Lesson 5

 Biodiversity

The term biodiversity was first coined by Walter G. Rosen in 1986. It comes from the
Greek word, bios, meaning "life" and the Latin term diversitas, meaning “variety.”
Biological diversity, abbreviated as biodiversity, represents the sum total of various
life forms such as unicellular fungi, protozoa, bacteria, and multi-cellular organisms
such as plants, fishes. and mammals at various biological levels including gens,
habitats, and ecosystem.

The biosphere comprises a complex collection of innumerable organisms,

known as the biodiversity, which constitute the vital life support for survival of
human race. This means that biodiversity is the variety of life forms on earth and
the essential interdependence of all living things. As defined in a convention that
initiated the study on Biological Diversity at Rio De Janeiro (Brazil) in 1992 that was
actively attended by 15/1 countries, biodiversity is the variability among living
organisms from all sources including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic eco-
systems and the ecological complexes of which the area part- this include diversity
within species, between species and of ecosystem.

GECC 105 Science, Technology and Society

 According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (lUCN) in
1998. biodiversity is the variety and variability of species of their population, the
variety of species 0/ their life forms, the diversity of the complex association with
species with their interaction and their ecological process which influences perform.

Types of Biodiversity
Biodiversity has three types, namely: species diversity, ecosystem diversity,
and genetic diversity.

Species diversity. Species diversity is a measurement of biodiversity in a particular

ecological community. It characterizes the species richness or number of species
thriving in an ecological community, the abundance (or number of individuals per
species), and also the distribution or evenness of species. It is a standard that can
be utilized to evaluate the condition of ecosystems. In a healthy ecosystem, a
diverse and balanced number of species exist and maintain the equilibrium of the
ecosystem.

Ecosystem diversity. The different types of ecosystems, such as terrestrial or

aquatic, natural or artificial, are sustained due to their strategic geographical
locations on earth. Temperate regions are home to the deciduous forests where
trees are adapted to the changing of the four seasons, while the equatorial regions
have the tropical rain forests which are exposed to the wet and dry seasons. Thus,
plants that thrive in the arctic region differ greatly in their adaptive characteristics
as compared wit those in the tropics.

Genetic diversity. The more likely it is to develop specific characteristics that permit
it to adjust to new environmental pressures, such as climate change or disease. In
contrast, for those with a low degree, such pressures might drive a population to
extinction.

The Interaction of the Three Types of Biological Diversity

The three concentric circles show the

interplay of the ecosystem, species, and
genetic diversity. The core, genetic
diversity, involves the differences in the
genetic makeup of the various species
that survive in the different ecosystems
found in the biosphere. Conversely, the
ecosystem dictates the type of species
that are fit to survive in them; thus their
genetic makeup allows them to do so.

GECC 105 Science, Technology and Society

Biodiversity and Balance of Nature
As mentioned, biological 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, hence the balance of nature.

The following concepts are believed to affect, and are also affected, by biodiversity.
Trophic level. The removal of species from one trophic level can cause the
devastation of ecosystem as well as biodiversity.
Complex ecosystem. In a complex ecosystem having numerous trophic levels, loss of
one or more species does not affect any serious problem since an alternative is
available.
Keystone species. Loss or addition of species causes noticeable modifications in
ecosystem states, that is, the species make a unique contribution to the functioning
of the ecosystem itself. The sea star as
shown in the illustration, serves as the keystone species of the bay.
Niche complementarity. Variation among species in their requirements for diverse
resources will be a source of complementary interaction; hence, a species would
acquire more resources. When two species thrive on the same island (called
sympatric populations), they have a tendency to display larger differences in
morphology (in this case of the Galapagos Finches, the shape of beak) and resource
consumption than when found on different islands (allopatric populations). This
therefore lets the species to evade competition.
Ecological facilitation. Species interactions such as commensalism or mutualism:
Plants may also benefit from their neighbors through improvement of the physical
and biotic environment.
Portfolio effect. Species richness increases the linear stability of the entire
community while the biomass is also stabilized. Species-rich communities are
thought to create more stable ecosystem services because of the complementary or
independent dynamics among species that perform similar ecosystem functions.
Insurance hypothesis. Biodiversity buffers ecosystem against environmental changes
such as climate change. Green species increase in number in warm years, while blue
species proliferate in cold years, thus, a community comprising only blue or green
species will vary in biomass when there is inter-annual climate differences.

