...Biodiversity Define Biodiversity; Biodiversity is an ecosystem or certain habitat where there range of different animal species coexist with each other. (Biodiversity causes a healthy eco-system) ‘’The richer the diversity of life, the greater the opportunity for medical discoveries, economic development, and adaptive responses to such new challenges as climate change.’’(The Convention about Life on Earth, 2014) 1) Prevent Extinction; the larger the variety of animals that exist in the world the better. It is better for us and future generations because it gives the animals and people who breed animals a bigger gene pool to use to protect animals from diseases. Therefore that we can continue to farm animals and allow them not to die of an...
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...Assess the relative importance of human and physical factors influencing levels of biodiversity (15 Marks) There are a range of human factors which affect the levels of biodiversity in an area in positive and negative ways. The way in which people use resources can have a damaging effect on the levels of biodiversity as trees are cut down for wood or paper; in some places this is leading to high levels of deforestation. Particularly in areas such as the tropical rainforest, this can lead to the destruction of habitats and so put many endemic species at risk. Also, in many areas there are poachers who put many species at risk of extinction as they can gain wealth by hunting them. In more built up areas, there is likely to be much lower biodiversity as concrete is built over where plants may have previously grown and areas with the highest biodiversity are relatively undisturbed. Due to an increasing population, many more areas are becoming built up by the process of urbanisation. This gives local species less opportunity to continue or to develop and so lowering the level of biodiversity of the area. In a less direct way, biodiversity can be affected by humans as pollution is created, affecting air quality and contaminating water sources. Pollution can make an area more hostile to other species living in the area which can affect the population of them in a negative way. Particularly in cases of contaminated water sources, the pollution can be toxic to plant or animal species...
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...It is clearly the case that variations in levels of biodiversity are highly influenced by physical factors. The climate of a region has a massive impact on the levels of biodiversity, as this determines what flora and fauna can survive. Sunlight, temperature, water and CO₂ are all limiting factors for plant growth. Places with very few limiting factors, such as a tropical rainforest, have high biodiversity because the conditions are good, meaning many plants can grow there because they do not need to be specialised. These conditions are also favourable to many animal species, due to resources being widely available and many niches to be occupied. This leads to high biodiversity because of little competition between species. On the other hand, places with a lot of limiting factors, the Arctic for example, means plants and animals have to be specialised to survive, therefore biodiversity is low due to harsh conditions. The altitudinal range of an area also influences biodiversity. This is because different climates occur at different altitudes, meaning if there is a large range of elevations, there will be conditions that suit many different species of animals and plants so biodiversity is higher. One example of this is the Himalayas where biodiversity is high. Endemism is another physical factor, this increases biodiversity and is affected by the location of an area. For example, islands, such as the Galapagos Islands, are more likely to have endemic species because of isolation...
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...Biodiversity is one issue to which I attach the greatest importance and that we have to tackle with urgency. Not only we have a moral obligation but it will be significant for our contribution to the next Copenhagen conference on Climate Change at the end of this year. To protect biodiversity is one of today's great challenges. Over the last four and a half years, the European Commission has been at the forefront of the fight against climate change. This is an area where Europe can be justifiably proud of its role as a world leader. And it is an area where we cannot afford to fail. The success of our climate change policy will also be measured by the success of our efforts in stopping the loss of biodiversity. These issues – like so many of the challenges that we face – are irrevocably interrelated, just as the link with energy and energy security has helped to develop our understanding of the importance of climate change. The loss of biodiversity is a global threat that is just as important as global warming. It threatens our natural environment and thus, the quality of our life. But biodiversity underpins also our economies. It is not therefore only because of the love of nature or a vision for our environment that we should keep biodiversity on the political agenda. Efforts made by this Commission have concentrated on our ambitious target: to put a stop to the loss of biodiversity in Europe by 2010. For that, we must implement existing legislation such as the Birds and Habitats...
