Rainforests are an example of biodiversity on the planet, and typically possess a great deal of species

diversity. This is the Gambia River in Senegal's Niokolo-Koba National Park.

Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or on
an entire planet. Biodiversity is one measure of the health of ecosystems. Life on Earth today
consists of many millions of distinct biological species. The year 2010 was declared the
International Year of Biodiversity.

Biodiversity is not consistent across the Earth. It is consistently rich in the tropics and in
specific regions such as the Cape Floristic Province; it is less rich in polar regions where
conditions support much less biomass.

Rapid environmental changes typically cause extinctions. 99.9 percent of species that have
existed on Earth are now extinct. Since life began on Earth, five major mass extinctions have
led to large and sudden drops in Earthly biodiversity. The Phanerozoic eon (the last 540
million years) marked a rapid growth in biodiversity in the Cambrian explosion—a period
during which nearly every phylum of multicellular organisms first appeared. The next 400
million years was distinguished by periodic, massive biodiversity losses classified as mass
extinction events. The most recent, the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event, occurred
65 million years ago, and has attracted more attention than all others because it killed the
nonavian dinosaurs.

The period since the emergence of humans has displayed an ongoing reduction in
biodiversity. Named the Holocene extinction, the reduction is caused primarily by human
impacts, particularly the destruction of plant and animal habitat. In addition, human practices
have caused a loss of genetic diversity. Biodiversity's impact on human health is a major
international issue.

Contents
 1 Etymology
 2 Definitions
 3 Linking biodiversity levels
 4 Distribution
 5 Evolution
o 5.1 Evolutionary diversification
 6 Human benefits
o 6.1 Agriculture
o 6.2 Human health
o 6.3 Business and Industry
o 6.4 Other services
 7 Leisure, cultural and aesthetic value
 8 Number of species
 9 Species loss rates
 10 Threats
o 10.1 Habitat destruction
 o 10.2 Invasive species
 10.2.1 Genetic pollution
o 10.3 Overexploitation
o 10.4 Hybridization, genetic pollution/erosion and food security
o 10.5 Climate Change
 11 The Holocene extinction
 12 Conservation
o 12.1 Means
o 12.2 Strategies
 13 Legal status
 14 Analytical limits
o 14.1 Taxonomic and size bias
 15 See also
 16 References
 17 Further reading
 18 External links
o 18.1 Documents
o 18.2 Tools
o 18.3 Resources

Etymology
The term was used first by wildlife scientist and conservationist Raymond F. Dalesman in the
1968 lay book A Different Kind of Country advocating conservation. The term was widely
adopted only after more than a decade, when in the 1980s it came into common usage in
science and environmental policy. Use of the term by Thomas Lovejoy, in the foreword to the
book Conservation Biology, introduced the term to the scientific community. Until then the
term "natural diversity" was common, including by The Science Division of The Nature
Conservancy in an important 1975 study, "The Preservation of Natural Diversity." By the
early 1980s TNC's Science program and its head, Robert E. Jenkins, Lovejoy and other
leading conservation scientists at the time in America advocated the use of "biological
diversity".

The term's contracted form biodiversity may have been coined by W.G. Rosen in 1985 while
planning the National Forum on Biological Diversity organized by the National Research
Council (NRC) which was to be held in 1986, and first appeared in a publication in 1988
when entomologist E. O. Wilson used it as the title of the proceedings of that forum.

Since this period both the term and the concept have achieved widespread use among
biologists, environmentalists, political leaders, and concerned citizens. The term is sometimes
used to reflect concern for the natural environment and nature conservation. This use has
coincided with the expansion of concern over extinction observed in the last decades of the
20th century.

A similar concept in use in the United States is "natural heritage." Less scientific, it predates
the others and is more accepted by the wider audience interested in conservation. Unlike
biodiversity, it includes geology and landforms (geodiversity).
Definitions

A Sampling of fungi collected during summer 2008 in Northern Saskatchewan mixed woods,
near LaRonge is an example regarding the species diversity of fungi. In this photo, there are
also leaf lichens and mosses.

"Biological diversity" or "biodiversity" can have many interpretations and it is most

commonly used to replace the more clearly defined and long established terms, species
diversity and species richness. Biologists most often define biodiversity as the "totality of
genes, species, and ecosystems of a region". An advantage of this definition is that it seems to
describe most circumstances and presents a unified view of the traditional three levels at
which biological variety has been identified:

 species diversity
 ecosystem diversity
 genetic diversity

But Professor Anthony Campbell at Cardiff University, UK and the Darwin Centre,
Pembrokeshire, has defined a fourth, and critical one: Molecular Diversity

