...What is biodiversity? Some may say it is just merely a number of species within an ecosystem. However this is not the case, as majority aspects of our lives solely depend on biodiversity. Water, food and air are produced directly by different species and the quality of these resources depend on other species activities. According to the convention of biological diversity "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; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems” The important question however, is can we put a value on biodiversity? The total value in many ways is infinite. Earth’s economies “would grind to a halt, without the services of ecological life-support systems” (Costanza et al 97). According to Freeman. (1998) to understand the true value of something, one must first define what that thing is and what the world would possibly be like without that particular entity. The following essay will review the methods available to assign value to biodiversity. This will be done in terms of its ecosystem services,...
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...It is clearly the case that variations in levels of biodiversity are highly influenced by physical factors. The climate of a region has a massive impact on the levels of biodiversity, as this determines what flora and fauna can survive. Sunlight, temperature, water and CO₂ are all limiting factors for plant growth. Places with very few limiting factors, such as a tropical rainforest, have high biodiversity because the conditions are good, meaning many plants can grow there because they do not need to be specialised. These conditions are also favourable to many animal species, due to resources being widely available and many niches to be occupied. This leads to high biodiversity because of little competition between species. On the other hand, places with a lot of limiting factors, the Arctic for example, means plants and animals have to be specialised to survive, therefore biodiversity is low due to harsh conditions. The altitudinal range of an area also influences biodiversity. This is because different climates occur at different altitudes, meaning if there is a large range of elevations, there will be conditions that suit many different species of animals and plants so biodiversity is higher. One example of this is the Himalayas where biodiversity is high. Endemism is another physical factor, this increases biodiversity and is affected by the location of an area. For example, islands, such as the Galapagos Islands, are more likely to have endemic species because of isolation...
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...a. Define biodiversity b. Explain how species diversity arises Explain how species diversity arises c. Explain the patterns of biodiversity on Earth d. List several regions of high biodiversity e. Define evolution. This week we are doing an assignment on teach back and I have chosen Biodiversity. I have found some great information on biodiversity but before I can go any further I need to understand what biodiversity is. What is biodiversity? Biodiversity means the diversity, or variety, of plants and animals and other living things in a particular area or region Biodiversity may also mean the number, or abundance of different species living within a particular region. There are three kinds of biodiversity that are there to preserve our systems. First we the genetic diversity, species diversity, and lastly the ecological diversity. When looking at on how the species in diversity arise we would look at the surrounding areas and the climate that affect the species. There are many species in the ecosystem and when something such as climate change you will have a problem in your food change, water sours. When this happens it will be harder for the species to survive since they are being deprived. The patterns of biodiversity begin with community structure, which begin with the climate and ecosystems. There is a list of patterns that affect the earth of biodiversity; there are hotspots as they are called and cold spots (high and low). Along with...
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...Decline in Biodiversity Deanna Garrett ENV497 Chad Goings July 15, 2013 Decline in Biodiversity Biodiversity is important in ecosystems because every life form works together in order for them to function. When these ecosystems are disrupted or altered, or even lacks biodiversity, it poses major threats to all the life forms in it, whether it happens quickly or over a long period of time. When we lack biodiversity, our ecosystems become unstable, which in turn makes them more vulnerable to disasters and they cannot contribute to our well being. Although policy makers may be faced with challenges, many considerations need to be taken into account to preserve biodiversity and to protect these areas so that these ecosystems can function properly and prosper. When we hear the word ‘biodiversity’, it pretty much explains itself. It is the amount of variation of life forms within a given biome, ecosystem, species, or even the entire plant. Many considerations need to be taken into account to preserve biodiversity and to protect these areas so that these ecosystems can function properly and prosper. With respect to the ecosystem and biodiversity, we need to remember that once our natural resources run out and when most ecosystems are destroyed, it is very hard to restore it to what it was. We need to consider our well being, as well as all the other organisms that we share the earth with. We use biodiversity all the time, whether it is direct or indirect. In order for us to...
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...RESOLUTION TOPIC: RESOURCE USE, BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION AND OUR COLLECTIVE FUTURE WRITTEN BY NSEK, UDUAK OKON REG. NO: 13/PG/AR/HS/006 DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF UYO SUBMITTED TO DR. DOMINIC AKPAN LECTURER IN CHARGE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY AND INTERNATIOANL STUDIES FACULTY OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF UYO MARCH, 2015 Abstract Resource use can be defined as the derivation of benefit from that resource in economic or financial, social or cultural, political and ecological respects. Human actions or resource use have altered global environment and reduced biodiversity by causing extinctions and reducing the population sizes of surviving species. Increasing human population size and per capita resource use will continue to have direct and indirect consequences such as distorted values of plant and animal resources, inappropriate resource tenure and ownership structure as well as lack of knowledge on resource management and biodiversity conservation. Inevitably, our collective future becomes bleak as future generations will inhabit a planet with significantly less wildlife, diminished ecosystem services and an increased impoverished people. Keywords: Resource, Biodiversity, future Introduction The most significant environmental issue in the contemporary world has been resource use and biodiversity conservation. This is not unusual because humans benefit directly or indirectly from resources and its biodiversity. In the last few decades...
