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Relationships And Biodiversity Lab Article
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The Concept Of Biodiversity – An Exercise In Variability
from:While it shouldn't be, it's often hard for people to wrap their minds around the concept of biodiversity. Partly this is because the concept of biodiversity is a complex one, and partly it's because so many agencies have vested interests in people seeing anything that conserves resources as a threat to their lifestyles. The first steps toward defining the concept of biodiversity were undertaken by E.O. Wilson in the mid-1980s. Since then, the concept has become so important that there are a number of world, national, and local initiatives targeted at reducing biodiversity loss by 2010.
The concept of biodiversity breaks down into three major factors, all of which are interwoven:
First is the concept of genetic diversity. This refers to the variation of genes within a single species and can be further broken down into two components: genetic variations within distinct populations of the same species, and genetic variations within a population.
Next is the concept of species diversity. This take us up one rung as we consider the varieties of species within a region. There are two main measures to assess this: the first is species “richness”, or the number of species, both plant and animal, that inhabit an area; the second is the more precise “taxonomic diversity,” which takes into account the relationships between species in addition to their numbers.
The third factor, and the overarching one, is ecosystem diversity. Since the boundaries between various biological communities are highly fluid, this is the most difficult factor to measure accurately, yet it may very well be the most important, since this is where changes that affect all life occur. Climate change, often caused by things like global warming, are among the greatest threats to ecosystem diversity.
Biological diversity includes the variety of ecosystems, and their patterns. It also includes their linkages across regional landscapes. There is a hierarchy of the parts and processes of biological diversity that is, admittedly, artificial. This hierarchy also has a distinct human context (i.e., things are seen in the context of how useful they are to humans). Still, it provides a focus for the concept of biodiversity, which is so infinitely varied that any lens taken to it must be narrowly focused compared to the full spectrum of both the topic and human needs.
Understanding the concept of biodiversity should be a high priority for everyone, since we cannot preserve it if we don't understand it, and not preserving it will ultimately affect the lives of all of us. One of the best ways of understanding the very broad concept of biodiversity is reading the various definitions used by scientists, philosophers, environmentalists, and others.
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Richer parasite diversity leads to healthier frogs, says new CU study - CU Boulder News & Events
Richer parasite diversity leads to healthier frogs, says new CU study CU Boulder News & Events According to CU-Boulder Assistant Professor Pieter Johnson, scientists are concerned about how changes in biodiversity affect the risk of infectious diseases in humans and wildlife. Charting the relationships between parasites and amphibians is ... |
More Parasites Mean Healthier Frogs - LiveScience.com
 Eureka! Science News | More Parasites Mean Healthier Frogs LiveScience.com Scientists are concerned about how changes in biodiversity affect the risk of infectious diseases in humans and wildlife. Charting the relationships between parasites and amphibians is important since few studies have examined the influence of parasite ... Want fewer frogs with extra legs? Add parasites |
Hacking Code of Leaf Vein Architecture Solves Mysteries, Allows Predictions of ... - Science Daily (press release)
Hacking Code of Leaf Vein Architecture Solves Mysteries, Allows Predictions of ... Science Daily (press release) The team discovered predictable relationships that hold across different leaves throughout the globe. Larger leaves had their major veins spaced further apart according to a clear mathematical equation, regardless of other variations in their structure ... |
Hacking code of leaf vein architecture solves mysteries, allows predictions of ... - Phys.Org
Hacking code of leaf vein architecture solves mysteries, allows predictions of ... Phys.Org The team discovered predictable relationships that hold across different leaves throughout the globe. Larger leaves had their major veins spaced further apart according to a clear mathematical equation, regardless of other variations in their structure ... |
Common Fungicide Wreaks Havoc On Freshwater Ecosystems - Science Daily (press release)
Common Fungicide Wreaks Havoc On Freshwater Ecosystems Science Daily (press release) "Interest in the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functions stems at least partly from the concern that anthropogenically-driven declines in biodiversity will reduce or alter the benefits offered by ecosystems," Rohr said. |