This multilevel conception is consistent with the early use of "biological diversity" in
Washington, D.C. and international conservation organizations in the late 1960s through
1970s, by Raymond F. Dasmann who apparently coined the term and Thomas E. Lovejoy
who introduced it to the wider conservation and science communities. An explicit definition
consistent with this interpretation was first given in a paper by Bruce A. Wilcox
commissioned by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources (IUCN) for the 1982 World National Parks Conference in Bali Wilcox's definition
was "Biological diversity is the variety of life forms...at all levels of biological systems (i.e.,
molecular, organismic, population, species and ecosystem)..." Subsequently, the 1992 United
Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro defined "biological diversity" as "the variability
among living organisms from all sources, including, 'inter alia', terrestrial, marine, and other
aquatic ecosystems, and the ecological complexes of which they are part: this includes
diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems". This definition is used in the
United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

One textbook's definition is "variation of life at all levels of biological organization". For
geneticists, biodiversity is the diversity of genes and organisms. They study processes such as
mutations, gene transfer, and genome dynamics that generate evolution. Consistent with this,
Wilcox also stated "genes are the ultimate source of biological organization at all levels of
biological systems..."

Linking biodiversity levels

A complex relationship exists among the different diversity levels. Identifying one level of
diversity in a group of organisms does not necessarily indicate its relationship with other
types of diversities. All types of diversity are broadly linked and a numerical study
investigating the link between tetrapod (terrestrial vertebrates) taxonomic and ecological
diversity shows a very close correlation between the two.

Distribution

A conifer forest in the Swiss Alps (National Park).

Selection bias amongst researchers may contribute to biased empirical research for modern
estimates of biodiversity. In 1768 Rev. Gilbert White succinctly observed of his Selborne,
Hampshire "all nature is so full, that that district produces the most variety which is the most
examined."

Biodiversity is not evenly distributed. Flora and fauna diversity depends on climate, altitude,
soils and the presence of other species. Diversity consistently measures higher in the tropics
and in other localized regions such as Cape Floristic Province and lower in polar regions
generally. In 2006 many species were formally classified as rare or endangered or threatened
species; moreover, many scientists have estimated that millions more species are at risk
which have not been formally recognized. About 40 percent of the 40,177 species assessed
using the IUCN Red List criteria are now listed as threatened with extinction—a total of
16,119.
Even though biodiversity on land declines from the equator to the poles, this trend is
unverified in aquatic ecosystems, especially in marine ecosystems. In addition, several cases
demonstrate tremendous diversity in higher latitudes.

A biodiversity hotspot is a region with a high level of endemic species. Hotspots were first
named in 1988 by Dr. Norman Myers. Dense human habitation tends to occur near hotspots.
Most hotspots are located in the tropics and most of them are forests.

Brazil's Atlantic Forest is considered one such hotspot, containing roughly 20,000 plant
species, 1,350 vertebrates, and millions of insects, about half of which occur nowhere else.
The island of Madagascar, particularly the unique Madagascar dry deciduous forests and
lowland rainforests, possess a high ratio of endemism. Since the island separated from
mainland Africa 65 million years ago, many species and ecosystems have evolved
independently.

Many regions of high biodiversity and/or endemism arise from specialized habitats which
require unusual adaptations, for example alpine environments in high mountains, or Northern
European peat bogs.

Evolution
Main article: Evolution

Apparent marine fossil diversity during the Phanerozoic

Biodiversity is the result of 3.5 billion years of evolution. The origin of life has not been
definitely established by science, however some evidence suggests that life may already have
been well-established only a few hundred million years after the formation of the Earth. Until
approximately 600 million years ago, all life consisted of archaea, bacteria, protozoans and
similar single-celled organisms.

The history of biodiversity during the Phanerozoic (the last 540 million years), starts with
rapid growth during the Cambrian explosion—a period during which nearly every phylum of
multicellular organisms first appeared. Over the next 400 million years or so, global diversity
showed little overall trend, but was marked by periodic, massive losses of diversity classified
as mass extinction events.

The fossil record suggests that the last few million years featured the greatest biodiversity in
history. However, not all scientists support this view, since there is considerable uncertainty
as to how strongly the fossil record is biased by the greater availability and preservation of
recent geologic sections. Corrected for sampling artifacts, modern biodiversity may not be
much different from biodiversity 300 million years ago.Estimates of the present global
macroscopic species diversity vary from 2 million to 100 million, with a best estimate of
somewhere near 13–14 million, the vast majority arthropods.] Diversity appears to increase
continually in the absence of natural selection..

Evolutionary diversification

The existence of a "global carrying capacity", limiting the amount of life that can live at once,
is debated, as is the question of whether such a limit would also cap the number of species.
While records of life in the sea shows a logistic pattern of growth, life on land (insects, plants
and tetrapods)shows an exponential rise in diversity. As one author states, "Tetrapods have
not yet invaded 64 per cent of potentially habitable modes, and it could be that without
human influence the ecological and taxonomic diversity of tetrapods would continue to
increase in an exponential fashion until most or all of the available ecospace is filled."

