MEDAN STATE UNIVERSITY

BIODIVERSITY

SECOND ROUTINE TASK

Submitted As a Routine Task 2 Biodiversity

Name of Student : Grace Amelia Br Tarigan

Student ID Number : 4211151005
Biology Study Program : Biodiversity

BIOLOGY MAJOR
FACULTY OF MATH AND SCIENCE
MEDAN
AUGUST 2021
 PRELIMINARY

a. Background
Biodiversity is very important to maintain on our earth. A well-
maintained ecosystem can provide a decent and comfortable place to live for
humans and all species and other living things on earth.
In our country, Indonesia, including a country with high biodiversity.
The diversity of biological resources in Indonesia is very important for society
and the world. In fact, biodiversity contributes to about 40 percent of the
world's economy. Not only that, about 80 percent of the needs of people who
are categorized as poor come from biological resources. The higher the level
of biodiversity in an area, the greater the opportunity for development.
Biodiversity provides many benefits to humans, including in:
- Economic (in the form of fulfilling economic needs, among others:
food, clothing, housing and industry),
- Ecological (suppressing the explosion of plant pests and diseases,
Suppressing the emergence of human disease sources, preserving
water and soil resources, and suppressing environmental pollution),
- Socio-cultural (These benefits include several interests, including:
Health, Science and cultural arts),
- scientific fields (as a means of developing knowledge and research
for various fields of knowledge).

Therefore, biodiversity must be maintained, even better than it is now.

If biodiversity unsustainable or declining, many damages will happen in our
earth.

b. Formulation of Problem
1. What is genetic diversity, species diversity, ecosystem diversity,
functional diversity, and biological diversity in deeper meaning?
2. Is the biodiversity in Indonesia at this time sufficiently maintained, And
how to maintain it?

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3. What is the role of biodiversity on the basis of human existence and

well-being?
c. discussion purpose
1. To know the meaning of genetic diversity, species diversity, ecosystem
diversity, functional diversity, and deeper meaning of biological
diversity.
2. To know and understand about biodiversity condition at this time In
Indonesia and how to maintain it.
3. To know more about the role and benefits of biodiversity on the basis
human existence and well-being.
 DISCUSSION

A. Genetic Diversity, Functional Diversity, and Biological Diversity

1. Genetic Diversity
The definition Genetic diversity in biology is the sum of
various alleles within a species or a population. Genetic diversity refers to both
the vast numbers of different species as well as the diversity within a species.
It makes it possible for species to adapt when the environment changes.
Genetic diversity is particularly important under rapid environmental change,
such as in the Baltic Sea. Diversity in the genetic occurs as a result of sexual
reproduction activities, where reproduction will combine genetic differences
between these individuals, so that it will produce offspring with combinations
or gene mutations that will cause changes in DNA.
The example of genetic diversity we can see in the diversity of cat genes,
that is the Persian cat, Angora cat, local cat, Sphynx cat, and there are still other
types of cats. Another example is in the diversity of tomatoes at the gene level
cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, standard globe tomatoes, beef steak
tomatoes, flum tomatoes, and pear tomatoes.
Why is genetic diversity important? Genetic diversity is important because
it could ensure that certain groups of individuals, species, or populations will
be able to adapt to certain environmental factors. Besides having to deal with
environmental conditions, genetic diversity renders them the ability to resist
emerging diseases and epidemics. This process is called natural selection and
leads to the loss of genetic diversity in certain habitats. However, individuals
who are no longer present may have carried genes for faster growth or for the
ability to cope better with other stress factors.
2. Species Diversity.
Species diversity includes all species found on earth, both plants and
animals. Species can be defined as a group of individuals that exhibit some
important characteristics that are different from other groups. These
characteristics can be morphological, physiological or biochemical.

