Biodiversity Biodiversity is the degree of variation of biological properties within the given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet.

The 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro defined 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 part: this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems Ecological diversity different habitats, niches, species interactions

Species diversity different kinds of organisms, relationships among species

Genetic diversity diversity of genes within a species. There is a genetic variability among the populations and the individuals of the same species

Benefits of Biodiversity ECOLOGICAL DIVERSITY Ecosystem services Cleaning water, Cleaning air, Habitat & breeding areas for wildlife,

All species provide some kind of function to an ecosystem. They can capture and store energy, produce organic material, decompose organic material, help to cycle water and nutrients throughout the ecosystem, control erosion or pests, fix atmospheric gases, or help regulate climate. Ecosystems also provide us various supports of production (soil fertility, pollinators of plants, predators, decomposition of wastes...) and services such as purification of the air and water, stabilisation and moderation of the climate, decrease of flooding, drought and other environmental disasters.

These functions are important to an ecosystem, and to human survival. Research show that the more diverse an ecosystem the better it can withstand environmental stress and the more productive it is. The loss of a species thus decreases the ability of the system to maintain itself or to recover in case of damage.

Benefits of Biodiversity ECONOMIC VALUE biodiversity provides food : crops, livestock, forestry, and fish; (see also local food); biodiversity has a role in medication. Wild plant species have been used for medicinal purposes since before the beginning of recorded history. For example, quinine comes from cinchona tree (used to treat malaria), According the National Cancer Institute, over 70 % of the promising anticancer drugs come from plants in the tropical rainforests. It is estimated that of the 250,000 known plant species, only 5,000 have been researched for possible medical applications. Industry : for example fibers for clothing, wood for shelter and warmth. Biodiversity may be a source of energy (such as biomass). Other industrial products are oils, lubricants, perfumes, fragrances, dyes, paper, waxes, rubber, latexes, resins, poisons and cork can all be derived from various plant species. Supplies from animal origin are wool, silk, fur, leather, lubricants, waxes. Animals may also be used as a mode of transportation. Tourism and recreation : biodiversity is a source of economical wealth for many areas, such as many parks and forests, where wild nature and animals are a source of beauty and joy for many people. Ecotourism in particular, is a growing outdoor recreational activity.

Benefits of Biodiversity SOCIAL AMMENITY, SCIENTIFIC, TANSFORMATIVE, SPIRITUAL VALUE Biodiversity hotspots Latitudinal gradient

Altitudinal Gradient

SPECIES DIVERSITY If we try to take a deeply look, well notice that none of them are similar. We can find a varieties of feature within these living things, either in form, size, color and many other characters. Such varieties of characters are called variation. How much biodiversity 1.72.0 million species Estimates to 100 million

Species The species is the basic biological unit around which classifications are based. What is a species? John Ray (1627-1705) gave first general definition of a species. A species consists of all individuals that can breed together and produce fertile offspring.

Biological Species Concept Rays idea was updated into the Biological Species Concept. Two definitions of the BSC are given below: Species are groups of actually or potentially interbreeding natural populations, which are reproductively isolated from other such groups. Ernst Mayr. A species is a reproductive community of populations (reproductively isolated from others) that occupies a specific niche in nature. Ernst Mayr. The biological species concept emphasizes that a species is an interbreeding population of individuals sharing common descent and that members of that community because they share a niche constitute an ecological entity in nature. Members of a species we expect to be similar to each other but different from other organisms,

Criticisms of the Biological Species Concept The BSC has been criticized for several reasons:

1. It applies only to sexually reproducing species. 2. Distinguishing between species on the basis of reproductive separation is problematic because it can be difficult to determine how much reproductive separation is needed to distinguish between species. 3. The definition refers only to current populations and ignores the species status of ancestral populations.

SPECIES DIVERSITY

The domestic dog was named Canis familiaris by Linnaeus in 1758. DNA evidence shows that it descended from the wolf, and it is now treated as a subspecies, Canis lupus familiaris. The line diverged from wolves about 100,000 years ago. Dogs were domesticated about 15,000 years ago. The domestic dog has been one of the most widely-kept working and companion animals in human history. Humans have been selectively breeding dogs for many centuries. Dogs with similar traits or characteristics are grouped together. For example, the Working Dog Group includes the Alaskan Malamute, Doberman Pinscher, Great Dane, Boxer, Newfoundland and Saint Bernard.

..Extant felids belong to one of two subfamilies: Pantherinae (which includes the tiger, the lion, the jaguar, and the leopard), and Felinae (which includes the cougar, the cheetah, the lynxes, the ocelot, and the domestic cat).

Cause of Species Diversity: Speciation Speciation: splitting of one species into 2 different species. What is a species? Based on ability to reproduce. Biological species concept: a species is a group of organisms that interbreed under natural conditions and that are reproductively isolated from each other. Reproductively isolated: dont produce fertile hybrids. Natural conditions: artificial breeding doesnt count. For example, artificial insemination, keeping 2 species locked up together.

In contrast, the older morphological species concept: members of the same species look similar to each other. Many examples of organisms that look similar but cant produce fertile offspring.

SPECIATION Classically, speciation has been viewed as a three stage process:

Isolation of populations. Divergence in traits of separated populations (e.g. mating system or habitat use). Reproductive isolation of populations that maintains isolation when populations come into contact again (secondary contact).

Two requirements:

Reproductive isolation of populations (gene flow sufficiently reduced) Genetic divergence (divergent evolution): Genetic divergence is the process in which two or more populations of an ancestral species accumulate independent genetic changes (mutations) through time, often after the populations have become reproductively isolated for some period of time.

Classification Organisms are classified into a hierarchical classification that groups closely related organisms and progressively includes more and more organisms.

CLASSIFICATION OF LIVING THINGS: The Stages of Classification Identifying the living organisms characteristics. Initiated by recognizing their common visible features e.g. morphological characteristics Grouping the organism based on its features. This acts trough clustering the similarities and the dissimilarities of the species features into taxon. Arranging the taxon into its category

CLASSIFICATION OF LIVING THINGS: The importance fact: at least 50 millions of species occupy the earth with, 1.4 million species have been discovered and named, while the other have not been yet - Faced with the enormous number of living things, scientists realized long ago that people needed a way of classifying and naming individual species.

The importance of classification To make easy all the investigation toward the living organism. To make easy all scientific communication.

- First was pioneered by Aristotle. He was categorized such living organism into two categories - The next-famous inventor was Carolus Linnaeus, who developed a systematic methods of naming species that we still use up to now

Example Phyllum Classis Ordo Familia Genus Species : Chordata : mammalia : Rodentia : Muridae : Rattus :

Rattus argentiventer, Rob. & Kloss Note: Several names (synonym) has been recognized for Rice-field rats, namely: Rattus brevicaudatus, Sody Rattus niviventer, Kloss