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Biodiversity of the Caribbean Biodiversity of the Caribbean A Learning Resource Prepared For: (Protecting the Eastern Caribbean Region’s Biodiversity Project) Photo supplied by: : Rick Searle (EKOS Communications, Inc.) Part 1 / Section A The Basics of Biodiversity February 2009 Prepared by Ekos Communications, Inc. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada [Part 1/Section A] The Basics of Biodiversity Table of Contents CXC Learning Outcomes Matches A.1. What is Biodiversity? A.2. How Many Species are there? A.3. The Basics of Biodiversity: Three main concepts A.3.a. Species Diversity A.3.b. Genetic Diversity A.3.c. Ecosystem Diversity A.4. Activity 1: Who Lives Here? Habitat Biodiversity A.5. Activity 2: Genetic Diversity and DNA A.6. Activity 3: Keys to Biodiversity A.7. Why is Biodiversity Important? A.8. Activity 4: A Wealth from Trees A.9. Biodiversity and Climate Change A.10. Extinction: What Causes the Loss of Species? A.11. How Do We Know What is Endangered? A.12. Activity 5: Species and Spaces Exploration A.13. References [Part 1/Section A] The Basics of Biodiversity CXC Learning Outcomes Matches This section meets the learning outcomes of the CXC syllabi, as follows: INTEGRATED SCIENCE Section A – The Organism General Objectives Students should be able to demonstrate: 1. The interdependence of life processes 2. The relationship between an organism and its environment 3. The relationship between structure and function of an organism GEOGRAPHY General Objectives Students should be able to demonstrate: 1. Interest in the nature of Natural and Human Systems and their interaction 2. An understanding of the processes at work in Natural & Human Systems 3. An understanding of the inter-relationships between the natural and human environment 4. An awareness of the need for the sustainable use of our resources 5. Knowledge and understanding of geography at the local, regional and global scales 6. An awareness and understanding of factors influencing patterns and changes in economic activity 7. Appreciation the relationship between the natural and human systems BIOLOGY Section A – Living Organisms in the Environment General Objectives Students should be able to demonstrate: 1. An understanding that there is both diversity and similarity of form in living organisms 2. An understanding that there is interdependence between living organism and their environment 3. An understanding that there is a flow of energy through living organisms within an eco-system 4. An understanding that materials are recycled in nature Specific Objectives Students should be able to: 1.1. Group living organisms according to observed similarities and differences 2.1. Identify the relative positions of producers and consumers in a food chain and relate the positions to the modes of feeling 2.2. Identify from a selected habitat, a food chain containing at least four organisms 2.3. Identify, from selected habitats, a herbivore, carnivore and omnivore 2.4. Identify from selected habitats, predator prey relationships 2.5. Construct a food web to include different trophic levels 2.6. Explain the role of decomposers 2.7. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of special relationships to the organisms involved 2.8. Discuss the interdependence of organisms within a food web 3.1. Explain energy flow within a food chain or web 4.1. Explain, with examples, the continual re-use of materials in nature Section C – Continuity and Variation General objectives Students should be able to: 2.6. Distinguish between continuous and discontinuous variation 4.1. Investigate the impact of environmental factors on genetically identical organisms [Part 1/Section A] The Basics of Biodiversity Section E –Environment and Human Activities General Objectives Students should be able to demonstrate: 1. An understanding of the importance of the physical environment to living organisms 2. Ability to undertake a simple ecological study 3. Understanding of the factors that affect the growth of populations 4. Appreciation of the finite nature of the world’s resources 5. Understanding of the effects of human activities on the environment Specific Objectives Students should be able to: 1.1. Distinguish between environment and habitat 1.2. Discuss the importance of the physical environment to living organisms 2.1. Carry out a simple ecological study 3. 