Biodiversity
Lasnosha Snowden
ENV 300 Environmental Science
Nicole Minor
June 15, 2015

All living organisms are present in ecosystems to coexist together to create biodiversity and without different species, these environment could fail horribly. Every living organism has a purpose in order to keep the balance of biodiversity. In order for there to be “biological diversity, these items are organized at many levels, ranging from complete ecosystems to the chemical structures that are the molecular basis of heredity” (1987). Not always in a friendly environmental manner, Human actions has played a big key role in the changing of the environment. A nonproductive planet would be result, if we did not have an abundance of species and ecosystems. All living organisms rely on one another to survive and thrive.

Biodiversity is the total of species living together in an area, a community, or the entire planet. Genetic diversity, habitat diversity, and species diversity are three different concepts can be defined as Biodiversity. The same species in different populations found with patterns of variations and a bundle of different genes located in one species is known as genetic diversity. Within a specified area, the number of different habitats is habitat diversity.
When checking for species diversity there are three qualities that you should look for species dominance, species evenness, and species richness. The most abundant species measured is species dominance. The entire number of a particular species is measured by species evenness. An overall number of species is measured by species richness.
All species need nutrients and it takes a diversity of species, in a single habitat, to make that happen. The Earth, species, and ecosystems could not survive without biodiversity. We need a diversity of species to survive. “Fresh water makes up only 0.01% of the World's water and approximately 0.8 % of the Earth's surface” (Dudgeon et al., 2006). Continued contamination of fresh water slowly kills the aquatic and terrestrial species that need it to survive, including humans. “This precious heritage is in crisis. Fresh waters are experiencing declines in biodiversity far greater than those in the most affected terrestrial ecosystems” (Dudgeon et al., 2006). Fish not only live in water they rely on the movement of water to transport food to their habitats. Without conservation programs in place, to protect our waters from degradation, many bodies of water would be destroyed.
Almost every species on Earth needs water to survive. Plants can’t grow without water; it regulates species temperature and transports nutrients to the plant. Degraded water can leach important nutrients from creating nutrient deficient plants. When plants are missing nutrients their normal growth patterns can be disrupted. Potassium is necessary in the plants photosynthesis process; without potassium plants will starve (Binko et al., 1993). So, back to the number of species that humans need to consume for their survival. We need protein, fiber, sodium, fat, vitamins and carbohydrates. Plants and animals can provide this to us. But, not all plants are created equal. So we need a diversity to survive; all species need nutrients and it takes a diversity of species, in a single habitat, to make that happen.
There are four key processes of biological evolution. These processes are mutation, natural selection, migration/geographic isolation, and Genetic Drift. Mutations take place in the species genes. Gene mutation occurs when a cell splits and reproduces a copy, sometimes the copy isn’t an exact match creating a mutated gene. Some mutations will add to the species abilities creating a new niche.
Natural selection involves four primary factors: genetic variability, environmental variability, differential reproduction, and environmental influence. An article in Plos One, discusses the genetic variability of natural selection, “a genetic adaptation to a specific form of an environmental feature is profitable only as long as the rate of change in the environment is not too fast” (Baronchelli, et al, 2013). For example, a Llama that can stand taller, due to a longer neck, would be able to reach fruits on taller plants. This new niche is a great adaptation as long as the fruit barring plants are in their habitat. If for example, humans disrupted their habitat by removing all the fruit barring plants, this adaptation/niche would be useless.
The competitive exclusion principle states that two species with the exact same requirements can’t coexist (Botkins, 2011). Niche opportunities or competitive advantages explains the reason for habitat biodiversity. When competing animals have varying ecological niches, they can coexist. Competition for identical niches within the same ecosystem. A fundamental niche is the full range of role, place, or function a species has within their natural habitat, when no other competition is available. However, a realized niche is the role, place, or function that is utilized within its ecosystem; with niche competition the full range is unavailable. For example field mice and rabbits build their homes is tunnels dug underground. If only rabbits resided in an ecosystem, more rabbits would inhabit the area because more underground space would be available to them; however, that instance is quite unusual. Typically mice and rabbits will share the underground space usually with less of each species inhabiting the ecosystems.
If the species, of an area, doesn’t adapted quick enough to new or changing environmental conditions, more adapted competition could push them out.
Tropic levels consist of all organisms within a food web that are the same number of feeding levels away from the original source (Botkins, 2011).
Autotrophs use photosynthesis, the use of energy from the sun and carbon dioxide in the air, to produce sugars. Autotrophs are in the first trophic level of the food chain. All other organisms are called heterotrophs. Heterotrophs feed on autotrophs and heterotrophs. Herbivores are on the second tropic level, and only eat plants, algae, and photosynthetic bacteria. Carnivores, the third tropic level, are meat-eaters that feed on herbivores. The fourth trophic level has carnivores that feed on other carnivores. Decomposers fall into the highest trophic level
Food webs consist of animals that feed at their trophic levels and animals that feed on several trophic levels. They are complex network of interactions on several levels of the food chain. Many birds, which are carnivores, will eat fish, worms, insects, and mice but, these same birds will also eat seeds, fruit, nuts, and vegetables. All ecosystems need a diverse number of species to survive. Pollution, deforestation, wetland loss, and the destruction of coral reefs all lead to the disappearance or fragmentation of ecosystems. A loss of one species can affect the entire food chain. In rare cases this loss can help an ecosystem push more diversity; usually however, the loss will weaken an ecosystem.
Honey Bees are a good example of this. Not only do they produce a very sweet treat, they’re also a major contributor to the pollination process needed for many plants to grow. The disappearance of bees would greatly diminish the biomass and diversity of the plants we eat, granted other insects would pick up some of the slack.
Geographic isolation is the separation of one species from its original species group. During that time both species evolve very differently and eventually the two are unable to reproduce together, making them separate species. When a one group is isolated from the rest of their species, the founder effect occurs. Less genetic variance occur because there is a less diverse community with which to interbreed. Natural and human induced events can cause isolation. A forest that has been fragmented and is surrounded by farmland can isolate a large number of species.
Geographic regions allow for variations in differing biodiversity’s among ecosystems. The latitudinal diversity gradient refers to the richness of species from the poles to the tropics. Areas at lower latitudes tend to have more species than areas at higher latitudes. Tropical rain forests cover about 7% of the earth land area, but provides habitat for over half of the world’s known species of plants and animals (Botkins, 2011). Tropical regions are much more diverse then temperate regions. Temperate regions are the most threaten ecosystems on Earth. This is mainly related to human activities. We have destroyed much of our temperate regions for agricultural, residential and industrial development.
Human generated pollution and land use change has had a vast effect on our environmental diversity. According to Gretchen Daily approximately 43% of the earth’s vegetated surface has been degraded by humans since 1945 (1995). “Much of this land use transformation has led to a decline in ecosystem quality, i.e. naturalness, and the erosion of biological diversity” (Vandewalle et al., 2010).
“Key research goals include understanding which habitat conditions (i.e. quantity and characteristics of the habitat) are required to ensure species persistence; understanding the effects of environmental variability on population parameters; and predicting how environmental change may affect the distribution, demography and variability of population” (Cabello, et al., 2012).
Sustainable techniques need to be implemented in order to conserve our ecosystems. If deforestation of land, desertification of land, and acidification of water continues, much of the earth’s species will become extinct. Conservation of our environment is reliant on the development of new concepts. Our current model for running society is outdated and extremely unsustainable. Our current values lack environmental stability. We need to correct our values by changing our environmental lifestyle to a proactive, assisting, and inclusive concept. Planning for future problems rather the reacting to them when it’s too late. Assisting the disadvantaged by working to provide a clean safe environment to everyone. Working toward governmental changes that are dedicated to a sustainable economy rather than a throwaway economy. Teach homeowners and landscapers to use minimal land disturbance when building new rural and urban developments. Reassess policies for changes to water bodies. Implementation of all or most of these techniques will lessen our negative impact on the environment.
As you can see the conservation of biodiversity could be the deciding factor between life and death of most living species on Earth. The loss of just one species can adversely affect every organism, in its ecosystem. There’re many roles played to help create a great number of diversified biomes. Without this diversity of species our livable planet would parish. We need to move toward a more sustainable economy so that the fabric of life, biodiversity, can live on.

