BIODIVERSITY

ALL THE DIFFERENT KINDS

OF LIFE
INTRODUCTION
The term “Biodiversity” was first coined by Walter G.
Rosen in 1986. According to National Union of
Conservation of Nature and Natural Sciences (IUCN-
NR) In 1988, biodiversity is “the variety and
variability of species of their population, the variety of

Genetic Diversity
species of their population, the variety of species of
their life forms the diversity of the complex
association with species with their interaction and
their ecological process which influences perform.”

Ecosystem Diversity

Species Diversity
● Biodiversity is all the different kinds of life you'll
find in one area—the variety of animals, plants,
fungi, and even microorganisms like bacteria that
make up our natural world. It describes the
richness and variety of life on earth. It is the most
complex and important feature of our planet.
● Biodiversity is the source of the essential goods
and ecological services that constitute the source
of life for all and it has direct consumptive value
in food, agriculture, medicine, and in industry.
● Without biodiversity, life would not sustain.
 Why is it
important?
● Biodiversity is important to most aspects of our
lives. It is essential for the processes that support
all life on Earth, including humans. We value
biodiversity both for what it provides to humans,
and for the value it has in its own right.
Importance of Biodiversity to Nature
 Living things are interdependent (living things
can be niches for other living things).
 Populations are adapted to live together in
communities.
 Biodiversity can bring stability to an ecosystem
(ecosystems are stable if their biodiversity is
maintained).
Importance of Biodiversity to People
 Humans depend on other organisms for their needs
(only a few species of plants and animals supply the
major portion of the food eaten by the human
population.
 Biodiversity could help breeders produce additional
food crops.
 Biodiversity can be used to improve people's health
since living things supply the world pharmacy.
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Types of Biodiversity
 GENETIC
DIVERSITY
“Genetic” means related to traits
passed from parent to offspring.
“Diversity” means having a range of
different things.
 refers to the range of different inherited traits within
a species. In a species with high genetic diversity,
there would be many individuals with a wide variety
of different traits.
 is critical for a population to adapt to changing
environments. If a highly selected and low diversity
strain, like fish populations grown for aquaculture, is
introduced into the wild population, it will reduce the
population’s ability to adapt to changes.
IMPORTANCE OF GENETIC DIVERSITY
● 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.
 CONSERVATION OF GENETIC DIVERSITY
● Genetic diversity is facing many threats. Its preservation maintains the
reproductive capacity in the short term while it maintains the ability of
species for adaptation and evolution in the long term. Conservation of
genetic diversity is the same for all living organisms; however, different
methods are applied depending on the goal of conservation, distribution of
the conservation object, and biological nature.
 The process of conservation of genetic
diversity is mediated by three components:

● (1) defining the aim of conservation,

● (2) knowledge of populations’ genetic diversity, and
● (3) applying methods for conservation.
 SPECIES
DIVERSITY
Variety of species and
abundance of species
Species diversity is defined as the number of
different species present in an ecosystem and
relative abundance of each of those species. Each
species plays an important role in an ecosystem.
The role that a species plays in its ecosystem is
known as its “ecological niche”.
Species diversity is the measure of biological diversity
observed in a particular ecological community indicating a
number of species or species richness in an ecological
community.

Example:
– woodland forest comprising 4-5 different species of trees.
Tens of hundreds of fish species, coral and crustaceans
found in a specific reef etc.
 There are two constituents of species
diversity:
● Species richness: Number of different species
present in an ecosystem. Tropical areas have
greater species richness as the environment is
conducive for a large number of species.
● Species evenness: Relative abundance of individuals of
each of those species. If the number of individuals within
a species is fairly constant across communities, it is said
to have a high evenness and if the number of individuals
varies from species to species, it is said to have low
evenness.
IMPORTANCE OF SPECIES DIVERSITY
● Greater species richness and productivity makes an
ecosystem more sustainable and stable
● Species richness makes an ecosystem able to respond to any
catastrophe
● Rich diversity is important for the survival of mankind
● Humans get lots of product from nature like fruits, cereals,
meat, wood, fibre, raisin, dyes, medicine, antibiotics, etc.
 CONSERVATION OF SPECIES
DIVERSITY
● Biodiversity rich regions are protected as biosphere reserves,
national parks and sanctuaries i.e. called in-situ conservation.
Protecting Sunderbans for many endangered species like the royal
Bengal tiger, olive ridley sea turtles, mangrove species etc.
● Ex-situ conversation, where threatened and endangered species
are identified, taken out and given full protection and kept in
special reserves like botanical gardens, wildlife safari, etc.
 What would reduce species
diversity?
● Species diversity mainly reduces due to human
activities. There are mainly 4 causes of loss of
diversity known as The Evil Quartet which are –
Alien species invasions, Habitat Loss and
Fragmentation, Overexploitation, and co-
extinctions.
 The Evil Quartet
● Habitat Loss and Fragmentation: Due to pollution,
urbanisation and various other human activities, habitat loss
and fragmentation is a major cause of loss in species
diversity and driving plants and animals extinct.
● Over Exploitation: Over-exploitation of natural resources
leads to the extinction of many species.
● Alien species invasions: When alien species are
introduced deliberately or unintentionally, some
of them become invasive, leading to the
extinction of indigenous species.
● Co-extinctions: When a species becomes
extinct, the species that are associated with it also
becomes extinct.
ECOSYSTEM
DIVERSITY

Ecological diversity is the largest

scale of biodiversity.
 Ecosystem diversity

It deals with the study of different ecosystems in a certain

location and their overall effects on humans and the
environment as a whole. It is one of the types of
biodiversity along with species diversity and genetic
diversity.
It can be defined as the variety of different habitats,
communities and ecological processes. A biological
community is defined by the species that occupy a
particular area and the interactions between those species. A
biological community together with its associated physical
environment is termed an ecosystem.
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