The Power of Biodiversity

LIFE YIELDS LIFE

1. Chlorophyll-containing microorganisms and plants use photosynthesis to convert energy from sunshine into usable forms that are passed throughout the food web. Minerals are broken down into essential compounds that can be gathered from the soil and the water. Nutrients, water, and air are formed and maintained by the workings of both living organisms and environmental processes.

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THE PRODUCTS WE NEED AND SO MUCH MORE...

1. The diversity of life within ecosystems is an irreplaceable asset to humans. The various components of biodiversity, from the complete ecosystems to the individual organism and its genetic code, provide people with numerous tangible products. Food and clothing are harvested from crops and livestock. Lifesaving medicines are derived from microorganisms, fungi, plants, and animals. Natural pesticides are being developed from bacteria and other organisms to protect crops without damaging the environment or harmless species. Building materials are made from forest products, and fuel for heating and cooking are provided by wood or dung. These indispensable provisions serve integral roles in our social and economic structures. There are also many intangible values to ecological diversity such as soil generation and productivity, water cycling and cleansing, protection of our watersheds, climate control, and simple enjoyment of the bounties of nature. Which of these products or processes could humans live without?

EXAMPLES: ONE BY ONE

1.	Microorganisms
2.	Plants
3.	Animals
	• Invertebrates • Vertebrates ° Amphibian ° Bird ° Mammal

DO YOU KNOW?

1.

From boiling hot springs to the heights of the mountain tops, hardy microbes flourish. In the coldest waters of the Antarctic, icefish manufacture an "antifreeze" compound within their bodies that allows them to survive the extreme temperatures. On a riverbank in tropical Africa, a particular worm lives under the eyelids of hippopotamuses and feeds on tears. No matter how unlikely the space, wherever food, water, air, and shelter are found, there is certain to be life!

NOW TRY THIS!

1.

Choose a habitat poster or a scene from a wildlife magazine or book that incorporates several distinct types of organisms. Each species has a role within its habitat: decomposer, producer, primary consumer, or secondary consumer. Your first challenge is to define these terms. The next step is to identify each member of the pictured community by its kingdom, and then by its niche. Can you name any kingdoms or niches that may not be represented? Can you name more organisms that would live in this type of habitat? CATALYST: something that precipitates a process or event COMMUNITY: an integrated group of species inhabiting a given area that influences one another's distribution, abundance and evolution CULTURE: (to culture) to cultivate a growth of microorganisms DECOMPOSE: to separate or break apart into component parts ECOSYSTEM: the living members of a particular habitat interacting together along with the non-living physical environment such as soil, rocks, water, heat, and light EVOLVE: to change physically or behaviorally through successive generations until a new species develops FOSSILS: remnants or traces of organisms from a past geologic age METABOLISM: chemical reactions that occur within cells and organisms NICHE: the functional position of an organism in its environment ORGANISM: a living body made up of separate parts which work together to carry on the various processes of life PHOTOSYNTHESIS: production of organic compounds from carbon dioxide and water by using light energy captured by chlorophyll and other pigments PROTOZOANS: free-living, single-celled microorganisms that are not plants or animals REFERENCES • Allaby, Michael. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Zoology. New York: Oxford Press, 1992. • Ashton, Patricia Sawyer, and Ray E. Ashton, Jr. Handbook of Reptiles and Amphibians of Florida. Part III. Miami, Fl.: Windward Publishing, Inc., 1985. • Canby, Thomas Y. "Bacteria," National Geographic. Aug. 1993, pp. 36-60. • Cokendolpher, James C., and G. B. Edwards. "Four Florida Widows." Florida Wildlife. Nov.-Dec. 1992, pp. 9-12. • Comstock, John. The Spider Book. London: Comstock Publishing Associates, 1980. • Conant, Roger, and Joseph T. Collins. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1991. • Goin, Coleman J., and Olive B. Goin. Introduction to Herpetology. London: W. H. Freeman and Co., 1962. • Huxley, Anthony. Green Inheritance. New York: Gaia Books Ltd., 1984. • MacDonald, David (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Mammals: 1. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1985. • MacLaughlin, Maureen, and Gray Bass. "Delicate Balance: Orange Azalea." Florida Wildlife. May - June, 1993. pp. 8-9. • Margulis, Lynn, and Karlene V. Schwartz. Five Kingdoms. New York: W. H. Freeman and Co., 1988. • Parker, Sybil P. (ed.). Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals. Vol. 3, New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., 1990. • Perrins, Christopher M., and Alex L. A. Middleton (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Birds. New York: Facts On File, 1985. • Wilson, E.O. The Diversity of Life. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1992. • Whitfield, Philip, Peter D. Moore, and Barry Cox. The Atlas of the Living World. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1989.