On the other hand, changes through the Phanerozoic correlate much better with the
hyperbolic model (widely used in population biology, demography and macrosociology, as
well as fossil biodiversity) than with exponential and logistic models. The latter models imply
that changes in diversity are guided by a first-order positive feedback (more ancestors, more
descendants) and/or a negative feedback arising from resource limitation. Hyperbolic model
implies a second-order positive feedback. The hyperbolic pattern of the world population
growth arises from a second-order positive feedback between the population size and the rate
of technological growth. The hyperbolic character of biodiversity growth can be similarly
accounted for by a feedback between diversity and community structure complexity. The
similarity between the curves of biodiversity and human population probably comes from the
fact that both are derived from the interference of the hyperbolic trend with cyclical and
stochastic dynamics.

Most biologists agree however that the period since human emergence is part of a new mass
extinction, named the Holocene extinction event, caused primarily by the impact humans are
having on the environment. It has been argued that the present rate of extinction is sufficient
to eliminate most species on the planet Earth within 100 years.

New species are regularly discovered (on average between 5–10,000 new species each year,
most of them insects) and many, though discovered, are not yet classified (estimates are that
nearly 90% of all arthropods are not yet classified). Most of the terrestrial diversity is found
in tropical forests.

Human benefits
Summer field in Belgium (Hamois). The blue flowers are Centaurea cyanus and the red are
Papaver rhoeas.

Biodiversity supports a number of natural ecosystem processes and services.Some ecosystem

services that benefit society are air quality, climate (e.g., CO2 sequestration), water
purification, pollination, and prevention of erosion.

Since the stone age, species loss has accelerated above the prior rate, driven by human
activity. The exact rate is uncertain, but it has been estimated that species are now being lost
at a rate approximately 100 times as fast as is typical in the fossil record, or perhaps as high
as 10,000 times as fast. Land is being transformed from wilderness into agricultural, mining,
lumbering and urban areas for humans.

Non-material benefits include spiritual and aesthetic values, knowledge systems and the value
of education.

Agriculture

See also: Agricultural biodiversity

Amazon Rainforest in Brazil.

The reservoir of genetic traits present in wild varieties and traditionally grown landraces is
extremely important in improving crop performance.[citation needed] Important crops, such as the
potato, banana and coffee, are often derived from only a few genetic strains.[citation needed]
Improvements in crop species over the last 250 years have been largely due to harnessing
genes from wild varieties and species.[citation needed] Interbreeding crops strains with different
beneficial traits has resulted in more than doubling crop production in the last 50 years as a
result of the Green Revolution.[citation needed]

Crop diversity is also necessary to help the system recover when the dominant cultivar is
attacked by a disease or predator:

 The Irish potato blight of 1846 was a major factor in the deaths of one million people
and the emigration of another million. It was the result of planting only two potato
varieties, both of which proved to be vulnerable.
 When rice grassy stunt virus struck rice fields from Indonesia to India in the 1970s,
6,273 varieties were tested for resistance.[30] Only one was resistant, an Indian variety,
and known to science only since 1966.[30] This variety formed a hybrid with other
varieties and is now widely grown.[30]
 Coffee rust attacked coffee plantations in Sri Lanka, Brazil, and Central America in
1970. A resistant variety was found in Ethiopia.[31] Although the diseases are
themselves a form of biodiversity.

Monoculture was a contributing factor to several agricultural disasters, including the

European wine industry collapse in the late 19th century, and the US Southern Corn Leaf
Blight epidemic of 1970.[32]

Higher biodiversity also limits the spread of certain diseases, because pathogens may have to
adapt to infect different species.[citation needed]

Although about 80 percent of humans' food supply comes from just 20 kinds of plants,[citation
needed]
humans use at least 40,000 species.[citation needed] Many people depend on these species for
their food, shelter, and clothing.[citation needed] Earth's surviving biodiversity provides as little-
tapped resources for increasing the range of food and other products suitable for human use,
although the present extinction rate shrinks that potential.[26]

[edit] Human health

The diverse forest canopy on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, yielded this display of different
fruit

Biodiversity's relevance to human health is becoming an international political issue, as

scientific evidence builds on the global health implications of biodiversity loss.[33][34][35] This
issue is closely linked with the issue of climate change,[36] as many of the anticipated health
risks of climate change are associated with changes in biodiversity (e.g. changes in
populations and distribution of disease vectors, scarcity of fresh water, impacts on
agricultural biodiversity and food resources etc.) Some of the health issues influenced by
biodiversity include dietary health and nutrition security, infectious diseases, medical science
and medicinal resources, social and psychological health.[37] Biodiversity is also known to
have an important role in reducing disaster risk, and in post-disaster relief and recovery
efforts.[38]World Wildlife Fund (WWF): "Arguments for Protection" website[dead link]</ref>

One of the key health issues associated with biodiversity is that of drug discovery and the
availability of medicinal resources.[39] A significant proportion of drugs are derived, directly
or indirectly, from biological sources; At least 50% of the pharmaceutical compounds on the
US market are derived from compounds found in plants, animals, and microorganisms, while
about 80% of the world population depends on medicines from nature (used in either modern
or traditional medical practice) for primary healthcare.[34] Moreover, only a tiny proportion of
the total diversity of wild species has been investigated for medical potential. Through the
field of bionics, considerable advancement has occurred which would not have occurred
without rich biodiversity. It has been argued, based on evidence from market analysis and
biodiversity science, that the decline in output from the pharmaceutical sector since the mid-
1980s can be attributed to a move away from natural product exploration ("bioprospecting")
in favor of genomics and synthetic chemistry; meanwhile, natural products have a long
history of supporting significant economic and health innovation.[40][41] Marine ecosystems are
of particular interest in this regard,[42] although inappropriate bioprospecting has the potential
to degrade ecosystems and increase biodiversity loss, as well as impacting the rights of the
communities and states from which the resources are taken.[43][44][45]

[edit] Business and Industry

Agriculture production, pictured is a tractor and a chaser bin.

