Module 6
BIODIVERSITY
According to Quinto and Nieva
(2018), BIODIVERSITY is “the
variety of life present in
ecosystem.” It is all the diff erent
kinds of life you will find in one
area.
Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778)
is known as the "father of taxonomy“ a
Swedish scientist for his contributions to
the science of classifying and naming
organisms.
BIOLOGICAL
LEVELS OF
ORGANIZATION
Biosphere-
Ecosystem-
Community-
Population
Cell-Tissue-
Organs-Organ
System-
Organelles
CLASSIFICATIO
N OF
TAXONOMY
Taxonomy is the science of classification, or the
process of organizing things into groups based on
their similarities and differences. In biology,
taxonomy is the study of naming, describing, and
classifying organisms into groups called taxa.
Domain- Kingdom
Phylum –Class-
Order Family –
Genus- Species
DIFFERENT
TYPES OF
BIODIVERSI
GENETIC DIVERSITY
refers to the individual variations among
organisms of the same species, as well
as variations between populations that
due to local condition adaptations. For
example, humans show a lot of genetic
diversity compared to other humans.
SPECIES DIVERSITY
refers to the variety of species within a
particular region, either in an ecosystem or
the entire biosphere. he number and
distribution of species in a given area. For
example, rainforests and coral reefs have
more species than salt fl ats or polluted
streams.
ECOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
refers to the varieties of ecosystems and
the interactions of these species. The
variations of topographical and climactic
conditions contribute to ecological
diversity. Ecological diversity is the variety
of ecosystems, habitats, and natural
communities in a given area, and the
complexity of the biological communities.
S o c i e t y b e n e fi t s g r e a t l y f r o m
biodiversity because it acts as a
source of biological resources and
essential services such as food,
m e d i c i n e , e n e r g y, a n d m o r e .
Therefore, biodiversity can be
exploited and abused. Because of
this, humans should be responsible
in ensuring that these are
BIODIVERSITY
IN HEALTH AND
MEDICINE
•Essential services: Biodiversity
provides many services that are
Human health essential for life, including clean
benefits greatly water, oxygen, food, and medicine.
from biodiversity.
Many plants are •Resilience: Biodiversity helps
used to treat humans adapt to environmental
illnesses since 2600 stress and provides resilience to
BC, as exemplified disease.
by herbal medicine •Well-being: Spending time in nature
use. Natural
can increase life satisfaction and
products are used
today in the happiness, and decrease anxiety,
synthesis of drugs blood pressure, and cardiovascular
in the treatment of disease symptoms.
diseases. •Reduced risk of
disease: Biodiversity may help
FOOD AND
BIODIVERSITY
Nutrition and biodiversity are linked at many levels;
the ecosystem, with food production as an ecosystem
service. Nutritional composition between foods and
among varieties/cultivars/breeds of the same food
can differ dramatically, affecting micronutrient
availability in the diet.
According to the World Health Organization,
biodiversity is a vital element of a human being’s
nutrition because of its influence to food production .
Biodiversity is a major factor that contributes to
sustainable food production for human beings. A
society or a population must have access to a
sufficient variety of nutritious food as it is a
determinant of their health as human beings.
BIODIVERSITY AND ENERGY
Humans rely on energy provided by ecosystems
to do the necessary activities in order to
survive. Though it is not apparent that energy
utilization has an eff ect on biodiversity, the
risks that energy sources and energy demands
pose are seen as threat to biodiversity by
many environmental organizations. These
threats include wildlife mortality , habitat loss,
fragmentation, noise and light pollution,
invasive species, and changes in carbon stock
and water resources.
MAIN THREATS TO
BIODIVERSITY
Habitat loss- When a species' habitat is destroyed, the species will
become extinct unless it can survive in human-made environments.
Invasive species-Invasive species can be harmful to agriculture, ranching,
and waterways, and can destroy man-made structures.
Climate change-Climate change and its consequences are a major threat
to biodiversity and the functions of ecosystems.
Pollution-Pollution can reduce the ability of ecosystems to provide services
like carbon sequestration and water purification.
Overexploitation- Overexploitation of resources is a major driver of
biodiversity loss.
Infectious diseases- Environmental conditions can dictate the success of
pathogen spread, which can threaten biodiversity.
Soil pollution- Soil pollution is a threat to biodiversity, crop production,
ROTOCOL ON BIODIVERSI The implementation of regulations and worldwide protocols.
[Link] Protocol. It is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing
out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion. It was
agreed on 16th September 1987, and entered into force on 1st January 1989.
2. Kyoto Protocol. It is an international treaty which extends the 1992 United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part one) global warming is occurring and (part
two) it is extremely likely that human-made CO2 emissions have predominantly caused it. The
Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16
February 2005. There are currently 192 parties (Canada withdrew from the protocol, effective
December 2012) to the Protocol.
[Link] Protocol. Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity
is an international agreement on biosafety as a supplement to the Convention on Biological
Diversity effective since 2003. The Biosafety Protocol seeks to protect biological diversity from the
potential risks posed by genetically modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology. The
Protocol entered into force on 11 September 2003. As of December 2019, the Protocol had 172
parties, which includes 168 United Nations member states, the State of Palestine, Niue, the
European Union, and now Uzbekistan signed on October 25, 2019.
