Living Things and Their Environment

Lesson 1 Levels of Biodiversity

Biodiversity – is coined from the words, biological diversity. Usually scientists would refer to three levels of biodiversity
namely: different kinds of organisms (species diversity) genetic information that organisms contain (genetic diversity)
and different kinds of places where organisms live and the interactions that bind these organisms together (ecosystem
diversity).

Species diversity consists of the large numbers and all different kinds, shapes, colors, and sizes of organisms that inhabit
the Earth. It includes the smallest and the simplest bacterium (pl. bacteria) to the complex, bigger, brightly colored
flower or fish. Add to this the carabao, the tallest acacia, the biggest elephant and human oceans, forests, salty or hot
places, in the short in every corner of the Earth. Some of them live in your body. At present, more than million
organisms that have been recently, foreign and local researchers have found that diversity of reptiles and amphibians in
the Northern Philippines is even greater than what has been known and identified.

Species diversity refers to species richness and how evenly species' abundance is distributed. Species richness refers to
the number of species in an area. Species abundance refers to the number of individuals per species.
For example, in the image below, we can see that these two communities are composed of the same species, but they
differ in regards to species abundance:

http://www.bio.utexas.edu/faculty/sjasper/Bio301M/biodiversity.html
A community with twenty different species has greater species richness than a community with only six species. A
community with ten species but the majority of individuals in that community are of one specific species does not have
an even distribution of species abundance. A community with ten different species and each species has the same
number of individuals has a more equal spread of species abundance.
To conclude, the number of species factors into species diversity but also the number of individuals in each species is
also considered.

The Importance of Species Diversity to the

Ecosystem
According to the Encyclopedia of Earth, species diversity is a measurement of an ecosystem’s
species richness and species evenness. If an ecosystem has poor species diversity, it may not
function properly or efficiently. A diverse species assemblage also contributes to ecosystem
diversity.

Species Richness
Species richness is the number of different species an ecosystem. Environments that can support
large numbers of species, such as tropical areas, tend to have greater species richness.
Species Evenness
The Encyclopedia of Earth defines species evenness as “the variation in the abundance of
individuals per species within a community.” If a community has a large disparity between the
number of individuals within each species it has low evenness. If the number of individuals within a
species is fairly constant throughout the community it has a high evenness. If community A has 10
individuals divided between two species, but species 1 represents nine individuals, while species 2
has only one, then community A has a low evenness and lower species diversity. If community B
has ten individuals divided between two species, with species 1 having four individuals and species
2 having six, then community B has high evenness and higher species diversity. The more even the
number of animals per species within an ecosystem, the greater the species diversity.

Ecosystem Efficiency
A study from the University of Maryland suggests that by increasing species diversity in an
ecosystem, both the efficiency and the productivity of an ecosystem will increase. The study
“increased the [species] richness…such that the feeding success of individuals [was] enhanced.” A
greater species richness and diversity may cause ecosystems to function more efficiently and
productively by making more resources available for other species within the ecosystem.

Keystone Species
Keystone species play an important role, both in maintaining species diversity and the health of an
ecosystem. A keystone species is an organism that helps maintain species diversity within an
ecosystem by keeping the numbers of other species in an ecosystem constant. By not allowing one
species or another to become overly dominant, a keystone species maintains species diversity and
ecosystem integrity. An experiment conducted in 1969 by Robert Paine observed that if a predatory
species of starfish was removed from an ecosystem, it allowed two different species of mussels to
outcompete the other species in the ecosystem and reduce species diversity.

Invasive Species
An invasive species is a foreign species that is introduced to an ecosystem. The Center for Invasive
Species and Ecosystem Health states that “these species grow and reproduce rapidly, causing
major disturbances to the areas in which they are present.” Invasive species outcompete other
species for food and habitat. Since the indigenous species can’t compete, they either are forced to
leave the ecosystem or die out. If an invasive species forces out too many other species, the
species diversity will drop, which could cause an ecosystem to function inefficiently or fail.

Difference Between Community & Ecosystem

An ecosystem describes all the living organisms (biotic components) with their physical
surroundings (abiotic components) in a given area. A community describes only the living
organisms and their interactions with each other.

Abiotic Components of an Ecosystem

The non-living parts of the ecosystem, such as nutrients, temperature and water availability,
constitute the abiotic components of an ecosystem.

Biotic Components of an Ecosystem

All the living organisms of an ecosystem, such as plants, animals and microbes, constitute the biotic
components of an ecosystem.

Community Interactions
The interactions between populations within an ecosystem are described by the benefit or harm
caused to each species in the interaction. These interactions relate to the niche which the species
occupies within the ecosystem.

Niche
A niche describes the specific role a population plays within an ecosystem. This may be defined by
their interaction with other organisms (such as predator or prey), or in the role they play in nutrient
cycling (such as primary producer or decomposer).

Niche and Biodiversity

Ecosystems rich in biodiversity (many different species) tend to have very specialized niches. Low
biodiversity results in few species available to fill each niche. Hence, in a rich ecosystem, a loss or
reduction of one organism may have a lower impact on the overall ecosystem as other organisms
fill the void than in a poor ecosystem, where another population may be unavailable to fulfill that
role. For example, if a particular species of prey is reduced in number, it has a reduced effect on
predators if there are other prey species available.

Four Types of Biodiversity

Biodiversity is a key measure of the health of any ecosystem, and of our entire planet. Every
organism in an ecosystem, or biome, relies on other organisms and the physical environment. For
example, plant and animal species need each other for food, and depend on the environment for
water and shelter. Biodiversity describes how much variety an ecosystem has, in terms of
resources and species, and also genetically within species. A more diverse ecosystem will have
more resources to help it recover from famine, drought, disease or even the extinction of a species.
There are several levels of biodiversity, each indicating how diverse the genes, species and
resources are in a region.

Species Diversity
Every ecosystem contains a unique collection of species, all interacting with each other. Some
ecosystems may have many more species than another. In some ecosystems, one species has
grown so large that it dominates the natural community. When comparing the biodiversity of
ecosystems, an ecosystem that has a large number of species, but no species greatly
outnumbering the rest, would be considered to have the most species diversity. A large number of
species can help an ecosystem recover from ecological threats, even if some species go extinct.

Genetic Diversity
Genetic diversity describes how closely related the members of one species are in a given
ecosystem. In simple terms, if all members have many similar genes, the species has low genetic
diversity. Because of their small populations, endangered species may have low genetic diversity
due to inbreeding. This can pose a threat to a population if it leads to inheritance of undesirable
traits or makes the species more susceptible to disease. Having high genetic diversity helps
species adapt to changing environments.

Ecosystem Diversity
A region may have several ecosystems, or it may have one. Wide expanses of oceans or deserts
would be examples of regions with low ecological diversity. A mountain area that has lakes, forests
and grasslands would have higher biodiversity, in this sense. A region with several ecosystems may
be able to provide more resources to help native species survive, especially when one ecosystem is
threatened by drought or disease.

Functional Diversity
The way species behave, obtain food and use the natural resources of an ecosystem is known as
functional diversity. In general a species-rich ecosystem is presumed to have high functional
diversity, because there are many species with many different behaviors. Understanding an
ecosystem’s functional diversity can be useful to ecologists trying to conserve or restore damaged
it, because knowing the behaviors and roles of species can point to gaps in a food cycle or
ecological niches that are lacking species.