Biodiversity

Variety and variability of life forms

An example of the biodiversity of fungi in a forest in North Saskatchewan (in this photo, there are also leaf lichens and mosses).

Biodiversity refers to the variety and variability of life on Earth. It can be measured at multiple levels, including genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and phylogenetic diversity.[1] Diversity is unevenly distributed across the planet and is highest in the tropics, largely due to the region's warm climate and high primary productivity. Although tropical forests cover less than one-fifth of Earth's land surface, they host approximately half of the world's species.[2] Patterns such as the latitudinal gradients in species diversity are observed in both marine and terrestrial organisms.[3]

Since the emergence of life on Earth, biodiversity has undergone significant changes, including six major mass extinctions and several smaller events. The Phanerozoic eon (the past 540 million years) saw a rapid expansion of biodiversity, notably during the Cambrian explosion, when many multicellular phyla first appeared. Over the next 400 million years, biodiversity repeatedly declined due to mass extinction events. These included the Carboniferous rainforest collapse and the Permian–Triassic extinction event 251 million years ago—which caused the most severe biodiversity loss in Earth's history. Recovery from that event took about 30 million years.

Currently, human activities are driving a rapid decline in biodiversity, often referred to as the Holocene extinction or the sixth mass extinction. It was estimated in 2007 that up to 30% of all species could be extinct by 2050.[4] Habitat destruction—particularly for agriculture—is a primary driver of this decline. Climate change is also a major contributor, affecting entire biomes.[5][6] This anthropogenic extinction may have begun during the late Pleistocene, as some studies suggest that the megafaunal extinction that took place around the end of the last ice age partly resulted from overhunting.[7]

## Definitions

[edit]

Shown in a museum, various models of species across various taxa and orders visualize the variety of life on earth.

Biologists commonly define biodiversity as the "totality of genes, species, and ecosystems in a region".[8][9] This definition helps unify several dimensions of biological variety:

* Taxonomic diversity (typically measured at the species level)[10]
* Ecological diversity (often interpreted through ecosystem diversity)[10]
* Morphological diversity (which stems from genetic and molecular diversity[11])
* Functional diversity (which assesses the number of functionally disparate species within a population—e.g. different feeding mechanism, different motility, predator vs prey, etc.[12])

Biodiversity as a term is often used in a broader replacement for more specific terms like species diversity and species richness.[13] However, the definition of biodiversity remains fluid and continues to evolve. For instance, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) defined biodiversity in 2019 as "the variability that exists among living organisms (both within and between species) and the ecosystems of which they are part." The World Health Organization updated their website's definition of biodiversity to be the "variability among living organisms from all sources."[14] These definitions reflect current understanding while emphasizing the breadth of the concept.

## Number of species

[edit]

Main article: Global biodiversity

According to estimates by Mora et al. (2011), there are approximately 8.7 million terrestrial species and 2.2 million oceanic species. The authors note that these estimates are strongest for eukaryotic organisms and likely represent the lower bound of prokaryote diversity.[15] Other estimates include:

* 220,000 vascular plants, estimated using the species-area relation method[16]
* 0.7–1 million marine species[17]
* 10–30 million insects;[18] (of some 0.9 million we know today)[19]
* 5–10 million bacteria;[20]
* 1.5-3 million fungi, estimates based on data from the tropics, long-term non-tropical sites and molecular studies that have revealed cryptic speciation.[21] Some 0.075 million species of fungi had been documented by 2001;[22]
* 1 million mites[23]
* The number of microbial species is not reliably known, but the Global Ocean Sampling Expedition dramatically increased the estimates of genetic diversity by identifying an enormous number of new genes from near-surface plankton samples at various marine locations, initially over the 2004–2006 period.[24] The findings may eventually cause a significant change in the way science defines species and other taxonomic categories.[25][26]

Since the rate of extinction has increased, many extant species may become extinct before they are described.[27] Not surprisingly, in the Animalia the most studied groups are birds and mammals, whereas fishes and arthropods are the least studied animal groups.[28]

## Current biodiversity loss

[edit]

Main article: Biodiversity loss

The World Wildlife Fund's Living Planet Report 2024 found that wildlife populations declined by an average 73% since 1970.[29][30][31]

