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Biodiversity
2.7.2B EXPLAIN BIODIVERSITY AS INCLUDING GENETIC
VARIATIONS WITHIN POPULATIONS AND VARIATION
OF POPULATIONS WITHIN ECOSYSTEMS THAT MAKEUP
THE BIOSPHERE.
2.7.2D EXPLAIN THE GLOBAL IMPACT OF LOSS OF
BIODIVERSITY.
Biodiversity
● Definition: the number of different species in a given
area
● However, we can look deeper into the diversity of
different types of areas...
● Biodiversity of the biosphere
○
All the species on Earth
● …biome
○ All species in similar areas on Earth
● …ecosystem/community
○ All species in a smaller area on Earth
● …population
○ All the individuals of one species in an area on Earth
Genetic Diversity
● The total number of genetic characteristics in a given
population
● These variations serve as a way for a population to
adapt to changing environment.
● Greater variation increases the chance that some
individuals of that population will possess variations
that are suited to the new environment.
○
They’ll live and pass on those traits to the next generation,
preventing extinction of their species!
Imagine:
● One individual has a mutation that makes it darker
color than the rest of the population.
● After a volcanic eruption, so the cover is no longer
pale yellow, but a dark.
● The darker individual will then survive in the new
environment and reproduce more than the other
individuals, passing on “dark color” genes to the next
generation.
Variation in an Ecosystem
● Every organism has a role to
play in its environment.
● This role, which includes
where it lives in the
environment, what it uses,
what it eats, and who eats it,
is called its niche.
● No two species can ever share
the SAME niche.
Variation in an Ecosystem
● When a species is lost in a
diverse ecosystem, then
another species may take
over its role…
● Or all the organisms that
depend on it may die if there
is not a diversity of
organisms already in that
ecosystem.
● But it takes a LONG time.
Loss of Biodiversity
● The greatest threat to biodiversity is habitat loss.
● Habitats (places where organisms live) are “lost” due
to land use changes
○
○
Agriculture
Urbanization
Habitat Fragmentation
● Fragmentation is the process that divides large
ecosystems into smaller, isolated parts.
● As a habitat gets smaller, more and more species are
affected.
● Smaller habitats -> less diversity -> less of a chance
to recover from changes in the ecosystem
Endangered Species of NC
● Pick an endangered species in North Carolina
● Tell me about the species
○ What does it look like?
○ Where does it live?
○ Describe its niche
● Describe the threats to it
● Why should we care about it?
● What is being done to save it?