GEO 702 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Anthropogenic Biome, Biome, Microorganism
• Biodiversity
•Biodiversity, or biological diversity, describes the enormous variety and richness of life
on Earth.
Biodiversity is the conglomeration of diversity on Earth, all the spices that are living
together are studied.
• The term itself is of relatively recent origin:
This term was coined in 1986
• it was coined during the National Forum on BioDiversity in 1986 approved and protected
by the National Academy of Sciences and the Smithsonian Institution.
• The popular use of the term grew out of a concern that efforts were needed to conserve,
not just particularly charismatic animals, but the diversity of life around the world, as the
human population grew, extinction rates climbed, and scientists discovered both
economic and ecological benefits to greater diversity.
• Initially the popular use of the term was for caring for the conservation of charismatic
animals; pandas, panthers, tigers but later it was introduced that diversity of life around
the world is imp and all species are important and must be protected and conserved and
not just charismatic animals
• There are different Definitions for biodiversity:
1.Combination of all life on Earth
2.The wealth of ecosystem processes
• Such as pollination, which occur as a result of species interaction and humans find
the value of biodiversity.
3.The vast richness and interconnectedness of species in a dynamic world
• This richness not only encompasses the variety of different species in an area, but
the genetic variety within a single species, as well as the differences of habitats and
ecosystems around the world.
• Any of these definitions are acceptable (for an exam any one of these 3 will be acceptable)
There are different types of diversity such as genetic diversity which is the most
fundamental level of biodiversity because an individual's genes define their unique traits
and characteristics and so making it's imp to learn about genetic diversity
Genetic diversity enables diff species to differ from each other
Even within a species, each individual is unique
Seagulls are an example of specie that has very high genetic diversity they can live on
garbage waste and they can resist diseases
On the other hand American bison's population is decreasing and so they have low genetic
diversity
• Genetic diversity
•The ost fudaetal level of iodiversity is genetic diversity
– as an individual's genes define their unique traits and characteristics.
find more resources at oneclass.com
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• Genetic diversity is integral to biodiversity because a variety of traits enables species to
survive in various habitats or under different conditions.
• Genes are what give each zebra a different pattern of stripes and determine the shape of
a tortoise's shell.
• The many varieties of gulls are an example of a species with high genetic diversity; they
live in a wide variety of habitats, from oceans to garbage dumps, and are well enough
resistant to disease.
• Conversely, when a population has shrunk to a small number of individuals and then has
recovered, the species will often have low genetic diversity which may make them
tending to disease or disaster if too few individuals are immune or able to adapt.
– e.g. American bison
2. Species diversity
• Species diversity refers to the number of individual organisms in a population and their
distribution over an area at a particular time.
• Species diversity refers to the number of individual organisms in a population and also
their distribution over an area/a specific location or habitat within a specific time.
• The distribution of species in an ecosystem gives us a notion of how species are
interconnected. How these species are interacting with each other
• Diversity of speicies in the rain forest
• Biodiversity also gives us a sense of how ecosystem services are performed because a
high concentration of decomposers are imp because if decomposers don't exist on Earth
then no life would continue to survive - decomposers decompose the corpses of animals,
plants, humans and these are minerals and food for other species and life continues
• So if decomposers get removed from the system then that can cause a threat to the
ecosystem
• A high concentration of decomposers enriching the soil in one area, for example, might
explain a high density of plants growing in its fertile soil.
• If these decomposers die out or move, it is likely that fewer plants would grow there in
the future.
• Ecosystem diversity
• Ecosystem diversity is the largest scale on which humans generally consider biodiversity.
• An ecosystem is commonly thought of as a forest, pond, or cave; but, it can be something
as small as a water lily or as large as the entire Earth. It could be considered at a small
scale or a large scale like Earth
• Ecosystem biodiversity refers to the similarities and differences between all ecosystems,
from the icy arctic tundra to the warm equatorial mangroves. So the type of ecosystems
that are similar to each either are categorized as the same ecosystem by biodiversity, this
creates differences such as we can have differences b/w icy arctic tundra compared to the
warm equatorial mangroves - Arctic tundra living in snow vs ice and equatorial mangroves
with a lot of biodiversity of tropical mangroves
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Biodiversity, biodiversity, or biological diversity, describes the enormous variety and richness of life on earth. Biodiversity is the conglomeration of diversity on earth, all the spices that are living together are studied: the term itself is of relatively recent origin: 2. the wealth of ecosystem processes: such as pollination, which occur as a result of species interaction and humans find the value of biodiversity. 3. the vast richness and interconnectedness of species in a dynamic world. There are different types of diversity such as genetic diversity which is the most fundamental level of biodiversity because an individual"s genes define their unique traits and characteristics and so making it"s imp to learn about genetic diversity. Genetic diversity enables diff species to differ from each other. Even within a species, each individual is unique. Seagulls are an example of specie that has very high genetic diversity they can live on garbage waste and they can resist diseases.
