IES - Biodiversity Loss (Lesson)

Biodiversity Loss 

Watch the following video on sustainability by The Natural Step.

 

Biodiversity includes the variety of all forms of life, from genes to species, through to the broad scale of ecosystems.

Patterns of biodiversity vary across the globe - for terrestrial biomes often biodiversity increases towards the equator but for marine habitats, this pattern may be nearly reversed. There are hotspots of biodiversity around the world often in tropical forests. For both marine and terrestrial habitats, Indonesia is one of the most diverse regions on the planet. Often, extreme habitats create the need for more species specialization and adaptation which leads to high diversity in these areas. The question of what leads to biodiversity is still an area of research in all fields of biology and ecology.

Higher biodiversity conveys resilience to an ecosystem. Each species has some role to play in the ecosystem (ecosystem services) and by having more species (sometimes with overlapping services or jobs) the ecosystem is more likely to stay functioning and healthy even if some species are lost or decrease in abundance.

• Biodiversity is the key to successful agriculture. Monocropping, or the practice of planting just one crop on one plot per year, can be very efficient for getting the most produce out of one area but it requires heavy pesticide use and fertilizer. If crops are rotated and planted in greater diversity, the soil is healthier, pests are less problematic and the farms operate more closely to a natural ecological state. The opposite of monocropping is biodynamic farming. Products of biodynamic farming or even organic farming are healthier and more nutrient-rich, even though short-term yields are less than monocropping.
• Biodiversity relates to human health in many ways. With less diversity, more pest species are likely to grow in numbers and can be disease vectors in some cases. Having a variety of foods to eat is necessary for our nutrition. Biodiversity in some environments helps ensure cleaner water and cleaner air.
• Business & Manufacturing: we are constantly searching for new products and solutions in business, manufacturing, engineering, etc. Often, natural products or special traits of a species give us the inspiration or the actual materials for solving some of these problems. Click the link in the sidebar to learn more about engineering spider silk.
• When we are tourists, animals and unique environmental habitats are some of our top "must-see's". Ecotourism has evolved because of our inclination for seeing the wild side.
• Ecosystem services -- each organism has a role to play to keep the ecosystem running. Keeping the biodiversity high and intact means the ecosystem functions properly.

You've probably heard the phrase "variety is the spice of life". Well, biodiversity is literally the spice of life since it refers to the total variety of living organisms that make each landscape, ecosystem, or biome unique.

Studies have proven that biodiversity increases the ability of an ecosystem to function properly. When species go extinct or are lost from a habitat, the service or role that species performed in the habitat is also gone. Scientists often refer to these services as "ecosystem services". Ecosystem services increase the resilience of a habitat in the face of natural or man-made change. Therefore, maintaining biodiversity will be an important way that we can help guard against more dramatic environmental changes in the face of climate change and other man-made pressures. If you're thinking this sounds similar to the advice you hear on the news or from your bank manager telling you to "diversify your assets" ...it is! If one stock plummets, hopefully, your whole savings won't if you have a "diverse portfolio". The same goes for ecosystems!

Biodiversity can be assessed in various ways- at the genetic level, species level, or by comparing across ecosystems. Though taking counts of species diversity may seem relatively straightforward, scientists still have a lot to learn about "functional diversity," meaning the diversity of roles that species play in an ecosystem. Understanding the relationships between species and what each species does will give us a much better understanding of the operation of the system as a whole.

 

RESOURCES IN THIS MODULE ARE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) OR CREATED BY GAVS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. SOME IMAGES USED UNDER SUBSCRIPTION.