BIODIVERITY and EVOLUTION

• Biodiversity is the term used to describe the number and variety of life found on Earth. It has three types: genetic, species, and ecosystem.
• Genetic diversity pertains to the variation of genes within species.
• Species diversity pertains to the variety and abundance of species within a region.
• Ecosystem diversity is the variation among groups of organisms in different physical settings
• The population pertains to the number of organisms of the same species living in the same region while communities are composed of different organisms living in the same region
• Biodiversity Index is a scale of the diversity of plant and animal species in a given area. It is a widely used tool for estimating the complexity, stability, and thus general health of an ecosystem.

  
  

  It is expressed with the equation of:

  Total # of different Species / Total # of Living Things
• Limiting factors are usually described as lack of particular resources like the availability of food, water, and space.
• Increasing the number of population size that an area can support is called carrying capacity. It is the size of a biological species that can be sustained in a specific environment, given all the available resources.
• When the number of species decreases in size, and only a few remain, that species is considered as endangered and possibly becomes extinct in the future.
• If animals of a particular species are vulnerable at risk in terms the number of population of its kind, it is said to be threatened.
• Extinction happens if the last member of that species is gone like dinosaurs.
• Climate change - the sudden changes in the earth’s temperature.
• Land Development - conversion of land into residential area or building
• Acid precipitation - is a result of air pollution.
• Diseases/Epidemic - infectious diseases or virulent infectious diseases cause the change in biological populations.
• Meteoric impact/Cosmic radiation- extinction happens when a massive asteroid or meteor hits the surface of the earth.
• The spread of Invasive species - it can change the abundance of diversity or the food web in an ecosystem by destroying and replacing its natural value and number.
• Deforestation- illegal logging, kaingin farming
• Pollution- either air or water pollution.
• Destruction of Coastal Resources- this is caused by using dynamite in fishing, muro-ami, and the conversion of beach into residences, and overharvesting of fishes.
• Geologic timescale is a timetable of the earth’s history
• Paleozoic era (prehistoric life) – the existence of marine invertebrates; the development of marine life.
• Mesozoic era (middle life) – the existence of largest creatures.
• Cenozoic era (recent life) – the existence of warm-blooded animals and humans.