Final Paper

Running head: BIODIVERSITY 1

Biodiversity and Environmental Preservation

Cory Kuzdzal

EVN/300

4/10/2017

Robert W. Russell

- 1 -

[no notes on this page]

BIODIVERSITY 2

Biodiversity and Environmental Preservation

Introduction

Biodiversity also is known as the biological diversity of different forms of life which are

commonly expressed as the number of species or the genetic type in a given locality.

Biodiversity is considered as one of the essential factors by people. The reason for this is that

biodiversity has the utilitarian value because it consists of the species that offer products that are

useful to man. Another reason is that it acts as a public service to humans because it takes up

carbon dioxide and aids in the pollination of the flowers. Biodiversity also plays the key roles for

the continuous persistence of the ecosystem and life. Biodiversity is also important as an

aesthetic, in this way offering beauty to nature, recreational activities, spiritual experiences, and

creativeness since writers, artists and musicians can access stimulation for their creativity in

nature and its diversity. Biodiversity consists of concepts like genetic diversity, habitat diversity,

and species diversity (Botkin, 2014, p. 649).

This paper aims at discussing biodiversity in terms of its measurement; it importance in

the conservation of the environment; how it is influenced by the factors like biological evolution,

ecological niches as well as the competition, food webs, and the geography. The paper also

discusses the pollutions generated by people and how it affects the biodiversity as well as

identifying the methods or the mechanisms used by humans to preserve the ecosystem.

Biodiversity and how it is measured.

Biodiversity refers the multiplicity within as well amongst the forms of life a place,

ecosystem, and landscape. Biodiversity is composed of two parts namely richness and evenness.

The richness refers to the magnitude of genetically and functional species that are related. For

- 2 -

[no notes on this page]

BIODIVERSITY 3

example, in the survey of the vegetation, the expression of the richness is based on the species

number, therefore, known as the species richness (Botkin, 2014, p. 649).

On the other hand, evenness is the fraction of species or purposeful groups present within

a given site. This is because similar species are considered as a shared unit to one another thus

the greater the evenness of the site. Diversity refers to the variation in the form of genetic, life

form, and the functional group.

Evaluate how biodiversity is important to environmental conservation.

Biodiversity is important in keeping the natural balance of the environment. This is

because an ecosystem with rich species is more supple and adaptable to the external stress as

compared to an ecosystem with a limited range of species. However, a system with limited

species leads to the loss or the temporary disruption of one species resulting in the disturbance of

the complex food chain. This causes serious effects on other species in the same system

(Bormann, 1994, pp. 103-137).

An ecosystem with sufficient biodiversity, even if one nutrient cycling path is altered or

interfered with, another pathway can function and so the ecosystem and the biological species

being supported by this ecosystem can survive. Another reason for the conservation of the

biodiversity is that it offers useful products. An ecosystem like the tropical rainforests produces

natural medicines and the biological control agents for the agricultural activities. Therefore,

potential destruction of the biodiversity cannot be allowed (Bormann, 1994, pp. 103-137).

Another reason why biodiversity is essential to the conservation of the environment is

that human beings and animals depend on a wider variety of the plant species for them to

- 3 -

[no notes on this page]

BIODIVERSITY 4

survive. The cultivated crops such as rice, corn, and wheat which are the staple foods that feed a

large population worldwide. Techniques such as selective breeding cross-breeding and the

genetic manipulation can be used to preserve the gene pool of the plant species. The wetlands

create the spawning grounds for many fish species and act as the feeding and the breeding

grounds for birds as well as serving as the natural filter for pollutants.

Effects on the biodiversity:

Biological evolution

The Theory of Evolution states that biological evolution leads to the rise of new species

when species compete for the same resources. The reason for this is that the rise of the new

species is because biological evolution leads to variation in the adaptability to the environmental

conditions by the species. Biological evolution affects the biodiversity in the form of mutation,

natural selection, migration, and the genetic drift. Mutation is the change in the genetic make of

the species. In most occasions, the offspring or a cell may fail to reproduce after evolution. As a

result, causing a reduction in the biodiversity. However, in some cases mutation adds adaptability

to the inherited features. Mutation can also cause differences between the offspring and their

parents consequently they cannot reproduce with the standard offspring of their species in this

way creating a new species (Botkin, 2014, p. 649).

Natural selection leads to the change in the characteristics of the species. The

accumulation of these changes in its features may become significant. Consequently, interfering

with the reproduction rate of these species because some can no longer reproduce with species

that have the original structure of the DNA in this fashion resulting in the new species. The loss

- 4 -

1

2

3

1. The cultivated crops

such as rice, corn, and

wheat which are the staple

foods that feed a large

population worldwide.

