Biodiversity

The earth has a very rich variety of unique ecosystems, each with its own combination of plants, animals, birds, reptiles, insects, and fungi.  Each ecosystem’s inhabitants are dependent on each other and the local climate conditions.  Changing some of the inhabitants or climate conditions affects the entire local ecosystem.  For example, a reduction in the number of pollinators (such as bees and other insects) can cause a reduction in the number of plants (including our food crops) that grow, which then affects everything that eats those plants.  The earth’s rich biodiversity is important for the health of the earth and also for humans.  Some scientists say that loss of diversity is a larger crisis than climate change.  Biodiversity includes 1) species diversity, which is the number of unique species; 2) genetic diversity, which is the variation of genes  within and between populations of the same species; and 3) ecosystem diversity, which includes the number of unique ecosystems on earth.  Ecosystems can be as large as the South American rainforests, or as small as your house or yard.  Ecosystems provide huge benefits to the earth and to the local inhabitants of each ecosystem. 
​
Here is a link with a little more information on the overall topic of biodiversity.  Please watch the little video called Biodiversity – Consider this #4 on the bottom of the first webpage at the link.  Over the next few weeks, I will have additional posts on biodiversity topics, habitat protection and restoration, and Citizen Science initiatives. 

https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/conservation/issues/biodiversity-important.htm