Biodiversity and its Importance

By Toussaint, Jadie, Gina &

Darnelle
What is Biodiversity?
It refers to the variety of life on the planet Earth.
It is the differences and within all species of
plants, animals, and micro organisms and the
ecosystems within which they live and interact.
It has three essential elements: genetic,
ecosystem and species diversity.
The Importance of Maintaining Biodiversity
It provides us with a wide variety of food and
materials.
It is an important part of ecological services that
make life livable on earth. They include things like
cleaning water, absorbing chemicals and providing
oxygen.
it provides medicinal herbs from wild species
including penicillin and aspirin.
It produces jobs, especially in the fishing and
agricultural sector.
The Importance of Maintaining Biodiversity
contd.
It allows for the recycling of nutrients
It provides revenue from ecotourism
Genetic Diversity
Refers to the diversity within a species. This is
the total number of genetic characteristics in the
genetic makeup of a species. With more
variation, it is more likely that individuals in a
population will possess variation of alleles that
are better suited for the environmental
conditions that they live in. These individuals
are most likely to survive to produce offspring
bearing that advantageous allele.
Ecosystem Diversity
Ecosystem Diversity is the term that
incorporates both habitat and community
diversity. It is the variation in the ecosystem
found in a region or the variation in ecosystems
over the whole planet. Ecosystem diversity
includes the variation in both terrestrial and
aquatic ecosystems.
Species Diversity
It is defined as the number of species and the
abundance of each species that live in a
particular location. The number of species which
live in a particular location is called species
richness. Simpsons diversity index is a measure
of diversity. In ecology, it is often used to
quantify the biodiversity of a habitat. It takes
into account the number of species present, as
well as the abundance of each species.
Species Diversity and Ecosystem Stability
Species diversity helps ensure there is an adequate food
source for other species, helping them in turn to survive.
Species diversity will help and ecosystem be less
susceptible to climate fluctuations. For example, if a
system has only one species of plant, that does not
respond well to heat, if the temperature rises, the entire
plant population bar one or two will go extinct. However,
if there are two species, one that cant stand heat and
another that cant stand cold, if the temperature
fluctuates, one species will increase as the other
decreases, so the plant population is still present.
Species Diversity and Ecosystem Stability
contd.
The maintenance of a thriving plant population
helps in turn to reduce ozone destruction, as
plants help convert harmful greenhouse gases
such as Carbon Dioxide into gases such as
oxygen.
With greater species diversity comes a higher
chance of adaptable buffer species being present,
helping the ecosystem resist the changes in
climate.
Benefits of Biodiversity to Us
Direct Values
Indirect values
Medicine
Natural products
Tourism
Direct Values of Biodiversity
Refers to the satisfaction received directly by
ecological resources.
Can be easily observed and measured, often
assigning prices.
There are two (2) types of direct values;
consumptive (non-market) & productive use
(commercial )
Consumptive Use Values
The value of natures products that are
consumed directly such as wood and meat.
This refers to the products which are consumed
directly without passing through the market.
Productive Use Values
This refers to products that that are
commercially harvested for in formal markets
This is often the only value of biological
resources that is reflected in the income.
It is also for human survival in future
The global collection of genes, species, habitats,
and ecosystems that provides for human needs
currently.
Indirect Values of Biodiversity
More subtle than direct values, and harder
quantify, especially with units such as tons or
dollars.
Can come in the shape of Cultural, Ethical,
Aesthetic, Potential, or Environmental Service
Values.
Indirect Values: Cultural
Cultural values refers to an organism or species
which has a special value to a culture or religion.
For example, the Cow is a sacred animal to those
of the Hindu faith, and so they are not eaten in
India. This is a religion-based cultural value.
Sticking with the same example, animals such as
elephants, tigers, etc also carry great cultural
value, because they are part of the nations
history, folklore and memory.
Indirect Values: Ethical
The Ethical value of biodiversity is the fact that
every creature, just like every person, deserves to
live (unless by their actions they endanger the
lives of others), and this applies even more so to
an entire species. Therefore, allowing an entire
species to go extinct is an ethically unsound
thing to do.
Indirect Values: Aesthetic
Aesthetic values refer to the way biodiversity in
an ecosystem makes that particular area look
attractive to the eye. A greater biodiversity index
would indicate a greater possibility of a
particular landscape being scenic and beautiful.
Indirect Values: Potential
70% of all new medicines come from plants (and
the occasional animal). And it is an obvious fact
that not all medicines have been discovered yet.
Putting these two facts together, we see that
diverse environments contain a wealth of
potential for medical and scientific
advancement, and every time a species goes
extinct, this means one less possible cure for a
disease.
Indirect Values: Environmental Service
This refers to the fact that a diverse environment
is better able to perform vital environmental
services, which include nutrient cycling, aiding
with the water cycle, soil formation, and Carbon
Dioxide fixation, all of which are vital to plant
and animal life on our planet.
Medicinal Value
The components of biodiversity are important
for human health. Almost all medical
treatments are based on plants and animals,
extracts, and this type of treatment remains
essential even today. Traditional medicine is still
used extensively for basic medical care in
developing countries, and is being rediscovered
in our part of the world.
Examples of Medicinal Animal and Plant
Species
Aspirin, made from a willow-derived molecule.
Some sake venom is used in blood-clotting
substances.
Digitalin, used to treat heart insufficiencies,
comes from foxglove.
Some Caribbean sponges can be used to combat
rejection of organ transplants
Natural Products
Many of the products we use are derived from
biodiversity, for example wood, meat, rubber,
chocolate, and medicinal herbs. Although
synthetic medicines are available for many
purposes, the global need and demand for
natural products & biomedical research relies on
plant, animals and microbes to understand
human psychology and physiology.
Tourism
St. Lucia has many unique species, for example,
the Amazona Versicolor. Tourists travel here to
see the organisms they cant see anywhere else.
Biodiversity has also shaped the landscape; the
rainforest biome, for example. Tourists stroll
down natural trails and visit various ecosystems.
This constant stream of eco-tourism generates
valuable revenue for the country.
Tourism contd.
Biodiversity is also a significant source of leisure
activities. It is a focal point for tourism & all
kinds of recreation, often a main source of
income for local population. The aesthetic
qualities of such areas are often striking
different, due mainly to the range of biodiversity
to be found in the region. People value areas for
a variety of recreational pursuits. (McNeedy,
1998)
Impacts of Biodiversity Loss
Habitat Loss
Species Depletion
Species Extinction
Low population density