Ecology and Biodiversity

The concept of “biological diversity” is multifaceted and complex. It includes the concept of species diversity, or the total of all species in a given area or habitat, but can also refer to genetic diversity within a species. Biodiversity can even refer to the diversity of habitats in a given region. Biodiversity is important as it reflects the environmental health of a species, region, or habitat. On a global scale, biodiversity is being lost at an alarming rate, largely due to habitat destruction. In this section there are models that explore biodiversity equilibrium, and provide data for various estimates of biodiversity.

Understanding and predicting biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in a changing world. The Ecology & Biodiversity Group investigates the mechanisms that regulate biodiversity and allow for the maintenance of ecosystem functioning in our changing world. We seek to obtain process-based, mechanistic understanding of community assembly, species interactions and functional responses in order to predict the future impacts of climate and land-use changes on biodiversity and ecosystem functions such as carbon sequestration, water safety and disease suppression. We pay special attention to the movement of organisms and above- and belowground species interactions, from the 'micro' to the landscape scale.

Biodiversity the world over is under constant threat. As such, the world needs people with the commitment, knowledge and skills to take on the ecological and environmental challenges at local, national and global levels.

You'll learn about the ecology of populations, communities, ecosystems, and their interactions with the natural environment. Importantly, you'll also learn about how species, communities and habitats respond to pressures. Our ecology and biodiversity study areas provide you with a holistic view of conservation practice where we integrate the environmental and the human factors. This means that you will develop the skills needed to affect ecological and environmental challenges now and in the future.

 

What is Biodiversity?

Biology is the study of all living organisms (plants, animals, microorganisms) and how they interact with each other and their environment. It examines the structure, classification, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of all living things.

Biodiversity, abbreviated from the terms 'biological' and 'diversity', encompasses the variety of lifeforms found at all scales of biological organisation, ranging from genes to species to ecosystems. The greatest biodiversity is found in the tropical regions of the world, particularly among tropical rainforests and coral reefs. Biodiversity is increased by genetic change and evolutionary processes and reduced by habitat destruction, population decline and extinction. There is a growing recognition that the level of biodiversity is an important factor in influencing the resilience of ecosystems to disturbance.

Biodiversity is a complex term that includes not only the variety of different animals (species diversity) but also the difference between animals of the same species (genetic diversity) and between ecosystems (ecosystem diversity).

Genetic Diversity is the diversity of genetic characteristics (expressed or recessive) within a species (i.e. between individuals and populations of the same species). This component of biodiversity is important because it allows populations to adapt to environmental changes through the survival and reproduction of individuals within a population that have particular genetic characteristics that enable them to withstand these changes. The maintenance of high genetic diversity within populations is therefore a conservation and management priority as this provides the greatest capacity for any population to adapt to a broad range of environmental changes. Conversely, failure to maintain genetic diversity limits the capacity for a population to adapt, making it vulnerable to even small changes in the environment and increasing the likelihood of extinction.

Species Diversity is simply the number and relative abundance of species found in a given biological organisation (population, ecosystem, Earth). Species are the basic units of biological classification and hence, this is the measure most commonly associated with the term 'biodiversity'. Worldwide, about 1.75 million different species have been identified. However, many environments and groups of organisms are not well studied and estimates of species numbers range from 3 to 100 million. Diversity in species is important for economic, biological, social and cultural reasons. Major threats to species diversity are loss of habitat and fragmentation, over exploitations (fishing, hunting, extraction), pollution, the introduction of invasive species (e.g Asian Green Mussels) and global climate change. In order to conserve species diversity, natural resource management and habitat protection are vital.

Ecosystem Diversity can be defined as the variety of different habitats, communities and ecological processes. A biological community is defined by the species that occupy a particular area and the interactions between those species. A biological community together with its associated physical environment is termed an ecosystem.

Partly due to its complexity, biodiversity can be extremely difficult to measure. However, there are a few key indicators of biodiversity that we can accurately and efficiently monitor. For coral reefs these indicators include: seafloor diversity, seagrass, mangroves, seabirds, species of conservation concern and species richness and community structure of hard corals on the GBR.

 

What is biodiversity and why is it important?

Biodiversity is the variety of living species on Earth – plants, animals and microorganisms – and the ecosystems they form. An ecosystem is the name given to all living species that live together in a stable community, interacting with one another and their physical environment. Biodiversity includes the diversity within species and between different species within terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Ecosystems need a balanced and diverse number of species to thrive.

When people think of conserving biodiversity, they often think of efforts to save animals such as the polar bear or the tiger. While protecting single species is important, it is equally important to protect ecosystems. When there is a shift in the balance of an ecosystem, such as the loss of a plant or an animal or an introduction of new species, this shift can lead to irreversible consequences. Therefore, it is important to understand what makes an ecosystem thrive.

Biodiversity plays a critical role in sustaining human populations across the globe. We depend on it for sustained food growth, for clean air and water and for medicine and shelter. It is no surprise then that ecosystem degradation threatens our most basic necessity – a healthy environment to live and thrive in. This is especially true of biodiversity hotspots, which house some of the largest diversity of species in the world and provide important life-support services to the people who live in and around them.

In addition, biodiversity is embedded in human cultures and is fundamental for our understanding of the world. Biodiversity enriches our lives – it has economic, cultural, recreational, religious and aesthetic importance across the world. We have celebrated it in art, music and literature throughout history. More than 190 countries acknowledge its importance to human populations through a show of support for the Convention on Biological Society.

 

Ecology

Ecology is the study of organisms and how they interact with the environment around them. An ecologist studies the relationship between living things and their habitats. In order to learn about the natural world, ecologists must study multiple aspects of life ranging from the moss that grows on rocks to the wolf population in Yellowstone National Park. In order to research the environment, scientists ask questions, such as: How do organisms interact with the living and nonliving factors around them? What do organisms need to survive and thrive in their current environments? To find the answers to these questions, ecologists must study and observe all forms of life and their ecosystems throughout our world.

In addition to examining how ecosystems function, ecologists study what happens when ecosystems do not function normally. Changes in ecosystems can result from many different factors including diseases among the organisms living in the area, increases in temperature, and increased human activities. Understanding these changes can help ecologists anticipate future ecological challenges and inform other scientists and policymakers about the challenges facing their local ecosystems.

Ecology first began gaining popularity in the 1960s, when environmental issues were rising to the forefront of public awareness. Although scientists have been studying the natural world for centuries, ecology in the modern sense has only been around since the 19th century. Around this time, European and American scientists began studying how plants functioned and their effects on the habitats around them. Eventually, this lead to the study of how animals interacted with plants, other animals, and shaped the ecosystems in which they lived. Today, modern ecologists build on the data collected by their predecessors and continue to pass on information about the ecosystems around the world. The information they gather continues to affect the future of our planet.

Human activity plays an important role in the health of ecosystems all around the world. Pollution emitted from fossil fuels or factories can contaminate the food supply for a species, potentially changing an entire food web. Introducing a new species from another part of the world into an unfamiliar environment can have unintended and negative impacts on local lifeforms. These kinds of organisms are called invasive species. Invasive species can be any form of living organism that is brought by humans to a new part of the world where they have no natural predators. The addition or subtraction of a single species from an ecosystem can create a domino effect on many others, whether that be from the spread of disease or overhunting.