Biodiversity

BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity refers to all the different kinds of living organisms

within a given area. Biodiversity includes plants, animals,
fungi, and other living things. Biodiversity can include
everything from towering redwood trees to tiny, single-
cell algae that are impossible to see without a microscope.
KINDS OF BIODIVERSITY
A common way to measure biodiversity is to count the total
number of species living within a particular
area. Tropical regions, areas that are warm year-round, have
the most biodiversity. Temperate regions, which have warm
summers and cold winters, have less biodiversity. Regions
with cold or dry conditions, such as mountaintops and deserts,
have even less.
Generally, the closer a region is to the Equator, the greater

the biodiversity. At least 40,000 different plant species live in
the Amazon rain forest of South America, one of the most
biologically diverse regions on the planet. Only about 2,800
live in Canada’s Quebec province.
The warm waters of the western Pacific and Indian Oceans

tend to be the most diverse marine environments. The Bird’s
Head Seascape in Indonesia is home to more than 1,200
species of fish and 600 species of coral. Many of the corals
build coral reefs, which are home to hundreds more species,
from tiny seaweeds to large sharks.
Some places in the world have a large number of endemic

species—species that exist only in that place. The Cape
Floristic Region in South Africa is home to about 6,200 plant
species found nowhere else in the world. Areas with high
numbers of endemic species are called biodiversity hotspots.
Scientists and communities are making a special effort to
preserve biodiversity in these regions.
Biodiversity can also refer to the variety of ecosystems—

communities of living things and their environments.
Ecosystems include deserts, grasslands, and rain forests. The
continent of Africa is home to tropical rain
forests, alpinemountains, and dry deserts. It enjoys a high
level of biodiversity. Antarctica, covered almost entirely by
an ice sheet, has low biodiversity.
Another way to measure biodiversity is genetic

diversity. Genes are the basic units of biological information
passed on when living things reproduce. Some species have
as many as 400,000 genes. (Human beings have about
25,000 genes, while rice has more than 56,000.) Some of
these genes are the same for all individuals within a species—
they’re what make a daisy a daisy and a dog a dog. But some
genes within a species are different. This genetic variation is
why some dogs are poodles and some are pit bulls. It’s why
some people have brown eyes and some people have blue
eyes.
Greater genetic diversity in species can make plants and

animals more resistant to diseases. Genetic diversity also
allows species to better adapt to a changing environment.
IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY
All species are interconnected. They depend on one another.
Forests provide homes for animals. Animals eat plants. The
plants need healthy soil to grow. Fungi
help decompose organisms to fertilize the soil. Bees and other
insects carry pollen from one plant to another, which enables
the plants to reproduce. With less biodiversity, these
connections weaken and sometimes break, harming all the
species in the ecosystem.
Ecosystems with a lot of biodiversity are generally stronger

and more resistant to disaster than those with fewer species.
For instance, some diseases kill only one kind of tree. In the
early 1900s, American chestnut blight killed most of the
chestnut trees in the eastern forests of North America. The
forest ecosystem survived because other kinds of trees also
grew there.
Biodiversity is important to people in many ways. Plants, for

instance, help humans by giving off oxygen. They also provide
food, shade, construction material, medicines, and fiber for
clothing and paper. The root system of plants helps prevent
flooding. Plants, fungi, and animals such as worms keep
soil fertile and water clean. As biodiversity decreases, these
systems break down.
Hundreds of industries rely on plant biodiversity. Agriculture,

construction, medical and pharmaceutical, fashion, tourism,
and hospitality all depend on plants for their success. When
the biodiversity of an ecosystem is interrupted or destroyed,
the economic impact on the local community could be
enormous.
Biodiversity is especially important to the medical and

pharmaceutical industries. Scientists have discovered
many chemicals in rain forest plants that are now used in
helpful drugs. One of the most popular and safe pain
relievers, aspirin, was originally made from the bark of willow
trees. Medicines that treat some forms of cancer have been
made from the rosy periwinkle, a flower that grows on the
African island of Madagascar. Scientists have studied only a
small percentage of rain forest species in their search for
cures. But every year, thousands of species go extinct, or die
out entirely, before scientists can determine whether they
might be useful in medicines.
DECREASING BIODIVERSITY
In the past hundred years, biodiversity around the world has
decreased dramatically. Many species have gone extinct.
Extinction is a natural process; some species naturally die out
while new species evolve. But human activity has changed the
natural processes of extinction and evolution. Scientists
estimate that species are dying out at hundreds of times the
natural rate.
A major reason for the loss of biodiversity is that natural