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There are numerous reasons why species diversity is essential. Each species
has a role in the ecosystem. For example, bees are primary pollinators. Imagine
what would happen if bees went heredity. Fruits and vegetables could be next,
and then the animals that feed off them - this chain links all the way to humans.
Various species provide us not only with food but also contribute to clean
water, breathable air, fertile soils, climate stability, pollution absorption,
building materials for our homes, prevention of disease outbreaks, medicinal
resources, and more.
3. Ecosystem Diversity
Ecosystem diversity is a form of interaction between a community and its
abiotic environment in a certain place and within a certain period of time. The
community referred to here is a collection of interacting populations in a place
and within a certain period of time. This diversity occurs due to differences in
geographical location which causes differences in climate and affects
differences in temperature, rainfall, intensity of sunlight, and duration of
sunlight. With so many differences, the flora and fauna that occupy an area will
also vary.
The benefits of biodiversity at the ecosystem level are
1. River ecosystems: for waters and irrigation, where fish and other animals
breed
2. Seawater ecosystem: a place to live for algae, molluscs, shrimp,
phytoplankton, etc. as well as for salt production
3. artificial ecosystems: dams for irrigation, rice fields for growing rice,
forests that produce production crops such as teak and pine, agro-ecosystems
in the form of rainfed rice fields
4. grassland biome ecosystem where tigers, lions, buffaloes live, etc. and
where grass and other plants grow.
5. Desert biome ecosystem: habitat for cactus and xerophytic plants
4. Functional Diversity
Functional diversity refers to those components of biodiversity that
influence how an ecosystem operates or functions, that is the ability of an
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ecosystem to support life and absorb a certain level of stress and impact,
without changing the current ecosystem into another behavioral regime, for
example: another stability domain (Turner et al., 1999).
Functional diversity of a community can be measured by functional
richness and evenness. Functional richness refers to the number of species
inhabiting a particular niche and functional evenness reveals how evenly the
species are being distributed. Increase or decrease in functional richness and
evenness simultaneously increases and decreases the functional diversity
respectively. Decrease in functional richness and evenness decreases the
ecosystem productivity and stability which ultimately decreases functional
diversity of the same ecosystem.
5. Biological Diversity

The term biodiversity (from “biological diversity”) revers to the variety

of life on earth at all levels, from genes to ecosystems, and can encompass the
evolutionary, ecological, and cultural processes that sustain life. At the Center
for Biodiversity and Conservation, we include humans and human cultural
diversity as a part of biodiversity. Biodiversity refers to the variety of living
species on Earth, including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi. While Earth’s
biodiversity is so rich that many species have yet to be discovered, many
species are being threatened with extinction due to human activities, putting
the Earth’s magnificent biodiversity at risk.

The benefits of biodiversity for humans and the environment include:

- Increase the ecosystem productivity of each species. No matter how

small, all have an important role in the ecosystem. For example, a large
number of plant species have potential as medicines, reducing climate
change impacts, and as food sources.

- The great diversity of species ensures the sustainability of nature to

support all forms of ecosystem life. Another benefit is to play a role in
reducing the risk of various natural disasters, such as mangroves in
preventing abrasion and tsunamis.
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- Indonesia's rainforest ecosystem is rich in species diversity. The loss

of mangrove forests will have a negative impact because it is
tantamount to eliminating the benefits of mangrove forests.

- Well-managed natural resources will provide many benefits for

human health.

- Good biodiversity provides a number of natural environmental

services for humans. This includes protection of water resources,
protection of soil from landslides and floods, storage of nutrients
(nutrients).

- Biological resources play a role in absorbing environmental pollutants

such as CO2, maintaining climate stability, maintaining ecosystem
balance.

