Biodiversity

Biological diversity
The term biological diversity was used first by wildlife

scientist and conservationist Raymond F. Dasmann in the

1968 lay book A Different Kind of Country
-measure of the degree of variation of life/organisms in an
ecosystem, biome or planet
-genetic variation
-ecosystem variation
-species variation
Depends on climate and primary productivity
Not equally distributed
Most species in the tropics

Biodiversity
'Biological diversity' means the variability among

living organisms from all sources including, inter

alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems
and the ecological complexes of which they are a part;
this includes diversity within species, between species
and of ecosystems.
-Convention on Biological Diversity 1992

Biodiversity hotspots

Mass extinction
5 mass extinction events

Knowledge Shortfall
The Linnean shortfall

discrepancy between the number of species that has

been described and the number of species that are
thought to exist (3-100 million )
The Wallacean shortfall
inadequacy of the knowledge of the geographical
distribution of the species
The extinction estimate shortfall
Unclear rate of extinction

Extinction
End of a species or a group of a species ( due to different

factors).
Types:
Linnean extinction : extinction of undiscovered species
Wallacean extinction : not been documented for long but
population may occur in areas that have not been surveyed.
Ecological extinction: The number of a species is so low that
they no longer interact in a meaningful way with others in
the community.
Local extinction: extinct in the wild within a clearly defined
geographical area.

Biological Evolution
Biological evolution, simply put, is descent with modification.
This definition encompasses small-scale evolution (changes in
gene frequency in a population from one generation to the
next) and large-scale evolution (the descent of different
species from a common ancestor over many generations).
Evolution helps us to understand the history of life.

Ref. http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evo101/IIntro.shtml

Biological Evolution
The Explanation:
Biological evolution is not simply a matter of change over
time. Lots of things change over time: trees lose their
leaves, mountain ranges rise and erode, but they aren't
examples of biological evolution because they don't involve
descent through genetic inheritance.
Through the process of descent with modification, the
common ancestor of life on Earth gave rise to the fantastic
diversity that we see documented in the fossil record and
around us today. Evolution means that we're all distant
cousins: humans and oak trees, hummingbirds and whales

Biological Evolution
The central ideas of evolution are that life has a
historyit has changed over timeand that different
species share common ancestors.
The Family Tree
evolutionary change and evolutionary relationships
are represented in family trees,

Biological Evolution

The Family Tree

The process of evolution produces a pattern of
relationships between species. As lineages evolve
and split and modifications are inherited, their
evolutionary paths diverge. This produces a
branching pattern of evolutionary relationships.
This tree, like all phylogenetic trees, is a hypothesis
about the relationships among organisms. It
illustrates the idea that all of life is related and can
be divided into three major clades, often referred to
as the three domains: Archaea, Bacteria, and
Eukaryota.

The Family Tree

The Family Tree

The tree is supported by many lines of evidence,
but it is probably not flawless. Scientists constantly
reevaluate hypotheses and compare them to new
evidence. As scientists gather even more data, they
may revise these particular hypotheses, rearranging
some of the branches on the tree.

Biological Evolution
Mechanisms of Change
Mutation
Mutation is a natural process that changes a DNA sequence. And
it is more common than you may think. As a cell copies its DNA
before dividing, a "typo" occurs every 100,000 or so nucleotides.
That's about 120,000 typos each time one of our cells divides.

A mutation could cause parents with genes for bright green

coloration to have offspring with a gene for brown coloration.
That would make the genes for brown beetles more frequent in
the population.

Biological Evolution
Migration
Migration, broadly defined as directional movement to take
advantage of spatially distributed resources, is a dramatic
behaviour and an important component of many life histories that
can contribute to the fundamental structuring of ecosystems.
Some individuals from a population of brown beetles might have
joined a population of green beetles. That would make the genes for
brown beetles more frequent in the green beetle population.

Biological Evolution
Genetic Drift
In each generation, some individuals may, just by chance, leave behind a few
more descendents (and genes, of course!) than other individuals. The genes of
the next generation will be the genes of the lucky individuals, not necessarily
the healthier or better individuals. That, in a nutshell, is genetic drift. It
happens to ALL populationstheres no avoiding the vagaries of chance

Imagine that in one generation, two brown beetles happened to have four
offspring survive to reproduce. Several green beetles were killed when
someone stepped on them and had no offspring. The next generation would
have a few more brown beetles than the previous generationbut just by
chance. These chance changes from generation to generation are known as
genetic drift.

Biological Evolution
Natural Selection
Suppose green beetles are easier for birds to spot (and hence,
eat). Brown beetles are a little more likely to survive to produce
offspring. They pass their genes for brown coloration on to their
offspring. So in the next generation, brown beetles are more
common than in the previous generation.

Natural Selection
Natural Selection
Natural selection is one of the basic mechanisms of evolution, along with
mutation, migration, and genetic drift.
Darwins grand idea of evolution by natural selection is relatively simple but
often misunderstood. To find out how it works, imagine a population of
beetles:
1. There is variation in traits.
For example, some beetles are green and some are brown.
2. There is differential reproduction.
Since the environment cant support unlimited population growth, not all
individuals get to reproduce to their full potential. In this example, green
beetles tend to get eaten by birds and survive to reproduce less often than
brown beetles do.

