Importance of Biodiversity

• life of any species requires nutrient and energy flow from other species
• the greater an ecosystem's biodiversity the more pathways exist for the flow of energy and nutrients
• ecosystem disturbance has resultedd in the worsening of:

  • climate change
  • soil erosion
  • eutrophication
• ecosystems may suddenly collapse due to supporting systems, proceses, and resources being eroded over time
• supporting system erosion example:

  • the level of catch for fisheris may be stable for years desplite stock depletion until stock falls below the critical threshold
• unseen/unvalued ecosystem sevices are valued only when it comes at a cost to humans
• feedback loops form the basic dynamics for regulating ecosystems
• negative feedback loop example:

  • predator-prey loop that keeps plants/animals within the carrying capacity of an ecosystem
• positive feedback loop example:

  • introduction of a new predator into an environment that could lead to the loss of existing species
• cycling of energy, nutrient and materials is key toe cosystem health and helps establish resilience to disturbances
• there are four categories of ecosystem services

  • provisioning
  • regulating
  • supporting
  • cultural
• Provisioning services are services that provide essential resources to individuals in the ecosystem
• regulating services are services that provide mechanisms to keep ecosystems in balance
• supporting services are services that sustain the ecosystems to maintain conditons for life on Earth
• cultural services are services that provide non-material benefits to humans
• ecosystem = a dynamic community of many types of organisms interacting with each other as well as the abiotic environment
• ecosystem feedback = the effect that change in one part of the system has on another part, and how this effect feeds back to impact the original change
• negative feedback loop = opposes the impacts of change
• positive feedback loop = boosts the impact of change and can lead to dramatic tranformation of an ecosystem
• resilience = specifically an ecosystem's capacity to recover it's functions following either a natural or human-caused impact
• sequester = isolate or hideaway
• supporting services = roles played by parts of the biosphere that allow the compnents of each earth system to keep supporting the biosphere
• there are three levels of biodiversity:

  • genetic
  • species
  • ecosystem
• species diversity in an ecosystem is greatest when there are no dominant species present
• each ecosystem is made up of a variety of habitats, the diversity between organisms witin them and the interactions that occur between the biotic and abiotic factors
• differing ecosystems can exist close to eachother with minimal nutrient or energy flow between them
• if many individuals in a species are genetically similar they are at risk of a shift in environmental conditions
• mutations improve the genetic diversity of a species
• individuals with a mutation best fit for their environment have a greater chance at surviving and the genes to offspring
• natural selection brings about evolution
• gentic diversity = the variable traits that can be found within a species or population, due to the slight differences in the information encoded in individual genes
• species diversity = the total number and balance of species in an ecosystem or given location
• species = a group of organisms that ae genetically similar and can breed to produce fertile offspring
• species interdependence = the loss of a single species can have devastating consequences for the entire community
• food web = the relationship between species in an ecosystem involving nutrient and energy transfer
• food chain = links between species in a series of interconnected interactions
• ecosystem diversity = the variety of ecosystems that form the biosphere
• biotic = living components
• abiotic = non-living components
• mutations = changes in an organism's genes