Introduction

Reef fishes and corals at French Frigate Shoals, Northwest Hawaiian Islands. Corals reefs
are the most diverse marine ecoystems. Photo by James Watt.

The word "biodiversity" is a contracted version of "biological diversity". The Convention

on Biological Diversity defines biodiversity as:"the variability among living organisms
from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and
the ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species,
between species, and of ecosystems."

Thus, biodiversity includes genetic variation within species, the variety of species in an
area, and the variety of habitat types within a landscape. Perhaps inevitably, such an all-
encompassing definition, together with the strong emotive power of the concept, has led
to somewhat cavalier use of the term biodiversity, in extreme cases to refer to life or
biology itself. But biodiversity properly refers to the variety of living organisms.

Biological diversity is of fundamental importance to the functioning of all natural and

human-engineered ecosystems, and by extension to the ecosystem services that nature
provides free of charge to human society. Living organisms play central roles in the
cycles of major elements (carbon, nitrogen, and so on) and water in the environment, and
diversity specifically is important in that these cycles require numerous interacting
species.

General interest in biodiversity has grown rapidly in recent decades, in parallel with the
growing concern about nature conservation generally, largely as a consequence of
accelerating rates of natural habitat loss, habitat fragmentation and degradation, and
resulting extinctions of species. The IUCN Red List estimates that 12-52% of species
within well-studied higher taxa such as vertebrates and vascular plants are threatened
with extinction. Based on data on recorded extinctions of known species over the past
century, scientists estimate that current rates of species extinction are about 100 times
higher than long-term average rates based on fossil data. Other plausuble estimates
suggest that present extinction rates now may have reached 1000 to 10,000 times the
average over past geologic time. These estimates are the basis of the consensus that the
Earth is in the midst of the sixth mass extinction event in its history; the present
extinction event is termed the Holocene Mass Extinction.

The magnitude of biodiversity

An Australian rain forest Creek.

Biodiversity is most frequently quantified as the number of species. Estimates of the

number of species currently living on Earth range widely, largely because most living
species are microorganisms and tiny invertebrates, but most estimates fall between 5
million and 30 million species. Roughly 1.75 million species have been formally
described and given official names. Insects comprise over half of the described species,
and three fourths of known faunal species. The number of undescribed species is
undoubtedly much higher, however. Particularly in inaccessible environments, and for
inconspicuous groups of organisms, collecting expeditions routinely discover many
undescribed species. Estimates of the total numbers of species on Earth have been
derived variously by extrapolating from the ratios of described to previously unknown
species in quantitative samples, from the judgment of experts in particular taxonomic
groups, and from patterns in the description of new species through time. For most
groups of organisms other than vertebrates, such estimates are little more than educated
guesses, explaining the wide range in estimates of global species diversity. Since insects
are essentially absent from the sea, the species diversity of the oceans is generally
considerably lower than terrestrial ones.

Species can be grouped on the basis of shared characteristics into hierarchical groups, or
taxa, reflecting their shared evolutionary history. At the highest level of classification (or
deepest branches in the evolutionary tree of life) organisms are divided into three
Domains: 1) the Bacteria, which are microorganisms lacking a cellular nucleus or other
membrane-bound organelles; 2) the relatively recently discovered Archaea,
microorganisms of primarily extreme environments such as hot springs, which are
superficially similar to Bacteria but fundamentally different at biochemical and genetic
levels; and

3) the Euka

rya, which include all other organisms based on nucleated cells. The Eukarya includes the
four "kingdoms", the protists, animals, plants, and fungi. Each of the eukaryotic
kingdoms in turn is divided into a number of phyla. At this higher taxonomic level, the
oceans are far more diverse than those on land, likely reflecting the marine origins of life
on Earth. Nearly half the phyla of animals occur only in the sea (e.g., the sea stars and
other echinoderms), whereas only one (the obscure Onychophora, or velvet worms) is
restricted to land.

Measurement of biodiversity
Distribution of biodiversity

Species diversity varies systematically across the globe with latitude, longitude, and
altitude (or its equivalent, depth, in the oceans). The trend toward higher species diversity
in the tropics is perhaps the most conspicuous biogeographic pattern in nature, and is
sufficiently general to have been considered a "rule". In most marine groups, diversity is
maximal in the Indo-West Pacific.

