Science 1 BIODIVERSITY What is biodiversity Biological diversity

Science 1 BIODIVERSITY

What is biodiversity? • Biological diversity - or biodiversity:

Peruvian Amazon Biodiversity • The Amazon region may contain as much as 1/3 of all life on Earth • There are 80, 000+ species of plants in the Amazon (compared to 20, 000 species in the U. S. ) • There are 2, 000+ species of fish in the Amazon River Basin compared to 250 species of fish in the Mississippi River Basin • There are 1800+ species of birds in Peru alone compared to 850 in all of North America • 150 species of beetles were found on a single tree in Peru • 300 different tree species were found in a single hectare (2 ½ acres) near Explorama lodge: the highest tree diversity in the world! All Photos by Amy Urling

What factors naturally influence biodiversity? • Climate / Distance from equator • Land size

Why is biodiversity important? • • •

Monoculture vs. Polyculture • Monoculture: single crop planted over a large area • Polyculture: multiple crops interspersed

Measuring Species Diversity • Species Diversity: • Species Richness: • Species Evenness: • Simpson's index (D): the probability that two randomly selected individuals belong to two different species/categories • Shannon-Wiener index (H): measures the order/disorder in a particular system. This order is characterized by the number of individuals found for each species/category in the sample.

Calculating biodiversity • The closer the diversity index is to 1, the more likely it is that the habitat is diverse and healthy. • Purpose of placing a numerical value on the biodiversity of an area: • to compare with other areas • to determine changes over time • to determine how to manage a site • Biodiversity Calculator: • http: //www. alyoung. com/labs/biodiversity_calculator. html

Biodiversity Inquiry Lab • Which of the following 4 x 12 ft. garden areas will have the highest invertebrate biodiversity? METHODS: • Visual surveys • Pitfall traps