Natural Selection
3. There is heredity.
The surviving brown beetles have brown baby beetles because
this trait has a genetic basis.
4. End result:
The more advantageous trait, brown coloration, which allows the
beetle to have more offspring, becomes more common in the
population. If this process continues, eventually, all individuals in
the population will be brown.
If you have variation, differential reproduction, and heredity, you will
have evolution by natural selection as an outcome. It is as simple as
that.

Darwins Evolution Theory

http://www.darwins-theory-of-evolution.com/#sthash.yFE3tFUT.dpuf

Darwins Evolution Theory

Darwin's Theory of Evolution is the widely held notion that all life
is related and has descended from a common ancestor: the birds
and the bananas, the fishes and the flowers -- all related.
Darwin's general theory presumes the development of life from
non-life and stresses a purely naturalistic (undirected) "descent
with modification". That is, complex creatures evolve from more
simplistic ancestors naturally over time. In a nutshell, as random
genetic mutations occur within an organism's genetic code, the
beneficial mutations are preserved because they aid survival -- a
process known as "natural selection." These beneficial mutations
are passed on to the next generation. Over time, beneficial
mutations accumulate and the result is an entirely different
organism (not just a variation of the original, but an entirely
different creature).

Ref. The Origin Of Species

Natural Selection
Natural selection acts to preserve and accumulate minor
advantageous genetic mutations. Suppose a member of
a species developed a functional advantage (it grew
wings and learned to fly). Its offspring would inherit that
advantage and pass it on to their offspring. The inferior
(disadvantaged) members of the same species would
gradually die out, leaving only the superior (advantaged)
members of the species. Natural selection is the
preservation of a functional advantage that enables a
species to compete better in the wild. Natural selection
is the naturalistic equivalent to domestic breeding. Over
the centuries, human breeders have produced dramatic
changes in domestic animal populations by selecting
individuals to breed. Breeders eliminate undesirable
traits gradually over time. Similarly, natural selection

Darwins Evolution Theory

Darwin's Theory of Evolution - Slowly But Surely...
Darwin's Theory of Evolution is a slow gradual process.
Darwin wrote, "Natural selection acts only by taking
advantage of slight successive variations; she can never
take a great and sudden leap, but must advance by short
and sure, though slow steps." Thus, Darwin conceded that,
"If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ
existed, which could not possibly have been formed by
numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory
would absolutely break down." Such a complex organ
would be known as an "irreducibly complex system". An
irreducibly complex system is one composed of multiple
parts, all of which are necessary for the system to function.
If even one part is missing, the entire system will fail to

VDO

Speciation
The formation of new species as a
result of geographic, physiological,
anatomical, or behavioral factors that
prevent previously interbreeding
populations from breeding with each
other.

Speciation
Causes of Speciatio
Geographic Isolation

Speciation
Reduction of Gene Flow

Modes of Speciation

Global Biodiversity Gradient

biodiversity gradient The gradual reduction in biomass and species
numbers that occurs with increasing latitude. There are several theories to
explain why life is more abundant in the tropics than in cooler regions. The
simplest explanation is that the greater surface area of the planet at the
equator, compared to the poles, provides more space in which species
can evolve. Another theory suggests that the relative environmental
stability of the tropics enables species to specialize to a greater extent, so
that more can be packed into any given ecosystem. Further, the greater
input of solar energy in the tropics increases available resources,
resulting in greater biomass and population sizes compared to colder
regions.

Global Biodiversity Gradient

greater surface area
relative environmental stability
greater input of solar energy
increased available resources

Global Biodiversity Gradient

Global Biodiversity Gradient

An example of the modern-day latitudinal biodiversity gradient. Distribution of extant terrestrial vertebrate species showing the high
concentration of diversity in equatorial regions (closer to the red end of the colour spectrum), declining polewards (closer to the blue
end of the colour spectrum) to form the modern-day latitudinal biodiversity gradient. Based on data from and used with permission
from Clinton Jenkins.

Global Biodiversity Loss

Global Biodiversity Loss

Global Biodiversity Loss

Global Biodiversity Loss

Global Biodiversity Loss

Global Biodiversity Loss

Global Biodiversity Loss

Protected areas

Coverage of protected areas has increased to 15.4% in 2014

for terrestrial and inland waters. In the seas, 8.4% of all
marine area under national jurisdiction and 10.9 % of all
coastal waters are covered by protected areas. but global
ocean coverage remains low at only 3.4%.

Source: UNEP-WCMC (2014). Global statistics from the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), August 2014.Cambridge,
UK: UNEP- WCMC.

Values of Biodiversity/Ecosystem Services

Biodiversity and
Bangladesh

Biodiversity and
Sustanability

Biodiversity maintains the

health of the earth and its
people.
It provides us with food and
medicine and contributes to
our economy.
It tells us a lot about the
health of the biosphere.
The greater the variety of
species, the healthier the
biosphere.

 The more links in a food web, the more stable it is.

Sustainability
The ability to maintain
ecological processes over
long periods of time.
Sustainability of an
ecosystem is the ability of
that ecosystem to maintain
its structure and function
over time in the face of
external stress.

Biodiversity and Sustainability

The biodiversity of an ecosystem contributes to
the sustainability of that ecosystem.
Higher/more biodiversity = more sustainable
Lower/less biodiversity = less sustainable
High biodiversity in an ecosystem means that
there is a great variety of genes and species in
that ecosystem.

Courtesy of Last 4 slides are taken from a source of interest (ref.

http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/sustain/biodiv1.pdf)