Define biodiversity

The Democratic Republic of the Congo possesses the highest level of biological diversity in Africa. This rich natural endowment is of local and global significance, yet today, 190 species are classified as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. UN Environment Convention on Biological Diversity, key international instrument for sustainable development The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is the international legal instrument for "the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources" that has been ratified by 196 nations. Its overall objective is to encourage actions, which will lead to a sustainable future. The conservation of biodiversity is a common concern of humankind. The Convention on Biological Diversity covers biodiversity at all levels: ecosystems, species and genetic resources. It also covers biotechnology, including through the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. In fact, it covers all possible domains that are directly or indirectly related to biodiversity and its role in development, ranging from science, politics and education to agriculture, business, culture and much more. The CBD’s governing body is the Conference of the Parties (COP). This ultimate authority of all governments (or Parties) that have ratified the treaty meets every two years to review progress, set priorit...

Healthy communities rely on well-functioning ecosystems. They provide clean air, fresh water, medicines and food security. They also limit disease and stabilize the climate. But biodiversity loss is happening at unprecedented rates, impacting human health worldwide, according to a What is biodiversity? Biodiversity underpins all life on Earth, and refers to biological variety in all its forms, from the genetic make up of plants and animals to cultural diversity. What does biodiversity mean for human health? People depend on biodiversity in their daily lives, in ways that are not always apparent or appreciated. Human health ultimately depends upon ecosystem products and services (such as availability of fresh water, food and fuel sources) which are requisite for good human health and productive livelihoods. Biodiversity loss can have significant direct human health impacts if ecosystem services are no longer adequate to meet social needs. Indirectly, changes in ecosystem services affect livelihoods, income, local migration and, on occasion, may even cause or exacerbate political conflict. Additionally, biological diversity of microorganisms, flora and fauna provides extensive benefits for biological, health, and pharmacological sciences. Significant medical and pharmacological discoveries are made through greater understanding of the earth's biodiversity. Loss in biodiversity may limit discovery of potential treatments for many diseases and health problems. Threats to biodi...

Biological diversity, or "biodiversity," refers to variability found at all levels of biology. Biodiversity is commonly broken down into three levels or types: genetic diversity, species diversity, and ecosystem diversity. While these types of biodiversity are each interrelated, the forces driving each type of biodiversity vary. Even if something catastrophic and unexpected occurs, like a disease that affects an entire species, genetically diverse populations are more likely to carry genetic code that leaves some members of the population less vulnerable. So long as those carrying the genetic benefit are able to reproduce, the disease resistance can be passed along to the next generation to keep the species going. The Three Types of Biodiversity Species, ecosystems, and the health of the planet all benefit when there is a lot of variability at each level of biodiversity. Greater biodiversity provides something of an insurance policy for the planet's environment; when disaster strikes, biodiversity can be essential to survival. Populations that are genetically diverse are well-equipped to handle change. For example, if a deadly disease strikes a population, high levels of genetic diversity increase the likelihood that there are members of the population who are less affected by the disease. By protecting a portion of the population, genetic diversity can prevent the population from going extinct. Species Diversity Species diversity is not only based on the number of differe...

CONTENTS • Biodiversity Definition • Why Is It Important? • Examples • Genetic Diversity • Species Diversity • Ecosystem Diversity • Threats to Biodiversity • The Threat of Urbanization • The Threat of Pollution • The Threat of Climate Change • The Threat of Invasive Species • The Threat of Overexploitation • Benefits of Biodiversity • Quiz Index Definition Biodiversity is a term which describes every living organism within a single ecosystem or habitat, including numbers and diversity of species and all environmental aspects such as temperature, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels and climate. Biodiversity can be measured globally or in smaller settings, such as ponds. Why is Biodiversity Important? Without biodiversity, the health of the planet is at stake. Every single species has a role to play, although some – like viruses and disease-carrying mosquitoes – are considered to be damaging to the well-being of humans and other organisms and steps are being taken to eradicate them. A healthy ecosystem has a rich level of biodiversity. The less inhabitable an ecosystem, the less life it can support. For example, a single organism ecosystem was recently discovered deep in a South African gold mine, where only one type of bacteria – Desulforudis audaxviator – is able to survive. Should something drastic happen to affect the health of this bacteria and it becomes extinct, there is no other organism to take advantage of this inhospitable environment. In other terrestrial, aquatic ...

