BIODIVERSITY

Biodiversity is a combination of two words 'biological' and 'diversity'. Biodiversity refers

to the number, variety and variability of all life forms on earth. These include millions of
plants, animals and micro-organisms, the genes they contain, and the intricate
ecosystems of which they are a part.
Why Is Biodiversity Important?
One important renewable resource is biological diversity, or biodiversity: the different
life-forms and life sustaining processes that can best survive the variety of conditions
currently.
Biodiversity may sound like an abstract concept, but in reality it touches almost every
aspect of our life. The earth has an enormous variety of plants and animals, both domesticated and wild, as also a wide array of habitats and ecosystems. This diversity meets the
food, medicinal, clothing, shelter, spiritual as well as the recreational needs of millions
of people around the world. It also ensures that ecological functions such as the supply
of clean water, nutrient cycling and soil protection are maintained. In fact, biodiversity
loss would mean a threat to the survival of the human race. Here are some reasons why
each one of us should be concerned about biodiversity and its loss.
Kinds of biodiversity include the following:
Genetic diversity (variety in the genetic makeup among individuals within a
species The diversity of genes within a species, passed down the generations is
known as genetic biodiversity. It is this type of diversity that gives rise to the
different varieties of rice, mangoes, etc).
Species diversity (variety among the species or distinct types of living organisms
found in different habitats of the planet)
Ecological diversity (variety of forests, deserts, grasslands, streams, lakes, oceans,
coral reefs, wetlands, and other biological communities))
Functional diversity (biological and chemical processes or functions such as
energy flow and matter cycling needed for the survival of species and biological
communities).
Microorganism diversity (Microbes include bacteria, viruses, protozoa, yeast, fungus,
etc., and form a vital part of life on earth)
Ecosystem diversity (An ecosystem is a set of life forms e.g. plants, animals,
micro-organisms; interacting with one another and with non-living elements (soil,
air, water, minerals, etc.). Ecosystem diversity is, therefore, the diversity of
habitats which include the different life forms within. The term also refers to the
variety of ecosystems found within a biogeographical or political boundary
(May also be called habitat diversity: the diversity of habitats in a given unit
area).
Domesticated diversity (When we think of biodiversity, we tend to think only of
wild plants and animals. But there is also considerable diversity among
domesticated plants and animals. Domesticated biodiversity may be the result of
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manipulation by humans, or of natural adaptations to different conditions over

a period of time)

This rich variety of genes, species, biological communities, and life-sustaining biological
and chemical processes
Gives us food, wood, fibers, energy, raw materials, industrial chemicals, and
medicines, all of which pour hundreds of billions of dollars into the world economy each year.
Provides us with free recycling, purification, and natural pest control services.
Every species here today (1) contains genetic information that represents thousands to
millions of years of adaptation to the earth's changing environmental conditions and (2) is
the raw material for future adaptations. Loss of biodiversity (1) reduces the availability of
ecosystem services and (2) decreases the ability of species, communities, and ecosystems
to adapt to changing environmental conditions. Biodiversity is nature's insurance policy
against disasters.
Some people also include human cultural diversity as part of the earth's biodiversity. The
variety of human cultures represents numerous social and technological solutions to
changing environmental conditions.
EVOLUTION AND BIODIVERSITY
We can summarize the 3.7-billion-year biological history of the earth in one sentence:
Organisms convert solar energy to food, chemicals cycle, and a variety of species with
different biological roles (niches) has evolved in response to changing environmental
conditions.
Each species here today represents a long chain of evolution, and each of these
species plays a unique ecological role in the earth's communities and ecosystems. These
species, communities, and ecosystems also are essential for future evolution as the earth
continues its long history of environmental change.
How was the earth's species evolved and what is the nature of their niches or biological
roles. This information is important for helping us (1) understand the effects of human
actions on wild species and (2) protect species-including the human species-from
premature extinction.
Evidence about the earth's early history comes from chemical analysis and measurements
of radioactive elements in primitive rocks and fossils. Chemists have also conducted
laboratory experiments showing how simple inorganic compounds in the earth's early
atmosphere might have reacted to produce amino acids, simple sugars, and other organic
molecules used as building blocks for the protein, complex carbohydrate, RNA, and DNA
molecules needed for life. From this diverse evidence scientists have hypothesized that
life on the earth developed in two phases over the past 4.7-4.8 billion years):