Superimposed on these large-scale global patterns are local hot spots of diversity
generated by geographical features, by quirks of geologic history, or by mixing of biotas
from different biogeographic provinces. These biodiversity hot spots have become
important (and often controversial) foci for conservation efforts.

Ecological controls on biodiversity

A central question in explaining these patterns of diversity is determining the relative

importance of long-term evolutionary processes -- the balance between origin and
extinction of species -- and local ecological processes of species interactions.

The general similarity among diversity patterns of different taxa with latitude and region
suggests that prehistorically these patterns have been controlled primarily by factors
operating over large spatial and temporal scales. Ultimately, the number of species in a
region is set by a balance between origin through speciation, loss through extinction, and
migration of species among regions, all of which operate over long (geologic) time
scales.

Conversely, on local spatial scales and over ecological time scales on the order of a few
generations of organisms, a wealth of evidence shows that diversity often varies
systematically with habitat area, habitat heterogeneity, disturbance, and availability of
energy (i.e., productivity) and other resources, notably water in terrestrial ecosystems.

Human disturbance factors

For the most recent 10,000 years man has been the greatest factor affecting biodiversity,
with adverse impacts occurring at an accelerating pace since approximately the Industrial
Revolution. Human intervention in ecosystem function have been expressed through
habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation, overexploitation, and pollution. In some
locations such as Easter Island and Hawaii the majority of macroscopic species that
existed as recently as the mid-Holocene are now extirpated.

Encyclopedia of Earth: Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the variation in living organisms, viewed within a given habitat,
ecosystem or in the world as a whole. The concept is usually applied to the species
diversity, although the notion of genetic biodiversity is applied to the variation in genes
within an individual species. While most people think of rainforests as loci of great
biodiversity, biomes such as oceans and grasslands are the likely repositories for even
greater variation. Retention of diverse biota is important, since intact ecosystems are
thought to be essential for provision of ecosystem services to humans, including
maintenance of a diverse foodbank, pollination, clean water, flood control, pest control,
waste decomposition, biomass energy resources and climate stability. Biodiversity is
presently critical since we live in the era of the Mass Holocene Extinction, a period of
species loss caused by man, and unrivaled in rate of species loss. Although the number of
total species numbers in the tens of millions, most have not yet even been described. The
extinction of a species is almost always related to destruction of habitat or man-made
pollution.
Encyclopedia of Earth: Biology & Ecology
The fields of biology and ecology provide the foundation for much of our knowledge
about how the natural world works. While biology focuses largely on the individual make
up of living organisms, and ecology focuses on natural systems and their various
components, together these two fields of study help us understand the overall
environment we live in, our place in it and our impact upon it.

What is Biodiversity and Why is it Important?

Biodiversity is the variability of all living organisms -- including animal and plant species
-- of the genes of all these organisms, and of the terrestrial, aquatic and marine
ecosystems of which they are part.

Biodiversity makes up the structure of the ecosystems and habitats that support essential
living resources, including wildlife, fisheries and forests. It helps provide for basic human
needs such as food, shelter, and medicine. It composes ecosystems that maintain oxygen
in the air, enrich the soil, purify the water, protect against flood and storm damage and
regulate climate. Biodiversity also has recreational, cultural, spiritual and aesthetic
values.

Society's growing consumption of resources and increasing populations have led to a

rapid loss of biodiversity, eroding the capacity of earth's natural systems to provide
essential goods and services on which human communities depend. Human activities
have raised the rate of extinction to 1,000 times its usual rate. If this continues, Earth will
experience the sixth great wave of extinctions in billions of years of history. Already, an
estimated two of every three bird species are in decline worldwide, one in every eight
plant species is endangered or threatened, and one-quarter of mammals, one-quarter of
amphibians and one-fifth of reptiles are endangered or vulnerable.

Also in crisis are forests and fisheries, which are essential biological resources and
integral parts of the earth's living ecosystems. The World Resources Institute estimates
that only one-fifth of the earth’s original forest cover survives unfragmented, yet
deforestation continues, with 180 million hectares in developing countries deforested
between 1980 and 1995. Forests are home to 50-90% of terrestrial species, provide
ecosystem services such as carbon storage and flood prevention, and are critical resources
for many linguistically and culturally diverse societies and millions of indigenous
people.