habitats are being destroyed. The fields, forests, and wetlands
where wild plants and animals live are disappearing. Land is
cleared to plant crops or build houses and factories. Forests
are cut for lumber and firewood. Between 1990 and 2005, the
amount of forested land in Honduras, for instance, dropped 37
percent.
As habitats shrink, fewer individuals can live there. The

creatures that survive have fewer breeding partners, so
genetic diversity declines.
Pollution, overfishing, and overhunting have also caused a

drop in biodiversity. Global climate change—the latest rise in
the average temperature around the globe, linked to human
activity—is also a factor. Warmer ocean temperatures
damage fragile ecosystems such as coral reefs. A single coral
reef can shelter 3,000 species of fish and other sea creatures
such as clams and sea stars.
Biodiversity can also be harmed by introduced species. When

people introduce species from one part of the world to
another, they often have no natural predators. These non-
native species thrive in their new habitat, often destroying
native species in the process. Brown tree snakes, for instance,
were accidentally brought into Guam, an island in the South
Pacific, in the 1950s. Because brown tree snakes have no
predators on Guam, they quickly multiplied. The snakes, which
hunt birds, have caused the extinction of nine of the island’s
11 native forest-dwelling bird species.
People all over the world are working to maintain the planet’s
biodiversity. In the United States, the Endangered Species
Act protects about 2,000 organisms that are in danger of
becoming extinct. Animals and plants are the most familiar
types of endangered species, but a fungus, such as the white
ferula mushroom can also be threatened. The white ferula
mushroom, a delicacy that only grows on the Italian island of
Sicily, helps decompose organic compounds such as plants.
Some environmental groups are working to create
a sustainable mushroom population to satisfy consumers as
well as the local ecosystem.
Around the globe, thousands of wilderness areas have been
set up to conserve plants, animals, and ecosystems. Local,
national, and international organizations are cooperating to
preserve the biodiversity of regions threatened by
development or natural disasters. UNESCO’s World Heritage
Site program recognizes areas of global importance, such as
the enormous wetland region of the Pantanal in South
America. Many national parks, such as Glacier National Park in
the U.S. state of Montana, protect biodiversity within the park
by restricting extractive activities, such as mining and drilling.
Marine protected areas (MPAs) have been established to

preserve sea life. In the marine protected area around
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, no-fishing zones have helped
fish populations thrive. People are also working to limit
pollution and restore coral reef ecosystems in the area. As
ecosystems become healthier, their biodiversity increases.
SPECIES BY THE NUMBERS

Scientists have identified about 1.75 million different species.
That includes 950,000 species of insects, 270,000 species of
plants, 19,000 species of fish, 9,000 species of birds, and
4,000 species of mammals. This is only a small portion of the
total number of species on Earth. There are millions more
species yet to be discovered and named.
POWERFUL POLLINATORS
Bees, birds, and other creatures pollinate 75 percent of the
world's major crops. In areas with lots of biodiversity, insects
and other creatures pollinate plants naturally. But when
biodiversity is reduced, this is impossible. There are not
enough insects to pollinate large fields of single crops, so
farmers must truck in honeybees to do the job.
California almond farmers need about 1.5 million hives of

honeybees to pollinate their crops. That's more than half of all
the commercial beehives in the country.
MEDICINE FROM NATURE

About 25 percent of the medicines used today are taken from
or modeled on chemicals found in plants, animals, or other
living things.

Biodiversity

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What are some ways biodiversity can be measured?

What are some ways biodiversity can be measured?

What are some factors that affect biodiversity in different regions?

What are some factors that affect biodiversity in different regions?

BIODIVERSITY

Biodiversity refers to all the different kinds of living organisms

Generally, the closer a region is to the Equator, the greater

The warm waters of the western Pacific and Indian Oceans

Some places in the world have a large number of endemic

Biodiversity can also refer to the variety of ecosystems—

Another way to measure biodiversity is genetic

Greater genetic diversity in species can make plants and

Ecosystems with a lot of biodiversity are generally stronger

Biodiversity is important to people in many ways. Plants, for

Hundreds of industries rely on plant biodiversity. Agriculture,

Biodiversity is especially important to the medical and

A major reason for the loss of biodiversity is that natural

As habitats shrink, fewer individuals can live there. The

Pollution, overfishing, and overhunting have also caused a

Biodiversity can also be harmed by introduced species. When

Marine protected areas (MPAs) have been established to

SPECIES BY THE NUMBERS

California almond farmers need about 1.5 million hives of

MEDICINE FROM NATURE

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