Biodiversity

=**Biodiversity**=

An encompassing term used to refer to the genetic, species, and ecosystem diversities that represent the Earth. The world is composed of several biomes and within these biomes are countless varieties of organisms that function and interact with each other as an [|ecosystem]. Together, diverse species of flora, fauna and micro biota form a complex[| web of life] where survival of each life form depends upon the existence of others. An imbalance in population numbers due to over predation of a particular species can have far reaching and devastating effects on the over all well being of an ecosystem. For example, overfishing of cod has pushed the cod stock to collapse and has allowed other large predatory fish into these areas thus altering the food web. Biodiversity shows many patterns in space and time. These patterns form due to climate, interactions between species, geology, local history, and many other factors.To discover the patterns of biodiversity, information on biodiversity has to be collected. This information usually takes the form of distributions of species. Species are the most common measurement, but genetic diversity can also be measured by taking samples and analyzing them. An ecosystem that retains a high biodiversity (that is, a wide variety of living things) is much more likely to adapt to human-caused environment change than is one that has little.Food web B represents a situation with very low biodiversity, where at some levels the food path involves only a single type of organism. Food web A represents a more diverse ecosystem with, as a result, many more alternative feeding pathways.Generally, loss of biodiversity should be regarded seriously, not only because the organisms that have become extinct represent a big loss for both ethical and utilitarian (useful benefit) reasons, but also because the organisms that remain have become more vulnerable (exposed) to extinction in the future.