References

Baronchelli, A., Chater, N., Christiansen, M. H., & Pastor-Satorras, R. (2013, January 10). Evolution in a Changing Environment. Plos One. Volume 8, pp. e52742. San Francisco, CA: Public Library of Science
Binko, C.A., et al. (1993). The Ortho Problem Solver. pp 77 & 243. San Ramon, CA: Robert B. Loperena.
Botkin, D.B. & Keller, E.A. (2011) Environmental Science Earth as a Living Planet. 8th Ed. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Brahic, C. (2009, January 16). Fish ‘an ally” against climate change. New Scientist. Environment. Retrieved March 31, 2014 from http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16432-fish-an-ally-against-climate-change.html#.Uzm-dPldXuM
Cabello, J., et al., (2012, December). The ecosystem functioning dimension in conservation: insights from remote sensing. Biodiversity and Conservation. London: Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2012
Daily, G. C. (1995, July 21) Restoring value to the world's degraded lands. Science. (Vol. 269 Issue 5222, p350, 5 p. chart). Washington: American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Dudgeon, D. et al. (2006, March). Freshwater biodiversity: importance, threats, status and conservation challenges. Biological Reviews Vol. 81, Issue 2 pp. 163-182. Retrieved March 31, 2014 from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1017/S1464793105006950/abstract
U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment. (1987). Technologies to Maintain Biological Diversity. Retrieved March 17, 2014 from http://biodiversity.ca.gov/Biodiversity/biodiv_def2.html
Vandewalle, M. Et Al. (2010, September 1). Functional traits as indicators of biodiversity response to land use changes across ecosystems and organisms. Biodiversity And Conservation. (Volume: 19 Issue: 10 p. 2921-2947). London: Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010.