Biodiversity is the existence of different kinds of organisms in a given habitat at a particular time. Biodiversity or biological diversity makes our planet beautiful and alive. Biodiversity is essential for proper functioning of ecosystems on earth. It is also essential for ecosystem services, benefits of which are enjoyed by the human race.
Definition of Biodiversity:
Biodiversity is the variation of life on Earth. In simple words, it is the number of different species found in an ecosystem. Our planet earth is a home to a wide variety of organisms – Plants, animals and micro-organisms. From green rain forests to hot dry deserts, life is found everywhere on this earth. But they vary in their forms, sizes, colour, behaviour and habits. The type of life also changes with landscape, location or topography. And different species located in a given habitat are connected with each other through different interactions. This diverseness and interrelatedness of life is called biodiversity. Biodiversity is the result of millions of distinct organisms, which are the product of billions of years of evolution. Biodiversity is essential for survival and heath of our planet’s ecosystems.
According to Convention on Biological Diversity, “Biological diversity” means the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.”
Origin of the Term Biodiversity:
American Biologist Thomas Lovejoy used the term Biological diversity in 1980s. But he didn’t gave any formal definition. American Botanist Walter G. Rosen in 1985 used the term ‘biodiversity’ during the organization of conference of the ‘National Forum on Biodiversity’, which was held in Washington D. C. from September 21 -24, 1986. Rosen used the term as a shorthand for ‘biological diversity’ to facilitate internal works. In 1988 E. O. Wilson published the proceedings of the conference with the title ‘Biodiversity’. Soon the term became popular and and a new inter-disciplinary field dedicated to the conservation of biological diversity was born.
Three Levels of Biodiversity:
Biodiversity is studied or explored in three distinct levels. They are genetic, species and ecosystem diversity.
- Genetic diversity: Genetic diversity is found due to the presence of different genes in different living organisms. The variation of genes helps in adaptability and response to the process of natural selection. Species with more genetic variation can easily adapt to different environmental conditions than species with lower diversity.
- Species diversity: Species diversity is all the differences within and between different species found in a geographical area. Species diversity can be measured with species richness, species abundance and taxonomic diverseness. In some areas, a great number of taxonomically unrelated species are found. Such areas represent greater diversity as compared to an area with taxonomically related species.
- Ecosystem diversity: Ecosystem diversity is the presence of different ecological system or ecosystem on Earth. Ecosystem diversity includes the broad differences between ecosystem, and the diversity of the habitats and ecological processes within each type of ecosystem. For example: ecology found in the tropical areas of South India are different from desert ecosystems of Western India.