Biodiversity and

Stability
Biodiversity is…
 Biodiversity is a term that describes how varied
living things are in a specific area. It is also a
measure of how many different species live in an
ecosystem.
Categories of the Value of Species
 Direct economic value - the species is considered to
have direct economic value if their products are
sources of foo, medicine, clothing, shelter, and
energy.
 Indirect economic value – A species has indirect
economic value if there are benefits produced by
the organism without using them.
 Aesthetic value – A lot of species provides visual or
artistic enjoyment.
 Rosy Periwinkle (“tsitsirika”)
Rosy Periwinkle is an example of a specie that have a direct
economic value. The rosy periwinkle, found in Madagascar,
contains dozens of alkaloids, two of which are used to treat
childhood leukemia and Hodgkin’s disease.
Stability….

 Stability of an ecosystem can be described as the

resilience to withstand changes that may occur in the
environment.
High vs. Low Biodiversity
 Ecosystems with high biodiversity have many
different species of organisms.
 Ecosystems with low biodiversity do not have many
different species of organisms.
High Biodiversity
Low Biodiversity
Low or High Biodiversity?
Low or High Biodiversity?
Low or High Biodiversity?
Ecosystem Stability

 The higher the biodiversity, the more stable

the ecosystem.
 An ecosystem with high biodiversity does not
change easily; it is stable
 An ecosystem with low biodiversity is unstable
 One small change could cause many species to die
Low Biodiversity

Rabbits eat grass. Foxes eat rabbits

Foxes

Rabbit

Grass
Low Biodiversity
 A disturbance hits…
A drought happens and kills all the grass.

Foxes

Rabbit

Grass
 Low Biodiversity
 What happens to the foxes?

How many species do we have left?

Foxes
0!
BIG change? Rabbit

Grass
Higher Biodiversity

Let’s add a few more species to our original

ecosystem

Lettuce Foxes

Rabbit
Chickens
Grass
Higher Biodiversity
 A disturbance hits…
A drought happens and kills all the grass.

Lettuce Foxes

Rabbit
Chickens
Grass
 Higher Biodiversity
 The food
What web started
happens to thewith high biodiversity
rabbits?
 High biodiversity = stable ecosystem
Population size decreases… a little
 One change didn’t have a major impact!

Lettuce Foxes

BIG change? Rabbit

Chickens
Grass
2 General factors of Population
Growth
 Density-Independent Factors –a factor that
regulates a population growth and is influenced by
population density (number of organisms per unit
area).
 Density-Dependent Factors –if the population’s
density does not directly influence changes in
population’s growth.
Density-independent limiting factors
Density-independent limiting factors that can stop a population
from growing can be such things as natural disasters,
temperature, sunlight, and the activities of humans in the
environment.
Density-Dependent limiting factors
 Density-dependent limiting factors come into play
when a population reaches a certain number of
organisms.
 When a population reaches a certain size, there
won’t be enough resources for all the organisms.
Biodiversity and Extinction
 Environmental change in an ecosystem with low
biodiversity can even cause extinction of a species
 Can occur if there are no organisms of that species in
other ecosystems throughout the world
.thank u
Powerpoint by Louie B. & Yunez C.