Biodiversity& The 21st Century

Jenn TroopSBI4U – Fall 2009

What is Biodiversity?

Biodiversity refers to the number and variety of organisms present in an area and their spatial distribution.

Describes the variability among organisms on earth, and considers variation within and between species and within and between ecosystems.

*California Biodiversity Council

Types of Biodiversity

Genetic DiversitySpecies DiversityEcosystem Diversity

Genetic Diversity

Variation within a speciesMeasured by determining polymorphism across the genomeThe genetic diversity of a species directly relates to its ability to adapt, survive and evolve

*Charles Darwin

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bio.georgiasouthern.edu/bio-home/harvey/lect/images/diversity.jpg&imgrefurl=

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://phe.rockefeller.edu/barcode/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/giraffes-3.gif&imgrefurl=

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Male_and_Female_mallard_ducks.jpg&

Species Diversity

Within a defined area, the number of species of plants and animal presentThe abundance of a species in a community

*California Biodiversity Council

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/forests.php

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/tundra.php

versus

Ecosystem Diversity

Variety of functioning habitats and communities in an areaDefined by geological characteristicsEach organism has a particular place in a food web, community

Biodiversity Today ...

Now more than ever, there are many ethical concerns having to do with biodiversity on our planetMany factors are leading to the endangerment / extinction of certain species, and in turn constantly affecting other species and BIODIVERSITY

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.seafriends.org.nz/issues/cons/woodcock.gif&imgrefurl=

Good or Bad?Climate change has negatively affected biodiversity in every continentThe earth’s biodiversity has declined 1/3 in the last 35 yearsExtinction rate has increased to 10,000 times the “accepted normal”

*Mr. Watts’ Homepage – Interesting Readings – Ecology Papers

Influencing Factors

Human InterferenceGlobal Warming / Climate Change“Domino Effect”

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.seafriends.org.nz/issues/cons/woodcock.gif&imgrefurl=

Human Interference

Destruction of LandColonizationExploitation

PoisoningPollutionUse of unsafe products

Orang-utans70% of Indonesia’s rainforests lost

Palm oil manufacturing

FishAll fish and invertebrate extinct by 2048

Pollution (pesticides, plastic, hormones)

*Mr. Watts’ Homepage – Interesting Readings – Ecology Papers

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/05_01/Orangutan2_468x619.jpg&imgrefurl=

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.agassiztrading.com/photos/photos-boneroom/fish-skele

Global Warming

If the average temperature increases by 2.5%,

biodiversity will

decrease 30%If it increases by 3.5%,

biodiversity will

decrease 70%

Polar Bears2/3 of polar bears gone by 2050

Habitat destruction

ShellfishDecrease in those with calcium carbonate shells. Increase in those without.

Acidity in oceans increasing

http://images.google.ca/images?q=sea+snail&hl=en&um=1&sa=2&start=0

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://legalplanet.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/polar-bear.jpg&imgrefurl=http://lwordpress-obamas-interior-department/&us

The “Domino Effect”

All species within a web, community, ecosystem are interconnectedCannot remove one organism without directly influencing others

If one species becomes endangered or extinct, other species will always be directly affected by itWhen an organism’s habitat is disturbed, it is disturbedWhen one part of a chain is removed, all suffer

http://serc.carleton.edu/images/eslabs/fisheries/food_web.jpg

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.thelifeofdavid.com/david_o_reilly_blog_of_new_zealand_and_australia/images/reef.jpg&imgrefurl=

Humans are contributing so much

to the decrease in biodiversity. How will

the decrease in biodiversity affect

Humans?