The value of biodiversity
Look around you: no two people are identical, nor are any two oak trees, nor any two ponds. That variety is not a decoration on the planet: it is what keeps it standing. When it disappears, we feel the effects even if we do not notice straight away.
The three levels of biodiversity
If you walk along a coast, you see gulls with slight differences in their plumage, rock pools with different fish, crabs and algae, and cliffs bordering dunes and salt marshes. At what levels is all that variety of life organised?
Explain what biodiversity is and name its three levels, giving an example of each.
Explain what biodiversity is and name its three levels, giving an example of each.
Explain in your own words the difference between species diversity and ecosystem diversity, and give an example of each.
Explain in your own words the difference between species diversity and ecosystem diversity, and give an example of each.
What is genetic diversity? Explain why a population with high genetic variety withstands a disease better than one with little.
What is genetic diversity? Explain why a population with high genetic variety withstands a disease better than one with little.
What biodiversity gives us
Ecosystems provide us with ecosystem services free of charge, such as crop pollination, water purification, or fertile soil formation. Name two of these services and…
Ecosystems provide us with ecosystem services free of charge, such as crop pollination, water purification, or fertile soil formation. Name two of these services and explain what one of them involves.
A large proportion of the crops we consume depend on pollinating insects such as bees. Explain what would happen to food production if they disappeared, and what this…
A large proportion of the crops we consume depend on pollinating insects such as bees. Explain what would happen to food production if they disappeared, and what this teaches us about the value of biodiversity.
Earthworms and soil fungi are not "attractive" species, but without them forests would not work. Use this example to reason why biodiversity is not valued only for its…
Earthworms and soil fungi are not "attractive" species, but without them forests would not work. Use this example to reason why biodiversity is not valued only for its best-known species.
Why variety provides stability
After a year of intense drought, a uniform plantation of poplars dries out completely, while a nearby riverside woodland with willows, ash trees, elms and shrubs survives with hardly any damage. Why do two plant communities respond so differently to the same adversity?
An ecosystem with many species tolerates a drought or a pest outbreak better than one with few species. Reason why, using the idea that if one species fails, others can…
An ecosystem with many species tolerates a drought or a pest outbreak better than one with few species. Reason why, using the idea that if one species fails, others can fulfill its function.
The graph shows the results of an experiment: two grasslands, meadow A with twelve plant species and meadow B with only three, experience the same drought, and the…
The graph shows the results of an experiment: two grasslands, meadow A with twelve plant species and meadow B with only three, experience the same drought, and the percentage of their initial production maintained by each is measured. Interpret the data in the graph and relate them to ecosystem stability.