1. Biodiversity

2. Video: Example of Biodiversity (PE)

3. Biodiversity  Biodiversity means a variety of living organisms (Bio = Life; Diversity = variety)

4. Importance of Biodiversity Case Study  If honey bees die out completely, only wealthy people would be able to afford things like beef and ice cream. Why?

5. Importance of Biodiversity Case Study  North America used to have more than 4000 different animals that pollinated plants.  Honeybees were introduced from Europe in the 1800’s and outcompeted other pollinators.  Today, honeybees are declining rapidly and are one of few animals that act as pollinators  Decrease in biodiversity = less resilient environment

6. Importance of Biodiversity Case Study  The link between honeybees and ice cream… Pollinates Is food for Produces

7. Importance of Biodiversity Case Study  What conclusions can we make based on the honeybee case study?  The loss of a single organism has far reaching consequences  Species are all interconnected via food webs and through other special relationships  Honey Bees are a keystone species  Biodiversity maintains ecosystems

8. Levels of Biodiversity 1. Genetic Diversity 2. Species Diversity 3. Ecosystem Diversity

9. 1. Genetic Diversity  The sum of all the genes present in a particular species  Species: Members of a population that look similar and can breed with each other to produce viable offspring  Each organism within the same species has a different combination of genes (DNA) which is what makes every organism unique  This also allows for populations of species to adapt to changes  E.g. Resistance to disease

10. How Genetic Diversity Allows Adaptations  Imagine that a severe drought were to affect the Savannah and only tall trees could survive. What would happen if all giraffes were like giraffe “A” or giraffe “B”? * The giraffe population would decrease or become extinct ABC

11. 2. Species Diversity  The variety of species in a given area  Having a high variety of species in an ecosystem allows the environment to survive droughts, plagues, disease, etc.

12. 2. Species Diversity  E.g. How might this ecosystem manage if a disease impacted the entire rabbit population? * The Wild Cat and Jackal would become more dependent on other prey

13. 3. Ecosystem Diversity  A diverse range of habitats, the organisms that live in those habitats, and the relationships that connect them.  Any change to a single part of an ecosystem will have some effect on the entire ecosystem but the greater the ecosystem diversity to better able it is to stay balanced

14. 3. Ecosystem Diversity  Genetic and species diversity helps to maintain ecosystem diversity. (it takes both into account)

15. In Conclusion  Why worry about biodiversity?  It protects our food supply, maintains ideal conditions for human life, and ensures resilience through harsh conditions. Further Evidence: Sichuan, a small town in China, controlled pests by spraying pesticides over their crops. Unfortunately, these pesticides also killed the honeybees. As a result, humans had to pollinate the pear trees. This takes longer, costs more, and is much less effective. If we were to do this in Canada it would cost $20 billion in wages and only a fraction of the trees would be pollinated!

16. Homework  Read pages 31-35 #1-5, 9-10 (p.37)