40 Biodiversity Facts: Know What It Is And How It Affects Humans!

Our Earth is the only known planet blessed with a cluster of diverse ecosystems in the entire universe.

Life on Earth has been sustained only because of nature's ecosystem services. While these ecosystems have been thriving for millions of years, it is pretty vulnerable to collapse when it comes to certain plant and animal species.

Over the years, Earth has seen various changes within its ecosystems. For instance, a once flourishing land turning into a desert, or a once flowing river now dried and lost. But what makes an ecosystem strong or weak can be largely explained by its biodiversity. So, what is biodiversity, you might ask?

Let's find out!

What is biodiversity?

Biodiversity is a term that has been specifically used to represent all the enormous variety of species in a particular ecosystem. It encompasses almost every living entity, ranging from plants, animals, and humans to even bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms.

An ideal ecosystem hosts biodiversity, which has ideal environmental conditions for species to survive. Variations in the temperature of oceans, length of seasons, and levels of precipitation can influence the amount of biodiversity.

The term biodiversity was originally followed by biological diversity, first coined by wildlife scientist Raymond F. Dasmann in 1968.

The term biodiversity, however, was first used by Walter Rosen in a 1985 seminar of the National Research Council.

In 1988, the term first appeared in a publication by E.O Wilson, an American entomologist, and since then, the term 'biodiversity' has become popular worldwide.

Various scientific endeavors have hinted toward the existence of more than 8 million species of plants and animals; some of these living organisms are not even visible to our naked eye.

This means that we have yet to identify a lot, given that we have only learned about 1.2 million species so far.

Most of these identified species belong to the species of insects.

Some of the species in the biodiversity show a high level of endemism, which means they only exist within a particular region and nowhere else.

For example, Australia has a high level of endemism, with around 46% of birds, 93% of reptiles, and 69% of mammals are found only in Australia.

Biodiversity is born out of three interlaced features; ecosystem diversity, species diversity, and genetic diversity. The more interlaced these sub-features, the denser and richer the biodiversity of that particular ecosystem is.

Ecosystem diversity refers to the existing variations in ecosystems within a biogeographical region, and their impacts on species existence and other ecological processes.

Species diversity refers to a variety of species present within an ecosystem and the relative abundance of each species it can hold within.

Genetic diversity refers to a variety of genetic information available in individual plants, animals, and microorganisms.
 

The Importance of Biodiversity

Biodiversity is essential to humans for a variety of reasons. According to the biodiversity book by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, there are five intrinsic core values that humans identify with biodiversity.

Biodiversity offers humans a host of raw materials for production and consumption. Some human professions, such as farming, fishery, and animal husbandry, largely rely on our unique biodiversity.

In addition, timber extracted from forest areas is also sold for various human activities.

Humans need oxygen to survive, and if it weren't for biodiversity, we would not have existed in the first place. Thus, biodiversity is responsible for our ecological life support.

In addition, biodiversity provides plenty of other ecosystem services, such as clean water, fertile land, pollination, among others.

Many of our recreational pursuits heavily depend on biodiversity; including birdwatching, hiking, mountaineering, fishing, and camping. Even the tourism industry sells its unique biodiversity to lure travelers and nature lovers.

Human civilizations are borne out of our acknowledgment of biodiversity. Thus, there appears to be a cultural and historical value to biodiversity as well. Many countries, such as India, find their cultural values embedded in spiritual beliefs about plants and animals.

Biodiversity hotspots are biogeographic regions that have been classified as threatened by human habitation.

To be qualified as a biodiversity hotspot, the region must meet two criteria; it must contain at least 1500 native species as endemic and have lost around 70% of total primary vegetation and forest cover.

Madagascar is one such example of a biodiversity hotspot. Nature endows this place with more biodiversity, but about 98% of its animal species cannot survive anywhere else in the world.

How does biodiversity affect the environment?

A loss of biodiversity can compromise our environment in an adverse manner. Our planet's health and species' well-being are directly impacted by biodiversity (and the lack of biodiversity conservation).

To begin with, a loss of biodiversity can lead to the extinction of species. Some of the species, which have gone extinct over the years or are currently facing the threat of extinction, are breeds of mammals currently used for food and agriculture.

But if you think that biodiversity loss will only affect the natural habitats of plants and animals, and we are immune to this biodiversity crisis, then think again! Biodiversity is the primary resource on which humans thrive.

If these resources are compromised, we are at risk too. In simple words, a deteriorated biodiversity means that humans would be forced to a future devoid of clean air and water. This will indirectly make us more vulnerable to a host of diseases.

Since time immemorial, various species have come and gone, while some still thrived amidst ecological and geological changes.

Even though biodiversity is unique in almost every part of the Earth, our forests, plants, crops, and even bacteria are highly susceptible to various environmental changes.

Most of these risk factors for biodiversity extinction have been sped up by man-made intrusions in these biodiverse regions.

Since the 16th century, more than 680 vertebrates have gone extinct and lost in history. Despite these warnings from environmentalists, things are not changing. At present, about one million species of plants and animals are facing the threat of extinction.

Scientists equate the current decline in biodiversity as intense as the massive extinction of various animal species over 60 million years ago.

Thus, biodiversity conservation efforts need to be made to preserve our trees, land covers, and other ideal habitats for organisms, including amphibians, fungi, and fish.

What is the slogan for biodiversity for the environment?

May 22 is celebrated as the International Day for Biological Diversity to increase our awareness of biodiversity conservation. The theme for 2021 was: 'we're part of the solution.'

The 2020 World Environment Day also celebrated biodiversity as its core theme to make people aware of the ongoing diversity crisis.

Thus, with an agenda to protect the diverse ecosystems of our Earth, the slogan for the biodiversity for the environment should capture the essence of living in harmony with nature.

Living with nature is only possible if we do our part in protecting it!

Did You Know

Here are some other random biodiversity facts that you might like:

Even though our Earth's biodiversity has increased, it has steadily gone down over the past 35 years in providing sustenance to living organisms, plant species, coral reefs, and other new species. One of the reasons for this is global warming.

An estimated one-fifth of the entire known species of plants, birds, and mammals reside in Africa.

Between 1980 and 2000, our Earth has lost over 100 million hectares of tropics. The loss of wetlands, on the other hand, is currently three times faster than forest loss.

The third leading cause of change in the natural world is climate change. Climate change has resulted in negative, ill effects on patterns of seasons and sea levels. Scientists estimate that by 2100, over half of African biodiversity could be lost due to climate change.

The tropical ecosystem is considered to have very high biodiversity.

Biodiversity improves human health as bad environmental conditions can severely affect humans. It also leads to ecosystem stability.