7: Biodiversity and HIPPPOC
- Page ID
- 81339
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Learning Outcomes
- Describe biodiversity
- Explain how species evolve through natural selection
- Identify benefits of biodiversity to humans
- Explain the effects of habitat loss, exotic species, and hunting on biodiversity
- Identify the early and predicted effects of climate change on biodiversity
- Explain the legislative framework for conservation
- Identify examples of the effects of habitat restoration
Conservation biology is the management of nature and of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions. It is an interdisciplinary subject drawing on natural and social sciences and the practice of natural resource management.
This 3-minute video summarizes Unit 7.
Question after watching: What areas from the video are you already familiar with? What topics are you unfamiliar with?
- 7.1: Introduction to Biodiversity
- Biodiversity is a broad term for biological variety, and it can be measured at a number of organizational levels. Traditionally, ecologists have measured biodiversity by taking into account both the number of species and the number of individuals of each species. However, biologists are using different measures of biodiversity, including genetic diversity, to help focus efforts to preserve the biologically and technologically important elements of biodiversity.
- 7.2: Importance of Biodiversity
- Agriculture began after early hunter-gatherer societies first settled in one place and heavily modified their immediate environment. This cultural transition has made it difficult for humans to recognize their dependence on undomesticated living things on the planet. Biologists recognize the human species is embedded in ecosystems and is dependent on them, just as every other species on the planet is dependent.
- 7.3: The Biodiversity Crisis - HIPPPOC
- Habitat loss, invasive species, pollution, predator loss, population (human), overharvesting, and climate change (HIPPPOC) are the major causes of biodiversity loss in the Anthropocene.
- 7.4: Preserving Biodiversity
- Preserving biodiversity is an extraordinary challenge that must be met by greater understanding of biodiversity itself, changes in human behavior and beliefs, and various preservation strategies.
Image - The fruits of the forest canopy on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Conservation Efforts Hinge on Understanding the Factors Controlling Biodiversity. (credit: Christian Ziegler CC BY 2.5)