What is Biodiversity?
The variety of life in an area that is determined by the number of different species in that area.
Where can you find Biodiversity?
• Tropical Regions of the world contain 2/3 of all land species on Earth
• Biodiversity increases as you move toward the Equator
Importance of Biodiversity
• Organisms are connected within the community
• Biodiversity brings stability to an ecosystem
• Health and Dietary benefits to humans
Loss of BiodiversityExtinction- when the last members of a species
die.• Three tiers to the loss of Biodiversity
• Threatened
• Endangered
• Extinct
The declining population of one species can affect an entire ecosystem.
Question: What would happen to this ecosystem if kelp forest were destroyed?
Threats to Biodiversity
• Habitat Loss• Habitat Fragmentation– Biotic Issues• Predator – Prey relationships• Migration Patterns disrupted
– Abiotic Issues• Can change climate of an area
Threats Continued• Habitat Degradation• Water Pollution– Acid Precipitation– Excess fertilizer runoff – Excess silt runoff – Heavy metals
• Land Pollution– Trash and debris– Chemical pollutants/
pesticides
• FDA estimates that more than $5 billion is spent annually on medical treatment, damage, and control.
• The ants cause approximately $750 million in damage annually to agricultural assets, including veterinarian bills and livestock loss as well as crop loss.
• Introduction traced back to a South American cargo ship in Alabama in 1918.
Renewable vs. Nonrenewable Resources
• Renewable – replaced by natural process faster than they are used
Solar energy Plants WaterAir
• Nonrenewable – in limited amounts or are replaced by natural process slower than they are used
Fossil fuels Mineral Deposits