Biodiversit
y
and
Healthy
Society

BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversitycontributes to many aspects of human well-being, for instance by
providing raw materials and contributing to health. Human actions, however,
often lead to irreversible losses in terms of diversity of life on Earth and these
losses have been more rapid in the past 50 years than ever before in human
history.
What factors are responsible for this rapid loss of biodiversity?
What would need to be done to significantly slow this trend?

ECOLOGY
Ecologyis the study of the
interactions between organisms and
the environment they live in
the environmentis the set of
conditions that surround an
organism.

ECOLOGICAL LEVELS
OF ORGANIZATION
Organism-any unicellular or
multicellular form exhibiting all of the
characteristics of life, an individual.
Population-a group of organisms of
one species living in the same place at
the same time that interbreed and
compete with each other for
resources (ex. food, mates, shelter) .

ECOLOGICAL LEVELS
OF ORGANIZATION
Community-several interacting
populations that inhabit a common
environment and are interdependent.
Ecosystem-populations in a
community and the abiotic factors
with which they interact (ex. marine,
terrestrial).

ECOLOGICAL LEVELS
OF ORGANIZATION
Biomes – distinct biological
communities characterized by the
dominant forms of life and the
prevailing climate
Biosphere-life supporting portions of
Earth composed of air, land, fresh
water, and salt water

ECOLOGICAL LEVELS
OF ORGANIZATION
Biomes – distinct biological
communities characterized by the
dominant forms of life and the
prevailing climate
Biosphere-life supporting portions of
Earth composed of air, land, fresh
water, and salt water

FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS
Producer-all autotrophs
(plants), they obtain energy
directly from the environment
and use an inorganic form of
carbon to build sugars

FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS
Consumer-all heterotrophs: they ingest and obtain
energy from primary producers
 Herbivores– Eat plants (Primary consumers,
preys)
 Omnivores-eat both plants and meat
 Carnivores-eat meat (Predators – Hunt prey
animals for food)

FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS
Scavengers– Feed on carrion, dead animals
Detritivores - such as earthworms and some
insects eat detritus: small bits of decaying
organic matter
Decomposers- breakdown the complex
compounds of dead and decaying plants and
animals into simpler molecules that can be
absorbed (fungi, bacteria)

FOOD CHAIN
Food chainis a sequence of steps by which
some energy captured by primary
producers is transferred to higher trophic
levels. An organism that participates in
one food chain usually has a role in many
others as well.

FOOD CHAIN
Food chainis a sequence of steps by which
some energy captured by primary
producers is transferred to higher trophic
levels. An organism that participates in
one food chain usually has a role in many
others as well.

FOOD WEB
All of the food chains of an ecosystem
cross-connect as a food web.

BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversityis the measure of the number,
variety and variability of living organisms
(includes all organisms, from microscopic
bacteria to more complex plants and animals)
It includes diversity within species, between
species, and among ecosystems.
The concept also covers how this diversity
changes from one location to another and
over time.

LEVELS OF BIODIVERSITY
Genetic Diversity
- the diversity of genes
within a species. Genetic
variability is essential for
maintaining a healthy
breeding population.
Species Diversity
– the number of species of
plants and animals that are
present in a region.
EcosystemDiversity
- the amount of distinctive
natural ecosystems
described for a particular
geographical location.

LEVELS OF BIODIVERSITY
Genetic Diversity
Species Diversity
Ecosystem Diversity

IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY
Species and ecosystems provide essential goods and services upon which human
well-being depends. They support our health, our environment and our
economies.
ECOSYSTEMSERVICES ECOSYSTEMGOODS
• Water purification
• Pollination
• Disease control
• More than 7000 species of plants are
cultivated or harvested from the wild.
• Fish and other marine animals provide 20%
of animal protein consumed, at a value of $50-
$100 billion annually.
• Medicines - the top prescription drugs in
contain chemicals derived from plants, fungi
and other species.

IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY
• Maintainssoilquality:healthy bacteria, algae, fungi, mites, millipedes and worms help
cycle nutrients
• Maintainsair quality:plants purify the air and filter harmful particles out of the air
• Maintainswaterquality:variety of vegetation reduces erosion and purifies water by
removing (using or absorbing) nutrients and pollution
• Pest control: most crop pests can be controlled by other organisms for a longer period of
time – helpful because many pests become resistant to synthetic pesticides
• Pollinationandcrop production: More than 1/3 of world’s crops rely on healthy pollinators
• Medicines:many current and possible future medications found in areas with high
biodiversity.

THREATHS TO BIODIVERSITY
• Habitatdestruction/fragmentation– Changing and displacing a habitat to suit human needs.
• Invasivespecies– organisms that has been relocated and introduced to a region,
these outcompete native species resulting in disruption of the ecosystem and food
chain
• Populationgrowth- Increasing population means greater demand for food, shelter, fuel and
water; this often leads to habitat loss, pollution, resource scarcity and overconsumption
• Pollution- Pollution can alter the habitat to the point where some plants and animals cannot
adapt.
• Global Climate Change - many species are intolerant to changes in temperature--affects feeding
relationships and breeding patterns.
• Overconsumption- Individuals consuming way more resources than needed to survive –
sometimes more than is needed to satisfy a high standard of life.

KEY TERMS IN BIODIVERSITY
An endangeredspecies faces threats that
may cause it to become extinct within a
short period.
List of Endangered Species in the Philippines
1. Philippine crocodile
2. Philippine eagle
3. Tamaraw
4. Bombon sardine (Tawilis)
5. Calamian and Philippine spotted dear
6. Tarsier
7. Sea Turtles
8. Balabac mouse deer (Pilandok)
9. Wild pig (Babor Damo)
10.Philippine forest turtle

KEY TERMS IN BIODIVERSITY
A threatenedspecies is a species whose
population has declined to the point that
it may be at risk of extinction.

KEY TERMS IN BIODIVERSITY
An endemic species is an organism
exclusively native to a place or biota.
List of Endemic Species in the Philippines
1. Palawan fruit bat
2. Philippine flat-headed frog
3. Philippine dwarf kingfisher
4. Philippine flying lemur
5. Samar Squirrel
6. Visayan broadbill
7. Palawan flycatcher
8. Kalinga narrowmouth toad
9. Mindanao treeshrew
10. Mindoro Black Rat

KEY TERMS IN BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversityhotspotsare areas that
support natural ecosystems that are
largely intact and where native species
and communities associated with these
ecosystems are well represented
These are regions that continue to
experience an alarming rate of destruction
of important natural resources that harbor
biodiverse organisms.

KEY TERMS IN BIODIVERSITY
To qualify as biodiversity hotspot a region
must meet two strict criteria:
First, it must have at least 1,500 species of
vascular plants as endemic (endemism).
which is to say, it must have a high
percentage of plant life found nowhere
else on the planet.
Secondly, it must contain 30% or less of its
original natural vegetation. In other
words, it must be threatened.

KEY TERMS IN BIODIVERSITY
Conservationbiology is the scientific
study of how humans impact organisms
and of the development of ways to
protect biological diversity.