Biodiversity

July 23, 2008 | Environmental Science 1 Reported by: Justin de Guzman and Inah Vinluan

What is BIODIVERSIT Y?

 Shortened term for Biological Diversity.  Refers to a variation of life at all levels of biological organization.  “Div er sity” i n thes e de fi ni tio n inc lud es div ersit y withi n a s pec ies an d a mo ng spe cie s, and co mpa rativ e d iver sity a mon g eco system s.  The number of species of plants, animals, and microorganisms, the enormous diversity of genes in these species, the different ecosystems on the planet, such as deserts, rainforests and coral reefs are all part of a biologically diverse earth.

Evolution and M

eaning

Biod iv ersity i s a ne ol ogi sm a nd p ortma nt ea u word, f rom b iol ogy an d div ersit y. Since 1986 the terms and the concept have achieved widespread use among biologists, environmentalists, political leaders, and concerned citizens worldwide. It is generally used to equate to a concern for the natural environment and nature conservation. This use has coincided with the expansion of concern over extinction observed in the last decades of the 20th century.

Evolution and M

eaning

The Science Division of The Nature Conservancy used the term "natural diversity" in a 1975 study, "The Preservation of Natural Diversity." The term biological diversity was used even before that by conservation scientists like Robert E. Jenkins and Thomas Lovejoy. The word biodiversity itself may have been coined by W.G. Rosen in 1985 while planning the National Forum on Biological Diversity organized by the National Research Council (NRC) which was to be held in 1986, and first appeared in a publication in 1988 when entomologist E. O. Wilson used it as the title of the proceedings of that forum. The word biodiversity was deemed more effective in terms of communication than biological diversity.

Why is Biodiv ersit y Important ?

Biod iv ersit y refle cts t he num be r, v ariet y an d varia bi li ty of l iv ing or gan isms as w ell a s ho w thes e c han ge fr om o ne loc at ion to ano the r a nd ov er tim e. A diverse ecosystem is important. Ecosystems provide the basic necessities of life such as food, clean air and water. They offer protection from natural disasters and disease, shape human cultures and spiritual beliefs, and maintain the planet’s essential life processes. Biod iv ersity a ctu all y bo os ts eco system pr odu ct iv ity where each species, no matter how small, all have an imp or tan t r ole to play. It is this combination that enables the ecosystem to possess the ability to prevent and recover from a variety of disasters.

Why is Biodiv ersi ty Importa nt? “At least 40 percent of the world’s economy and 80 percent of the needs of the poor are derived from biological resources. In addition, the richer the diversity of life, the greater the opportunity for medical discoveries, economic development, and adaptive responses to such new challenges as climate change.” —

The Convention about Life on Earth, Convention on Biodiversity web site.

What does a HE ALTHY B iodiversity offe r? Ec os ystem s ervic es , such as Protection of water resources Soils formation and protection Nutrient storage and recycling Pollution breakdown and absorption Contribution to climate stability Maintenance of ecosystems Recovery from unpredictable events

What does a HE ALTHY B iodiversity offe r? Bi olo gic al re sour ces , such as Food Medicinal resources and pharmaceutical drugs Wood products Ornamental plants Breeding stocks, population reservoirs Future resources Diversity in genes, species and ecosystems

What does a HE ALTHY B iodiversity offe r? So cia l ben efi ts , such as Research, education and monitoring Recreation and tourism Cultural values

What does a HE ALTHY B iodiversity offe r? . Biodiversity loss affects ecosystems, making them more vulnerable to perturbations and less able to supply humans with these valuable services. And so, while we dominate this planet, we still need to preserve the diversity in wildlife.

Threats on Biological Di vers ity Ec os ystems are ind ee d inc redi bl y pr odu ct ive a nd ef fic ien t—whe n ther e i s su ff ic ie nt b io di versit y. E ac h fo rm of l if e work s tog eth er w ith the surro und in g In losing species we lose the productivity and stability of entire ecosystems. en viron me nt t o h elp re cycl e waste, m ain tain t he ec osystem , and pr ovid e servic es t hat oth ers— inc lu din g hu man s—u se a nd be nefi t fr om . In l osi ng spe cie s w e lo se the pro duc tivit y an d stabi li ty of ent ire eco system s.

Threats on Biological Di vers ity

Massi ve Ext inct ions from Hum an Act ivity . (August 2, 1999) says that A report from Environment New Service “The current extinction rate is now approaching 1,000 times the background rate and may climb to 10,000 times the background rate during the next century, if present trends continue. At this rate, onethird to two-thirds of all species of plants, animals, and other organisms would be lost during the second half of the next century, a loss that would easily equal those of past extinctions.”