A wide range of industrial materials derive directly from biological resources. These include
building materials, fibers, dyes, rubber and oil. Further research into employing materials
from other organisms is likely to improve product cost and quality. Biodiversity is also
important to the security of resources such as water quantity and quality, timber, paper and
fibre, food and medical resources.[46][47][48] As a result, biodiversity loss is increasingly
recognized as a significant risk factor in business development and a threat to long term
economic sustainability. Case studies recently compiled by the World Resources Institute
demonstrate some of these risks for specific industries.[49]

[edit] Other services

See also: Ecological effects of biodiversity

Eagle Creek, Oregon hiking

Biodiversity provides many ecosystem services that are often not readily visible. It plays a
part in regulating the chemistry of our atmosphere and water supply. Biodiversity is directly
involved in water purification, recycling nutrients and providing fertile soils. Experiments
with controlled environments have shown that humans cannot easily build ecosystems to
support human needs; for example insect pollination cannot be mimicked, and that activity
alone represents tens of billions of dollars in ecosystem services per year to humankind.
Ecosystem stability is also positively related to biodiversity, protecting them ecosystem
services from disruption by extreme weather or human exploitation.

Polar bears on the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean, near the North Pole.

[edit] Leisure, cultural and aesthetic value

Many people derive value from biodiversity through leisure activities such as hiking,
birdwatching or natural history study. Biodiversity has inspired musicians, painters, sculptors,
writers and other artists. Many culture groups view themselves as an integral part of the
natural world and show respect for other living organisms.

Popular activities such as gardening, fishkeeping and specimen collecting strongly depend on
biodiversity. The number of species involved in such pursuits is in the tens of thousands,
though the majority do not enter mainstream commerce.

The relationships between the original natural areas of these often exotic animals and plants
and commercial collectors, suppliers, breeders, propagators and those who promote their
understanding and enjoyment are complex and poorly understood. It seems clear, however,
that the general public responds well to exposure to rare and unusual organisms—they
recognize their inherent value at some level. A family outing to the botanical garden or zoo is
as much an aesthetic and cultural experience as an educational one.

Philosophically it could be argued that biodiversity has intrinsic aesthetic and spiritual value
to mankind in and of itself. This idea can be used as a counterweight to the notion that
tropical forests and other ecological realms are only worthy of conservation because of the
services they provide.

[edit] Number of species

Main article: Species
Undiscovered and discovered species

According to the Global Taxonomy Initiative[50] and the European Distributed Institute of
Taxonomy, the total number of species for some phyla may be much higher as what we know
currently:

 10–30 million insects;[51] (of some 0,9 we know today [52])

 5–10 million bacteria;[53]
 1.5 million fungi;[54] (of some 0,4 million we know today [52])
 ~1 million mites[55]
 The number of microbial species is not reliably known, but the Global Ocean
Sampling Expedition dramatically increased the estimates of genetic diversity by
identifying an enormous number of new genes from near-surface plankton samples at
various marine locations, initially over the 2004-2006 period.[56] The findings may
eventually cause a significant change in the way science defines species and other
taxonomic categories.[57][58]

Due to the fact that we know but a portion of the organisms in the biosphere, we do not have
a complete understanding of the workings of our environment. To make matters worse, we
are wiping out these species at an unprecedented rate.[59] This means that even before a
species has had the chance of being discovered, studied and classified, it may already be
extinct.

[edit] Species loss rates

During the last century, decreases in biodiversity have been increasingly observed. 30% of all
natural species will be extinct by 2050.[60] Of these, about one eighth of known plant species
are threatened with extinction.[61] Some estimates put the loss at up to 140,000 species per
year (based on Species-area theory) and subject to discussion.[62] This figure indicates
unsustainable ecological practices, because only a small number of species evolve each year.
Almost all scientists acknowledge [61] that the rate of species loss is greater now than at any
time in human history, with extinctions occurring at rates hundreds of times higher than
background extinction rates.

[edit] Threats
Loss of old growth forest in the United States; 1620, 1850, 1920, and 1992 maps:
From William B. Greeley's, The Relation of Geography to Timber Supply, Economic
Geography, 1925, vol. 1, p. 1–11. Source of "Today" map: compiled by George Draffan from
roadless area map in The Big Outside: A Descriptive Inventory of the Big Wilderness Areas
of the United States, by Dave Foreman and Howie Wolke (Harmony Books, 1992). These
maps represent only virgin forest lost. Some regrowth has occurred but not to the age, size or
extent of 1620 due to population increases and food cultivation.

