This document discusses biodiversity and ecosystems. It defines biodiversity as the variety of life forms within an ecosystem or planet. Biodiversity is important because it supports ecosystem functions like decomposition and provides resources like food, medicine, and oxygen. Ecosystems are physical environments shared by living organisms. While biodiversity loss originated through natural causes, the current extinction rate is 100 times higher than the natural rate due to human activities like habitat destruction. Potential future issues from loss of biodiversity include increased pollution, extinction of more species, decreased food supplies, and increased diseases. Politics, culture, population growth, and lack of environmental regulations can exacerbate biodiversity loss.

1. By: Genis, David

2.  What is Biodiversity
 Why is Biodiversity important
 What is Ecosystem
 How did Biodiversity and Ecosystem loss originated
 What is its current status
 Solutions
 What will the issue look like in the future
 How does it affect us
 How does politics and culture affect this issue

3.  Biodiversity is the
variation of life forms
that are in a an
ecosystem, biome, entire
planet.
 Biodiversity can measure
how well the ecosystem
is doing.

4. “Biological diversity, or
biodiversity, refers to the
variety of life on Earth. As
defined by the United
Nations Convention on
Biological Diversity, it
includes diversity of
ecosystems, species and
genes, and the ecological
processes that support
them.”

5.  It helps the decomposition of
dead plants and animals so it
enrich soils, this is done by
insects, worms, bacteria and
other tiny organism.
 Animals: food supply, medicines,
etc
 Plants: food, O2,
 Animals and plants gives us 30
percent of medicines we use.

6.  It is a physical environment shared by a variety of
living organisms (animals and plants).
 ¨Wetland ecosystems filter out toxins, clean the water,
and control floods. Estuaries act as marine-life
nurseries. Forest ecosystems supply fresh water,
provide oxygen, control erosion, and remove carbon
from the atmosphere.¨

7.  Biodiversity and ecosystems loss originated over 200
million years ago.
 A specie could last between 2 and 10 million years,
however, their extinction was due to natural causes
rather than to human activities such as the case of
dinosaurs and their family.
 Then through time the rate of loss increase.

8.  “Over the past 100 years humans have increased the
extinction rate by at least 100 times compared to the
natural rate. The current extinction rate is much
greater than the rate at which new species arise,
resulting in a net loss of biodiversity.”
 It is difficult to determine the exact rate of loss because
it is constantly increasing exponentially
 Scientists have stated that there is around 8.7 million
species on earth nowadays

10.  Recycle
 Don’t buy any souvenir that has a body part of an
endangered animal.
 Promote awareness about this problem.
 Create protected areas and reserves
 Governments should support, encourage, and
contribute with research studies that helps
biodiversity.
 Help enforce environmentalist laws and treaties, is one
of the solutions that would definitely help the most.

11. As population keeps increasing...
 We’ll have an increase in air and water pollution
pollution (industrialization, greenhouse effect)
 Species such as the Polar bear and the Giant Panda
could be gone as soon as 2012
 Climate change will kill ecosystems vegetation and its
biodiversity.
 Extinction of fish species due to over fishing.

12.  Demand for food will increase, while supply will
decrease.
 Food supplies are going to be more vulnerable to pests
and infections.
 Some will die from starvation and other will get
infectious diseases, such as what’s happening in Africa.

13.  In some countries, where there’s a lack of property
rights and regulations enforcement by the
government, biodiversity loss and a degradation of our
ecosystems have been increasing.
 Also, cultural aspects such as changing diets,
population growth, religious worships, and
urbanization make loss rates even higher because
animals and plants are directly influenced by these
changes and actions made by humanity