biodiversity grade 9 academic science r.h. king academy
TRANSCRIPT
BiodiversityGrade 9 Academic ScienceR.H. King Academy
Recap1. Define biodiversity2. Define sustainability3. How are biodiversity and sustainability
related?
How many species are on the planet? See Table 1.1. on p. 9 Which category of organisms has the
most species? There are about 2 million identified
species on Earth There are perhaps 5-100 million species
on Earth, but many still haven’t been identified
Number of species vs. number of organisms An ecosystem can have a high number of
organisms. But this does not mean it has high biodiversity. (E.g. 100000 pigeons)
What makes an ecosystem biodiverse is a high number of a variety species. (E.g. several bird species: pigeons, robins, sparrows, jays, grouse, starlings, hawks, etc).
Areas of low biodiversity Areas of low biodiversity tend to have:
Cooler temperatures Low precipitation More human disturbances
Urban areas tend to have lower biodiversity because most species’ niche does not allow them to live in urban areas with concrete, pollution, humans, cars, etc. Only a few species have managed to find a niche in
urban areas Examples: raccoons, squirrels, pigeons, wasps,
dandelions, etc.
Areas of high biodiversity The most biodiverse regions are those
with Warm temperatures High precipitation No/little human disturbance
Therefore, which biomes do you think have the most biodiversity?
Tropical Rainforest The Tropical Rainforest is the
biome with the most biodiversity in the world
It is called a “biodiversity hotspot”
However, it is being greatly threatened by human disturbances: Deforestation and logging Poaching and hunting Climate change
So why does biodiversity even matter? Low biodiversity makes an unsustainable ecosystem
because Fewer species are able to survive Disease is more likely to spread across the same species…
when there are many different species, disease likely won’t spread between them.
Biodiversity is needed to ensure sustainability for all life forms, including humans
Despite what you think, we are part of nature. We need ecosystems for our: Food Water Medicine Materials (e.g. paper)
What does biodiversity do for us? http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/bi
odiversity/biodiversity_and_you/
Videos David Suzuki
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5ssjM2Fjuc
Earth Focus: Biodiversity and Health (up to 20:00)
http://www.linktv.org/video/7724/biodiversity-and-health