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ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
BIODIVERSITY LOSS Biodiversity - refers to the number and size of populations in a community; variability of species in an area
In general, there are three categorical levels of biodiversity: 1. Genetic biodiversity - involves populations, individuals, chromosomes, genes and nucleotides
2. Taxonomic biodiversity - include kingdoms, phyla, orders, families, genera, species, subspecies and populations - for practical reasons, the most commonly used taxonomic diversity measure is species diversity, or alpha diversity which is also called species richness and is simply the number of species in a given area
3. Ecological biodiversity - refers to the diversity of habitats on which individuals within a species depend on for their own unique niches that they occupy within the ecosystem. Niche – role of an organism in its ecosystem
Megadiverse countries - the 17 countries which harbor 60 to 70% of species in the world - a group of countries in which less than the 10% of the global surface has more than the 70% of the biodiversity - most of these countries are located in the tropics
Hotspots - British biologist Norman Myers coined the term "biodiversity hotspot" in 1988 as a biogeographic region characterized both by exceptional levels of plant endemism and by serious levels of habitat loss
Causes of biodiversity loss: 1. deforestation 2. exploitation by humans 3. habitat destruction 4. pollution 5. natural catastrophes
Threats to biodiversity: 1. becoming threatened A species that is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate (critically endangered), near (endangered) or medium-term (vulnerable) future.
2. becoming extinct - extinct species: species not located in the wild in the last 50 years
GLOBAL WARMING
Global warming - an average increase in
BIODIVERSITY LOSS Biodiversity - refers to the number and size of populations in a community; variability of species in an area
In general, there are three categorical levels of biodiversity: 1. Genetic biodiversity - involves populations, individuals, chromosomes, genes and nucleotides
2. Taxonomic biodiversity - include kingdoms, phyla, orders, families, genera, species, subspecies and populations - for practical reasons, the most commonly used taxonomic diversity measure is species diversity, or alpha diversity which is also called species richness and is simply the number of species in a given area
3. Ecological biodiversity - refers to the diversity of habitats on which individuals within a species depend on for their own unique niches that they occupy within the ecosystem. Niche – role of an organism in its ecosystem
Megadiverse countries - the 17 countries which harbor 60 to 70% of species in the world - a group of countries in which less than the 10% of the global surface has more than the 70% of the biodiversity - most of these countries are located in the tropics
Hotspots - British biologist Norman Myers coined the term "biodiversity hotspot" in 1988 as a biogeographic region characterized both by exceptional levels of plant endemism and by serious levels of habitat loss
Causes of biodiversity loss: 1. deforestation 2. exploitation by humans 3. habitat destruction 4. pollution 5. natural catastrophes
Threats to biodiversity: 1. becoming threatened A species that is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate (critically endangered), near (endangered) or medium-term (vulnerable) future.
2. becoming extinct - extinct species: species not located in the wild in the last 50 years
GLOBAL WARMING
Global warming - an average increase in