BIODIVERSITY Key Vocabulary: -Biodiversity -HIPPO Dilemma

What is biodiversity? Biodiversity = biological diversity Biodiversity: the sum total of the variety of organisms in the biosphere

Why is biodiversity important? Biodiversity is important to the biosphere because it increases sustainability of ecosystems A variety of species can be beneficial to humans, for things like medicine, food, resources, etc.

Why is biodiversity important? When biodiversity is lost, potential resources valuable to the biosphere and humankind may be lost with it.

How do humans decrease biodiversity? Human activities that can reduce biodiversity are known as the HIPPO dilemma: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

1. HABITAT loss

2. INTRODUCING invasive (foreign) species to new environments

3. POPULATION growth

4. POLLUTION

5. OVERCONSUMPTION (overfishing, over farming, over hunting)

How can introducing new organisms harm an environment? Invasive species: any species which 1. is non-native (alien/foreign) to the ecosystem 2. causes environmental or economic harm.

Why are invasive species a threat to biodiversity? Invasive species are harmful because: They tolerate a variety of habitat conditions They grow and reproduce rapidly They compete aggressively for resources They lack natural enemies or pests in the new ecosystem

Biodiversity is the number of species on Earth. It is important for human to preserve the variety of species on Earth, because they are all current or future resources. Preserving biodiversity is imperative for sustainability. Human actions including habitat destruction, introduction of invasive species and the increasing human population are decreasing biodiversity. Teacher Actions: Cold call students to read the key points to the class Student Actions: Students use a highlighter to annotate the key points of the lesson