Biodiversity Lesson

Biodiversity

Open Ended

What is biodiversity?

Open Ended

Why is biodiversity important?

​What is Biodiversity?

• ​Extinction is where the last member of a species dies.

• The more animals that go extinct the ​biodiversity decreases.

• Biodiversity is the variety of life in an area that is determined by the number of different species in that area.

•  Biodiversity is increased by the formation of new species and decreased by the loss of species. 

• The three types of biodiversity are genetic diversity, species diversity, and ecosystem diversity.​

​

• Genetic diversity is the variety of genes or inheritable characteristics that are present in a population. 

• The picture shows different variations of the Asian Lady Beetle, through color. 

•  Genetic diversity within interbreeding populations increases the chance that some individuals will survive during changing environment conditions or during an outbreak.

​

​Genetic Diversity

• Species diversity is the number of different species and the relative abundance of each species in a biological community. 

• Species diversity is not evenly distributed over the biosphere.

• Does the picture show high or low species diversity? ​

​

Species Diversity​

​Ecosystem Diversity

• Ecosystem diversity is the variety of ecosystems present in the biosphere. 

• An ecosystem is made up of interacting populations and the abiotic factors that support them. 

• The interactions of organisms affect the development of stable ecosystems. 

• Most ecosystems, on Earth, support a diverse collection of organisms.

​The Importance of Biodiversity

• Biodiversity is essential to supporting and enhancing life on Earth. 

• Humans depend on resources and other benefits provided by diversity. 

• There are economic reasons for preserving biodiversity.

• A healthy biosphere provides many services to humans and other organisms. 

• For example plants provide oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. 

• Healthy ecosystems can also provide protection from floods and drought and regulate local climates.

Indirect Economic Value

Humans depend on plants and animals to provide food, clothing, energy, medicine, and shelter.

Direct Economic Value

​The Importance of Biodiversity