"Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth."
The variety of living organisms in a particular region or ecosystem.
Ecosystems and Their Components: Understanding the basic structure and function of ecosystems is critical to understanding biodiversity. Ecosystems are a community of living and non-living things that interact with each other in a specific environment.
Species and Their Classifications: Learning about the different types of organisms, their characteristics, and their classification is essential in understanding biodiversity.
Biogeography: Understanding where different species live and how they have evolved to live in various environments is crucial in understanding biodiversity.
Conservation Biology: Conservation biology is a field focused on the study of preserving, managing and restoring biodiversity.
Evolution and Adaptation: The evolution of different species through natural selection and adaptation is a central topic in biodiversity.
Endangered species: Endangered species are organisms that are at risk of extinction. Understanding the causes of endangered species and solutions to their protection is an important aspect of biodiversity.
Habitat Fragmentation: Habitat fragmentation results in the loss of biodiversity, especially in situations where the habitat is being destroyed by human activity.
Biomes: Biomes are very large ecosystems that share similar characteristics. Understanding the different types of biomes is important in understanding the biodiversity of the world.
Human Impact on Biodiversity: Understanding how humans impact biodiversity is critical in mitigating damage to the environment and maintaining species diversity.
Genetic Diversity: Genetic diversity is the variation of genetic traits among individuals of the same species, and it plays an important role in ensuring the survival of a species in challenging environments.
Ecosystem Services: The benefits that ecosystems provide to human societies and the economy is an important consideration in protecting biodiversity.
Ecological Succession: Understanding how ecosystems change and adapt over time is critical in understanding biodiversity.
Invasive Species: Invasive species are non-native species that negatively impact the environment and contribute to biodiversity loss.
Climate change and Biodiversity: Climate change is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, and understanding the relationship between climate change and biodiversity is critical in protecting the environment.
Biotechnology and Biodiversity: Biotechnology and genetic engineering are increasingly impacting biodiversity, and understanding their effects is important in protecting the environment.
Genetic Biodiversity: It refers to the variation in genes and genetic pathways within and among populations of the same or different species.
Species Biodiversity: It refers to the number and abundance of different species in the ecosystems of the Earth, including their phylogenetic diversity, functional diversity, and ecological roles.
Ecosystem Biodiversity: It refers to the diversity of habitats, ecosystems, and biomes across the globe and the variety of processes, functions, and interactions that occur within and among them.
Landscape Biodiversity: It refers to the variety and complexity of landscapes, landforms, and ecological patterns, including the distribution of habitats, ecosystems, and biomes at different scales.
Environmental Biodiversity: It refers to the natural and human-induced changes in the Earth's climate, soil, water, air, and other abiotic factors that influence the distribution, viability, and resilience of living organisms.
Community Biodiversity: It refers to the diversity of species, their interactions, and their relationships within and among ecosystems, including predation, competition, mutualism, and symbiosis.
Evolutionary Biodiversity: It refers to the processes of descent with modification, natural selection, and speciation that lead to the creation of new species and the adaptation of existing ones to changing environmental conditions.
"Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (genetic variability), species (species diversity), and ecosystem (ecosystem diversity) level."
"It is usually greater in the tropics as a result of the warm climate and high primary productivity in the region near the equator."
"Tropical forest ecosystems cover less than 10% of Earth's surface."
"Marine biodiversity is usually higher along coasts in the Western Pacific, where sea surface temperature is highest, and in the mid-latitudinal band in all oceans."
"Yes, there are latitudinal gradients in species diversity."
"Biodiversity generally tends to cluster in hotspots."
"More than 99.9% of all species that ever lived on Earth, amounting to over five billion species, are estimated to be extinct."
"About 1.2 million have been documented."
"The total amount of related DNA base pairs on Earth is estimated at 5.0 x 10^37."
"The age of Earth is about 4.54 billion years."
"The earliest undisputed evidence of life dates at least from 3.7 billion years ago."
"There are microbial mat fossils found in 3.48 billion-year-old sandstone discovered in Western Australia."
"Other early physical evidence of a biogenic substance is graphite in 3.7 billion-year-old meta-sedimentary rocks discovered in Western Greenland."
"More recently, in 2015, 'remains of biotic life' were found in 4.1 billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia."
"Since life began on Earth, five major mass extinctions and several minor events have led to large and sudden drops in biodiversity."
"The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, occurred 65 million years ago and has often attracted more attention than others because it resulted in the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs."
"The ongoing global biodiversity crisis not only involves biological extinctions but also the loss of experience and the gradual fading of cultural knowledge and collective memory of species. The reduction is caused primarily by human impacts, particularly habitat destruction."
"Biodiversity positively impacts human health in many ways."
"A few negative effects are studied."