 Chemical evolution of the organic molecules, biopolymers, and systems of chemical

reactions needed to form the first protocells (taking about 1 billion years)
Biological evolution from single-celled prokaryotic bacteria, to single-celled eukaryotic creatures, and then to multicellular organisms (taking about 3.7-3.8 billion years)
How Do We Know What Organisms Lived in the Past? Most of what we know of the
earth's life history comes from fossils: mineralized or petrified replicas of skeletons,
bones, teeth, shells, leaves, and seeds, or impressions of such items. Such fossils (1) give
us physical evidence of organisms that lived long ago and (2) show us what their internal
structures looked like.
How did Life First Evolve?
About 3.2 billion years ago, the earth was a very hostile environment for life. Hot lava
spewed from its surface and beneath the sea, much of the land was dotted with boiling
hot springs, and the atmosphere was thick with steam and carbon dioxide. Over time, it is
believed that early protocells evolved into singlecelled, bacterialike prokaryotes having
the properties we describe as life. However, scientists hotly debate the details of how this
might have happened.
EVOLUTION
What Is Evolution? According to scientific evidence, the major driving force of
adaptation to changes in environmental conditions is biological evolution, or evolution:
the change in a population's genetic makeup (gene pool) through successive generations.
Note that populations, not individuals, evolve by becoming genetically different.
According to the theory of evolution, all species descended from earlier, ancestral
species. This widely accepted scientific theory explains how life has changed over the
past 3.7 billion years and why life is so diverse today.
Biologists use the term microevolution to describe the small genetic changes that
occur in a population. The term macroevolution is used to describe longterm, large-scale
evolutionary changes through which (1) new species are formed from ancestral species
and (2) other species are lost through extinction.
How Does Microevolution Work? The first step in evolution is the development of
genetic variability in a population. Recall that (1) genetic information in chromosomes is
contained in various sequences of chemical units (called nucleotides) in DNA molecules
and (2) genes found in chromosomes are segments of DNA coded for certain traits that
can be passed on to offspring.
A population's gene pool is the set of all genes in the individuals of the population of
a species. Microevolution is a change in a population's gene pool over time.
Genetic variability in a population originates through mutations: random changes in the
structure or number of DNA molecules in a cell.

The process of natural selection occurs when some individuals of a population have
genetically based traits that increase their chances of survival and their ability to produce
offspring.
Some biologists have proposed that interactions between species also can result in
microevolution in each of their populations. According to this hypothesis, when
populations of two different species interact over a long time, changes in the gene pool of
one species can lead to changes in the gene pool of the other species. This process is
called coevolution.
Suppose that certain individuals in a population of carnivores (such as owls) become
better at hunting prey (such as mice). Because of genetic variation, certain individuals of
the prey have traits that allow them to escape or hide from their predators, and they pass
these adaptive traits on to some of their offspring. However, a few individuals in the
predator population also may have traits (such as better eyesight or quicker reflexes) that
allow them to hunt the better-adapted prey successfully. They would then pass these traits
on to some of their offspring.
Similarly, individual plants in a population may evolve defenses, such as camouflage,
thorns, or poisons, against efficient herbivores. In turn, some herbivores in the population
may have genetic characteristics that enable them to overcome these defenses and
produce more offspring than those without such traits.
ECOLOGICAL NICHES
What Is an Ecological Niche? If asked what role a certain species such as an alligator
plays in an ecosystem, an ecologist would describe its ecological niche, or simply niche
(pronounced "nitch"), the species' way of life or functional role in an ecosystem. A
species' niche involves everything that affects its survival and reproduction. This includes
(1) its range of tolerance for various physical and chemical conditions, such as
temperature or water availability (2) the types and amounts of resources it uses, such as
food or nutrients and space, (3) how it interacts with other living and nonliving
components of the ecosystems in which it is found, and (4) the role it plays in the energy
flow and matter cycling in an ecosystem.
The ecological niche of a species is different from its habitat, or physical location, where
it lives. Ecologists often say that a niche is like a species' occupation, whereas habitat is
like its address.
A species' ecological niche represents the adaptations or adaptive traits that its members
have acquired through evolution. These traits enable its members to survive and
reproduce more effectively under a given set of environmental conditions.
Understanding a species' niche is important because it can help us (1) prevent it from
becoming prematurely extinct and (2) assess the environmental changes we make in
terrestrial and aquatic systems. For example, how will the niches of various species be
changed by clearing a forest, plowing up a grassland, filling in a wetland, or dumping
pollutants into a lake or stream?