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...human and physical factors in influencing levels of biodiversity. (15) Biodiversity refers to the variety of genes, species and eco-systems in an area. Levels of biodiversity can be influenced by both physical and human factors. Physical factors such as the climate type as well as the age of an area can have a significant impact on the levels of diversity found in that area. Human factors such as deforestation, urbanisation as well as the protection of certain eco-systems carried out by humans can have an impact on the area whether it is negative or positive. The climate of a region may have a huge impact on levels of biodiversity as this determines what flora can survive. Factors such as temperature, water and CO₂ are all limiting factors for plants, places with very few limiting factors such as a tropical rainforest, have high biodiversity because the conditions are good, meaning many plants can grow such as the Atlantic forest, where there are over 20,000 plant species adapted in that specific area. Places with a lot of limiting factors, the levels of biodiversity is low due to harsh conditions. The altitudinal range of an area also has an effect on the levels of biodiversity, the conditions that suit different eco-systems will differ as some are more adapted to thrive in colder environments compared to others who thrive in warmer environments. The age of an area also plays a part in influencing levels of biodiversity as it allows species to adapt depending on how long...
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...Biodiversity is a marvelous thing. It's the number of different organisms in an area. Although you may not be able to see all the types of different biodiversity, that doesn't mean it isn't there. Biodiversity is everywhere, especially in the movie The Lorax. Biodiversity is very important, it helps keep an ecosystem stable and helps animals interact with one another. For instance symbiosis. All organisms rely on biodiversity. Everyone depends on biodiversity, no matter how big or small. Biodiversity helps animals interact with one another. For instance, a lot of organisms endure the same food source. Some organisms need the same resources (biodiversity) to be supplied with food. Organisms can interact in a mutual way, where one of the organisms benefit and the other one is nor harmed nor hurt. Also they can...
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...Purpose To assess your ability to: define biodiversity explain how species diversity arises explain the patterns of biodiversity on Earth list several regions of high biodiversity (e.g., biodiversity hotspots) discuss how interactions among species affect their fates and that of communities discuss why the special properties of a community are important explain the relationship between species diversity and community stability discuss the role of disturbance in a community discuss how disturbance affects a community identify the major terrestrial biomes identify the environmental conditions that control the distribution of the major terrestrial biomes identify the activities that threaten global forests discuss activities that can be taken to preserve global forests discuss the impact of road construction on the Earth's forests discuss how vertical stratification differentiates life zones in oceans discuss why coral reefs, mangroves, estuaries, and wetlands are biologically important identify the locations of the world's most extensive grasslands discuss human-mediated activities that degrade the world's grasslands identify the original purposes of parks and nature preserves in North America identify the major benefits of biodiversity discuss the major human-caused threats to biodiversity discuss in what ways we humans can reduce the human-caused threats to biodiversity define wilderness discuss why wilderness areas are both important and controversial ...
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...Ecology Number 4, Fall 1999 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Maintaining Natural Life Support Processes Issues in Ecology Number 4 Fall 1999 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Maintaining Natural Life Support Processes by Shahid Naeem, Chair, F.S. Chapin III, Robert Costanza, Paul R. Ehrlich, Frank B. Golley, David U. Hooper, J.H. Lawton, Robert V. ONeill, Harold A. Mooney, Osvaldo E. Sala, Amy J. Symstad, and David Tilman Critical processes at the ecosystem level influence plant productivity, soil fertility, water quality, atmospheric chemistry, and many other local and global environmental conditions that ultimately affect human welfare. These ecosystem processes are controlled by both the diversity and identity of the plant, animal, and microbial species living within a community. Human modifications to the living community in an ecosystem as well as to the collective biodiversity of the earth can therefore alter ecological functions and life support services that are vital to the well-being of human societies. Substantial changes have already occurred, especially local and global losses of biodiversity. The primary cause has been widespread human transformation of once highly diverse natural ecosystems into relatively species-poor managed ecosystems. Recent studies suggest that such reductions in biodiversity can alter both the magnitude and the stability of ecosystem processes, especially when biodiversity is reduced to the low levels typical...
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...different revolutions leading to significant increases in the human population. What is the importance of the fifth revolution, the environmental revolution, to the size of the human population on this planet? (Chapter 8) The Neolithic Revolution was the first revolutions that lead to a increase in human populations. The Neolithic Revolution occurred approximately 12,000 years ago and was the rise of stable food, the rise of settlements, specialization of labor, and the reduction of mortality. Following this is the Industrial Revolution saw the birth and rise of modern technology and science. Because of new energy sources, production became more efficient and faster. Food could be produced quicker; this also began increased environmental resource exploitation. The Medical Revolution included the increase of epidemics and other rise in diseases that gave children a high mortality rate. This resulted in a low population growth. Because of this, more health regulations were put into place. This in turn, increased human population growth rate. The Green Revolution began with the concern of over-production of food, this lead to an increase in agricultural efficiency. The newest revolution, the Environmental Revolution, consists of policy and industrial changes. This also includes efficient technologies, urban, regional planning and also changes in personal decisions. 2. What is the IPAT formula and what is its purpose? (Chapter 8) The IPAT formula is a formula used to account...
