Biodiversity is defined as the number of various species or any community living in an ecosystem. There are many roles played by biodiversity, one of which is to provide a utilitarian ecosystem in which sustainability is maintained in ecology and cultural values. The consequences of biodiversity loss are devastating in nature that influence living beings in many ways. Let us learn more about the consequences of it.
Overview
Biological consequences and their effects are determined by the inter-relationship between the organism, a population, or a community with the changing environment. Some principles lie in the conservation of biodiversity. Issues like climate change, emerging diseases, and habitat loss need to be addressed timely to save biodiversity.
Biodiversity is defined as the number of various species or any community living in an ecosystem. There are many roles played by biodiversity, one of which is to provide a utilitarian ecosystem in which sustainability is maintained in ecology and cultural values. Therefore, the proper functionality of the environment and biodiversity are basic structures to maintain the well-being of human beings.
Degradation of the environment and climate change are the negative consequences that affect human existence, and health and thus lead to economic change also. Hence, the decision-making process should be based upon the impact of understanding human activities on the ecosystem.
The loss of biodiversity
Also known as biodiversity loss, it is a rate of reduction of biodiversity within an ecosystem, such as any species loss. It considers the decline in species variability, genetic variability, and loss of various species in the biosphere.
Causes & consequences of biodiversity loss
Human activities
The change in environmental conditions is a natural process and can happen after an interval of time. These changes directly affect the human community. However, human activities exert pressure on the environment and lead to changes in climatic conditions. For instance, deforestation and the land clearing effect are the biggest consequences of human activity that further influence the ecosystem. The rate of CO2 production increased and caused Global warming, and impacted human society globally. Another aspect of human activities is pollution.
Natural loss of biodiversity
The condition of change in biodiversity is a natural process, for instance, the seasons and their duration, and this change supports the growth of flora and fauna. However, this is also affected because of many factors. For example, the duration of the winter season reduces, and the temperature of the earth increases day by day, which creates negative effects on the migrated animals, etc. Many species are extinct due to this changing environment.
Loss of biodiversity is interlinked with permanent ecological changes. Some more examples of this are – wildfire, floods, and volcanic eruptions. Even though these changes are temporary, the effect on the ecosystem is permanent with more challenges. This external environmental change affects the organisms’ internal system, such as a change in metabolic rate and muscle physiology changes that affect the body’s biochemical reactions.
Effect of ecology
Generally, biodiversity loss is measured in terms of the number of species whose population is reducing. The change in the genetic makeup of the individuals threatens the species’ survival and creates new challenges. The other species are also affected if any species go extinct. This is mostly due to dependency on each other, directly or indirectly. It also affects the framework and functioning of ecological systems. However, the system still has the potential to stand against the changing factors, but the individual species can’t adapt to the changing environment.
Socio-economic effects
Loss of biodiversity influences the socio-economic system of the human community. Humans are dependent upon a varied number of biological species, directly or indirectly, in terms of food, building materials, medicines, etc. Because of this dependency any change directly affects the development of the human population.
Conclusion
Ecologists focus on habitat loss, mainly on the conversion of forests, wetlands, grasslands, etc., and the extinction of species. They consider that changing the environment is the primary driver of biodiversity loss. However, the efforts in direction with the right developmental strategies and implementation solutions for every consequence can help reduce the effect of loss of biodiversity and even help in the reduction of loss of biodiversity.