What Is the Difference Between a Species' Fundamental Niche and Its Realized
Niche?
A species' fundamental niche is the full potential range of physical, chemical, and
biological conditions and resources it could theoretically use if there were no direct
competition from other species. But in a particular ecosystem, species often compete with
one another for one or more of the same resources. This means the niches of competing
species overlap.
To survive and avoid competition for the same resources, a species usually occupies only
part of its fundamental niche in a particular community or ecosystem-what ecologists call
its realized niche. By analogy, you may be capable of being president of a particular
company (your fundamental professional niche), but competition from others may mean
you may become only a vice president (your realized professional niche).
The niches of species can be used to broadly classify them as generalists or specialists.
Generalist species have broad niches. They can (1) live in many different places, (2) eat
a variety of foods, and (3) tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions. Flies,
cockroaches, mice, rats, whitetailed deer, raccoons, coyotes, copperheads, channel
catfish, and humans are generalist species.
Specialist species have narrow niches. They may be able to (1) live in only one type of
habitat, (2) use only one or a few types of food, or (3) tolerate only a narrow range of
climatic and other environmental conditions. This makes them more prone to extinction
when environmental conditions change. Examples of specialists are (1) tiger salamanders, which can breed only in fishless ponds so their larvae will not be eaten, (2) redcockaded woodpeckers, which carve nest holes almost exclusively in old (at least 75
years) longleaf pines, (3) spotted owls, which need old-growth forests in the Pacific
Northwest for food and shelter, and (4) China's highly endangered giant pandas, which
feed almost exclusively on various types of bamboo.
Is it better to be a generalist than a specialist? It depends. When environmental
conditions are fairly constant, as in a tropical rain forest, specialists have an advantage
because they have fewer competitors. But under rapidly changing environmental
conditions, the generalist usually is better off than the specialist.
What Are Two Common Misconceptions About Evolution? Two common
misconceptions about evolution are as follows:
"Survival of the fittest" means "survival of the strongest." To biologists, fitness is a
measure of reproductive success not strength. Thus the fittest individuals are those that
leave the most descendants.
Evolution involves some grand plan of nature in which species become progressively
more perfect. From a scientific standpoint, no plan or goal of perfection exists in the
evolutionary process. However, some people (creationists) believe there is a conflict

between the scientific theory of evolution and their religious beliefs about how life was
created on the earth.
SPECIATION, EXTINCTION, AND BIODIVERSITY
How Do New Species Evolve?
Under certain circumstances, natural selection can lead to an entirely new species. In this
process, called speciation, two species arise from one. So, Speciation is the evolution of
two species from one species because of divergent natural selection in response to
changes in environmental conditions. It usually takes thousands of years to take place.
The most common mechanism of speciation (especially among animals) takes place in
two phases: geographic isolation and reproductive isolation.
Geographic isolation occurs when groups of the same population of a species become
physically separated for long periods. For example, part of a population may migrate in
search of food and then begin living in another area with different environmental
conditions. Populations also may become separated (1) by a physical barrier (such as a
mountain range, stream, lake, or road), (2) by a change such as a volcanic eruption or
earthquake, or (3) when a few individuals are carried to a new area by wind or water.
The second phase of speciation is reproductive isolation. It occurs when mutation and
natural selection operate independently in two geographically isolated populations and
change the allele frequencies in different ways. If this process, called divergence, continues long enough, members of the geographically and reproductively isolated populations
may become so different in genetic makeup that (1) they cannot interbreed, or (2) if they
do, they cannot produce live, fertile offspring. Then one species has become two, and
speciation has occurred through divergent evolution.
How Do Species Become Extinct?
After speciation, the second process affecting the number and types of species on the
earth is extinction. Extinction is the ultimate fate of all species, just as death is for all
individual organisms. It occurs when the last individual member of a species dies. Local
extinction occurs when a species disappears from a part of its range but persists elsewhere.
Global extinction means that a species becomes extinct everywhere.
Extinction is an irreversible loss: once a species is extinct it can never reappear. Although
extinction is the role of nature, the rate of extinctions has varied greatly over geologic time and
has increased rapidly since the industrial revolution. When environmental conditions change,