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...Using Figure 2, explain why a spectrum of strategies is used to help conserve biodiversity Biodiversity is a key resource, which provides a range of valuable goods and critical services to human populations. Biodiversity results from natural physical processes, and as such has distinct geographical patterns. Biodiversity is under threat in several ways; habitat destruction, over-exploitation of natural resources, pollution, introduction of alien species, climate change and increasing demands on nature from rising human populations Sustainable management with use of ecosystem resources is used in-order to help conserve biodiversity because it is trying to allow people to get what they need out of an area but also try and conserve it. A way in which this is usually managed is by zoning, which is where they create and area where humans are not allowed to touch, the area is usually one which has high biodiversity. The reason as to why people tend to damage areas is for agricultural reasons and also logging. This will reduce the threat on habitat destruction and exploitation of natural resources. Protected areas with managed access, e.g. national parks in Kenya is used to help conserve biodiversity because these area tend to be under threat from humans. This is because of the landscape and the wildlife which are in the area and also due to the increasing demand from humans. If the area is protected and managed it means that people are able to still visit the wildlife but in a controllable...
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...populations. Possible factors contributing to this decline include changes in food, loss of genetic variation, cover availability, evolution of predation, microclimatic effect, and lack of recolonization following extinctions. Habitat loss and fragmentation are processes that separate small populations, which have higher extinction rates that may lead to a reduction in biological diversity. Recent dramatic declines in forest management have brought some undesirable consequences for forest health and wildlife (Jack Ward, T. (n.d). Standing back and letting nature take its course has become increasingly prevalent. Unfortunately, while appealing as this sounds, this is not tenable in the long-term as it will not protect forests, retain biodiversity, and provide some wood products over time. We are increasingly depending on places beyond our borders to provide our wood places with far less resources and knowledge about how to manage forests responsibly. By importing wood products, we export not only environmental consequences but jobs and dollars ( Jack Ward, T. (n.d). Conservation biology needs to reach out to a much broader community of academics and practitioners in fields as diverse as anthropology, history, political geography, and environmental psychology (Bernstein, M., & Ladle, R. J. (2010). There has been little recognition in conservation biology of the benefits that could be derived from collaboration with industrial designers. This lack of interest is...
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...Biodiversity is one issue to which I attach the greatest importance and that we have to tackle with urgency. Not only we have a moral obligation but it will be significant for our contribution to the next Copenhagen conference on Climate Change at the end of this year. To protect biodiversity is one of today's great challenges. Over the last four and a half years, the European Commission has been at the forefront of the fight against climate change. This is an area where Europe can be justifiably proud of its role as a world leader. And it is an area where we cannot afford to fail. The success of our climate change policy will also be measured by the success of our efforts in stopping the loss of biodiversity. These issues – like so many of the challenges that we face – are irrevocably interrelated, just as the link with energy and energy security has helped to develop our understanding of the importance of climate change. The loss of biodiversity is a global threat that is just as important as global warming. It threatens our natural environment and thus, the quality of our life. But biodiversity underpins also our economies. It is not therefore only because of the love of nature or a vision for our environment that we should keep biodiversity on the political agenda. Efforts made by this Commission have concentrated on our ambitious target: to put a stop to the loss of biodiversity in Europe by 2010. For that, we must implement existing legislation such as the Birds and Habitats...
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...Biodiversity is the foundation of ecosystem services to which human well-being is intimately linked. No feature of Earth is more complex, dynamic, and varied than the layer of living organisms that occupy its surfaces and its seas, and no feature is experiencing more dramatic change at the hands of humans than this extraordinary, singularly unique feature of Earth. This layer of living organisms—the biosphere—through the collective meta¬bolic activities of its innumerable plants, animals, and microbes physically and chemically unites the atmosphere, geo-sphere, and hydrosphere into one environmental system within which millions of species, including humans, have thrived. Breathable air, potable water, fertile soils, productive lands, bountiful...
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...Natural Sciences | | |SCI/230 Version 7 | | |Introduction to Life Science | Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course applies a broad, conceptual understanding of biology. Students are introduced to scientific ideologies and concepts that not only shape our biological world, but also shape us as humans. Students examine the scientific method, evolution and biodiversity, the biology of cells, energy systems, the dynamics of inheritance, and the effect humans have on the environment. The text emphasizes methods and the theoretical foundations of ideas, while minimizing isolated facts. It stresses the integration of ideas, making connections that form our understanding of the living world. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the...
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