Biodiversity refers to the variation of life forms in a single ecosystem, geographic region, or entire planet. It is important for sustainability and flexibility, and can help regulate waste disposal, water quality, and environmental factors. Biodiversity is greatest around the equator and least marked at the poles. The term was coined in 1988 by EO Wilson, and concerns about biological diversity were already well established. Biodiversity can be examined at individual ecosystems, compared across ecosystems, or surveyed in larger regions or entire countries. The Earth is incredibly rich in biodiversity, and steps should be taken to preserve it.
Biodiversity refers to the variation of life forms. It can be used to describe the variation of life in a single ecosystem, a geographic region, or an entire planet. Many biologists believe that biodiversity is an important part of sustainability and that the richer in biodiversity a region is, the healthier it is. As a general rule, biodiversity is greatest around the equator and least marked at the poles, due to the harsher and more challenging environment at the poles.
The term appears to have been coined in print in 1988 by EO Wilson, a famous biologist. Concerns about biological diversity were already well established; as early as 1975, the Nature Conservancy was publishing studies on diversity in various regions and talking about the impact of diversity on the well-being of the earth and other life forms. Studies of various regions often include a discussion of biodiversity, which can be calculated in various ways, ranging from complex rubrics to basic counts of how many different species there are.
One of the greatest benefits of biodiversity is flexibility. A large number of unique species can flex as conditions change, with the number of various life forms increasing or decreasing to suit a changing environment. Biodiversity can also help make natural populations stronger and healthier by promoting the best individuals through competition and predation. Biodiverse crops tend to do better than single crops, and biodiversity also contributes to the delicate balance of ecosystems, helping to regulate waste disposal, water quality, fertilization and environmental factors.
At the smallest levels, biologists examine biodiversity in terms of individual ecosystems, also sometimes called biomes. They can also compare biodiversity across ecosystems; for example, two watersheds with similar geographic and geological conditions might have different levels of biodiversity. Some biologists also survey larger regions or entire countries; questioning, for example, the impact of heavy commercial agriculture on a nation’s biodiversity.
As a planet, the Earth itself is incredibly rich in biodiversity. The planet is home to organisms ranging in size from tiny viruses to enormous whales, and life forms have been discovered everywhere from the seemingly hostile environments around hydrothermal vents to the lush tropical regions that mark Earth’s equator. Many biologists believe that steps should be taken to preserve this biodiversity because it benefits the health of the Earth as a whole, and more studies may be needed to understand the exact interactions of all life forms on Earth. Biodiversity is also simply aesthetically pleasing, as many visitors to the tropics and other incredibly biodiverse regions have noted.
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