Relationship In Ecosystem
Canada Geese, an Invasive Species
BOI 101 Group 7- Habitat Destruction
BOI 101/3 Organisms Biodiversity [Assignment]
Biodiversity Assignment 1
जैवविविधता फाइल

COMMENTS

What Is Biodiversity?
Biodiversity is the richness and variety of life on earth. It includes species diversity, genetic diversity and ecological diversity. Learn the definition, types, importance and examples of biodiversity in India and other ecosystems.
Essay on Biodiversity for Students and Children
500+ Words Essay on Biodiversity. Essay on Biodiversity - Biodiversity is the presence of different species of plants and animals on the earth. Moreover, it is also called biological diversity as it is related to the variety of species of flora and fauna. Biodiversity plays a major role in maintaining the balance of the earth.
Teach About Biodiversity with Free STEM Lessons & Activities
Use these free STEM lessons and activities to talk about habitats, ecosystems, food webs, and more as you explore biodiversity with K-12 students. Biodiversity, the " biological diversity " of our planet, is key to human survival. There are an estimated 8.7 million species of plants and animals on Earth, but biodiversity is more than just a ...
(PDF) Biodiversity: Concept, Threats and Conservation
Biodiversity is the variety of different forms of life on earth, including the different plants, animals, micro-organisms, the. genes they contain and the ecosystem they form. It refers to genetic ...
Introduction to Biology: Biodiversity
Build your subject-matter expertise. This course is part of the Introduction to Biology: Ecology, Evolution, & Biodiversity Specialization. When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization. Learn new concepts from industry experts. Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool.
5.1: Introduction to Biodiversity
Biologists name, group, and classify organisms based on similarities in genetics and morphology. This branch of biological science is known as taxonomy. Taxonomists group organisms into categories that range from very broad to very specific (Figure 5.1.1 5.1. 1 ). The broadest category is called domain and the most specific is species (notice ...
Conservation of Biodiversity
The answer lies in the fact that, for the first time in Earth's history, a single species, Homo sapiens, could cause a mass extinction, precipitating its own demise. The primary cause of today ...
Creative thinking in science: exploring biodiversity
Put simply, biodiversity describes the variety of life on Earth. Measuring aspects of biodiversity is important for understanding the health of Earth and its ecosystems, and scientists do it all the time. Let's imagine that you are an ecologist looking into Earth's current level of biodiversity. One component of biodiversity is species number.
PDF Biodiversity Basics Why Biodiversity and Nature Matter Threats to
BIODIVERSITY BIODIVERSITY TOOLKIT | Educator's Resource Guide | page 2 of 9 • Humans have only been around for 200,000 years, a tiny fraction of the 4.5 billion years of our planet's history. Yet we have had a greater impact on the Earth than any other species. As humans continue to put pressure on the planet, we are upsetting the balance of ecosystems and losing biodiversity.
Teaching Activities About Ecology and Biodiversity
Image from Elkhorn Slough. Activities: Flyover 1 is a 5-minute virtual exploration of "Trail to Parsons Overlook.". Worksheets are available for students in K-1, 2-3, 4, and 5-6. Flyover 2 is a 4-minute virtual exploration of "Salt Marsh to Mud Flats.". A worksheet is available for students in K-8.
PDF Biodiversity: uses, threats and conservation. BIODIVERSITY Biodiversity
Biodiversity: uses, threats and conservation. BIODIVERSITY The term biodiversity refers to the wealth of plants, animals and micro organisms that contain precious genes and formulate delicate ecosystems. Biodiversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is typically a measure of variation at the genetic, species, and
133 Biodiversity Essay Topics & Samples
💡 Most Interesting Biodiversity Assignment Topics. Need a 100% original paper? Trust an expert for top-quality results. Learn More . Biodiversity Hotspots and Environmental Ethics. The magnitude of the problem of losing biodiversity hotspots is too great, to the extend of extinction of various species from the face of the earth.
Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
Conserving biodiversity and promoting sustainable use. UNESCO works on the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable use of its components through UNESCO designated sites, including biosphere reserves, World Heritage sites and UNESCO Global Geoparks.In 2018, UNESCO designated sites protected over 10 million km 2, an area equivalent to the size of China.
PDF Learning Activity: CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY
CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY | page 3 of 13 • Climate vulnerability: the degree to which a system is susceptible to or unable to cope with adverse effects of climate change • Ecosystem: the living (plants, animals, other organisms) and nonliving (air, water, soil) components of an area that interact with each other in an
PDF Biodiversity: Earth's Most Valuable Resource
Biodiversity is the abundance of different species and ecosystems in nature. An ecosystem is an ecological community, which together with its environment, functions as . ... Homework Assignment: Following the discussion, have each student decide what they .
Definition, Types of Biodiversity and Its Importance
Biological diversity or Biodiversity is the differences and variety between the living organisms of all sources. It includes all terrestrial (land-dwelling), marine (aquatic) and other different ecosystems and ecological complexes. Biodiversity Definition. Biological diversity largely describes the change of life from genes to ecosystems ...
Written Assignment 6: Biodiversity
Written Assignment 6: Biodiversity. Print. This assignment requires you to write a clear, well-organized paper (500-750 words) which responds to the prompt provided below and demonstrates you have read the material in the modules. First and foremost, I am grading your comprehension of the course material. To get a good grade, you must show me ...
Predicting and mitigating future biodiversity loss using long-term
Understanding, predicting and mitigating the impacts of global change on biodiversity poses one of the most crucial challenges for ecologists, conservation biologists and resource managers this ...
Biodiversity Assessment
Biodiversity Assessment. Different species occupy different niches in the web of life. Knowing what species inhabit an ecosystem, and how many of each kind there are, is critical to understanding that ecosystem's structure and function, and predicting future changes. Scientists who look at the variation of life in a forest, a stream or a patch ...
Sample Assignment on Biodiversity PDF
BIODIVERSITY 2 Introduction Biodiversity can be defined as the foundation which provides the ecosystem services and with it the ecosystem services are intricately linked. Thus, biodiversity is actually the wide ranging variability that exists within the marine, terrestrial, and the ecological complexes.
4.7 Conserving Biodiversity Tutorial Assignment
Geography document from Arizona State University, 4 pages, 5/9/24, 11:23 PM Lesson Activity: Biodiversity and Hydroelectric Dams Lesson Activity Biodiversity and Hydroelectric Dams This activity will help you meet these educational goals: « You will ask questions that arise from examining models or a theory to cl
Ecology assignment 2 Texas biodiversity 2024.docx
To get full credit (15 points) email Dr. Pennings to say the assignment is concluded, and tell him your name (as on the class rolls) and your i-naturalist user name, no later than 11 PM on April 14, 2024. Assignments received late will be accepted with points deducted. If you have fewer than 30 verifiable observations, you will get partial ...