Jared Diamond describes an "Evil Quartet" of habitat destruction, overkill, introduced

species, and secondary extensions.[citation needed] Edward O. Wilson prefers the acronym HIPPO,
standing for Habitat destruction, Invasive species, Pollution, Human Over Population, and
Overharvesting.[63][64] The most authoritative classification in use today is IUCN’s
Classification of Direct Threats[65] which has been adopted by most major international
conservation organizations such as the US Nature Conservancy, the World Wildlife Fund,
Conservation International, and Birdlife International. The massive growth in the human
population through the 20th century has had more impact on biodiversity than any other
single factor.[66] From 1950 to 2005, world population increased from 2.5 billion to 6.5
billion.[67]

[edit] Habitat destruction

Deforestation and increased road-building in the Amazon Rainforest are a significant concern
because of increased human encroachment upon wild areas, increased resource extraction and
further threats to biodiversity.
Main article: Habitat destruction

Most of the species extinctions from 1000 AD to 2000 AD are due to human activities, in
particular destruction of plant and animal habitats. Extinction is being driven by human
consumption of organic resources, especially related to tropical forest destruction.[68] While
most threatened species are not food species, their biomass is converted into human food
when their habitat is transformed into pasture, cropland, and orchards.[69] It is estimated that
more than a third of biomass[70] is tied up in humans, livestock and crop species. Factors
contributing to habitat loss are: overpopulation, deforestation,[71] pollution (air pollution,
water pollution, soil contamination) and global warming or climate change.

The size of a habitat and the number of species it can support are systematically related.
Physically larger species and those living at lower latitudes or in forests or oceans are more
sensitive to reduction in habitat area.[72] Conversion to trivial standardized ecosystems (e.g.,
monoculture following deforestation) effectively destroys habitat for the more diverse species
that preceded the conversion. In some countries lack of property rights or access regulation to
biotic resources necessarily leads to biodiversity loss (degradation costs having to be
supported by the community).[citation needed]

A 2007 study conducted by the National Science Foundation found that biodiversity and
genetic diversity are codependent—that diversity within a species is necessary to maintain
diversity among species, and vice versa. "If any one type is removed from the system, the
cycle can break down, and the community becomes dominated by a single species."[73]

At present, the most threathened ecosystems are found in fresh water, according to the
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005, which was confirmed by the "Freshwater Animal
Diversity Assessment", organised by the biodiversity platform, and the French Institut de
recherche pour le développement (MNHNP).[74]

[edit] Invasive species

Male Lophura nycthemera (Silver Pheasant), a native of East Asia that has been introduced
into parts of Europe for ornamental reasons.
Main article: Introduced species

Barriers such as large rivers, seas, oceans, mountains and deserts encourage diversity by
enabling independent evolution on either side of the barrier. So-called "super-species" have
evolved to fill many habitat niches. Without the barriers such species would occupy those
niches on a global basis, substantially reducing diversity. Humans have helped these species
circumvent these barriers, valuing them for food and other purpose. This has occurred on a
radically compressed time scale, unlike the eons that historically have been required for a
species to extend its range.

Species introduced by humans to new areas are known as invasive or exotic species. In cases
such as the zebra mussel, the invasion is inadvertent. In other cases, such as mongooses in
Hawaii, the introduction is deliberate but ineffective (the rats the diurnal mongoose were
supposed to kill are nocturnal!) In other cases, such as oil palms in Indonesia and Malaysia,
the introduction produces substantial economic benefits, but the benefits are accompanied by
costly [][unintended consequences]]. Finally, an introduced species may unintentionally
injure a species that depends on the species it replaces. In Belgium, Prunus spinosa from
Eastern Europe leafs much sooner than its West European counterparts, disrupting the
feeding habits of the Thecla betulae butterfly (which feeds on the leaves).Introducing new
species often leaves endemic and other local species unable to compete with the exotic
species and unable to survive. The exotic organisms may be either predators, parasites, or
may simply outcompete indigenous species for nutrients, water and light.

At present, several countries have already imported so many exotic species, that the own
indigenous fauna/flora is greatly outnumbered. For example, in Belgium, only 5% of the
indigenous trees remain.[75][76]

In 2004, an international team of scientists estimated that 10 percent of species would

become extinct by 2050 because of global warming.[77] “We need to limit climate change or
we wind up with a lot of species in trouble, possibly extinct,” said Dr. Lee Hannah, a co-
author of the paper and chief climate change biologist at the Center for Applied Biodiversity
Science at Conservation International.