Conversely, in the community having both green and blue individuals, the
reduction in one species is recompensed for by a rise in the other species, hence
generating a stable ecosystem productivity between years. Moreover, typically, the
varied community displays higher productivity than any of the single-species
community. This configuration can happen if blue or green species are active at
slightly dissimilar times, so that competition between the two species is diminished.
This difference in species activity leads to complimentary resource utilization and
can increase total productivity of the ecosystem.

GECC 105 Science, Technology and Society

Recent Issues on Biodiversity
Here are recent issues that concern biodiversity.
• Some 75 per cent of the genetic diversity of crop plants had been lost in the past
century.
• The fast loss of species we are seeing in the present day is estimated by scientists
to be between 1,000-10,000 times greater than the natural extinction rate (the
rate of species extinctions that would occur if we humans were not around).
These experts compute that between 0.01%-0.1% of all species becomes extinct
each year.
• If the lower estimate of the number of species is true, that is, that there are
about 2 million various species on earth - then that would mean between 200 and
2,000 extinctions happen per year. On the other hand, if the upper estimate of
species numbers is true - that 100 million different species cohabit with us here
on our earth - then between 10,000 and 100,000 species are going extinct yearly.
• Wildlife populations have dropped, averagely, by 60 percent between 1970 and
2012 (Living Planet Report 2018).
• Roughly one-third of the world’s coral reef systems have been destroyed or highly
degraded. About 24 percent of mammals and 12 percent of bird species are
currently considered to be globally threatened.
• It is speculated that more than 50 percent of the world’s wetlands have
disappeared since 1900, despite their value to the human population. In some
places the pace of wetlands destruction occurs at incredible speeds. In the
Philippines, 80 percent of our coastal wetlands have been degraded, drained or
destroyed in the last 30 years.

Experts claim that about 1.4 and 1.8 million species have already been
scientifically acknowledged. The earth is a huge, complex world and authorities
discover new species through science almost all the time. This is proven by the World
Resources Institute (WRI), an international research organization that includes over
50 countries. Its goal is to implement its big ideas to sustain the world’s natural
resources—the foundation of economic opportunity and human well-being, by
moving its more than 450 experts and other staff by working with leaders worldwide.
They claim that:
Scientists were startled in 1980 by the discovery of a tremendous diversity of
insects in tropical forests. In one study of just 19 trees in Panama, 80% of the 1,200
beetle species discovered were previously unknown to science... Surprisingly,
scientists have a better understanding of how many stars there are in the galaxy
than how many species there are on Earth (World Resources Institute).
Thus, if these experts don’t know how much species there is to begin with,
then they don’t know accurately how much the earth is losing. But the numbers
presented above are substantiated by researches and it cannot be argued that at
present, there is, in reality, a very serious biodiversity crisis.

The experts claim that based on their studies, unlike the mass extinction events of
the earth’s geological history, the present extinction problem is one for which a
single species appears to be almost entirely responsible—the Homo sapiens. So, if
humans have been causing the rapid loss in biodiversity, what can be done to retard
this irreversible damage?

GECC 105 Science, Technology and Society

Conservation of Biodiversity
Humans can be smarter about how we utilize our oceans, freshwater and land
resources, how energy, food, and other necessities are produced. Scientists have
the knowledge and competence to shift towards a better future for both people and
nature to coexist. Experts are already discovering new methods to feed humanity’s
growing population, meet its energy demands and manage its global water supply.

The need for governments to commit to cease the destruction, begin

reversing the loss, and start restoring nature to more sustainable levels is the key.
Now is the time to support these solutions to ensure that everyone gets a fair share
without the destruction of nature:
1. Biodiversity inventories
2. Conserving biodiversity in protected habitats
a. In situ conservation
b. Ex situ conservation
3. Restoration of biodiversity
4. Imparting environmental education
5. Enacting, strengthening and enforcing environmental legislation
6. Reviewing the agriculture practice
7. Controlling urbanization
8. Conservation through biotechnology
9. Population control

The next decade sees a historic moment when world leaders will make key
decisions as regards the environment, climate and sustainable development. These
decisions will set the agenda for the world’s future. Collectively, people can help
shape these global decisions and deliver a message that it's no longer acceptable to
continuously ruin nature to its dark end—and that humans can take a different,
brighter path.

GECC 105 Science, Technology and Society