Purchase Solution

What is biodiversity?

Not what you're looking for?

Ask Custom Question

* What is biodiversity?
* What are some of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the globe and how are humans impacting it?
* Is maintaining biodiversity essential for human sustainability?
* What can be done to maintain today's current biodiversity levels?
* What are invasive species and how do they impact biodiversity? Provide an example of an invasive species in your area.

Purchase this Solution

Solution Summary

This solution discusses biodiversity in 959 words with three online liks to website with information about invasive species and one print reference on ecology.

Solution Preview

Biodiversity is a term that conveys the abundance of living things of different species. Low biodiversity would mean that there are only a few different types of living things. High biodiversity means that there are many.

The most diverse ecosystems occur in rain forests. Humans are rapidly encroaching on these areas. Rain forests are often burned for farmland. Deforestation is an environmental disaster that does not remedy itself in human lifetimes. Erosion follows, making it difficult for new vegetation to establish a foothold. However, it is very difficult to regulate the human population near rain forests. The Amazon rain forest shows us just how difficult it is to prevent people from using lumber. The rain forest seems like an endless bounty to the loggers and farmers of Brazil. But at its current rate of destruction, it will last only until 2050 (Turner 2001). According to the New York Times article "Deep in the Amazon Forest, Vast Questions About Global Climate Change"
(http://geog.tamu.edu/~cbrannst/Geog323/EnvConservation/Amazon%20&%20GlobalWarming.pdf#search=%22climatic%20importance%20deforestation%20amazon%20jungle%22)
the Amazon rain forest could play a critical role in global climate. Thus, its destruction will not be the downfall of only Brazilian farmers, but of every nation.

Other areas are also impacted by human presence. Humans often displace large predators, resulting in an overpopulation of the prey species. This affects the vegetation. Humans can bring in species from other ecosystems with devastating consequences because the predators which control them are not ...

Purchase this Solution


Free BrainMass Quizzes
Biochemistry Basics

A refresher quiz to test your knowledge of basics concepts of biochemistry.

Light and Sight Vocabulary

This quiz introduces basic definitions of vocabulary related to light and how human eyes. This information is important for an understanding of sight.

How Much Do You Know About Genetic Inheritance?

Most of us studied the basics of dominant and recessive genes at some point. However, genetics are much more complicated than this. How far beyond the basics does your knowledge go?

Nerves and the Nervous System

This quiz will assess your knowledge of the nervous system and how nerves send signals around the body.

The Plant Body

This quiz will test your knowledge of the anatomy of a common plant.