[edit] Genetic pollution

Main article: Genetic pollution

Endemic species can be threatened with extinction[78] through the process of genetic pollution
i.e. uncontrolled hybridization, introgression and genetic swamping which leads to
homogenization or replacement of local genotypes as a result of either a numerical and/or
fitness advantage of introduced plant or animal.[79] Nonnative species can hybridize and
introgress either through purposeful introduction by humans or through habitat modification,
mixing previously isolated species. These phenomena can be especially detrimental for rare
species coming into contact with more abundant ones. The abundant species can interbreed
with the rare species, swamping its gene pool and creating hybrids, destroying native stock.
This problem is not always apparent from morphological (outward appearance) observations
alone. Some degree of gene flowis a normal adaptation process, and not all gene and
genotype constellations can be preserved. However, hybridization with or without
introgression may, nevertheless, threaten a rare species' existence.[80][81]

[edit] Overexploitation

Main article: Overexploitation

There is a whole history of overexploitation in the form of overhunting. The overkill
hypothesis explains why the megafaunal extinctions occurred within a relatively short period
of time. This can be traced with human migration.[82] About 25% of world fisheries are now
overexploited to the point where their current biomass is less than the level that maximizes
their sustainable yield.[83]

Joe Walston, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Asian programs, called the
illegal wildlife trade the “single largest threat” to biodiversity in Asia.[84] The international
trade of endangered species is second only to drug trafficking.[85]

[edit] Hybridization, genetic pollution/erosion and food security

The Yecoro wheat (right) cultivar is sensitive to salinity, plants resulting from a hybrid cross
with cultivar W4910 (left) show greater tolerance to high salinity
See also: Food Security and Genetic erosion

In agriculture and animal husbandry, the green revolution popularized the use of conventional
hybridization to increase yield. Often hybridized breeds originated in developed countries and
were further hybridized with local varieties in the developing world to create high yield
strains resistant to local climate and diseases. Local governments and industry have been
pushing hybridization. Formerly huge gene pools of various wild and indigenous breeds have
collapsed causing widespread genetic erosion and genetic pollution. This has resulted in loss
of genetic diversity and biodiversity as a whole.[86]

(GM organisms) have genetic material altered by genetic engineering procedures such as
recombinant DNA technology. GM crops have become a common source for genetic
pollution, not only of wild varieties but also of domesticated varieties derived from classical
hybridization.[87][88][89][90][91]

Genetic erosion coupled with genetic pollution may be destroying unique genotypes, thereby
creating a hidden crisis which could result in a severe threat to our food security. Diverse
genetic material could cease to exist which would impact our ability to further hybridize food
crops and livestock against more resistant diseases and climatic changes.[86]

[edit] Climate Change

Main article: Effect of Climate Change on Plant Biodiversity

The recent phenomenon of global warming is also considered to be a major threat to global
biodiversity.[citation needed] For example coral reefs -which are biodiversity hotspots- will be lost
in 20 to 40 years if global warming continues at the current trend.[92]

[edit] The Holocene extinction

Rates of decline in biodiversity in this sixth mass extinction match or exceed rates of loss in
the five previous mass extinction events recorded in the fossil record.[93][94][95][96][97] Loss of
biodiversity results in the loss of natural capital that supplies ecosystem goods and services.
The economic value of 17 ecosystem services for the entire biosphere (calculated in 1997)
has an estimated average value of US$ 33 trillion (1012) per year![98]

A schematic image illustrating the relationship between biodiversity, ecosystem services,

human well-being, and poverty.[99] The illustration shows where conservation action,
strategies and plans can influence the drivers of the current biodiversity crisis at local,
regional, to global scales.

[edit] Conservation
Main article: Conservation biology

The retreat of Aletsch Glacier in the Swiss Alps (situation in 1979, 1991 and 2002), due to
global warming.

Conservation biology matured in the mid- 20th century as ecologists, naturalists, and other
scientists began to collectively research and address issues pertaining to global declines in
biodiversity.[100][101][102] The conservation ethic differs from the preservationist ethic, originally
led by John Muir, that seeks protected areas devoid of human exploitation or interference for
profit.[101]

The conservation ethic advocates management of natural resources for the purpose of
sustaining biodiversity in species, ecosystems, the evolutionary process, and human culture
and society.[93][100][102][103][104]

Conservation biology is reforming around strategic plans that include principles, guidelines,
and tools for the purpose of protecting biodiversity.[100][105][106] Conservation biology is crisis–
oriented and multi–disciplinary, including ecology, social organization, education, and other
disciplines outside of biology.[100][102] Preserving biodiversity is a global priority in strategic
conservation plans that are designed to engage public policy and concerns affecting local,
regional and global scales of communities, ecosystems, and cultures.[107] Action plans identify
ways of sustaining human well-being, employing natural capital, market capital, and
ecosystem services.[108][109]

[edit] Means

Biodiversity banking involves placing a monetary value on biodiversity. One example is the
Australian Native Vegetation Management Framework. Gene banks are collections of
specimens and genetic material. Some banks intend to reintroduce banked species to the
ecosystem (e.g. via tree nurseries)[110]

Exotic species eradication is another approach. Exotic species that have become a pest can be
identified taxonomically (e.g. with Digital Automated Identification SYstem (DAISY), the
barcode of life.[111][112] Eradication is practical only against large groups of individuals due to
the econimic cost.

