Biodiversity and ecosystem: changes, threats and consequences meaning of biodiversity and ecosystem

3. BIODIVERSITY
•BIODIVERSITY IS THE VARIETY OF ALL LIFE FORMS ON EARTH AND THE
ESSENTIAL INTERDEPENDENCE OF ALL LIVING THINGS.
•BIODIVERSITY IS THE SOURCE OF ESSENTIAL GOODS AND ECOLOGICAL
SERVICES.
•AS DEFINED IN CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY SIGNED AT RIO DE
JENERIO (BRAZIL) IN 1992 BY 154 COUNTRIES,THE BIODIVERSITY DEFINED AS
“THE VARIABILITY AMONG LIVING ORGANISMS FROM ALL SOURCES
INCLUDING,INTER ALIA, TERRESTRIAL, MARINE AND OTHER AQUATIC ECO-
SYSTEMS AND THE ECOLOGICAL COMPLEXES OF WHICH THE AREA PART—
THIS INCLUDE DIVERSITY WITH IN SPECIES,BETWEEN SPECIES AND OF
ECOSYSTEM”.

4. THREE TYPES OF BIODIVERSITY
• GENETIC DIVERSITY
• SPECIES DIVERSITY
• ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY

5. GENETIC DIVERSITY
•GENETIC DIVERSITY IS THE AMOUNT OF VARIATION IN GENETIC MATERIAL
(DNA) WITHIN A SPECIES OR WITHIN A POPULATION.
•GENETIC DIVERSITY HAS THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANCE:
• (A) IT HELPS IN SPECIFICATION OR EVOLUTION OF NEW SPECIES;
• (B) IT IS USEFUL IN ADAPTATION TO CHANGES IN ENVIRONMENTAL
CONDITIONS;
• (C) IT IS IMPORTANT FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY AND
DEVELOPMENT.

6. SPECIES DIVERSITY
•IT DESCRIBES THE VARIETY IN THE NUMBER AND ABUNDANCE OF THE SPECIES
WITHIN A REGION.
•TO ACCURATELY DETERMINED SPECIES DIVERSITY, BOTH THE SPECIES RICHNESS,
WHICH IS THE NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SPECIES, AND THE RELATIVE ABUNDANCE,
WHICH IS THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS WITHIN EACH SPECIES, MUST BE
CONSIDERED.
•THE SPECIES RICHNESS DEPENDS LARGELY ON CLIMATIC CONDITIONS.WHEN A
SPECIES IS CONFINED ENTIRELY TO A PARTICULAR AREA, IT IS TERMED AS ENDEMIC
SPECIES.
•WHEN A SPECIES IS CONFINED ENTIRELY TO A PARTICULAR AREA, IT IS TERMED AS
ENDEMIC SPECIES.

7. ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY
•IT DESCRIBES THE ASSEMBLAGE AND INTERACTION OF SPECIES LIVING TOGETHER
AND THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTAL OF A GIVEN AREA.
•IT RELATES VARIETIES OF HABITATS, BIOTIC COMMUNITIES ECOLOGICAL
PROCESSES IN BIOSPHERE. IT ALSO TELLS ABOUT THE DIVERSITY WITHIN THE
ECOSYSTEM.
•THE ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY IS DUE TO DIVERSITY OF NICHE’S, TROPHIC LEVELS
AND ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES LIKE NUTRIENT CYCLING, FOOD WEBS, ENERGY
FLOW, ROLE OF DOMINANT SPECIES AND VARIOUS RELATED BIOTIC
INTERACTIONS

8. ECOSYSTEM
•AN ECOSYSTEM IS MADE UP OF A PARTICULAR AND IT’S LIVING (BIOTIC) AND
NON-LIVING (ABIOTIC) COMPONENTS.
•IT IS SPECIFICALLY A SYSTEM WHEREBY BOTH LIVING AND NON-LIVING
COMPONENTS DEPEND ON ONE ANOTHER AND CONSTANTLY INTERACT
WITH EACH OTHER.

9. BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM
•BOTH OUR BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM ARE BEING CHANGED AND
THREATENED BY US, HUMANS.
•WE DESTROY THEIR HABITATS, WE THROW STONES AT EVEN THE SMALLEST
OR CUTEST ANIMAL OF OUR INSECURITIES.

