BiologySBI3U

Ms. Topp

BIODIVERSITY

*What is Biodiversity?*Biodiversity or ‘biological diversity’,

refers to the variety of life on Earth*It includes all living things, including plants, animals, micro-organisms, and their unique characteristics

*What’s it All About?*Field of biology combining Ecology and Evolution

*Goal is to understand the workings of Natural Systems

*Heavily influences the field of Conservation Biology (Society for Conservation Biology)

*Forms of Biodiversity?*‘We’ divide the concept of biodiversity up

and look at it at 3 different levels – can you guess what they are?*Three levels of biodiversity:

*1) Ecosystems

*2) Species

*3) Genes (genetic diversity)

*Ecosystem Diversity*= the variety of habitats, living communities, and ecological processes on Earth

*That is – variation in the type of communities of organisms

* Deals with larger geographic scales

*Species Diversity*= variation in the type of organism in a given area

*Species diversity

*Genetic Diversity

*Yellow Warbler Mug ShotsCan you see the difference?

*Genetic Diversity*= variation of genetic characteristics (genes and alleles) of a population

*Genetic diversity ensures that parents pass on the traits that their offspring need to survive*E.g. of traits = disease resistance and physical features

*Source of evolutionary process

*Measures of Biodiversity*Species Richness – how many species are

in an area (# of different species)

*Species Evenness – how well distributed individuals are among species

*Differences – the genetic distance between species (phylogenetic trees)*Measuring activity

*Factors that Affect Biodiversity

*Evolution*Immigration*Extinction*Genetic BottleneckingHow Biodiversity developed on Earth

*Biodiversity Status*There are estimated to be between 5 million and 20 million species on Earth

*We’ve only identified 1.8 million species*56% of species = insects*14% = plants*3% = vertebrates

*It is estimated that Canada has ~ 140,000 different species

*Importance of Biodiversity*Source of genes for agriculture,

bioengineering etc.*Bioremediation – native species control invasive pests, clean our water, recycle matter etc.,

*Food and medical sources*Ecosystem services: pollination, soil aeration, fertilization, etc.,

*Importance of Biodiversity*Enjoyment

*Scientific interest*Self-perpetuation – all life is interdependent; our existence depends on ecological stability

*Potential – as our knowledge grows, so too does the ‘uses’ we find for biodiversity

*Biodiversity Threats*Major threats to biodiversity loss are:*Habitat loss and degradation*Climate change*Excessive nutrient load and other forms of pollution

*Over-exploitation and unsustainable use

*Invasive alien species

*Affect of Extinction on Biodiversity

*Depends on the Niche of the organism

*Keystone species play unique roles extinction has rippling effect on others

*Biodiversity Threats*Video from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

*http://www.globalissues.org/article/171/loss-of-biodiversity-and-extinctions

*Ecosystem Structure: 1.Smallest level = ____________________.

2.A group of ____________that resemble one another in appearance, behaviour, chemical makeup, processes and genetic structure and that produce fertile offspring under natural conditions = _______________________.

*Ecosystem Structure: 3.A group of individuals of the same

________ living and interacting together in the same geographic area at the same time = _________

4._______________ of different species interact to make up a _________________.

5.A ________________ and its members interact with each other and their non-living environment to make up a _______________.

*Ecosystem Structure: *Biosphere can be

broken down into units

*The final and last unit is the biome.

*It consists of many ecosystems taken together and classified according to their dominant vegetation and animal communities.

Organism

Species

Population

Community

Ecosystem

Biome