STS Final Lesson 3

GE 107
LESSON 3
PREFINAL
Prayer
PANAGDAIT
SA DIOS SA
TANAN
UG SA TANANG KABUHATAN
Biodiversity and
Healthy Society
LESSON 3- PREFINAL
Learning Objectives
Biodiversity means…
“Bio” means life or living organism
“Diversity” Means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual
differences
❑Biodiversity is all the different kinds of life that we find in one area, the variety of animals, plants,
fungi and even microorganisms like bacteria that make up our natural world.
❑ It simply means the variety of plants and animals and other living things in a particular area or region--- it also means the number, or
abundance of different species living within a particular area
Types of Biodiversity
Types of Diversity
Genetic Diversity is the diversity of genetic characteristics (expressed or recessive)
within a species (i.e. between individuals and populations of the same species).
This component of biodiversity is important because it allows populations to adapt to
environmental changes through the survival and reproduction of individuals within a
population that have particular genetic characteristics that enable them to withstand
these changes.
The maintenance of high genetic diversity within populations is therefore a conservation
and management priority as this provides the greatest capacity for any population to
adapt to a broad range of environmental changes. Conversely, failure to maintain
genetic diversity limits the capacity for a population to adapt, making it vulnerable to
even small changes in the environment and increasing the likelihood of extinction.
Types of Diversity
Species Diversity is simply the number and relative abundance of species found
in a given biological organization (population, ecosystem, Earth)
Worldwide, about 1.75 million different species have been identified. However,
many environments and groups of organisms are not well studied and estimates
of species numbers range from 3 to 100 million.
Diversity in species is important for economic, biological, social and cultural
reasons. Major threats to species diversity are loss of habitat and fragmentation,
over exploitations (fishing, hunting, extraction), pollution
In order to conserve species diversity, natural resource management and habitat
protection are vital
Types of Diversity
Ecosystem Diversity can be defined as the variety of different habitats,
communities and ecological processes. A biological community is defined by the
species that occupy a particular area and the interactions between those species.
A biological community together with its associated physical environment is
termed an ecosystem.
Ecosystem
Types of Diversity
Biodiversity
oWhere is it?
o Biodiversity is essentially everywhere, ever-present on Earth’s surface
o Why is it important?
◦ Each species and organism work together in ecosystem, to maintain balance and support life. Biodiversity
supports everything in nature that we need to survive: food, clean water, medicine and shelter
Changes in Biodiversity
Alteration in any system could bring varied effects.
◦ A change in biodiversity could have erratic effects not only in wildlife or marine life bit also in human beings
◦ Examples:
◦ * People inhabiting the forest would disturb the natural order of life
◦ Trees or other plants would be affected in the land- clearing operations.
◦ Animals, insects and all types of life forms in the cleared area would either be displaced or most likely be killed
The loss of these life forma could affect the entire ecosystem governing that environment. The food chain might be
damaged
◦ From this, we wan clearly infer that when our ecosystem is not well taken care of biodiversity encounters changes that may impact human
health on such different levels
Threats to Biodiversity
Major threats – identified by the United Nation’s Environment Program
1. Habitat loss and destruction– major contributing factor in the inhabitation of human beings and the
use of land for economic gains
2. Alteration in ecosystem composition- alteration and sudden changes, either within species groups or
within the environment could begin to change the entire ecosystem. Alteration in ecosystems are
critical factor contributing to species and habitat loss
3. Over-exploitation- over hunting, overfishing, or over-collecting of species can quickly lead to it

decline. Changing consumption patterns of human is often cited as the key reason for this
unsustainable exploitation of natural resources.
Threats to Biodiversity
4. Pollution and contamination- biological systems respond slowly to changes in their surrounding
environment. Pollution and contamination cause irreversible damage to species and varieties
5. Global Climate Change- both climate variability and climate change cause biodiversity loss. Species
and populations may be lost permanently if they are not provided with enough time to adapt to
changing climatic conditions.
Nutritional Impact of Biodiversit
Biodiversity plays a crucial role in human nutrition through its influence on world food production, as it ensures the
sustainable productivity of soils and provides the genetic resources for all crops, livestock, and marine species
harvested for food. Access to a sufficiency of a nutritious variety of food is a fundamental determinant of health.
Nutrition and biodiversity are linked at many levels: the ecosystem, with food production as an ecosystem service; the
species in the ecosystem and the genetic diversity within species. Nutritional composition between foods and among
varieties/cultivars/breeds of the same food can differ dramatically, affecting micronutrient availability in the diet. Healthy
local diets, with adequate average levels of nutrients intake, necessitates maintenance of high biodiversity levels.
Intensified and enhanced food production through irrigation, use of fertilizer, plant protection (pesticides) or the
introduction of crop varieties and cropping patterns affect biodiversity, and thus impact global nutritional status and
human health. Habitat simplification, species loss and species succession often enhance communities vulnerabilities as
a function of environmental receptivity to ill health.
Health and Biodiversity
Health and Biodiversity
Biodiversity is essential for supporting human life on earth. The health of the natural
environment depends on continuing diversity; for instance, if one species is lost from an
ecosystem, then all the other species in that ecosystem are affected. Biodiversity also is
important for ensuring agricultural productivity and for the ongoing sustainable use of natural
resources. Further, biological diversity ensures clean air and water, and fertile soils.
SUMMARY
Most of the time, it may seem impossible to really value species singly or in detailed manner.
But we have to consider the entire Earth as a single unit. A loss of singled-celled species or a
family of wild grass can have adverse effects in the entire biosphere. Biodiversity seen in
macro level seems to be still vast and rich, yet if we look at it in micro level per species, we
have lost too much. Eventually, in the near future, this biodiversity loss will have a great
negative effect especially to us humans. The value of biodiversity is the value of everything.
We must recognize the value of the organisms with which we share the planet, We must
begin to give the natural capital stock that produces these services adequate weight in the
decision making process, otherwise, current and continued future human welfare may
drastically suffer.
Sources
https://bit.ly/3EJVs8R
https://bit.ly/3GMwkjl
https://bit.ly/3wdsfjG
Thank you

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GE 107

3. Over-exploitation- over hunting, overfishing, or over-collecting of species can quickly lead to it

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