Biodiversity - Science A short lesson on the different types of biodiversity and its importance.
Note that my voice has a pitch effect on it, and I do not actually sound like this. Script: Hello, everyone! Today, I'm going to be talking about biodiversity. First, what is biodiversity? Well, the term, 'biodiversity' refers to the variety of life on Earth at all its levels. There are three types of biodiversity: Species, Genetic, and Ecosystem. Species Diversity is simply the number and abundance of species found in a given location. Species are the basic units of biological classification and hence, this is the measure most commonly associated with the term 'biodiversity'. 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. Genetic Diversity is the diversity of genetic characteristics within a 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. 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. Biodiversity is the natural world around us, and the variety of all of the different kinds of organisms that live on our planet. Every one of these live and work together in ecosystems to maintain and support life on Earth, and exist in delicate balance. Diversity in all living things enriches our lives, but more importantly, biodiversity is essential to life on Earth.