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...populations. Possible factors contributing to this decline include changes in food, loss of genetic variation, cover availability, evolution of predation, microclimatic effect, and lack of recolonization following extinctions. Habitat loss and fragmentation are processes that separate small populations, which have higher extinction rates that may lead to a reduction in biological diversity. Recent dramatic declines in forest management have brought some undesirable consequences for forest health and wildlife (Jack Ward, T. (n.d). Standing back and letting nature take its course has become increasingly prevalent. Unfortunately, while appealing as this sounds, this is not tenable in the long-term as it will not protect forests, retain biodiversity, and provide some wood products over time. We are increasingly depending on places beyond our borders to provide our wood places with far less resources and knowledge about how to manage forests responsibly. By importing wood products, we export not only environmental consequences but jobs and dollars ( Jack Ward, T. (n.d). Conservation biology needs to reach out to a much broader community of academics and practitioners in fields as diverse as anthropology, history, political geography, and environmental psychology (Bernstein, M., & Ladle, R. J. (2010). There has been little recognition in conservation biology of the benefits that could be derived from collaboration with industrial designers. This lack of interest is...
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...Title of Article: A database of schemes that prioritize sites and species based on their conservation value: focusing business on biodiversity. Author (s): Arthur G. Blundell and Tormod V. Burkey Publication: BMC Ecology Year: September 2007 This article examines the effectiveness and usefulness of the schemes commonly used by businesses to evaluate where biodiversity offsets need be. Biodiversity offsets are essentially, the counter action taken by businesses that can offset environmental damages inflicted on the environment by operation. It is unfortunate, but it has been shown that if a business has to evaluate these issues from inside the company and in turn, pay the costs of the research and planning, it has been less likely to actually take place. The article explains “companies prefer to consult already completed schemes that rank sites rather than conduct the conservation planning themselves” (Blundell, A. & Burkey, T, 2007),. There in, propelled the necessity of forty commonly used schemes to asses priority levels and establish when and to what extent, conservation and biodiversity offsets are needed. The problem within companies using these already completed schemes is that the focus is mainly on endangered species and seem to be short-term based , while avoiding focus on current threat levels and importance of future environmental concerns. While these schemes do play a part in the process of alerting businesses of large scale conservation...
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...RESOLUTION TOPIC: RESOURCE USE, BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION AND OUR COLLECTIVE FUTURE WRITTEN BY NSEK, UDUAK OKON REG. NO: 13/PG/AR/HS/006 DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF UYO SUBMITTED TO DR. DOMINIC AKPAN LECTURER IN CHARGE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY AND INTERNATIOANL STUDIES FACULTY OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF UYO MARCH, 2015 Abstract Resource use can be defined as the derivation of benefit from that resource in economic or financial, social or cultural, political and ecological respects. Human actions or resource use have altered global environment and reduced biodiversity by causing extinctions and reducing the population sizes of surviving species. Increasing human population size and per capita resource use will continue to have direct and indirect consequences such as distorted values of plant and animal resources, inappropriate resource tenure and ownership structure as well as lack of knowledge on resource management and biodiversity conservation. Inevitably, our collective future becomes bleak as future generations will inhabit a planet with significantly less wildlife, diminished ecosystem services and an increased impoverished people. Keywords: Resource, Biodiversity, future Introduction The most significant environmental issue in the contemporary world has been resource use and biodiversity conservation. This is not unusual because humans benefit directly or indirectly from resources and its biodiversity. In the last few decades...
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...Using examples, assess the relative importance of human and physical factors in influencing levels of biodiversity (15) Both physical and human factors influence biodiversity. On a global scale, climatic and soil fertility influences affect levels of biodiversity, although often human factors influence biodiversity at a local scale and increasingly globally. Biomes and large scale ecosystems such as coral reefs are influenced by limiting factors such as salinity of water which should remain constant, temperatures between 25 and 29 degrees C and adequate sunlight so turbidity level are low. The Great Barrier reef is home to 5,000 species of molluscs, 1,800 species of fish, 125 species of sharks. The age and size of an ecosystem is important in supporting high levels of biodiversity. On the island of Borneo, a biodiversity hotspot, has a number of endemic species and sustains high levels of biodiversity as there is range of altitudes supporting different niches and the size of the area supports many predators. At the local scale, threats from human activity such as deforestation can severely influence biodiversity levels. In Borneo, pristine rainforest was removed for timber and mineral exploitation and the result was a wasteland of yellow grass with low biodiversity. However, human factors can also benefit biodiversity as replanting of native species fertilized by cow urine has subsequently increased biodiversity in the area and the area has been designated an...
