Unit 2B- Biodiversity Reading in Textbook: Chapter 10

Biodiversity Warm Up Question: Answer in your notebook  What is your favorite animal? Why?

 Biodiversity:  short for biological diversity – usually this term is used to refers to the variety of different species in a given area  Biosphere:  All Life on Earth

What kinds of biodiversity are out there?

Insects…

Fungi…

Arachnids…

Nematodes…

Bacteria…

Plants…

Mollusks…

Algae….

Others…

Protozoans…

Crustaceans…

Vertebrates…

How do we measure biodiversity?

Levels of Biodiversity  Species- variety of different organisms  Ecosystem- variety of habitats and organisms  Genetic- variability within a species (DNA)

Species Diversity

Genetic Diversity

Ecosystem Diversity

Why is biodiversity important?

Agriculture….

Medicine…

Ethical

Aesthetic

EcoTourism  Where nature and $$ co-exist  Countries set aside national park land  Wealthy people from other countries pay to visit  Typically in biodiversity “hotspots”  Rainforests, exotic ecosystems  End Goals:  Host country makes $$  Eco-tourists leave happy  Ecosystem remains (relatively) undisturbed

Aesthetic

Species Survival

Stability of Ecosystems

Potential???