What is Biodiversity?
The term biodiversity was coined by E.O. Wilson (father of biodiversity) in 1985. The word biodiversity is split into two parts bio (life) and diversity (variability). It includes organisms like plants, animals, and microorganisms, as well as the genes and ecosystems they generate. An area’s biological structure influences biodiversity and cannot be measured purely by numbers.
Whittaker (1972) identified three distinct categories of diversity: alpha, beta, and gamma. In the Convention of Biological Diversity (1992), biodiversity has been defined as the variability among living organisms from all sources including terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part.
5 Major Threats to Biodiversity
Threats to global biodiversity are a global concern these days. In recent years, extinction rates have increased dramatically. Human activity has led to the extinction of thousands of species and variations every year. Over the last 150 years, the rate of extinction has increased significantly. If current trends continue, we could lose 1/3rd to 2/3rd of our current biodiversity by the middle of the 21st century.
The main causes of biodiversity loss include invasive alien species, unsustainable natural resource use and exploitation, pollution, and land use changes. In this article, we will study what biodiversity is, how human activities affect biodiversity, climate change, and biodiversity, and the importance of biodiversity and its conservation.
Table of Content
- What is Biodiversity?
- Human Activities Impacting Biodiversity
- Climate Change and Biodiversity
- Invasive Species
- Importance of Biodiversity
- Conservation of Biodiversity
- Conclusion: Threats to Biodiversity