Biodiversity

 Biodiversity is the variety and number of species in a specific area.  Biodiversity increases closer to the equator and in mountainous areas

Importance of Biodiversity  Plants and algae produce oxygen and remove CO 2  Humans depend on other organisms for food  Drugs in health are often formed from organic compounds

Exotic Species  An exotic species is a species that is not native to a particular region  Can threaten native species  Native species don’t have defenses against exotic species

Value Of Biodiversity  If a species is removed from an ecosystem it can have a drastic effect on the entire ecosystem  Species is removed from food chain  All other species suffer

Extinction  Extinction is the disappearance of a species  Earth loses 1 species per year per million species due to human activity  40% of all prescription drugs are made from some sort of living thing  Humans will be affected if they go extinct

Ethical Reasons  Many people believe that humans should be responsible for preserving biodiversity for ethical reasons  Species and ecosystems have a right to exist and are valuable to nature  If we lose biodiversity then we lose fascination and a reason to study the environment

Human Mitigation  1973-U.S. Endangered Species Act  The US has established natural preserves and parks  Yellow Stone National Park  Big Cypress National Preserve  Crater Lake National Park