Today in class, we were asked to research biodiversity by visiting various sites that were linked to on the webpage. Then we were asked to answer some questions about biodiversity.
I. Preserving biodiversity will have a HUGE global effect in many ways. Preserving different kinds of trees, for example, will prevent against floods, regulate the CO2 amount in the air, and provide homes for many different species, thus expanding biodiversity even further. Preserving certain animals will have an impact as well- some of our animals are used for food other than meat, such as cows for milk and chickens (and sometimes various other birds) for eggs. Additionally, biodiverse (?) habitats are less likely to be destroyed, and the less destroyed habitats there are, the better.
II. Habitat destruction and species loss can usually cause problems in other areas because of migration. If a habitat is destroyed, then organisms who would normally migrate to that habitat would have nowhere to go. Same goes for species loss- if a certain species normally migrates to an area, but suddenly becomes extinct, the area would be abandoned, which might even lead to THAT habitat being destroyed.
III. Preserving biodiversity enhances the lives of people in various ways. (See, I made a bit of a pun there.) As I touched on in the answer to question one, some animals are used for food other than meat. The more we have of these animals, the more food we get! As I also touched on in answer one, trees will regulate the amount of CO2 we have in the air, which would certainly be a good thing with all the global warming and pollution that's been happening. In hotter places- such as right here in Phoenix- a rich biodiversity of trees would be good for shading us! Too many trees in an area might cause forest fires, though.
In conclusion, preserving biodiversity would be a big help to Earth in general- but to do that, humans would have to start caring more and changing their ways. Are YOU up for that challenge?
