Unit A: Biological Diversity Basilisk lizard 1.0 Biological diversity is reflected in the variety of life On Earth.

Biological diversity refers to all the different types of organisms on Earth.

Species: is a group or organisms that have the same structure and can reproduce with one another. There are between 30 – 100 million organisms existing today

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Understanding Biological Diversity Diversity between Ecosystems: Ecosystem: a place where living (biotic) things interact with other living and non-living (abiotic) things. - There is a huge diversity of ecosystems in the world.

Biological Diversity Diversity occurs within ecosystems Population: when members of a species live in a specific area and share the same resources. - Community: When populations of different species live in the same area.

Biological Diversity Diversity Within Species: - A species is a group of organisms that all have the same basic structure. However, if you look closely at any population, you will notice subtle variations between the individual members of the population.

Biological Diversity Species are not evenly distributed on our planet. Areas around the equator have the greatest number of plant species. The number of plant and animal species is greatest in tropical regions. As you move north to the temperate and then the polar regions, you will find less biological diversity.

Classifying Biological Diversity - Carolus Linnaeus developed a system for naming and classifying organisms. He used Latin because that was the common scientific language of his time. In his system, two words name each living thing: The first word indicates the name of the genus to which the organisms belong. This word starts with a capital letter. The second word indicates the name of the species. It starts with a small letter. No two species can have the same name. Picea glauca: White spruce Canis lupus: Wolf

Kingdom Phyla Classes Orders Families Genera Species Linnaeus then organized species into groups based on their physical structure in the following order: General Specific Kingdom Phyla Classes Orders Families Genera Species