importance

• • High genetic diversity gives species a better chance of surviving changes in ecosystems. Keeps ecosystems healthy providing us with oxygen food and water, soil generation and nutrient cycling, beneficial products like medicine and recreation benefits
• • Biodiversity is critical in maintaining healthy ecosystems and thereby sustaining plant and animal life on earth, including human life. Scientists realise they need to conserve diversity in living organisms for the long term survival of species and feed to growing human population
• • Modern biotech gives humans the potential to alter the path of evolution by artificially combining qualities of organisms that were once separate species. However, biotechnology can affect biodiversity with short term and long term consequences
• • Short term consequences involve increasing genetic diversity
• • Development of new varieties and transgenic crops and animals
• • Introducing new gene combinations in the population and new genes in individuals
• • If new genes in species compete with wild-type species in nature and the new genes are advantageous to population the frequency of these genes in the gene pool will increase
• • Long term consequences involve decreasing genetic diversity
• • Organisms with desirable characteristics are reproduced and bred using technologies e.g cloning and selective breeding
• • Some varieties may be permanently lost thus irreversibly reducing genetic biodiversity
• • Increases risk of populations being wiped out in response to diseases or sudden environmental change
• • Wild varieties of plants and animals may cross breed with genetically engineered ones
• • If new species compete with wild species in nature, new species may outcompete natural species and result in extinction of those species
• • Balanced ecosystem with wide diversity of species needed. Biotech can be applied to save species on the brink of extinction to improve biodiversity in farming practices and alleviate hunger in resource poor areas of the world. While, also putting into place biodiversity conservation measures to ensure future resilience in these species
• • To overcome threat of reduced diversity, living tissue of plants and gamete material of animals are being banked so that a variety of genomes is available if needed in future