Threats on Biological Di vers ity In a slow extinction, various balancing mechanisms can develop. No one knows what will be the result of this extremely rapid extinction rate. . What is known, for sure, is that the world ecological system has been kept in balance through a very complex and multifacetted interaction between a huge number of species. This rapid extinction is therefore likely to precitate collapses of ecolosystems at a global scale. This is predicted to create large -s ca le a gric ul tural pr ob le ms, threatening food supplies to hundreds of millions of people.

Threats on Biological Di vers ity Factors contributing to loss of biodiversity include: Ov er pop ul atio n and Pol lut ion . Ha bit at De struct ion In vas ive s pec ies Ov er exp loi tat ion (D ef or estat ion an d Ov er fi shin g)  Gl oba l W ar min g o r C li ma te c ha nge .    

These factors, mostly driven by human activity, which stems from overpopulation, produce a cumulative impact upon biodiversity.

Threats on Biological Di vers ity

Hab ita t Des truct ion

 Most of the species extinctions from 1000 AD to 2000 AD are due to human activities, in particular destruction of plant . and animal habitats.  While most of the species that are becoming extinct are not food species, their biomass is converted into human food when their habitat is transformed into pasture, cropland, and orchards. It is estimated that more than 40% of the Earth's biomass is tied up in only the few species that represent humans, livestock and crops.

Threats on Biological Di vers ity In vasi ve S pe ci es  Th e ric h d ive rsity o f un iq ue spe cie s a cros s ma ny par ts of t he world e xis t onl. y b eca us e t hey a re sepa rate d b y b arrie rs, par ticu lar ly l arge r ivers, sea s, oce an s, m ou ntai ns and d eser ts fr om ot her s pec ies of othe r l and ma sses , p artic ul arly the hi gh ly fe cun d, ult ra-c omp et it ive, g ene ral ist "sup er-s peci es “.  Ho wever hum an s h ave in vent ed ship s an d ai rpla ne s, and no w h av e the po wer to brin g i nt o c ont act spec ie s that ne ver h av e me t in t hei r ev olu tion ary his tory.

Threats on Biological Di vers ity In vasi ve S pe ci es  Th e wid es pr ead in trod uct.ion o f ex otic s pe ci es b y hu man s is a pot ent thr ea t t o bi od iv er sity. Whe n exo tic spec ie s ar e i ntro duc ed to ec osystem s an d esta bli sh self- sust ai ni ng po pul at ions , t he end em ic spe cie s i n that ec osy st em , tha t ha ve not ev olved t o co pe wit h the ex ot ic s peci es , may n ot surviv e. Th e e xo tic or ga ni sms m ay be ei ther pr eda tors, par asit es, or sim ply agg res sive spec ie s tha t de pr ive i nd ige no us spec ie s of nut rien ts, w ater and l igh t.

Threats on Biological Di vers ity In vasi ve S pe ci es  If hu man s con tinu e t o com bin e s pec ies fr om di ffe rent . ec oreg ion s, ther e i s the p ote ntia l t hat the wor ld' s ec osystem s wil l end u p dom in ated by rel ativ ely a fe w, ag gres sive, co smo pol itan "sup er-sp eci es “.

Threats on Biological Di vers ity Over exp loi tati on a. Ov erfi shi ng -- Dw in dl in g F ish St ock s .  In du stria li ze d fi shin g ha s co ntri but ed imp or tan tly to m as s ext inc tion d ue to repe at edly fai led at temp ts at l im itin g the fi shi ng .  A n ew g lo ba l s tudy c on clu de s th at 90 per cent of a ll lar ge fi she s ha ve dis app ear ed fr om the wor ld’ s oc ean s in t he p as t hal f ce nt ury, t he de vastat ing resul t o f in dus trial fis hing . Th e study too k 1 0 year s to co mpl ete an d w as p ubl is hed in the i nter nat ion al jou rna l N at ure.

Threats on Biological Di vers ity Ov er exp loi tat ion ( Overfishing -- Dwindling Fish Stocks)  Anot her ca use fo r e xte nsiv e fis h ex tin ct ion is the des truct ion of c or al r eef s. .Th is is ca used by a com bi nat ion of cau ses , in cl udi ng war min g o f oc ea ns, dam ag e fr om fi shin g tool s a nd a h ar mfu l in fe ct ion of cor al orga ni sms p rom oted by oc ea n p ol lut ion . A res ear ch a rtic le in th e j our nal , Sc ien ce , w arned co mme rci al fi sh and s eafoo d spec ie s ma y a ll cr as h by 2 04 8.