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...assess the relative importance of human and physical factors in influencing levels of biodiversity. (15) Biodiversity refers to the variety of genes, species and eco-systems in an area. Levels of biodiversity can be influenced by both physical and human factors. Physical factors such as the climate type as well as the age of an area can have a significant impact on the levels of diversity found in that area. Human factors such as deforestation, urbanisation as well as the protection of certain eco-systems carried out by humans can have an impact on the area whether it is negative or positive. The climate of a region may have a huge impact on levels of biodiversity as this determines what flora can survive. Factors such as temperature, water and CO₂ are all limiting factors for plants, places with very few limiting factors such as a tropical rainforest, have high biodiversity because the conditions are good, meaning many plants can grow such as the Atlantic forest, where there are over 20,000 plant species adapted in that specific area. Places with a lot of limiting factors, the levels of biodiversity is low due to harsh conditions. The altitudinal range of an area also has an effect on the levels of biodiversity, the conditions that suit different eco-systems will differ as some are more adapted to thrive in colder environments compared to others who thrive in warmer environments. The age of an area also plays a part in influencing levels of biodiversity as it allows species...
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...Ecology Number 4, Fall 1999 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Maintaining Natural Life Support Processes Issues in Ecology Number 4 Fall 1999 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Maintaining Natural Life Support Processes by Shahid Naeem, Chair, F.S. Chapin III, Robert Costanza, Paul R. Ehrlich, Frank B. Golley, David U. Hooper, J.H. Lawton, Robert V. ONeill, Harold A. Mooney, Osvaldo E. Sala, Amy J. Symstad, and David Tilman Critical processes at the ecosystem level influence plant productivity, soil fertility, water quality, atmospheric chemistry, and many other local and global environmental conditions that ultimately affect human welfare. These ecosystem processes are controlled by both the diversity and identity of the plant, animal, and microbial species living within a community. Human modifications to the living community in an ecosystem as well as to the collective biodiversity of the earth can therefore alter ecological functions and life support services that are vital to the well-being of human societies. Substantial changes have already occurred, especially local and global losses of biodiversity. The primary cause has been widespread human transformation of once highly diverse natural ecosystems into relatively species-poor managed ecosystems. Recent studies suggest that such reductions in biodiversity can alter both the magnitude and the stability of ecosystem processes, especially when biodiversity is reduced to the low levels typical...
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...African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology Vol. 3(9). pp. 400-403, September, 2009 Available online http://www.academicjournals.org/ajpp ISSN 1996-0816 © 2009 Academic Journals Review Review on the importance of documenting ethnopharmacological information on medicinal plants Berhanemeskel Weldegerima School of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar. P. O. Box 196, Ethiopia. E-mail: aberhaneth@gmail.com, aberhane2001@yahoo.com. Tel: +251912024213. Accepted 4 June, 2009 This paper reviews and discusses the importance of documenting ethnopharmacological information on medicinal plants. The literature review was done by collecting relevant information from journal articles, workshop proceedings, books and electronic resources. The review sums up the importance of documenting the indigenous traditional knowledge on medicinal plants as being a vehicle for; (i) preserving cultural heritage, (ii) ethnopharmacological bases of drug research and (ii) preserving of biological diversity. Key words: Ethnopharmacology, indigenous knowledge, medicinal plants, biological and diversity. INTRODUCTION Local knowledge of indigenous peoples includes information about the ecosystem in general, but also about specific plants used as medicine, food, building material and the like (Leonti et al., 2003). Establishing the historical depth of medicinal plant use is relevant from a variety of perspectives. Not only would it show definitely that indigenous...
