BiodiversityBy-Neha Vadnere(roll no:52)Drashti Ved(roll no:53)Arpita Roy(roll no:56)Madhavi Laddha(roll no:57)(FE-IT batch-I3)Guided by-Prof.V.K.Patil

Biodiversity

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• Variety of living things, number of kinds

• Ecological diversity– different habitats, niches,

species interactions• Species diversity

– different kinds of organisms, relationships among species

• Genetic diversity– different genes &

combinations of genes

Biodiversity

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• Where is the biodiversity– Everywhere

• Every continent and habitat has unique life forms

– Concentrated in the tropics• Panama: > 500 species of

breeding birds• Arctic: 50-100 species

– Dense concentrations

Biodiversity

• How much biodiversity 1.7—2.0 million species Estimates to 100 million

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Benefits of Biodiversity

• Ecosystem functions• Ecosystem services

• Cleaning water, habitat & breeding areas for wildlife

• Aesthetic and cultural benefits

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Benefits of Biodiversity

• New food sources– Grains, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish

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Benefits of Biodiversity

• Medicines• Plants• Jellyfish & sea

anemones• Nudibranchs

24 March 2009 Biodiversity.ppt 7

Ecology

• Ecology is the study of the relationshipsbetween all organisms and their environment.

• An ecosystem is a self-sustaining collectionof organisms and their environment.

Ecology

The biosphere is the largest ecosystem ofall. It consists of the thin layer of the earth'ssurface where all organisms live.

Ecosystems

• Ecosystems consist of three levels of life:

– Species - the sheer variety of species on Earth

– Ecosystems - the environments where the species evolve and live

Ecosystems

• A community - which refers to theorganisms that live in a particular placesuch as a forest (residents of aneighborhood)A habitat - refers to the physical location ofa community (neighborhood).

– Genetic diversity- all the variety of genes withina species (and ecosystem)

Components of an Ecosystem

• Nonliving components of an ecosystem are• called abiotic factors.• • Examples: sunlight, chemistry of soils, slope of• land, temperature• • Living components of an ecosystem are• called biotic factors.• • Examples: all living organisms - plants, animals,• protists, bacteria…• • Interactions of biotic factors include predation &• symbiosis.

Loss of Biodiversity

• We can not afford to be careless with our natural resources. We share the environment with otherorganisms in a complex network.

• If one species disappears from an ecosystem, the ecosystem changes.

Loss of Biodiversity

• Keystone species are species that are so important tothe functioning of an ecosystem that if they disappear atheecosystem falls apart.• Example: Sea Otters in California

Loss of Biodiversity

• • To understand the role people are playing in biodiversity

• loss, it helps to think of something called the HIPPO• dilemma. This term doesn’t refer to hippopotamuses,• rather it is an acronym for the main threats to• biodiversity.

HIPPO Dilemma

• Habitat loss• Introduced species• Population growth• Pollution• Over-consumption

Loss of Biodiversity

• Habitat loss - the destruction of habitats is thenumber one cause of species extinction.

Introduced species - Nonnative or Exotic speciesare species that are not native to a particular region.These species can threaten native species, whichhave no natural defenses against them.– Example: Birds in Guam

Loss of Biodiversity

• Population growth -There are 6 billion humans living on Earth– Earth’s population of human beings is increasing at a rate of about 222,000 people each day.– This is changing the environment dramatically and causing other species to become extinct at an accelerated rate.– Humans take up more and more space and deplete more resources than any other species.

Loss of Biodiversity

Pollution – The more resources our population consumes, themore pollution we’re likely to create.– Pollution’s effects can be obvious, such as an oil spill, or notso visually obvious, such as insecticides that can causereproductive failure in fish, birds, and mammals (like DDT).

Loss of Biodiversity

Over-consumption – Population growth alone doesn’t accountfor the increasing consumption of natural resources that islargely responsible for biodiversity's decline.

Loss of Biodiversity

– Patterns of affluence and poverty also have a huge impact.For example, those of us living in affluent, industrializednations, such as the US, consume a disproportionateamount of the Earth’s fossil fuels, forest, and other natural resources. People struggling to survive in less industrialized nations often have little choice but to overuse the few resources available to them.

Extinction

• Extinction occurs when the last individual of aspecies dies.

• Mass extinction is the extinction of many speciesduring a relatively short period of time.• Example: Dinosaurs• These are often caused by a change in climate.

Extinction

• • Many scientists believe that we are living in a• mass extinction, and that by the year 2100, 25%• or more of all species of plants and animals that• were on Earth in 1900 will have become extinct.• • This will be caused by the action of human• beings.

Threats to Biodiversity

• Extinction and population reductions– Hunting and overharvesting

• Tiger• Dodo• Whales• Sharks

– Habitat loss

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Threats to Biodiversity

• Extinction and population reductions– Pollution– Climate change– Invasive species

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Protecting Biodiversity

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• How can we protect biodiversity– Stop overharvesting

• Sustainable yield• Hunting & fishing laws (every

state ?)– in developing nations ?

– Refuges, parks, preserves– Endangered Species Act

Protecting Biodiversity

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• Island Biogeography– Everyplace is an island– Habitat fragmentation

• Smaller fragments hold fewer species

Protecting Biodiversity

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• Biodiversity “hotspots”– Protection of habitat

Conclusion