1. Identify factors that affect the growth of natural population 3.2. Illustrate using examples that human populations are subject to the same constraints as other natural populations 4.1. Describe various resources and their limits 4.2. Discuss the importance of, and difficulties encountered in recycling manufactured materials 5.1. Discuss the negative impact of human activity on the environment 5.2. Discuss the implications of pollution on marine and wetland environments 5.3. Discuss means by which environment could be conserved and restored [Part 1/Section A] The Basics of Biodiversity A.1. What is Biodiversity? A.3. The Basics of Biodiversity: Biological diversity – or biodiversity – is a term used to describe Three Main Concepts the variety of life on the planet – the plants, animals, fungi and While we generally think only of the variety of species, biodi- micro-organisms. Planet Earth is crawling, swimming, fly- versity includes the billions of genes that species contain and ing and teeming with life! From enormous whales cruising the the complex ecosystems that are their home, their habitat. These oceans, to brilliantly coloured parrots, eagles, doves and other three levels of biodiversity are: species diversity, genetic diver- birds that fill the skies, to the millions of fish living in the seas sity, and ecosystem diversity. and lakes, and the incredibly varied insects found almost every- where, we share the land and sea with an amazing array of living A.3.a. Species Diversity things. One way of describing the biodiversity of a region is to count the number of species living there. This is called the region’s species Our lives connect in thousands of ways with the plants and ani- diversity. Climate, geography, history and other factors influence mals we share the Earth with. Everything we eat, our homes, our species diversity, e.g., a tropical rainforest has much higher spe- running water and our possessions are all formerly living things, cies diversity that a desert region. or involve processes that connect with the lives and habitats of other species. Our health, cultural vitality and very survival are A species is a group of plants or animals that are more or less dependent on conserving the variety of life on Earth. All forms of alike, and that are able to breed and produce fertile offspring life have value and play a role in the cycles of life on the planet. under natural conditions. Each species is distinct from every To care about them, we need to understand them. Biodiversity is other species. Horses are separate and different than donkeys, the spice of life! and chickens are distinct from parrots. From the 1700’s when the famous scientist and taxonomist Linnaeus worked to classify all living things, scientists created a system that assigns all living A.2. How Many Species are There? things a species name. This is the most commonly referred to We know approximately how many stars are in the Milky Way. level of biodiversity. We also know the number of atoms that make up the complex proteins in our bodies. But we do not know exactly how many A.3.b. Genetic Diversity species of organisms live on this planet. Estimates range any- All forms of life on earth, whether microbes, plants, animals, where from 2 million to 50 million! or human beings, contain genes. Genes are the basic units of heredity, and carry the genetic code we inherit from our parents. In the face of such high uncertainty as to the numbers of spe- Genes affect how different organisms look and behave. Genetic precautionary principle cies, biologists advocate applying the diversity refers to how each individual is different in some way conservation to decisions or actions that affect the of biodiver- from every other individual of its species. For example, you may sity. This principle entails acting to avoid serious or irreversible have different colour hair or eyes from your friends, be shorter or ecological harm, despite the lack of scientific certainty as to the taller or have smaller or larger feet. All breeds of domestic dogs likelihood, magnitude or cause of harm. belong to the same species, but there are many size, colour and shape variations. We have a good idea of the number of larger species, like mam- mals and birds, but we are just beginning to discover how many Genetic diversity is the sum of genetic information contained in invertebrates (animals without backbones) there are. the genes of individual plants, animals, and micro-organisms. Scientists have described and named about 1.7 million species, or Each species is the storehouse of an immense amount of genetic approximately 10 percent of the Earth’s species, including: information in the form of traits, characteristics, etc. The number of genes ranges from about 1000 in bacteria to more than 400,000 • 950,000 species of insects in many flowering plants and a few animals1.A house mouse has • 270,000 species of plants around 100,000 genes organized into four strings of DNA. If • 19,000 species of fish stretched out fully, each strand would measure about one metre, amphibians • 10,500 species of reptiles and but would too thin to see if the naked eye! If the string were wid- • 9,000 species of birds ened to that of a piece of wrapping string, the DNA strand would • 4,000 species of mammals now be nearly a thousand kilometres long! Perhaps 90 percent – mostly plants and invertebrates – are still to Genetic diversity is very important to the ongoing health of a spe- be discovered! Though new species are being found worldwide, cies, for the more genetic diversity there is, the better a species most are being discovered in the tropics – and their numbers are can adapt to changing conditions in their environment.
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