Concepts and Characteristics of Biodiversity

MPHE 102Morphology , Taxonomy &

Biodiversity of Vectors

Submitted by

ABARNA KIRUBALANI.M

DEFINITIONBiodiversity is defined as “the intrinsically-inbuilt plus the externally-imposed variability in and among living organisms existing in terrestrial, marine and other ecosystem at a specific period of time”.

“The web of life"is divided into three parts to help simplify a very complex concept: • Genes• Species• Ecosystem

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Estimated Number of Described Species

Insecta827,875 (47.3%)

Other Vertebrata27,199 (1.6%)

Actinopterygii 23,712 (1.4%)

Nematoda20,000 (1.1%)

Other Eucarya36,702 (2.1%)

Angiospermae 233,885 (13.4%)

Crustacea38,839 (2.2%)Other Plantae49,530 (2.8%)

Arachnida74,445 (4.3%)

Other invertebrate Metazoa

82,047 (4.7%)

Fungi100,800 (5.8%)

Stramenopiles105,922 (6.1%)

Mollusca 117,495 (6.7%)

Archaea259 (0.01%)

Bacteria9,021 (0.5%)

Biodiversity has Intrinsic Value

Intrinsic Value = Something that has value in and of itself

Biodiversity also has Utilitarian Value

Utilitarian Value = the value something has as a means to another’s end.

What do we get from biodiversity?

OxygenFood

Clean WaterMedicine

AestheticsIdeas

Should we be concerned about biodiversity?

The Earth is losing species at an alarming rate • Some scientists estimate that as many as 3 species per

hour are going extinct and 20,000 extinctions occur each year.

• when species of plants and animals go extinct, many other species are affected.

• Species diversity: Variety of organisms within a community

• Genetic diversity: Variety of genes within a population, or within a species on earth. Greater Genetic diversity means a population will have an easier time adapting to environmental pressures.

• Ecosystem diversity:– Biomes: regions with distinct climates/species

• Functional diversity: The variety of processes that occur whithin an ecosystem

Fig. 4-2, p. 82

Functional Diversity The biological and chemical processes such as energy flow and matter recycling needed for the survival of species, communities, and ecosystems.

Ecological Diversity The variety of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems found in an area or on the earth.

Solar energyChemical

nutrients (carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, minerals)

Heat

Heat Heat

Decomposers (bacteria, fungi)

Producers (plants)

Consumers (plant eaters, meat eaters)Heat Heat

Genetic Diversity The variety of genetic material within a species or a population.

Species Diversity The number and abundance of species present in different communities.

• Diversity at the level of community and ecosystem exists along 3 levels.

• It could be within-community diversity (alpha diversity),

• between-communities diversity (beta diversity) or

• diversity of the habitats over the total landscape or geographical area (gamma diversity).

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Community and ecosystem diversity

BIODIVERSITY CONCEPTSAll life forms that make up biodiversity, including humans, are ultimately connected to all other life forms, and to their physical environment.• No one living element of any ecosystem can survive

independent of the others.• Connections among living and non-living elements keep the

environment functioning and healthy.• Because biodiversity represents the interconnectedness of all

things, the effects of some causes can be surprising.• Human impact on the environment, therefore, directly or

indirectly affects the function of other living things, and, by extension, ourselves.

CHARACTERISTICS OF BIODIVERSITY

BIODIVERSITY HAS LIMITS:

• Physical environments, even healthy ones, can support just so many of any species, including people, indefinitely.

• This maximum number is termed the carrying capacity for that environment.

• Species can cause changes in environmental conditions, and vice versa, leading to changes in carrying capacity for themselves and for other species.

• Another way to express limits and carrying capacity is through the term ecological footprint.

• Over the short term, these limits can be exceeded by a population or species, including people, a condition often termed overshoot.

• Overshoot, in the short term, often degrades the associated environment; in the long term, it causes a sharp, considerable decline in a population or species, or even its elimination from that environment.

BIODIVERSITY HAS VALUE:

• Biodiversity has evolutionary, ecological, economic, social, cultural, and intrinsic values.

• Biodiversity is nature’s insurance policy

• Biologically diverse ecosystems offer a variety of natural products, including medical ingredients that enhance human health and standard of living.

• Biodiversity provides ecosystem services: water purification; clean air, fertile soil, climate regulation, flood control, as well as pest regulation and disease resistance, essentially for the cost of letting natural systems function.

• Biological diversity is key to long term ecosystem sustainability (e.g.75% of cash crops rely on a variety of insects and other organisms for pollination; a biologically diverse agricultural ecosystem provides stability, nutrients to the soil and natural pest resistance).

• Biodiversity is key in sustaining the natural beauty of National and Provincial Parks and green spaces for recreational use and heritage preservation.

• Biologically diverse ecosystems maintain a stable environment capable of providing a high quality of life.

• Healthy, stable, diverse environments are able to respond to change more efficiently than degraded or simple systems.

Benefits of Biodiversity

• Ecological benefits/services (Indirect use value) – Biodiversity supplies the buffering capacity and stability to life on the planet by maintaining the interactive dynamics of the ecosystems of the world.

• Economical benefits Food value – providing food to the human population on this earth for thousands of years. Commercial value –timber which is a major component of material used for providing shelter to man. Natural fibres like cotton and silk are still used for clothing by human population.