Threats on Biological Di vers ity Over exp loi tati on b. Defo restat ion  A rep or t fr om the Wo rld .Com mis sion on F ores ts and Sus taina bl e D evel op men t su gge sts tha t t he fo rest s o f the w orld ha ve b ee n e xp lo ited t o the poi nt of cr isis an d t hat m aj or c ha nge s i n g lo ba l fo rest man age me nt strateg ie s wou ld be ne ed ed to avoi d the de vastat ion.  Wha t a ls o ma kes thi s a pr oble m is t hat ma ny o f the en dan ge red spec ie s ar e o nl y fou nd in sma ll area s of la nd, oft en withi n t he bor der s of a s in gl e cou nt ry. Ne w s pe ci es of an im al s an d pla nts are still bei ng di scov ered .

Threats on Biological Di vers ity

Over exp loi tati on (D efor estati on)

In Papua New Guinea, 44 new species of animals were discovered recently in the forests. Logging may affect these animals' habitats, . though. The loss of rainforests around the world, where many species of life are found could be lost. Brazil which is estimated to have around 55,000 species of flora, amounting to some 22% of the world’s total and India which has about 46,000 and some 81,000 animal species (amounting to some 8% of the world’s biodiversity), are also under various pressures, from corporate globalization and deforestation. So too are many other biodiverse regions, such as Indonesia, parts of Africa, and other tropical regions.

Hindrances Hu man Di men sion - Go ver nanc e, A war ene ss an d Po li tic al Wil l  Ris ing po ver ty, in crea sin g pop ul atio ns, . al ien atio n fr om the la nd  Po or ca pa cit y fo r m an age men t a nd la ck of resou rce s Fu nds  La ck of Po lit ica l W il l, an d O ce ans Go verna nc e  Hu man s hav e ge ner all y ex pa nde d and d evel op ed thei r t erritor y thr ough ou t hi stor y. An ac tiv e ap proa ch is the on ly w ay t o ha lt the ex pan sio n b ut this of ten r equ ires fu nd s or wis e stew ards hip . Curr en tly the Un ite d S tat es E nv iron men tal Pr otec tion A genc y h as a n ann ua l bud get of $ 7. 3 bi lli on (2 00 7) .

Hindrances Pr eser va tion o f inv erteb rat e an d p la nt spec ie s  Biod iv ersit y is m os t w ell kn ow n t o the pu bl ic as a l os s of a nim al s wit h a ba . ckb on e, whe n in fa ct ther e e xis t 20 tim es that num be r o f ins ect s and fi ve time s as ma ny fl owe ring p lan ts. W hi le ma ny o f thes e sp eci es may be hi gh ly v alu abl e to t he hum an race f or the ab ove rea sons , the vast m aj orit y are oft en co mpl et ely unk now n t o an yon e but spec ia lis ts. I n fa ct it i s o ft en estim at ed t hat l es s than h alf and pe rha ps l es s tha n t wo-th irds of e ar th orga ni sms h av e ev en bee n i de nt ifi ed .

What w e can do?...  As in di vidu al s, w e a ll ha ve a n essen tia l p ar t to p la y in pr om ot ing bi odi ver sity c ons ervatio n an d s ustain ab le use. We c an de ma nd ac tion fr om al l le vels of . gov ernme nt . M or eov er, i n ou r ev eryday ch oic es , we al l can ha ve di rect po sitiv e im pa cts o n bi odi ver si ty an d the state of our pl ane t’s ec os ystems, for ins tance b y supp orti ng sus ta ina ble c on sump tio n a nd was te redu ct io n.

References Green Facts. Facts on Heal and the Environment. “Scientific Facts on Biodiversity (A Global Outlook)” Last Modified: June 11, 2008. http://www.greenfacts.org/en/global-biodiversity-outlook/ index.htm#il1 . Shah, Anup. Global Issues. “Biodiversity”. Last Modified: June 14, 2008 http://www.globalissues.org/Env Issues/Biodiversity.asp United Nations System-Wide Earthwatch. “Biodiversity Assessment” 1996-2007. http://earthwatch.unep.net/emergingissues/ biodiversity/assessment.php Wikipedia. “Biodiversity”. Last Modified: July 2, 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/Biodiversity