a species must (1) evolve (become better adapted), (2) move to a more favorable area (if
possible), or (3) cease to exist (become extinct).
The earth's long-term patterns of speciation and extinction have been affected by several
major factors: (1) large-scale movements of the continents (continental drift) over
millions of years, (2) gradual climate changes caused by continental drift and slight shifts
in the earth's orbit around the sun, and (3) rapid climate change caused by catastrophic
events (such as large volcanic eruptions, huge meteorites and asteroids crashing into the
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earth, and release of large amounts of methane trapped beneath the ocean floor). Some of
these events create dust clouds that shut down or sharply reduce photosynthesis long
enough to eliminate huge numbers of producers and, soon thereafter, the consumers that
fed on them.
Extinction is the ultimate fate of all species, just as death is for all individual organisms.
Biologists estimate that 99.9% of all the species that have ever existed are now extinct.
As local environmental conditions change, a certain number of species disappear at a
low rate, called background extinction. In contrast, mass extinction is a significant rise
in extinction rates above the background level.
Causes of Extinction
Causes of extinction are usually grouped into five categories: population risk, environmental
risk, natural catastrophe, genetic risk, and human actions.
Population Risk
Random variations in population rates can cause a species in low abundance to become extinct.
This is termed population risk. For example, blue whales swim over vast areas of ocean. Because
whaling once reduced the total population to only several hundred individuals, there were
probably year-to-year variations in the success of individual blue whales in finding mates. If in
one year most whales were unsuccessful in finding a mate, then births could be dangerously low.
Such random variation in populations, typical among many species, can occur without any
change in the environment. It is a risk especially to species that consist of only a single
population in one habitat.
Environmental Risk
Population size can be affected by changes in the environment that occur from day to day, month
to month, year to year, even though the changes are not severe enough to be considered
environmental catastrophes. Environmental risks involve variation in the physical or biological
environment, including variations in predator, prey, symbiotic, or competitor species.
In some cases, species are sufficiently rare and isolated that such normal variations (e.g. late snow
& freeze) can lead to their extinction. In other cases, species succumb to catastrophic variation in
the environment.
Natural Catastrophe
A sudden change in the environment not the result of human action is a natural catastrophe. Fires,
major storms, earthquakes, and floods are natural catastrophes on land; changes in currents and
upwellings are ocean catastrophes. The explosion of a volcano on the island of Krakatoa in
Indonesia in 1883 caused the island blown to bits bringing about local extinction of most life
forms there.
Genetic Risk
Detrimental change in genetic characteristics not caused by external environmental changes is
called genetic risk. Genetic changes can occur in small populations from reduced genetic
variation, genetic drift, and mutation. In a small population, only some of the possible inherited
characteristics will be found. The species is vulnerable to extinction because it lacks variety or
because a mutation can become fixed in the population.

Human Actions
Human actions cause extinction of species through (1) intentional hunting or harvesting (for
commercial purposes, for sport, etc); (2) disruption or elimination of habitats; (3) introduction of
new parasites (transported by introduced species), predators (e.g. introduction of exotic species
such as dogs on islands caused extinction of dodo birds, whose eggs, laid on ground, were easy
prey for dogs), or competitors of a species; and (4) pollution of the environment.

How Do Speciation and Extinction Affect Biodiversity?

Speciation minus extinction equals biodiversity, the planet's genetic raw material for
future evolution in response to changing environmental conditions. In this long-term
give-and-take between extinction and speciation, mass extinctions and mass depletions
temporarily reduce biodiversity.
Although extinction is a natural process, much evidence indicates that humans have
become a major force in the premature extinction of species. Biologist Stuart Primm
estimates that during the 20th century, extinction rates increased by 100-1,000 times the
natural background rate. As human population and resource consumption increase over
the next 50-100 years, we are expected to take over more of the earth's surface. During
this century, this may cause the premature extinction of up to a quarter of the earth's
current species. This could constitute a new mass depletion and possibly a new mass
extinction.
On our short time scale, such major losses cannot be recouped by formation of new
species; it took millions of years after each of the earth's past mass extinctions and
depletions for life to recover to the previous level of biodiversity. Genetic engineering
cannot stop this loss of biodiversity because genetic engineers do not create new genes.
Rather, they transfer existing genes or gene fragments from one organism to another and
thus rely on natural biodiversity for their raw material.

Importance of the niches of species

Understanding a species' niche is important because it can help us (1) prevent it from
becoming prematurely extinct and (2) assess the environmental changes we make in
terrestrial and aquatic systems. For example, how will the niches of various species be
changed by clearing a forest, plowing up a grassland, filling in a wetland, or dumping
pollutants into a lake or stream?
Native Species: Species that normally live and thrive in a particular ecosystem are
known as native species.
Ubiquitous species : Species that are found almost everywhere are ubiquitous species.
Humans are ubiquitous, some bacteria (E. coli) as well.