Reducing total pesticide use and/or more precisely targeting harmful pests is another
technique.

However, these techniques are of less importance than preserving habitat and reintroducing
eliminated indigenous species. Once the preservation of the remaining native species in an
area is assured, reintroduction can be attempted. "Missing" species can be identified from
databases such as the Encyclopedia_of_life and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

[edit] Strategies

Strategically, focusing on areas of higher potential biodiversity promises greater return on

investment than spreading conservation resources evenly or in areas of little diversity but
greater interest in the conservation. A second strategy focuses on areas that retain most of
their original diversity. These are typically non-urbanized, non-agricultural areas. Tropical
areas often fit both sets of criteria, given their natively high diversity and relative lack of
development.[113]

However, many animal species are migratory, meaning that focusing only on specific
locations is insufficient. Wildlife corridors can help support migration, and is considerably
cheaper and easier than clearing/preserving entirely new areas.[citation needed]
Some habitats may require restoration before standard conservation techniques can be
effective.[citation needed]

[edit] Legal status

A great deal of work is occurring to preserve the natural characteristics of Hopetoun Falls,
Australia while continuing to allow visitor access.

Biodiversity is beginning to be taken into account in political and judicial decisions:

 The relationship between law and ecosystems is very ancient and has consequences
for biodiversity. It is related to private and public property rights. It can define
protection for threatened ecosystems, but also some rights and duties (for example,
fishing and hunting rights).
 Law regarding species is more recent. It defines species that must be protected
because they may be threatened by extinction. The U.S. Endangered Species Act is an
example of an attempt to address the "law and species" issue.
 Laws regarding gene pools are only about a century old.[citation needed] While the genetic
approach is not new (domestication, plant traditional selection methods), progress
made in the genetic field in the past 20 years has led to tighter laws. With the new
genetic engineering technologies, gene patenting, processes patenting, and a totally
new concept of genetic resources are emerging.[114] A very hot debate today seeks to
define whether the resource is the gene, the organism, or the DNA.[citation needed]

The 1972 UNESCO World Heritage convention established that biological resources, such as
plants, were the common heritage of mankind.

New global agreements (e.g., the Convention on Biological Diversity), now give sovereign
national rights over biological resources (not property). Dynamic conservation is replacing
static conservation, through the notion of resource and innovation.

The new agreements commit countries to conserve biodiversity, develop resources for
sustainability and share the benefits resulting from their use. Under new rules, it is
expected that biodiversity-rich countries allow bioprospecting or collection of natural
products, in exchange for a share of the benefits.
Sovereignty principles can rely upon what is better known as Access and Benefit Sharing
Agreements (ABAs). The Convention on Biodiversity implies informed consent between the
source country and the collector, to establish which resource will be used and for what, and to
settle on a fair agreement on benefit sharing. Bioprospecting can become a type of biopiracy
when such principles are not respected.

Uniform approval for use of biodiversity as a legal standard has not been achieved, however.
Bosselman argues that biodiversity should not be used as a legal standard, claiming that the
multiple layers of scientific uncertainty inherent in the concept of biodiversity will cause
administrative waste and increase litigation without promoting preservation goals.[115]

[edit] Analytical limits

[edit] Taxonomic and size bias

Less than 1% of all species that have been described have been studied beyond simply noting
their existence.[116] Biodiversity researcher Sean Nee points out that the vast majority of
Earth's biodiversity is microbial, and that contemporary biodiversity physics is "firmly
fixated on the visible world" (Nee uses "visible" as a synonym for macroscopic).[117] For
example, microbial life is very much more metabolically and environmentally diverse than
multicellular life (see extremophile). Nee has stated: "On the tree of life, based on analyses of
small-subunit ribosomal RNA, visible life consists of barely noticeable twigs.

The size bias is not restricted to consideration of microbes. Entomologist Nigel Stork states,
"to a first approximation, all multicellular species on Earth are insects".[118] The extinction
rate insects is high and indicative of the general trend of this great extinction period.[119][120]
Moreover, there are species co-extinctions, such as plants and beetles, where the extinction or
decline in one accompanies the other.[121]

Introduction

Reef fishes and corals at French Frigate Shoals, Northwest Hawaiian Islands. Corals reefs are
the most diverse marine ecoystems. Photo by James Watt.
The word "biodiversity" is a contracted version of "biological diversity". The Convention on
Biological Diversity defines biodiversity as:"the variability among living organisms from all
sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the
ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between
species, and of ecosystems."

Thus, biodiversity includes genetic variation within species, the variety of species in an area,
and the variety of habitat types within a landscape. Perhaps inevitably, such an all-
encompassing definition, together with the strong emotive power of the concept, has led to
somewhat cavalier use of the term biodiversity, in extreme cases to refer to life or biology
itself. But biodiversity properly refers to the variety of living organisms.