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Medicinal value –Medicines, drugs and pharmaceuticals. Many plant genetic resources are used from derivation of basic drugs. These plant resources vary from actinomycetes and fungi to large trees.

Traditional knowledge of indigenous people still keeps an edge over the scientific knowledge in this field.

Aesthetic value – Man has always been fascinated by the natural beauty and nature has inspired him resulting in development of his moral and ethical values.

This intrinsic value of plants and animals are independent of their economic and commercial value.

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BIODIVERSITY IS IN TROUBLE:• There is growing scientific concern about the major, rapid

decline in biodiversity around the world. The extinction of each additional species and the loss of variation within species brings the irreversible loss of unique genetic diversity.

• The scientific community has linked human activity to the accelerated rate of recent and current extinctions.

Biodiversity is declining because of:• Habitat loss• Invasive species• Pollution• Population Growth• Over-consumption (Unsustainable use)• Climate change

CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY:

• Ecosystems fluctuate around a state of equilibrium. In the long run, however, ecosystems and their components always change when climate changes.

Climate change resulting from, among other things, unsustainable use of fossil fuels results in loss of biodiversity:

Temperature increase makes certain environments uninhabitable to previously indigenous species.

Loss of indigenous species allows introduced species to flourish, thus increasing the loss of other indigenous species.

Changing composition of environments and loss of species directly effects ecosystem services.

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Extinct Extinct (EX)

Extinct in the Wild (EW)

Critical (CR)

Endangered (EN)

Vulnerable (VU)

Conservation Dependent (CD)

Threatened

Non-threatened

Low Risk (LR)

Near-threatened (NT)

Of less concern

Abundant

Data Deficient (DD)

Not evaluated (EV)

ALL SPECIES

THREAT CATEGORIES

SOCIETY’S ROLE IN SUPPORTING BIODIVERSITY

“Conserving biodiversity is not necessarily about preserving everything currently in existence. It is more a question of walking lightly on the Earth.”

Biosphere reserves are areas of terrestrial and coastal ecosystems promoting solutions to reconcile the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use.

Government, non governmental organizations, community groups, academic institutions and individuals use a variety of means to protect plants and animals.• Preservation of local natural areas (woods, old fields,

wetlands, etc) allows the plants and animals that depend on these areas to continue to live.

• Restoration of habitat that has been lost (school yard naturalization, naturalized gardening, and removal of invasive species) can increase the number of different species found in an area.

• Development and institution of recovery plans for species at risk.

• Zoos and botanical gardens and other facilities can participate in captive breeding with the intent of reintroducing the species when habitat problems have been solved through processes such as ecological restoration.

Science Focus: Insects• Around for ~400 million years• Bad reputation• Useful to humans and ecosystems • Vital roles in sustaining life

– Pollinators– Natural pest control– Renewing soils

Order Diptera - Flies

If Halteres are in front…not a fly…Strepsiptera.

Characterized by one pair of wings. Note a second pair of appendages behind the wings, halteres.

These vibrate like wings. This is an inertial guidance system that stabilizes the creature during flight.

Order Diptera - Flies

Mouthparts can be spongy or modified into a tube as on a mosquito. Mosquito antennae are feathery while many flies have them highly reduced. Eyes tend to be large.

Not Wasps or Bees….Order Diptera – Flies…one pair of wings…Mimicry is reflected in a number of insect orders.

Eyes can be the dominant part of the head, as below….

Eyes can also make you look a little mean like this horsefly…and, they have the attitude to back it up…

Eye diversity to the max! This is a stalkeyed fly. They are predominantly found in Old World tropical habitatsRecent research has found that this is a sexual selection characteristic…males with wider eyes seem to be more successful at finding a mate.

Order Lepidoptera – Butterflies, Moths and Skippers

Large winged with respect to body size. Antennae can be feathered as in this cecropia moth or thin with a club as in this monarch Mouthparts are usually long and coiled.

It has a coiled mouthpart but, it has really hard hairs at the end. Instead of collecting nectar and such, it will abrade your skin to blister capillaries for a blood meal. Example of adaptation and exploitation of a niche.

Wing Scales

Wings are covered with scales…an individual scale is to the right…it’s a diffraction grating. Color is produced by an effect known as Quantified Interference and Diffraction.

This effect can produce nearly metallic coloration. Metallic looking beetles use the same optical physics trick (in addition to hummingbirds and peacocks…)

Many moths appear relatively drab. They are largely nocturnal and rest during the day.

This is an underwing moth, a member of the family Noctuidae. If they are alerted to a predator the front wings open quickly revealing highly colored hind wings, which may even look like eyespots. This “flash” can momentarily startle a potential predator giving the moth time to get away…this is way incredible.

The World WithoutBiodiversity

With sustainable use of biological diversity a real priority, we can ensure

a new and sustainable relationship between humanity

and the

Natural World for generations to come.

REFERENCES• Insect Biodiversity: Science and Society Edited by

Robert G. Foottit and Peter H. Adler©2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

• Gaston,kevin J.(11 MAY 2000).”Global patterns in biodiversity”.Nature 405(6783):220-227

• Edward O.Wilson, Frances M.Peter, Biodiversity, National Academy Press, March 1998

• Campbell, AK(2003). “Save those molecules: molecular biodiversity and life”. Journal of Applied Ecology :193-203