Scientific Definitions of Biodiversity

"A definition of biodiversity that is altogether simple, comprehensive, and fully
operational ... is unlikely to be found." (Noss, 1990) Listed below are several different
definitions used by resource managers and ecologists. Together, they should allow you to
develop an understanding of the broad concept of biodiversity.

• U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment, "Technologies to Maintain

Biological Diversity," 1987:

"Biological diversity is the variety and variability among living organisms

and the ecological complexes in which they occur. Diversity can be defined as
the number of different items and their relative frequency. For biological
diversity, these items are organized at many levels, ranging from complete
ecosystems to the chemical structures that are the molecular basis of heredity.
Thus, the term encompasses different ecosystems, species, genes, and their
relative abundance."

• Jones and Stokes Associates' "Sliding Toward Extinction: The State of

California's Natural Heritage," 1987:

"Natural diversity, as used in this report, is synonymous with biological

diversity... To the scientist, natural diversity has a variety of meanings. These
include: 1) the number of different native species and individuals in a habitat or
geographical area; 2) the variety of different habitats within an area; 3) the
variety of interactions that occur between different species in a habitat; and 4)
the range of genetic variation among individuals within a species."

• D.B. Jensen, M. Torn, and J. Harte, "In Our Own Hands: A Strategy for
Conserving Biological Diversity in California," 1990:

"Biological diversity, simply stated, is the diversity of life...As defined in the

proposed US Congressional Biodiversity Act, HR1268 (1990), "biological
diversity means the full range of variety and variability within and among
living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they occur, and
encompasses ecosystem or community diversity, species diversity, and genetic
diversity."

Genetic diversity is the combination of different genes found within a population

of a single species, and the pattern of variation found within different populations
 of the same species. Coastal populations of Douglas fir are genetically different
from Sierran populations. Genetic adaptations to local conditions such as the
summer fog along the coast or hot summer days in the Sierra result in genetic
differences between the two populations of the same species.

Species diversity is the variety and abundance of different types of organisms

which inhabit an area. A ten square mile area of Modoc County contains different
species than does a similar sized area in San Bernardino County.

Ecosystem diversity encompasses the variety of habitats that occur within a

region, or the mosaic of patches found within a landscape. A familiar example is
the variety of habitats and environmental parameters that constitute the San
Francisco Bay-Delta ecosystem: grasslands, wetlands, rivers, estuaries, fresh and
salt water."

• Keystone Center, "Final Consensus Report of the Keystone Policy Dialogue on

Biological Diversity on Federal Lands," 1991:

"In the simplest of terms, biological diversity is the variety of life and its
processes; and it includes the variety of living organisms, the genetic
differences among them, and the communities and ecosystems in which they
occur.

Because biological diversity is so complex, and much of it is hidden from our

view, unknown, or both, it is necessary to establish means of addressing its
distinct and measurable parts. Most basic of these is genetic variation. Genetic
variation within and between populations of species affects their physical
characteristics, viability, productivity, resilience to stress, and adaptability to
change.

A second, more easily recognized aspect of biological diversity is distinct species.

Some species, such as American elk, rainbow trout, and ponderosa pine are
plentiful. Others such as the red cockaded woodpecker, Siler's pincushion cactus,
or grizzly bear, have populations that are much reduced or may even face
extinction. Conserving biological diversity includes perpetuating native species in
numbers and distributions that provide a high likelihood of continued existence.

Associations of species are a third element of biological diversity. These

associations are often called biological communities, usually recognized as
distinct stands, patches, or sites, such as old-growth forests, riparian areas, or
wetlands. Communities form the biotic parts of ecosystems. The variety of
species in an ecosystem is a function of its structural and functional characteristics
and the diversity of its ecological processes, and the physical environment.

