BIODIVERSITY AND SUSTAINABILITY Introductory Notes

What is Biological Diversity??? “Biodiversity” is defined as……. – The variety of different species in an ecosystem. – The genetic diversity within the species in an ecosystem. – The relationships or dependence between different species in an ecosystem.

Some examples of ECOSYSTEMS are: Coral Reef Tropical Rainforest Temperate Rainforest Mangrove Forest Shrub-Steppe (Eastern Washington) Intertidal zone Deep Ocean Tundra Grassland Etc.

Obviously, all these examples are very different. So…….what exactly is an ecosystem? Ecosystems are defined as all the biotic and abiotic factors in a given area. – Biotic = all the interacting living (or once living) things in the area. – Abiotic = all the non-living (never living) attributes of the area that impact the life there.

Ecosystems Provide “Services” What are some “ecosystem services”? – Food – Recreation – Oxygen – Medicine – Building materials – Water purification – Beauty – Carbon sequestration – Pollution control

Why Should We Care about Biodiversity? We have identified approximately 1.9 million species on Earth. Not including microorganisms, It is estimated that there are perhaps 20 million species on Earth. It is estimated that between 24 and 150 species go extinct every day!!

Three Examples….. polar bears, white-footed mice and gastric brooding frogs Listen to each part of the lecture. Record information on how human health is potentially impacted by loss of biodiversity. (I will pause the lecture periodically)