M.Ed EVS Topic- biodiversity

2. DEFINITION
Biodiversit
y
Definition Threat
Importance
Conservation

3. DEFINITION
 Biological diversity, or the shorter
"biodiversity," (bio-di-ver-si-ty) simply means
the diversity, or variety, of plants and
animals and other living things in a
particular area or region. For instance, the
species that inhabit Los Angeles are
different from those in San Francisco, and
desert plants and animals have different
characteristics and needs than those in the
mountains, even though some of the same
species can be found in all of those areas.

4. IMPORTANCE
Importanc
e
Recreational
area
Hidden
treasure
Greenhous
e
BreedingBalanceEnergy
Ecosyste
m
Medicine
Wood
product
Hidden treasureHidden treasureHidden treasureHidden treasureBreedingBreedingBreedingBreeding

5. IMPORTNACE OF BIODIVERSITY
 Biodiversity increases ecosystem productivity; all of
the species in that ecosystem, no matter their size,
have a big role. A diverse ecosystem can prevent
and recover from lots of disasters. Humans depend
on plants and animals. For example, one quarter of
all prescription medicines in the U.S. have
ingredients from plants. If a diverse ecosystem is
more productive, it 's easier to get these plants.
 Humans also directly benefit from a diverse
ecosystem: plants, clean water and air, provide
oxygen, and control erosion.
 Here are some of the major ways biodiversity helps
humans:

6. IMPORTACE OF BIODIVERSITY
 Plants absorb greenhouse gases and help stop global
warming.
 It is easier for biodiverse ecosystems to recover from
natural disasters.
 Healthy biodiversity of species can provide a variety of
food (like meat and produce).
 Many of our medicinal drugs come from plants.

7. IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY
 All of our wood products come from nature.
 We can learn more about our earth by observing a
diverse ecosystem.
 Many recreational areas benefit from a healthy
ecosystem, which promotes tourism.
 Biodiversity is beautiful and should be enjoyed.

8. LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY
Loss of
biodiversi
ty
Overexploitat
ion of
resources
Climate
change
Clear
Alteration and
loss of the
habitats
Exotic
species
Pollution

9. CAUSES OF LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY :
 1)Alteration and loss of the habitats: the
transformation of the natural areas determines not
only the loss of the vegetable species, but also a
decrease in the animal species associated to them.
Refer to “Alteration and loss of the habitats”.

10. CAUSES OF LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY :
 2)Introduction of exotic species and genetically
modified organisms; species originating from a
particular area, introduced into new natural
environments can lead to different forms of
imbalance in the ecological equilibrium. Refer to,
“Introduction of exotic species and genetically
modified organisms”.
 3)Pollution: human activity influences the natural
environment producing negative, direct or indirect,
effects that alter the flow of energy, the chemical
and physical constitution of the environment and
abundance of the species;

11. CAUSES OF LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY :
 4)Climate change: for example, heating of the
Earth’s surface affects biodiversity because it
endangers all the species that adapted to the cold
due to the latitude (the Polar species) or the altitude
(mountain species).
 5)Overexploitation of resources: when the
activities connected with capturing and harvesting
(hunting, fishing, farming) a renewable natural
resource in a particular area is excessively intense,
the resource itself may become exhausted, as for
example, is the case of sardines, herrings, cod,
tuna and many other species that man captures
without leaving enough time for the organisms to
reproduce.

12. CONSERVATION
Conservati
on
Renovating
Stop junk mail
Composting
Eco-friendly
Park or a
zoo
bird feeders

13. CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY:
 Put out bird feeders, bird bathes, and houses.
 Put up a bat house.
 Be careful not to buy coral, ivory, or tortoise shell
products. They come from endangered species.
 You can volunteer at a nature center, park, or a zoo.
 Add mulch to soil to prevent erosion.
 Composting can add nutrients to your soil.
 Buy organic produce.
 Don’t use pesticides; they can kill plants and
animals.

14. CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY:
 Stop junk mail to save paper and protect our
forests.
 When renovating your house, buy FSC approved
wood, because it is harvested in ways that don’t
harm the forests.
 Use renovating your house
 Recycle old newspaper and buy recycled paper
products.
 Use e-mail since it saves paper.
 You should always use eco-friendly cleaning
products.
 Educational implication:

15. ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS
 Activity 1: Understanding biodiversity
 Introduce the idea of variety by giving the students a
one minute challenge to write the names of all the
plants, animals and insects they know.
 Explain that ‘diversity’ is the name that we give to this
variety. Develop the idea that this diversity is what
makes life interesting.
 Introduce students to the concept of variety in nature.
Can they imagine a world where there was only one
type of tree or bird? e.g. only pine trees and magpies.
 Can they imagine a world with only buildings and roads
and no green spaces in our towns and cities? What
would it be like to live in this type of environment?

16. ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS
 Explain that this variety of life is called biodiversity
(short for biological diversity).
 Challenge students to expand the following
examples of biodiversity:
 the differences between animals or plants of the same
species, e.g. different types of ducks
 different species who live in a particular area, e.g. birds,
fish, insects, plants, fungus could all live in a wetland
 differences between different environments
(ecosystems) e.g. forests, wetlands, lakes etc.
 Using the school and the local environment as a
resource have students

17. ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS
 identify examples of the three different categories of
biodiversity, e.g.
 birds, insects, trees, animals
 living in the local area
 identify and count the number of different bird species
 identify and name particular environments within a local
area ( bush, wetland, stream…).

18. ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS
 Activity 2: Use the Conservation Week poster (visual
language)
 The poster is particularly useful to stimulate discussion
on environmental topics, e.g.
 what actions can you see taking place that demonstrate that
the environment is being looked after?
 how will the planting of trees benefit the environment?
 why is the farmer fencing the river bank?
 the tui eating the nectar of the flax and dropping the seeds of
native plants can be used to illustrate the web of life concept.
 use the poster to help the students identify the different
types of

19. ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS
 environments found between the mountains and the sea
(including dairy farms).
 Focus on the person fishing for whitebait. Tell students
that whitebait are the young of some types of native fish
found only in New Zealand.
 Have students
visit www.biodiversity.govt.nz/kids/ (external site) to:
 find the names of the native fish we call whitebait
 identify ways we can protect them
 find out where and when to go whitebaiting
 Use the website to find out ways we can protect and
look after our waterways.

20. ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS
 Activity 3: Everything is connected
 Spend time in the school and local environment so
students can identify things they could do to improve
their environment.
 Visit www.enviroschools.org.nz (external site). What is
an EnviroSchool? Identify the positive actions that
students are taking. Can they be applied at their school?
 Do the students know that our native pigeon – the kereru is
under threat? It depends on the fruit of trees for its food, but
the trees depend upon the kereru to distribute the seeds of
the trees found in the fruit. If this web of life is broken, it could
be a disaster for our native forests!

21. ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS
 Activity 4: Interactive web-based research
 This stimulating and easy-to-use bilingual resource has
been especially designed for students to show them just
how everything is connected.
 Dion, Rick and Ani are fishing for whitebait but locals tell
them that the fishing is not as good as it used to be.
They decide to go on a journey up the creek, through
the suburbs, rural land and to the source of the river to
find out why. On their way they discover just how
everything is connected. A comprehensive Teacher’s
Guide is provided including resources, websites,
background information, and classroom activities.

22. ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS
 .
 Activity 5: Taking positive action
 List the simple, yet positive actions we can take to
look after the web of life – as described
on www.biodiversity.govt.nz/kids/ (external site)
 Get these messages out to school students and
and the local school community as posters and in
slideshow and video format – illustrating, instructing
and demonstrating how we can protect the web of
life and how everything is connected. Consider a
display at a local shopping centre.

23. ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS
 Inspire your students to improve the local area, e.g.
planting a native area or a stream clean-up…
 Find out what is planned in your area for
Conservation Week.
 Talk to your local DOC office to find out if they have
any special events planned.
 Establish a media watch bulletin board highlighting
environmental problems and positive actions
taken.
