Biodiversity
The variety and variability among all genes, species, and ecosystems. [Gk., bios, life + Lat., diversus, turned in different directions]
ecosystem services
The utilitarian value of biodiversity to humans described in terms of four distinct categories of services�provisioning, cultural, regulating, and habitat services.
Provisioning services
These include the many useful products that humans obtain from nature, including food, spices, minerals, and pharmaceutical and industrial products.
Cultural services
Much of the value that humans gain from biodiversity isn't easily assigned a dollar value�but that value can be extremely important just the same. We think of a field of flowers or a deer in the woods as beautiful to look at and pleasant to experience, fo
Regulating services
Ecosystems provide numerous services relating to the regulation of our environment. These include climate regulation through carbon storage in plants; pollination; waste decomposition and detoxification; protection from natural disasters; and pest and dis
Habitat services
Significant value from biodiversity and natural ecosystems also flows to humans in the form of soil formation, photosynthesis, and nutrient cycling.
Pacific yew tree
A chemical inside the bark of this tree, called taxol, is effective in the treatment of ovarian cancer, breast cancer and lung cancer
Madagascar periwinkle
The chemicals vinblastine and vincristine, located inside this, are so effective in treating leukemia and Hodgkin's lymphoma that both diseases, formerly incurable, are now curable in the vast majority of people.
the Malayan pit viper snake
The chemical ancrod, found only this, dissolves blood clots and is effective in treating some heart attack and stroke patients.
Epipedobates tricolor
Epibatidine, a poisonous compound in the saliva of this small frog that lives in Ecuador, is 200 times more effective than morphine in relieving pain and is non-addictive
Biophilia
A theory of EO Wilson, that we have a deep, genetically programed connection with nature
Nature Deficit Disorder
Alienation from biodiversity and nature damages childhood development
conservation biology
An interdisciplinary field, drawing on ecology, economics, psychology, sociology, and political science, that studies and devises ways of preserving and protecting biodiversity and other natural resources.
Ecosystems, species, and genes and alleles
The Multiple Levels at which biodiversity occur
species richness
The number of different species in a given area.
Biodiversity Hotspots
Regions of the world with significant reservoirs of biodiversity that are under threat of destruction, These hotspots cover less than 1% of the world's area but have 20% or more of the world's species,
Solar energy available
Perhaps the simplest predictor of species diversity is the amount of solar energy available in an area. Solar energy is, after all, the ultimate fuel for nearly all life. As we saw in Figure 15-5, the sun shines most directly on the equator, and, as we mo
Evolutionary history of an area
Communities diversify over time. Consequently, the more time that passes, generally speaking, the greater is the diversity in an area. A high level of biodiversity in an area, however, can be knocked back down by climatic disasters such as glaciations. Th
Rate of environmental disturbance
Over time, the best competitor for a resource is expected to outcompete other species, excluding them from the community and reducing species richness. However, communities may be kept from reaching this species-depleted state. Factors such as predation,
Rainforest, Coral Reefs, Islands and Deep Ocean
Typical ecosystems that contain high levels of biodiversity
Tropical Rainforests
These habitats are common near the equator in Asia, Australia, Africa, South America, and Central America, as well as on many Pacific islands. An important, but still poorly studied, region of tropical rain forests is the canopy, the uppermost region of a
Coral Reefs
Built by corals, members of the animal kingdom, coral reefs occur in ocean areas with low levels of nutrients. The physical structures created by the corals provide a home and habitat for huge numbers of other species. The Great Barrier Reef of Australia
Islands
Because of their generally smaller size, which limits the population size of organisms living on them, islands can be regions where biodiversity is at risk. Madagascar, located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa, is the fourth larges
Deep Oceans
The oceans, covering two-thirds of the earth's surface, can be much more difficult to explore than terrestrial habitats. Deep ocean regions, in particular, are much less studied than the terrestrial parts of the world. Once thought to be completely devoid
Endemic
Describes species peculiar to a particular region and not naturally found elsewhere. [Gk., en, in + demos, the people of a country]
Island Biogeography
the study of the species composition and species richness on islands. (watch lord of the ants 34 minutes until the end)
Geographic range: extensive versus restricted
Species restricted in their range�including those limited to small bodies of water and those confined to islands�are more vulnerable than species with extensive ranges. The Tasmanian devil is a marsupial carnivore about the size of a dog. Although these a
Local population size: large versus small
Tigers and California condors, along with Welwitschia, a slow-growing, long-lived plant in southwest Africa, are examples of species that�as a consequence of their small population sizes�are at increased risk of extinction. With a small population size, a
Habitat tolerance: broad versus narrow
Habitat tolerance" describes the breadth of habitats in which a species can survive. Some plant species, for example, can tolerate large swings in water availability or soil pH or temperature. Others are limited to very narrow habitat ranges. The now-ext
Reversible Disturbance
the disturbance alters the biotic (living organisms) and abiotic (decaying organisms, soil, rocks) nature of the habitat but does not result in the complete extinction of any species, (example, eruptions of Mt. Helena)
irreversible Disturbance
an ecosystem disturbance involves the complete loss of a species to extinction (examples, tasmanian wolves and chinesse river dolphin)
exotic species
Species introduced by human activities to areas other than the species' native range. also called introduced species
invasive species
When species are introduced and cause harm, they are referred to as
Earth Overshoot day
The day each year that we use up the amount of resources that can be renewed that year
Reducing biodiversity in rainforests
Tropical rain forests of Africa, Asia, the Pacific region, and Central and South America, as we've seen, contain an unusually large number of species of plants and animals and probably other groups of organisms. Half of the world's biodiversity hotspots a
Increasing greenhouse gases due to deforestation in rainforests
Photosynthesis in tropical rain forests removes an estimated 610 billion tons (550 trillion kg) of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year. As we learned earlier, accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the major cause of global warming.
(Par�) Accountability and protection:
establishing a local system requiring landowners to register their holdings and an environmental police force to identify and punish illegal deforestation.
(Par�) Education
creating training programs for ranchers and farmers to help them make more efficient use of already-deforested land.
(Par�) Better forest management
developing environmentally sound infrastructure, such as reducing the building of new roads, long associated with increasing deforestation, in favor of improving existing roads and thus enhancing the ability to bring renewable forest products to market
Flagship species
Some species, because they are particularly charismatic, distinctive, vulnerable, or otherwise appealing, can engender significant public support. Examples include the giant panda of China, the golden lion tamarin of Brazil's coastal forest, the mountain
Keystone species
These species have a disproportionate effect on the biodiversity of a community. Their removal can lead to massive changes in the composition of species in an ecosystem, often causing huge loss of biodiversity. Examples include kelp, California mussels, g
Indicator species
These are species whose presence within an ecosystem indicates the presence or well-being of a large range of other species. For example, the presence or absence of lichens is an indicator of air quality, because they are sensitive to sulfur dioxide, a co
Umbrella species
These include wide-ranging species with such large needs for habitat and other resources that their preservation ends up protecting the numerous other species within that same habitat, without having to identify these other species as conservation targets