Biodiversity

• Biodiversity refers to the range of different plant, animal, and microorganism species, as well as the genetic variation within these species, present in an environment.
• It indicates the health of an ecosystem: greater biodiversity usually means an ecosystem is healthier, as this shows a variety of organisms fulfilling different roles or ‘niches.’
• Biodiversity can also refer to the variety of habitats, ecosystems and natural processes that occur in the world.
• There are three levels of biodiversity: species diversity, genetic diversity, and ecosystem diversity.
• Species diversity is the variety of different species in a certain area or the entire planet. This includes all plants, animals and microorganisms.
• Genetic diversity is the variety of genes contained within a population of a species. This can also be between species and refers to the total number of genetic characteristics.
• Ecosystem diversity refers to the variety of different ecosystems present on Earth. This includes areas such as forests, deserts, grasslands and oceans.
• It is vital to preserve biodiversity for several reasons including providing a source of food and medicine, aiding in environmental sustainability, and providing aesthetic and cultural value.
• Threats to biodiversity include habitat destruction, overexploitation, pollution, invasive species, and climate change.
• Conservation efforts aim to maintain biodiversity, both for its inherent value and the important services it provides to humans.
• Classification is a key part of understanding biodiversity. It organises species into groups based on shared characteristics.
• This classification is hierarchical and originally based on physical characteristics, though molecular analysis is becoming increasingly important for classifying species. The hierarchy is, from broad to specific: Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.
• The varied methodologies and hierarchies used in classification emphasise that biodiversity is complex and cannot be fully understood or appreciated by a single approach.