B. Biodiversity Condition at This Time in Indonesia and How To Maintain it

Indonesia is a country with the second highest biodiversity in the world
after Brazil, and Indonesia is referred to as Megabiodiversity. But when
combined with marine biodiversity, Indonesia is ranked 1st in the world, with
the extinction rate in Indonesia being ranked 6th in the world. Indonesia alone
has more than 17000 islands, 25000 species of Angiosperms, 12% mammals
from all over the world, 16% reptiles, 17% birds, 6% amphibians, 45% fish,
and many more.
Currently, biodiversity in Indonesia is experiencing a crisis or decline
caused by human activities or climate change. This decline is due to over
exploration and the destruction and expropriation of habitats for economic
purposes, the increase in the human population that shifts the habitat of other
populations, the development of industries that are not friendly to the
ecosystem, and the culmination of the extinction of species.
In fact, in the present time, we can directly feel the effects of the
imbalance of ecosystems in Indonesia. for example, the corona virus (COVID-
19) that is now hitting Indonesia with its ferocity. not only Indonesia, even in
the world though. The results of the research by experts, reported by Cleary
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and Devanter, are the loss of biodiversity in Kalimantan due to fires of 100
species of butterflies. Fires also reduce genetic diversity of species which
makes remaining species more vulnerable to extinction, due to reduced
population balance. In Sumatra, clearing of natural forests led to a reduction in
species diversity of birds and bats, but did not affect the abundance or species
richness of primates, squirrels, and forest rats, except for forest conversion for
plantations.
The breaking of the chain of life and the destruction of wildlife habitats
pushes wild animals closer to human populations and increases the likelihood
of zoonotic viruses, such as Covid-19, making the jump across species and
humans as hosts. In addition, the destruction of ecosystems also has an impact
on which types of viruses thrive in the wild and how they spread. In the last
few centuries, tropical forests have been reduced by 50%. This has a very bad
impact on the ecosystem.
In a number of cases, scientists have succeeded in revealing that if
animals at the top of the food chain went extinct, animals at the bottom, such
as mice that carried more pathogens, took their place at the top of the food
chain. Like the assumption that bats were the initial source of the covid-19
virus, it is very possible with this process that the covid-19 that never existed
before could emerge and become a pandemic like it is today, even mutating to
become even more vicious.
The way to maintain biodiversity in Indonesia is doing Analysis of the
UU Nomor 5 Tahun 1994 About United Endorsement Nation Convention on
Biological Diversity. In addition to the legal field, there are several ways that
humans can do to preserve biodiversity, namely by reforestation, selective
logging, pest control, and nature conservation. reforestation is the restoration
of damaged land by replanting plants or trees found in the area. Selective
logging is a selection process to determine which trees are suitable for cutting,
so that the number of trees in the area is not significantly reduced. Biological
pest control can be done by releasing or breeding natural predators into the
habitat. Meanwhile, nature conservation is an action to keep certain species
from extinction. Nature conservation can be done in situ or ex situ. In-situ
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nature conservation is carried out in the species' natural habitat, while ex-situ
nature conservation is carried out outside its natural habitat.

C. The Role of Biodiversity on The Basis of Human Existence and Well-being

Biodiversity is important to humans for many reasons. Biodiversity is
also considered by many to have intrinsic value—that is, each species has
a value and a right to exist, whether or not it is known to have value to humans.
Any loss or deterioration in the condition of biodiversity can compromise and
affect human wellbeing. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment in 2005 was
the first global effort to examine links between human wellbeing and
biodiversity.
Biodiversity is a provider for humans. The meaning of provider here is
what that in biodiversity can use by human. For example: as a food source, as
a source of clothing, and as a source of living material.
The assessment found benefits to societies from biodiversity in
material welfare, security of communities, resilience of local economies,
relations among groups in communities, and human health. Biodiversity can
help humans with some following things:
1. Biodiversity As Protection
Biodiversity as a life support system makes its existence absolutely
necessary because damage to biodiversity can threaten human life. The
role of biodiversity is very important for humans, so maintaining
biodiversity means protecting life because if biodiversity having
damaged, human life will also be very threatened. For example: If the
food chain is damaged, it is possible that several types of animals will
attack humans. in addition, other examples such as biodiversity
becomes less, then the need for food and medicine will also be depleted.
This will threaten human health. Another example is if the plants such
as trees that protect our nature become extinct, disasters can occur, such
as floods, landslides, barren lands, and other disaster.
2. Viable Ecosystem
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In an ecosystem there are biotic and abiotic which have their

respective functions. They will interact with each other in a unity and
form an order. The components that make up this ecosystem are
biodiversity. If the function of biodiversity is not disturbed, the balance
of every part of the ecosystem will be maintained. If the balance of
ecosystem undisturbed, a proper ecosystem will be created in the
human environment.
3. Biodiversity As a Regulator
Biodiversity, including the number, abundance, and composition of
genotypes, populations, species, functional types, communities, and
landscape units, strongly influences the provision of ecosystem services
and human well-being (high certainty). Processes that are often affected
by changes in biodiversity. Biodiversity indirectly regulates the humans
live. If biodiversity is not maintained well, human needs for food,
clothing, and housing will be disrupted. Therefore, biodiversity
sustainability regulates aspects of human life. if biodiversity is low,
human life will also be disturbed.
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