Classification of Biodiversity

Introduction

The Classification of biodiversity is the shortened version of biological diversity and the successor of the term biotic diversity. It was first published after a symposium held in 1986. It means the sum of all the variety of life forms found on planet Earth. This term was coined to define the value assigned to all the diversity of life. It was finally being recognized that the variety of life on Earth had a purpose and played an integral part in the security of life’s future too.

Definition

In 1992 the United Nations Earth Summit defined Classification of biodiversity as “the variability among living organisms from all sources, including, among other things, 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”. However, most biologists define biodiversity as “totality of genes, species and ecosystems of a region”.

Distribution

The biodiversity found on Earth is not distributed evenly all over the planet. Instead, it is higher in some areas and low in some. The distribution of organisms and ecosystems according to geography is called biogeography. Some factors that affect biodiversity  are

  1. Precipitation
  2. Temperature
  3. Soil
  4. Geography
  5. Altitude 
  • Terrestrial biodiversity: Land has almost 25 times more biodiversity than the oceans. And on land, the places with the highest biodiversity are forests. The tropical regions have higher temperatures and more sunlight. Due to this, there is higher primary production and a more significant amount of biodiversity. For example, Kenya and Colombia have more than a thousand bird species. On the other hand, Great Britain and eastern North America have less than two hundred species of birds.
  • Marine biodiversity: The western pacific coasts and the tropical band of all the oceans tend to have higher biodiversity. This is because of higher water temperatures in these regions.
  • Latitudinal gradient: it has been observed that the Classification of biodiversity generally increases when going from the poles to the equator. This is called the latitudinal gradient. The ultimate factor behind this gradient is the increase in temperature from the bars to the equator. But this gradient is not uniform or regular. It does not even hold for all ecosystems and organisms, as observed in some aquatic ecosystems and parasites. 
  • Biodiversity hotspot: A high biodiversity area threatened by human activity is known as a hotspot. Norman Myers gave this term in 1988. Most hotspots are found in forests and of them, the majority are in the tropical region. The Atlantic forest of Brazil is a notable hotspot. It contains thousands of plant species, over 1200 vertebrates ,millions of insects and about half of these are not found anywhere else. The island of Madagascar is another example of a place where hotspots can be found.

Types of Biodiversity

There are mainly three types of biodiversity. They are:

  1. Genetic diversity: This is an intraspecies diversity. Genetic diversity considers the variations in the genes of members of a single species. So if there are not a lot of differences in the genes of all members, then the genetic diversity is low. 
  2. Species diversity: The number of species found in the ecosystem measures that system’s species diversity. The greater the number of species, the greater the species diversity.
  3. Functional diversity: the diversity in the ways species perform their daily functions, such as collecting food, using natural resources, interacting with fellow members, is functional diversity.

Measurement of Biodiversity 

The taxonomic richness of an ecosystem usually measures biodiversity. Three leading indices are used for this purpose:

  1. Species richness
  2. Simpson index
  3. Shannon-Wiener index

The species richness measures the variety of species in an area. In contrast, the other two indices are diversity indices used to measure diversity in different datasets.

The Importance of Biodiversity

Since the term’s inception, various studies have been conducted about the importance of biodiversity and its influence on the quality of life on Earth in general and all the aspects of our ecosystem that it can affect. As it turns out, biodiversity is necessary to maintain various parts of the complex balance of nature. Thus the value of biodiversity is not only in its ability to keep several processes and organisms extant but also in the fact that it contributes to the future of life on Earth. Some areas that biodiversity influences are as follows:

  1. Human health: Biodiversity influences health issues like
    • Nutritional security
    • Dietary health
    • Medicinal resources
    • Spread and control of infectious diseases
    • Psychological and social health
  2. Business and industry: Several industrial materials are sourced from the natural world. These may include dyes, fibres, oils and  building materials, etc. The value of biodiversity lies in conserving the quality of all these materials found in nature. 
  3.  Ecological services: Biodiversity directly regulates water purification, recycling nutrients and soil fertility. Thus it is involved in affecting the chemistry of water and, to some extent, even air.
  4. Psychological health: Communing with nature is relaxing. A rich ecosystem adds to the beauty of our world. Activities such as hiking, camping, bird watching and nature journaling are enriched by high biodiversity.
  5. Agriculture: Biodiversity ensures that outbreaks of infectious diseases among crops are limited and controllable, plants increase remineralization of soil, organic matter in the ground, thus increasing the fertility of the Earth, biodiversity even increases crop yield. 

Threat to Biodiversity

Threat to Classification of biodiversity can be categorized in the following broad categories:

  1. Habitat destruction
  2. Introduced and invasive species
  3. Genetic pollution
  4. Overexploitation
  5. Climate change
  6. Human overpopulation

Conservation

The main principle behind conservation ethics is the management of natural resources in a way that helps in the sustenance of species, ecosystems and the process of evolution. In the mid 20th century, scientists developed a field of study known as conservation biology, which aims to preserve biodiversity and work on conservation methods. One method advocated by most conservation biologists is the removal of exotic species.

Conclusion

The past century has seen some devastating alterations in our environment. Nearly 75% of our terrestrial environment and 66% of the marine environment have been changed quite significantly. That has naturally affected the biodiversity of a large portion of the natural world. Unfortunately, we do not seem to stop this process of detrimental change. We must quickly realise that the balances of our natural world are too delicate for us to keep being so careless with them. We must focus our energies more than ever on conservation efforts.

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