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...Biodiversity Hotspot in Indo Burma Student’s Name Name of Institution Abstract Extinction has been happening over the years without concerns; however there are people who have emerged to create awareness on the importance of conserving the environment for their continuity. For this course some biodiversity hotspots have been identified which host a variety of endemic species which need to be protected. This paper seek to explore how climate change has affected the species, other threats that exist that endanger these species and what is being done to mitigate these threat. Biodiversity Hotspot in Indo Burma Map 1: Indo-Burma a Biodiversity hotspot (Myer, 2000) The biodiversity hotspots concept was brought about by a man called Norman Meyer. There are 25 identified hotspots all over the world and other potential ones are 9 in number. These areas share a similarity of having many endemic species and together they support 60% of world’s mammals, plants, birds, amphibians, and reptiles’ species. One of these hotspots includes the Indo-Burma. Termed as one of world’s biodiversity hotspots the Indo Burma spreads across the eastern parts of Bangladesh extending to the Indias North eastern regions, the southern parts of Bramaputra River, almost the whole of Myanmar and China’s southern and eastern parts of Yunnan Province also including Thailand and minute parts of Penisular Malaysia. Not forgetting the south China’s coastal lowlands, the off shore...
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...Globalization in Guatemala’s Biodiversity Guatemala is a country territorially small, but with a unique natural and cultural in the world. It’s condition as the linkage between two continental spheres, also with the variety of terrestrial and edaphic (physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the land) forms, the amplitude altitudinal, pluvial and thermal, between some other factors, are responsible of the existence of a great variety of ecosystems and of species. Also, Guatemala is one of the countries around the world with a big ethnic diversity. This natural and ethnic diversity have generated many ways of interaction and use of the wild species, as to an intense domestic adaptation that has become an important support for the diet of Guatemalans and of many habitants of many other countries. Guatemala has being denominated Mesoamerican Center, is one of eight important world centers of cultivated plants. It is also part of the Mesoamerican Eco-region, which is one of twenty-five terrestrial eco-regions most important in the world, not only for its large biodiversity but also because of the high threats of itself (Galvez, 2000). This essay will present some of the elements of most importance of the biological biodiversity in the development of the human kind, as its relevance of the natural capital. Guatemala it’s a place of big amplitude of different live organisms that interact as to form complex connections of interdependence. The biodiversity is an important aspect...
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...ENVS 1127 Chapters 6, 8, 9 & 10 Homework Assignment 4 Due Noon Tuesday, October 15, 2013 1. Name and describe the four different revolutions leading to significant increases in the human population. What is the importance of the fifth revolution, the environmental revolution, to the size of the human population on this planet? (Chapter 8) The Neolithic Revolution was the first revolutions that lead to a increase in human populations. The Neolithic Revolution occurred approximately 12,000 years ago and was the rise of stable food, the rise of settlements, specialization of labor, and the reduction of mortality. Following this is the Industrial Revolution saw the birth and rise of modern technology and science. Because of new energy sources, production became more efficient and faster. Food could be produced quicker; this also began increased environmental resource exploitation. The Medical Revolution included the increase of epidemics and other rise in diseases that gave children a high mortality rate. This resulted in a low population growth. Because of this, more health regulations were put into place. This in turn, increased human population growth rate. The Green Revolution began with the concern of over-production of food, this lead to an increase in agricultural efficiency. The newest revolution, the Environmental Revolution, consists of policy and industrial changes. This also includes efficient technologies, urban, regional planning and also changes in personal...
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...Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Greater biodiversity implies greater health. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions support fewer species. Rapid environmental changes typically cause extinctions. One estimate is that less than 1% of the species that have existed on Earth are extant.[1] Biodiversity biodiversity is divided into three, phenotypic, genoti, environmental Ecological diversity refers to the sum of the different types of environment or Ecosystem present in a region or the habitat which is the sum total of the climate, vegetation and geography of a region. Ecosystem is a unit of the biosphere in which there is an interaction between the living and nonliving factors so as to maintain a continuous flow of energy. It is a structural and functional unit of a biosphere. There are several kinds of habitats or ecosystems around the world. The variety of diversity of species in an ecosystem is influenced by the ecosystem it self. Examples of ecosystems: Grass land, wet land, desert, aquatic ecosystem etc. Species diversity is the variety of different species in a given area. It is very difficult to estimate the different species in a given area. Most of the species are found near the equator and a few at the poles. Genetic Diversity may be defined...
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