Biodiversity is the greatest treasure we have... Its diminishment is to be prevented at all cost.
- Thomas Eisner, Chemical Ecologist, Cornell University
bi·o·di·ver·si·ty Biological diversity, or biodiversity for short, is the scientific term used for the variety of life on Earth.This variety exists at different levels and includes the genes found in all living things, as well as all species and the ecosystems these species comprise.
Quick Facts
Biodiversity has declined by more than a quarter in the last 35 years.
The extinction of species is 1000 times the natural rate and it is estimated that 34 000 plant and 5200 animal species face extinction in the future.
Half the calories we eat come from just three of the world’s 30,000 edible plants (rice, wheat and corn).
Biodiversity is fast eroding. The last time anything comparable happened was 65 million years ago, when a third of all species, including the dinosaurs, were killed off in a mass extinction.
Biodiversity is a way of life and can be studied on many different levels.
Can be studied in a variety of different species - large or small
Estimated 3-30 million different species on Earth with only 1.7 million of them located.
Extinction is a natural part of biodiversity. Many species evolve in a way to live longer, but they eventually go extinct nonetheless.
Some important aspects of biodiversity are: allows us to live healthy lives, medical discoveries are found in different biomes and makes living on Earth viable (i.e. water, oxygen, etc.)