Endemic Species: A species that is native to a particular area and not native elsewhere is
called an endemic species. Monterey pine is endemic to a portion of California coast and
exotic in New Zealand.
Cosmopolitan species: A species with a broad distribution, occurring all over the world
wherever the environment is appropriate, is called cosmopolitan species. The moose is
found both in North America and Europe and is therefore a cosmopolitan species of
northern boreal forests.
Nonnative species, Exotic, or alien species: Species that migrate into an ecosystem or
are deliberately r accidentally introduced into an ecosystem by humans are called
nonnative species, exotic species, or alien species.
Indicator Species: Species that serve as early warnings that a community or an
ecosystem is being damaged are called indicator species.
Birds are excellent biological indicators because they are found almost everywhere and
respond quickly to environmental change.
Keystone Species: The roles of some species in an ecosystem are much more important
than their abundance. They are known as keystone species. In tropical forests, various
species of bees, bats, ants, and hummingbirds play keystone roles by pollinating
flowering plants, dispersing seed or both.

Interaction between species

There are three basic categories of interaction among species: competition, symbiosis,
and predation
Competition: in which outcome is negative for both groups.
Symbiosis: which benefits for both species.
Predation-parasitism: in which the outcome benefits one, and is detrimental to the
other.
The competitive exclusion principle
Competition is related to the principle of natural selection, which says that the organism
best adapted to a particular environment will survive and prevail. This can be restated as
the principle of competitive exclusion, which says that species in direct competition
cannot coexist-one of them will inevitably win out over the other
When competition occurs between two species, then the species that fit more will win out
and persist and the other one that fit less will lose or become extinct.
Example: Gray and Red Squirrels in Great Britain.
Coexistence of species : Species that require the same resources can coexist by utilizing
those resources under different environmental conditions. These species are said to have
different ecological niches.Example: Flour beetles that live on white flour.

Symbiosis:Species interact in ways that are beneficial to one or both; this is called
symbiosis (from the Greek words sum and biosis, meaning "life together"). Symbiosis is
very common; most organisms, even humans, participate in some form of symbiotic
relationship. Humans, for example, host a wide range of microorganisms (about a
hundred common ones). Some of them are of benefit to us, such as the organisms that
reside in our intestines and help us digest our food. Some of them are just along for the
ride, such as the mites that inhabit our eyelashes. And some of them can be annoying or
harmful if they grow out of control, such as the fungus that causes athlete's foot.
Symbiosis affects biological diversity
Symbiotic microorganisms and the intestine of human body
~ 10% of a persons body weight is actually the weight of symbiotic microorganisms in
the intestines. The resident bacteria help us in our digestion. We provide habitats that
supply the needs of those microorganisms.
Rein deer and symbiotic bacteria
A reindeer on the northern tundra may appear to be alone but carries with it many
companions. The reindeer is a ruminant with a four chambered stomach teeming with
microbes.
In order to save species from extinction, we must save its symbionts along with its niche.
Predation: Predation can increase diversity of prey species by reducing the abundance of
the dominant prey. They can contribute to species evenness by keeping the dominant
species from overwhelming others via competitive exclusion.
The principle of competitive exclusion tells us that species compete against one another
for scarce resources, and no two species can occupy exactly the same niche within an
ecosystem. This might lead to the conclusion that a single species would eventually and
inevitably come to dominate a given ecosystem, to the exclusion of others. Instead,
competition, symbiosis, and predation, along with constant adaptations to changing
environmental conditions, have led to increasing richness and variety of species. This
variety of life-forms is called biodiversity.
Biological diversity involves the following concepts:
Genetic diversity: the total number of genetic characteristics, sometimes of a
specific species, subspecies, or group of species Genetic diversity refers to the
amount of variability or heterogeneity that is available among the DNA of
individuals within a population or species.
Habitat diversity: Habitat diversity (or ecosystem diversity) refers to the variety
of habitat types in an ecosystem and the biologic richness of those habitats.
Species diversity: which, in turn has three qualities:
a. Species richness: the total number of species.
b. Species evenness: the relative abundance of species.
c. Species dominance: the most abundance species.

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Environmental factors influencing biodiversity

Factors that tend to increase diversity
1. A physically diverse habitat.
2. Moderate amounts of disturbance.
3. A small variation in environmental conditions.
4. High diversity at one trophic level, increasing the diversity at another trophic
level.
5. An environment highly modified by life.
6. Middle stages of succession.
7. Evolution.
Factors that tend to decrease diversity
1. Environmental stress.
2. Extreme environments.
3. A severe limitation in the supply of exotic species.
4. Extreme amounts of disturbance.
5. Recent introduction of exotic species.
6. Geographic isolation.

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