The Importance of Biodiversity

• Biodiversity
• The need for biodiversity
• Vulnerable, Threatened,
Extirpated, Endangered, and
Extinct species
• Keystone species
• Species extinction and
biodiversity
• Natural and human causes of
extinction
 Biodiversity
• The variety of life in an ecosystem
• Measured by counting the number of species in
a specific habitat or ecosystem
• This measurement is referred to as species
richness

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 Biodiversity
• Tropical rainforests have the highest biodiversity
of any ecosystem
– E.g. The Peruvian rainforest has 283 species of
tree in a single hectare while a similar sized
forest elsewhere will typically support only 10-
20 species of tree.
The Social Value of Biodiversity
The human species depends
on biodiversity for its survival
• Cleans the air we breathe
• Recycles and purifies the
water we drink
• Absorbs waste we
produce
• Stabilizes and moderates
climate
The Economic Value of Biodiversity
Biodiversity provides enormous economic and
community benefits through the use of natural
resources for forestry, farming, fishing,
recreation, energy
 At Risk Species
Species who are at risk can be classified as:

• Vulnerable
• Threatened
• Extirpated
• Endangered
• Extinct
 Vulnerable
Any species
that is at risk
because of
declining
numbers.
E.g. Grey Fox
 Threatened
Any species that is
likely to become
endangered if the
factors that make it
vulnerable are not
reversed.

E.g. Peregrine Falcon

 Extirpated
Any species that
no longer exists
in one part of a
country but can
be found in
others.
E.g. Grizzly Bear
 Endangered
A species that is close to extinction in all
parts of a country or in a significantly
large area.
 Manatees

Due to boat collisions, entanglement in fishing gear

and habitat loss, these gentle creatures have become
endangered. 2
 Extinct
A species that is not
found anywhere.

Passenger Pigeon
Tasmanian Tiger
What’s the big deal about the Passenger
Pigeon?
 Keystone Species
Keystone Species: Species that
have strong interactions with
other species and affect their
health and survival.

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 Example - Bats
Bats are considered pests because they
can be a nuance and are scary.
This leads people to kill them and destroy
their homes. However, bats are very
important. They eat moths and pollinate
flowers. As a result, areas that have bats
removed now have fewer flowers and have
too many moths which destroy crops.
 Keystone Species
• It is very hard to identify
important keystone species
until after an ecosystem has
collapsed due to their
absence

• Animals like the passenger

pigeon might seem important
after they’re gone but there is
no way to get them back
 Species Extinction
• Extinct refers to a species
that has died out and no
longer exists on Earth

• Although it is a natural
process that occurs over
thousands and millions of
years, human activity has
drastically increased the rate
of extinction
 Extinction

Passenger Pigeon
Dodo Bird
Natural Causes of Extinction
• Competition with other organisms
• Environmental disasters
• Climate change
• Shortage of food
• Low reproduction
• High number of predators
• Competition with invading species
 Five Historic Mass
Extinctions
It is currently thought there have been
five mass extinctions over the course
of Earth’s history.

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 Human Causes of Extinction
Species extinction have risen
significantly with the recent human
population explosion over the last
200 years. Some of the main causes
of human-caused extinction include:
• Invasion of habitat
• Over hunting
• Pollution
• Habitat loss and fragmentation
• Removing resources
• Introducing invading species
The Tasmanian Tiger
• Despite the name, these
animals were stripped
marsupials (like kangaroos)
not tigers

• Native to mainland Australia

and Tasmania, they were
declared extinct as recently
as the 1930s after a century
of intensive hunting
 Let’s Summarize
• Biodiversity
• Social & Economic Value
• At Risk Species
• Vulnerable, Threatened, Extirpated,
Endangered
• Extinct
• Keystone Species
• Natural and Human Causes of Extinction