Biodiversity and its Types

Importance of Biodiversity

What is Biodiversity?

Species diversity

Genetic diversity

Ecological diversity

Ecological Stability

Economic Importance

Ethical Importance

Frequently Asked Questions

What is ecological diversity?

Explore more:

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Register with BYJU'S & Download Free PDFs

Essay on Biodiversity for Students and Children

Methods to Increase Biodiversity

Importance of Biodiversity

Customize your course in 30 seconds

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Download the App

5.1: Introduction to Biodiversity

Domain Bacteria

Domain Archaea

Domain Eukarya

Contributors and Attributions

High school biology - NGSS

How many species are there?

What is your estimate?

Let’s get visual

Translate this page

Teaching Activities About Ecology and Biodiversity

1. Endangered Whales Activity

2. Coral Reef Activity

3. Marine Protected Areas Activity

4. Virtual Field Trips of Elkhorn Slough

5. Lesson Sets from WWF

6. Right Whale Investigation

7. Ecosystem Mapping Activity

8. Land Use Mapping Activity

9. Nitrogen Cycle Game

10. Nitrogen Cycle Activities

11. Everglades Activities

That’s Not All!

Share this Lesson Idea

Latest Scientific Articles

Why don’t whales get cancer?

How can AI make online chats kinder?

How can doctors treat endometriosis?

How do bumble bees play?

We want to hear from you!

Journal funding support from:

Recommended by:

133 Biodiversity Topics & Examples

Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity

Sites, connected landscapes and networks

The MAB Programme and the World Network of Biosphere Reserves: connecting landscapes and reconciling conservation with development

Capacity building

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and capacity development

Governance and connecting the scales

Related items

Biodiversity

Biodiversity Definition

Types of Biodiversity

Species Diversity

Calculation of Diversity

Ecological Diversity

Importance of Biodiversity

Healthy Biodiversity delivers Many Natural Services for Everyone:

More about Biodiversity

FAQs on Biodiversity

Written Assignment 6: Biodiversity

Written Assignment Instructions

Predicting and mitigating future biodiversity loss using long-term ecological proxies

Access options

Similar content being viewed by others

Revealing uncertainty in the status of biodiversity change

Ecological time lags and the journey towards conservation success

Anthropogenic climate and land-use change drive short- and long-term biodiversity shifts across taxa

Acknowledgements

Author information