Finally, at large geographic scales -- from watersheds to the entire biosphere --

biological diversity includes variety in the kinds of ecosystems, their patterns, and
 linkages across regional landscapes. It is from these large, regional landscapes,
such as the Southern Appalachian Highlands, Sierra Nevada, and Northern
Continental Divide, that people must derive sustainable yields of resources while
perpetuating multiple intact examples of biologically diverse ecosystems.
This hierarchy of the parts and processes of biological diversity is admittedly
artificial, and it has a distinct human context. However, it provides a focus for a
concept that is infinitely varied and dynamic and that must be addressed in light
of the full spectrum of human needs and aspirations."

• World Resources Institute, World Conservation Union, and United Nations

Environment Programme, "Global Biodiversity Strategy," 1992:

"Biodiversity is the totality of genes, species, and ecosystems in a region...

Biodiversity can be divided into three hierarchical categories -- genes, species,
and ecosystems -- that describe quite different aspects of living systems and that
scientists measure in different ways.

Genetic diversity refers to the variation of genes within species. This covers
distinct populations of the same species (such as the thousands of traditional rice
varieties in India) or genetic variation within a populations (high among Indian
rhinos, and very low among cheetahs)...

Species diversity refers to the variety of species within a region. Such diversity
can be measured in many ways, and scientists have not settled on a single best
method. The number of species in a region -- its species "richness" -- is one often-
used measure, but a more precise measurement, "taxonomic diversity", also
considers the relationship of species to each other. For example, an island with
two species of birds and one species of lizard has a greater taxonomic diversity
than an island with three species of birds but no lizards...

Ecosystem diversity is harder to measure than species or genetic diversity because

the "boundaries" of communities -- associations of species -- and ecosystems are
elusive. Nevertheless, as long as a consistent set of criteria is used to define
communities and ecosystems, their numbers and distribution can be measured..."

• Edward Grumbine, "Ghost Bears: Exploring the Biodiversity Crisis," 1993:

"There is much more to biodiversity than the numbers of species and kinds of
ecosystems. Ecologist Jerry Franklin portrays ecosystems as having three
primary attributes: composition, structure, and function.

Ecosystem components are the inhabiting species in all their variety and richness.
Many different species, gene-pool abundance, and unique populations are what
most people think of when they hear the term "biodiversity". But there is much
 more to consider.

Ecosystem structure refers to the physical patterns of life forms from the
individual physiognomy of a thick-barked Douglas-fir to the vertical layers of
vegetation from delicate herbs to tree canopies within a single forest stand. An
ecosystem dominated by old, tall trees has a different structure than one
comprised of short, quaking aspen. And there is more structure in a multilayered
forest (herbs, shrubs, young trees, canopy trees) than in a single sagebrush
grassland, prairie, or salt marsh...

Ecosystem functions are hard to see in action. "You can't hug a biogeochemical
cycle," says one ecologist. But without the part of the carbon cycle where small
invertebrates, fungi, and microorganisms work to break down wood fiber, the
downed logs in an ancient forest would never decay. Natural disturbances also
play a role. Wildfires release nutrients to the soil, weed out weak trees, and reset
the successional clock. The energy of falling water creates spawning beds for
salmon even while it carves a mountain's bones. Plants breathe oxygen into the
atmosphere. Ecological processes create landscapes and diverse environmental
conditions out of life itself.

Ecosystem components, structures, and functions are all interdependent. To

understand biodiversity, one has to think like a mountain and consider not only
the biotic elements of plants, animals, and other living beings, but also the
patterns and processes that shape volcanoes and forests."

• Reed Noss, "Indicators for Monitoring Biodiversity: A Hierarchial Approach,"

Conservation Biology 4(4):355-364. 1990:

"Biodiversity is not simply the number of genes, species, ecosystems, or any other
group of things in a defined area...A definition of biodiversity that is altogether
simple, comprehensive, and fully operational (i.e. responsive to real- life
management and regulatory questions) is unlikely to be found. More useful than a
definition, perhaps, would be a characterization of biodiversity that identifies the
major components at several levels of organization.

...(C)omposition, structure, and function...determine, and in fact constitute, the

biodiversity of an area. Composition has to do with the identity and variety of
elements in a collection, and includes species lists and measures of species
diversity and genetic diversity. Structure is the physical organization or pattern of
a system, from habitat complexity as measured within communities to the pattern
of patches and other elements at a landscape scale. Function involves ecological
and evolutionary processes, including gene flow, disturbances, and nutrient
cycling."