[ "article:topic", "phylogeny", "phylogenetic tree", "binomial nomenclature", "taxonomy", "species", "kingdom", "biodiversity", "diversity", "authorname:mgrewal", "morphology", "taxa", "domain", "showtoc:yes", "columns:two", "cssprint:dense", "program:oeri", "licenseversion:30", "license:ck12", "source@https://www.ck12.org/book/ck-12-human-biology/" ] \( \newcommand\) • • • • • • • • • • • So Many Species! The collage below shows six kingdoms into which all of Earth's living things are commonly classified. How many species are there in each kingdom? In a word, millions. A total of almost 2 million living species have already been identified, and new species are being discovered all the time. Scientists estimate that there may be as many as 30 million different species alive on Earth today! Clearly, there is a tremendous variety of life on Earth. Figure \(\PageIndex\): Six kingdoms of life: Archaea, Bacteria, Protista, Fungi, Animalia, and Plantae What Is Biodiversity? Biological diversity, or • Species diversity refers to the number of different species in an ecosystem or on Earth as a whole. This is the commonest way to measure biodiversity. Current estimates for Earth's total number of living species range from 5 to 30 million species. • Genetic diversity refers to the variation in genes within all these species. • Ecosystem diversity refers to the variety of ecosystems on Earth. An ecosystem is a system formed by populations of many different species interacting with ea...

Biodiversity is often measured as the species count in a given area, be it a single tree, an ecosystem, a landscape or region, or the planet as a whole. However, biodiversity may be measured in other ways. BIODIVERSITY MAY BE MEASURED AS GENETIC DIVERSITY. Genetic diversity is the total variety of genes within a single species. We know that species are made up of a number of different individuals, and each individual is made up of thousands of individual genes. Pooling all of the genes in a species gives you a measure of the genetic variety of the species. BIODIVERSITY MAY BE MEASURED AS THE DIVERSITY OF A REGION’S ENDEMIC SPECIES. Endemic species are restricted to one location; they do not occur anywhere else in the world. Several examples of endemic species exist, including Hawaiian honeycreepers (which are endemic to Hawaii), Javan rhinoceroses (which live on the Indonesian island of Java), and marine iguanas (which are found only in the Galapagos Islands). Endemic species have relatively small ranges, and they tend to be much more vulnerable to human activity than are more widely distributed species, because it is easier to destroy all the habitat in a small geographic range than in a large one. Thus, the presence of endemic species in an area provides additional insight into the area’s ecological quality or value. BIODIVERSITY MAY BE MEASURED AS ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY. A region, whether it is a landscape, a country, or a large swath of a continent, may be dominated by on...

Biodiversity is all the different kinds of life you’ll find in one area—the variety of animals, plants, fungi, and even microorganisms like bacteria that make up our natural world. Each of these species and organisms work together in ecosystems, like an intricate web, to maintain balance and support life. Biodiversity supports everything in nature that we need to survive: food, clean water, medicine, and shelter. But as humans put increasing pressure on the planet, using and consuming more resources than ever before, we risk upsetting the balance of ecosystems and losing biodiversity. Global Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services reported 1 million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction—the highest number in human history. Three-quarters of the land-based environment and roughly 66% of the ocean environment have been significantly altered. More than a third of the world's land surface and nearly 75% of freshwater resources are now devoted to crop or livestock production. Climate change worsens the impact of other stressors on nature and our well-being. Humans have overfished the oceans, cleared forests, polluted our water sources, and created a climate crisis. These actions are impacting biodiversity around the world, from the most remote locales to our own backyards. Pledge for our planet Our planet is facing major conservation challenges from threats like climate change, deforestation, overfishing, ...

The Earth is undergoing a The numbers are staggering: the population sizes of vertebrate species, which include mammals, reptiles, birds and fish, During the 20th century, extinction rates were about What does this loss of biodiversity mean for the future of the planet and its inhabitants – and what can we do about it? The first step is understanding the basics, unraveled in easy-to-digest terms here in this explainer: • • • • • Rhinerrhiza divitiflora, also known as the Raspy Root Orchid. cskk, What is biodiversity? biological diversity, the term usually refers to the “Biological diversity” means the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part. But the CBD makes it clear that measuring biodiversity is no simple feat: This includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems. How is biodiversity measured? Let’s start with biodiversity between species, or species diversity. Arguably the simplest measure is ‘species richness’– a count of how many species live in a community. But species richness does not consider the relative abundance of each species, or its importance to an ecosystem or landscape, or its value to people. As such, biologists have invented diversity indices, such as the When talking about biodiversity loss, we often focus on losses in species diversity, as it is crucial to maintain the balance of ecosystems, nutr...