Biological diversity is of fundamental importance to the functioning of all natural and

human-engineered ecosystems, and by extension to the ecosystem services that nature
provides free of charge to human society. Living organisms play central roles in the cycles of
major elements (carbon, nitrogen, and so on) and water in the environment, and diversity
specifically is important in that these cycles require numerous interacting species.

General interest in biodiversity has grown rapidly in recent decades, in parallel with the
growing concern about nature conservation generally, largely as a consequence of
accelerating rates of natural habitat loss, habitat fragmentation and degradation, and resulting
extinctions of species. The IUCN Red List estimates that 12-52% of species within well-
studied higher taxa such as vertebrates and vascular plants are threatened with extinction.
Based on data on recorded extinctions of known species over the past century, scientists
estimate that current rates of species extinction are about 100 times higher than long-term
average rates based on fossil data. Other plausuble estimates suggest that present extinction
rates now may have reached 1000 to 10,000 times the average over past geologic time. These
estimates are the basis of the consensus that the Earth is in the midst of the sixth mass
extinction event in its history; the present extinction event is termed the Holocene Mass
Extinction.

The magnitude of biodiversity

An Australian rain forest Creek.

Biodiversity is most frequently quantified as the number of species. Estimates of the number
of species currently living on Earth range widely, largely because most living species are
microorganisms and tiny invertebrates, but most estimates fall between 5 million and 30
million species. Roughly 1.75 million species have been formally described and given official
names. Insects comprise over half of the described species, and three fourths of known faunal
species. The number of undescribed species is undoubtedly much higher, however.
Particularly in inaccessible environments, and for inconspicuous groups of organisms,
collecting expeditions routinely discover many undescribed species. Estimates of the total
numbers of species on Earth have been derived variously by extrapolating from the ratios of
described to previously unknown species in quantitative samples, from the judgment of
experts in particular taxonomic groups, and from patterns in the description of new species
through time. For most groups of organisms other than vertebrates, such estimates are little
more than educated guesses, explaining the wide range in estimates of global species
diversity. Since insects are essentially absent from the sea, the species diversity of the oceans
is generally considerably lower than terrestrial ones.

Species can be grouped on the basis of shared characteristics into hierarchical groups, or taxa,
reflecting their shared evolutionary history. At the highest level of classification (or deepest
branches in the evolutionary tree of life) organisms are divided into three Domains: 1) the
Bacteria, which are microorganisms lacking a cellular nucleus or other membrane-bound
organelles; 2) the relatively recently discovered Archaea, microorganisms of primarily
extreme environments such as hot springs, which are superficially similar to Bacteria but
fundamentally different at biochemical and genetic levels; and 3) the Eukarya, which include
all other organisms based on nucleated cells. The Eukarya includes the four "kingdoms", the
protists, animals, plants, and fungi. Each of the eukaryotic kingdoms in turn is divided into a
number of phyla. At this higher taxonomic level, the oceans are far more diverse than those
on land, likely reflecting the marine origins of life on Earth. Nearly half the phyla of animals
occur only in the sea (e.g., the sea stars and other echinoderms), whereas only one (the
obscure Onychophora, or velvet worms) is restricted to land.

Measurement of biodiversity
Distribution of biodiversity

Species diversity varies systematically across the globe with latitude, longitude, and altitude
(or its equivalent, depth, in the oceans). The trend toward higher species diversity in the
tropics is perhaps the most conspicuous biogeographic pattern in nature, and is sufficiently
general to have been considered a "rule". In most marine groups, diversity is maximal in the
Indo-West Pacific.

Superimposed on these large-scale global patterns are local hot spots of diversity generated
by geographical features, by quirks of geologic history, or by mixing of biotas from different
biogeographic provinces. These biodiversity hot spots have become important (and often
controversial) foci for conservation efforts.

Ecological controls on biodiversity

A central question in explaining these patterns of diversity is determining the relative

importance of long-term evolutionary processes -- the balance between origin and extinction
of species -- and local ecological processes of species interactions.

The general similarity among diversity patterns of different taxa with latitude and region
suggests that prehistorically these patterns have been controlled primarily by factors
operating over large spatial and temporal scales. Ultimately, the number of species in a region
is set by a balance between origin through speciation, loss through extinction, and migration
of species among regions, all of which operate over long (geologic) time scales.

Conversely, on local spatial scales and over ecological time scales on the order of a few
generations of organisms, a wealth of evidence shows that diversity often varies
systematically with habitat area, habitat heterogeneity, disturbance, and availability of energy
(i.e., productivity) and other resources, notably water in terrestrial ecosystems.

Human disturbance factors

For the most recent 10,000 years man has been the greatest factor affecting biodiversity, with
adverse impacts occurring at an accelerating pace since approximately the Industrial
Revolution. Human intervention in ecosystem function have been expressed through habitat
destruction, habitat fragmentation, overexploitation, and pollution. In some locations such as
Easter Island and Hawaii the majority of macroscopic species that existed as recently as the
mid-Holocene are now extirpated.