BIODIVERSITY

What is it?

Why is it important?

How can we protect it?

Created by Richard Swan

of HotRock

Lady slipper orchid

BIODIVERSITY2010 year of biodiversity video

Jelly fish

Glowing mushrooms

Angora rabbit

Two toed sloth

Star nosed mole

Sea cucumber

tapir

Corpse flower

BIODIVERSITY … is a measure of all the different types of living things that co-exist in an ecosystem

diatom

Tardigrade or “water bear “

nematode

spore

mite

Fungus

Not just the things that you can see … but all the things that you can’t see too.

These organisms are found in the soil.

(Images are hyperlinked to source websites with more interesting organisms)

New species of plants, animals, bacteria and fungi are evolving all the time. Species are going extinct all the time too.

It is a problem when species are going extinct faster than new species are evolving.

Right now the rate of species extinction on our planet is 1000 times higher than what would be considered ‘normal’. The last

time that the rate of extinction was this high was during the Cretaceous—Tertiary extinction event, which occurred 65 million years ago. This event resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs.

150 species are going extinct every day! We’re living in the middle of a mass extinction - and most people don’t even know

about it!

Some people are calling it the Anthropocene extinction (‘anthro’ referring to ‘humans’) because human activity is causing it.

So if we’re in the middle of a mass extinction, maybe we should know more

about it, like …

What can we do about it?

What’s so important about biodiversity?

These marsupials once lived in Australia. They are now extinct. Australia has the highest rate of mammal

extinction in the world. Half of the mammals that have gone extinct in the last 200 hundred years have come

from Australia!

Click the pictures to find out more. And here’s more interesting article on the Australian extinction crisis : http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/09/02/2674674.htm

Why is biodiversity important ?

Biodiverse ecosystems can resist ecological disturbances

Imagine an insect or bacteria infestation in an ecosystem. A biodiverse ecosystem is more likely to

have some species that can resist the new challenge. An ecosystem with a small amount of biodiversity is

more likely to collapse.

Photo above. An aphid infestation. This is less likely to occur in a biodiverse ecosystem because predatory insects like ladybirds will control these insects. Agricultural monocultures are very low in diversity and therefore rely on heavy inputs of insecticides to control pests. These poisons cause a

further loss in biodiversity.

This concept holds true for all systems. Think of a business. A business with lots of clients is more

resistant to change than a business with only a few clients. Can you think of another example?

80% of our food supply comes from 20 plants. Yet 40 000 species of plants and animals are used by

humans around the world every day. To secure our future food supply, we must ensure that this diversity of

species is maintained.

Protecting biodiversity helps us to safeguard our food supply.

Our food supply is at risk when we depend on a small number of species.

A community garden in South West Australia

Rice grassy stunt virus (RGSV) is a plant virus. In the 1970s, the grassy stunt virus

decimated rice harvests across Asia because the majority of Asia was planting few species: When RGSV struck, it was a catastrophe for

thousands of farmers in countries like Indonesia and India. To breed a resistant

crop, scientists had to find a wild variety that was resistant to the virus. They screened

6273 varieties: luckily one was found to be resistant, a relatively feeble Indian variety, known to science only since 1966. It was hybridised with other varieties and is now

widely grown worldwide. This story highlights the importance of biodiversity in crop

systems - if there hadn't been a pool of 6273 wild varieties to choose from, the rice industry could have been permanently

damaged. SOURCE : http://www.lumrix.net/health/Rice_grassy_stunt_virus.html

Protecting biodiversity helps us to safeguard the medicinal drugs of the future.

Half the new medicinal drugs that come to market are derived from nature.

Melaleuca quinquenervia (broad-leaved paperbark). An example of a well-known Aboriginal Bush Medicine. Leaves are chewed to overcome

headaches and colds.

A single new drug released onto the global market can gross over $1 billion in sales. So saving biodiversity makes

economic sense too.

3 species somewhere around the world go extinct every hour of every day. We are loosing cures of current and future

diseases.

Find more information at : http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/articles/drugs.html

Regardless of all this … saving biodiversity is the right thing to do. One

species on Earth cannot be allowed to act in a way that eliminates other

species.

Regardless of whether that species is a cute and cuddly …

Or a not so cute and cuddly …

… flea.

But what can we do about it ?

We can make a difference through what

we

DO.

Plant native trees to increase

habitat for local animals

Control feral animals

Stick to the bag limits and minimum catch

sizes.

Share your knowledge with people around

you

Check out the Department of Fisheries website for information.

http://www.fish.wa.gov.au You can also help the Department of Fisheries to monitor fish stocks

by sending in your frames … http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/docs/macs/research/filletedframesPage01.php?0000

Join a local NGO that is doing something to

protect biodiversity. Or start your own!

We can make a difference through what

we

BUY.

What we collectively choose to buy, or not to

buy, can change the course of life and

history on our planet.

When it comes to buying a house, decide not to

support developers that do this. There ARE

alternatives.

Reduce your carbon footprint. Global warming

and the associated changes in temperatures

and rainfall is a major driver of extinction.

Plant native trees in your garden to create habitat and refuge for

local birds and animals.

Keep local animals as pets

Become informed. Know what you’re buying, where it was produced, under what work conditions. What was the

impact on the environment?

Support businesses that supply organic food and

clothing. Or grow your own organic food. A positive

step towards reducing our use of pesticides. Samudra’s organic café food garden in Dunsborough,

WA

In conclusion, here are three points to consider

Here in South-western Australia we have a special responsibility when it comes

to the protection of biodiversity …

Notice how the world's biodiversity hotspots are almost all located in less economically developed countries. South-Western Australia

stands alone as the only hotspot in a more economically developed country. Australia can afford to be proactive. We need to be leading

the way in policy and action that conserves our biodiversity.

SOURCE : New Scientist 7 Dec 2002 “Biodiversity”

We’re losing species that we haven’t even discovered yet …

The smaller things get the less we know about them. The organisms that underpin the biology of soil are some of the most important to humans - and yet are some of the least well known.

Humans know more about outer space than we do about what goes on under our feet.

SOURCE : New Scientist 7 Dec 2002 “Biodiversity”

This graph estimates the total number of species in different groups and

the percentage of species that have been

discovered in that group. For example, for insects, there are an estimated 8

000 000 species and 12% of them have been

described.

How many species are too few?

SOURCE : Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity. Aaron Bernstein

Do we really want

to find out?

ACT

NOW