This is a sentence fragment

because there is a subject but

no verb. [Robert W. Russell]

2. As a result, causing a

reduction in the

biodiversity.

Please write in complete

sentences always. This is a

sentence fragment because

there is not a subject and a

verb. [Robert W. Russell]

3. Consequently, interfering

with the reproduction rate

of these species because

some can no longer

reproduce with species that

have the original structure

of the DNA in this fashion

resulting in the new

species.

Sentence fragment. [Robert

W. Russell]

BIODIVERSITY 5

of the geographic isolation leads to new species. Migration of a new organism to another habitat

occupied by another population leads to the change in the gene frequency (Botkin, 2014, p. 649).

Competition and ecological niches

Competition favors some species while resulting in the displacement of other species.

This is because some species might be competing for the same food and same niche. This leads

to migration of the species that does not fit into the competition thus affecting the biodiversity.

Species that occupy a unique niche in an ecosystem become more advantageous because it leads

to the reduction of the amount of competition for resources that species will be encountering

(Blum, 1962, pp. 965-979).

Food webs

The entire ecosystem depends on the survival of different categories of the species. This

is because when one organism is dead, the other species are affected. For example, when there is

a destruction of grazing lands, the primary consumers will die, and some will migrate looking for

grasslands. This will also affect the secondary consumers accordingly leading to the reduction in

the biodiversity. A menace to the biodiversity is the disappearance of the native habitat. Threats

to the habitat can be caused by the overgrazing, destruction of the forest, artificial removal of the

wetlands, and the destruction of the coral reefs. Pollution deteriorates the environment while oil

spillage, sewage, and pesticides interfere with air, oceans, topsoil and the freshwater ecosystems.

The downfall of organisms from the food chain forming the food web can affect the balance of

ecosystem (Odum, 2004, pp. 293-314).

Geography

- 5 -

1

1. Geography

You haven't addressed

geography here. What purely

geographical factors (i.e.,

other than where human

activities happen to take

place) affect biodiversity?

[Robert W. Russell]

BIODIVERSITY 6

Population growth and human settlement destroy habitat leading to the extinction of

many species. Deforestation and agriculture result in the destruction of their habitats. Animals

like sheep and cattle damage soil composition and destroy the native vegetation. Humans cause

bushfires consequently disrupting the evolutionary processes of flora and fauna. Pollution and

the continuing global warming threaten the survival of the species. All these human activities and

physical geography lead to the decline of the biodiversity (Botkin, 2014, p. 649).

Human generated pollution and land use change

Human activities like environmental pollution like shifts in the land use, for example, the

conversion of the forested areas into other purposes contributes to the climatic change. Human

activities like the burning of the forest also increase the atmospheric level of carbon dioxide

leading to the global warming. This accounts for 33 percent increase in the level atmospheric

Carbon dioxide. Overgrazing causes land deprivation and desertification. Changing the direction

of water flow for the land use activities like irrigation devour 70 percent of the earth’s water. All

these practices are a threat to the biodiversity thus causing a decline in the biodiversity (Botkin,

1989, p. 80).

Human techniques in the preservation of the ecosystems

Some of the techniques that can be used to conserve ecosystems are the utilization of the

irrigation systems that aims at maintaining the habitat for particular species, the building of the

sea walls or the dikes to prevent the flux of the increasing sea level. The practicing of the

artificial removal of invasive species and the planting of the new forests and reforestation are

essential. Others include expansion of the protected areas and the creation of the wildlife

corridors and allowing the natural succession of the communities through desertification,

- 6 -

[no notes on this page]

BIODIVERSITY 7

inundation, and migration. These practices are important in maintaining the natural habit,

therefore, the maintaining of the biodiversity (Botkin, 1989, p. 80).

- 7 -

[no notes on this page]

BIODIVERSITY 8

References:

Blum, H. (1962). Time’s Arrow and Evolution. New York: Harper and Row.

Bormann, F. a. (1994). Pattern and Process in a Forested Ecosystem (2 ed.). New York:

Springer-Verlag.

Botkin, D. B. (2014). Environmental science: Earth as a living planet (9 ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John

Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Botkin, D. B. (1989). Changing the Global Environment: Perspectives on Human Involvement.

New York: Academic Press.

Odum, E. a. (2004). Fundamentals of Ecology. Duxbury, MA: Brooks/Cole.

- 8 -

[no notes on this page]