11. CHANGES IN BIODIVERSITY
•THE MAIN CAUSE OF THE CHANGE IN BIODIVERSITY CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO
THE INFLUENCE OF HUMAN BEINGS ON THE WORLD’S ECOSYSTEM.
•MOST OF THE BIODIVERSITY CHANGE HAS HAPPENED POST INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION THROUGH HUMAN ACTIVITIES.
•ANY DISTURBANCE THAT CHANGES PHYSICAL HABITAT AREAS OR SPECIES
NUMBERS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO ALTER BIODIVERSITY.
•SUCH DISTURBANCES MAY INCLUDE OR BE ASSOCIATED WITH HABITAT
MODIFICATION OR DESTRUCTION, EXCESSIVE USE AND PREDICTION FOR
RECREATION AND FRAGMENTATION, WASTEWATER DISPOSAL, OXYGEN
DEPLETION AND ACCUMULATION OF HUMAN WASTES AND COMPOUNDS.

12. SOME CHANGES IN BIODIVERSITY
•ALTERATION AND LOSS OF HABITATS: THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE NATURAL
AREAS DETERMINES NOT ONLY THE LOSS OF THE VEGETABLE SPECIES, BUT ALSO A
DECREASE IN THE ANIMAL SPECIES ASSOCIATED TO THEM.
•INTRODUCTION OF EXOTIC SPECIES AND GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS:
SPECIES ORIGINATING FROM A PARTICULAR AREA, INTRODUCE INTO NEW
NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS CAN LEAD TO DIFFERENT FORMS OF IMBALANCE IN THE
ECOLOGICAL EQUILIBRIUM. REFER TO, “INTRODUCTION OF EXOTIC SPECIES AND
GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS”.

13. •POLLUTION: HUMAN ACTIVITY INFLUENCES THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
PRODUCING NEGATIVE, DIRECT OR INDIRECT, EFFECTS THAT ALTER THE FLOW
OF ENERGY, THE CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE
ENVIRONMENT AND ABUNDANCE OF THE SPECIES.
•CLIMATE CHANGE: FOR EXAMPLE, HEATING OF THE EARTH’S SURFACE AFFECTS
BIODIVERSITY BECAUSE IT ENDANGERES ALL THE SPECIES THAT ADAPTED TO
THE COLD DUE TO THE LATITUDE (THE POLAR SPECIES)OR THE ALTITUDE
(MOUNTAIN SPECIES).

14. •OVEREXPLOITATION OF RESOURCES: WHEN THE ACTIVITIES CONNECTED
WITH CAPTURING AND HARVESTING (HUNTING, FISHING, FARMING) A
RENEWABLE NATURAL RESOURCEIN A PARTICULAR AREA IS EXCESSIVELY
INTENSE, THE RESOURCE ITSELF MAY BECOME EXHAUSTED,. AS FOR
EXAMPLE, IS THE CASE OF SARDINES, HERRING, COD, TUNA AND MANY
OTHER SPECIES THAT MAN CAPTURES WITHOUT LEAVING ENOUGH TIME
FOR THE ORGANISMS TO REPRODUCE.

18. HEALTH, BIOLOGY AND
BIODIVERSITY
•BASIC NEEDS OF LIVING ORGANISMS SUCH AS AIR, WATER, FOOD, AND HABITAT
ARE PROVIDED BY ITS ENVIRONMENT
•LACK OF BASIC NECESSITIES IS A SIGNIFICANT CAUSE OF HUMAN MORTALITY.
•ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS INCREASE THE RISK OF CANCER, HARD DISEASE,
ASTHMA, AND MANY OTHER ILLNESSES.
•THE INTERRELATION BETWEEN HUMAN HEALTH AND BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY IS
CONSIDERABLE AND COMPLEX.

19. ENVIRONMENT RELATED ILLNESSES
•SOME HUMAN ILLNESSES THAT ARE FOUND TO BE RELATED WITH ITS
ENVIRONMENT INCLUDED PARKINSON’S DISEASE, HEAR LY DISEASE, CANCER,
CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE, PULMONARY DISEASE, ASTHMA, DIABETES, OBESITY,
OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES, DYSENTERY, ARTHRITIS, MALARIA AND
DEPRESSION.

20. •MANY OF THE ISSUES AT THE INTERSECTION OF HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT
HAVE TO DO WITH MANAGING BENEFITS AND RISKS:
• PESTICIDES PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN INCREASING CROP YIELDS, BUT THEY CAN
ALSO POSE HAZARDS TO HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT.
• ENERGY PRODUCTION AND USE HELPS SUSTAIN HUMAN LIFE, BUTT IT CAN ALSO POSE
HAZARDS TO HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT.
• INCREASING TAXES ON FOSSIL FUELS WOULD ENCOURAGE GREATER FUEL EFFICIENCY
AND LOWER CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS, BUT IT WOULD ALSO INCREASE THE PRICE OF
TRANSPORTATION.
•MANAGING BENEFITS AND RISKS ALSO RAISES SOCIAL CONCERNS:
• PEOPLE WITH LOWER SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS HAVE GREATER EXPOSURE TO CERTAIN
HARMFUL ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS.