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Interconnectedness within and between the Environment Prepared and presented by:

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Jeel Alexa Perucho Kristine Jan Pulido Antonette Vazquez All 3 people from ICopernicus

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Biodiversity or Biological Diversity,sumofallthedi fferent species of animals, plants, fungi, and microbial organisms living on Earth and the variety of habitats in which they live. Scientists estimate that upwards of 10 6/12/12

Biodiver sity

Everywherethereisli fe, there is more than one distinct type of organism. Even a drop of seawater offers a multitude of different microscopic plants, animals, and less complex life forms. The
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Second, all life on Earth is connected in an evolutionary tree of life. At the bottom of the tree is the common ancestor from which all living things descendeda
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Ecologicaldiversityis the intricate network of different species present in local ecosystems and the dynamic interplay between them. An ecosystem consists of organisms from many different species living 6/12/12 together in a region that are

al Diversit y

This energy flows through the systems when animals eat the plants and then are eaten, in turn, by other animals. Fungi derive energy by decomposing organisms, releasing nutrients back into the
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Removingjustones pecies from an ecosystem damages the flow of energy of that system. For instance, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, sea otters
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When the otters disappeared, the sea urchin population exploded and started to destroy the vast beds of kelp. Without the kelp, other species that lived in
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Measuringecologicaldiv ersity is difficult because each of the Earths ecosystems merges into the ecosystems around it. A lake, for example, might have a distinct shoreline, but the plants fringing its edges are quite different from the
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EveryspeciesonEarth is related to every other species in a pattern every bit as complex as the patterns of energy flow within an ecosystem. In evolutionary diversity, the connection is 6/12/12 not energy flow, but rather

nary Diversit y

Anorganismsclosest relatives are members of its own speciesthat is, other organisms with which it has the potential to mate and produce offspring. Members of a species share genes, the bits of
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Members of a species also share complex mating behaviors that enable them to recognize each other as potential
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Forvirtuallyeveryspecie s there is a similar and closely related species in an adjacent habitat. West of the Rocky Mountains, one finds western gray squirrels instead of eastern gray squirrels. Although western gray squirrels are more similar 6/12/12

Eachspecieshasother, more remotely related species, which share a more general set of characteristics. Gray squirrels, chipmunks, marmots, and prairie dogs all belong to the squirrel family because they share a number of features, such 6/12/12

All mammals, in turn, are more distantly related to other animals with backbones, or vertebrates. All these organisms are animals but share a common cell structure with plants, fungi, and some
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Thisistheevoluti onary chain of life. All species are descended from a single common ancestor. From that ancient single6/12/12

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