Biodiversity
Biodiversity is an ecological notion that refers to the richness of biological types at a range of hierarchical levels, including: (1) genetic diversity within species, (2) the richness of species within communities, and (3) the richness of communities on landscapes. In the context of environmental studies, however, biodiversity usually refers to the richness of species in some geographic area, and how that richness may be endangered by human activities, especially through local or global extinction.
Extinction represents an irrevocable and highly regrettable loss of a portion of the biodiversity of Earth. Extinction can be a natural process, caused by: 1) random catastrophic events; 2) biological interactions such as competition, disease, and predation; 3) chronic stresses; or 4) frequent disturbance. However, with the recent ascendance of human activities as a dominant force behind environmental changes, there has been a dramatic increase in rates of extinction at local, regional, and even global levels.
The recent wave of anthropogenic extinctions includes such well-known cases as the dodo, passenger pigeon, great auk, and others. There are many other high-profile species that humans have brought to the brink of extinction, including the plains buffalo, whooping crane, eskimo curlew, ivory-billed woodpecker, and various marine mammals.
This page contains 201 words.
Biodiversity article
Read the rest of this article.
This article contains 2,369 words
(approx. 8 pages at 300 words per page).
Order our Biodiversity Article