During the last century, decreases in biodiversity have been increasingly observed. It was estimated in 2007 that up to 30% of all species will be extinct by 2050.[32] Of these, about one eighth of known plant species are threatened with extinction.[33] Estimates reach as high as 140,000 species per year (based on Species-area theory).[34] This figure indicates unsustainable ecological practices, because few species emerge each year.[35] The rate of species loss is greater now than at any time in human history, with extinctions occurring at rates hundreds of times higher than background extinction rates.[33][36][37] and expected to still grow in the upcoming years.[37][38][39] As of 2012, some studies suggest that 25% of all mammal species could be extinct in 20 years.[40]

In absolute terms, the planet has lost 58% of its biodiversity since 1970 according to a 2016 study by the World Wildlife Fund.[41] The Living Planet Report 2014 claims that "the number of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish across the globe is, on average, about half the size it was 40 years ago". Of that number, 39% accounts for the terrestrial wildlife gone, 39% for the marine wildlife gone and 76% for the freshwater wildlife gone. Biodiversity took the biggest hit in Latin America, plummeting 83 percent. High-income countries showed a 10% increase in biodiversity, which was canceled out by a loss in low-income countries. This is despite the fact that high-income countries use five times the ecological resources of low-income countries, which was explained as a result of a process whereby wealthy nations are outsourcing resource depletion to poorer nations, which are suffering the greatest ecosystem losses.[42]

A 2017 study published in PLOS One found that the biomass of insect life in Germany had declined by three-quarters in the last 25 years.[43] Dave Goulson of Sussex University stated that their study suggested that humans "appear to be making vast tracts of land inhospitable to most forms of life, and are currently on course for ecological Armageddon. If we lose the insects then everything is going to collapse."[44]

In 2020 the World Wildlife Foundation published a report saying that "biodiversity is being destroyed at a rate unprecedented in human history". The report claims that 68% of the population of the examined species were destroyed in the years 1970 – 2016.[45]

Of 70,000 monitored species, around 48% are experiencing population declines from human activity (in 2023), whereas only 3% have increasing populations.[46][47][48]

Summary of major biodiversity-related environmental-change categories expressed as a percentage of human-driven change (in red) relative to baseline (blue)

Rates of decline in biodiversity in the current sixth mass extinction match or exceed rates of loss in the five previous mass extinction events in the fossil record.[58] Biodiversity loss is in fact "one of the most critical manifestations of the Anthropocene" (since around the 1950s); the continued decline of biodiversity constitutes "an unprecedented threat" to the continued existence of human civilization.[59] The reduction is caused primarily by human impacts, particularly habitat destruction.

Since the Stone Age, species loss has accelerated above the average basal rate, driven by human activity. Estimates of species losses are at a rate 100–10,000 times as fast as is typical in the fossil record.[60]

Loss of biodiversity results in the loss of natural capital that supplies ecosystem goods and services. Species today are being wiped out at a rate 100 to 1,000 times higher than baseline, and the rate of extinctions is increasing. This process destroys the resilience and adaptability of life on Earth.[61]

In 2006, many species were formally classified as rare or endangered or threatened; moreover, scientists have estimated that millions more species are at risk which have not been formally recognized. About 40 percent of the 40,177 species assessed using the IUCN Red List criteria are now listed as threatened with extinction—a total of 16,119.[62] As of late 2022 9251 species were considered part of the IUCN's critically endangered.[63]

Numerous scientists and the IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services assert that human population growth and overconsumption are the primary factors in this decline.[64][65][66][67][68] However, other scientists have criticized this finding and say that loss of habitat caused by "the growth of commodities for export" is the main driver.[69] A 2025 study found that human activities are responsible for biodiversity loss across all species and ecosystems.[70]

Some studies have however pointed out that habitat destruction for the expansion of agriculture and the overexploitation of wildlife are the more significant drivers of contemporary biodiversity loss, not climate change.[71][72]

## Distribution

[edit]

Distribution of living terrestrial vertebrate species, highest concentration of diversity shown in red in equatorial regions, declining polewards (towards the blue end of the spectrum)

Biodiversity is not evenly distributed, rather it varies greatly across the globe as well as within regions and seasons. Among other factors, the diversity of all living things (biota) depends on temperature, precipitation, altitude, soils, geography and the interactions between other species.[73] The study of the spatial distribution of organisms, species and ecosystems, is the science of biogeography.[74][75]

Diversity consistently measures higher in the tropics and in other localized regions such as the Cape Floristic Region and lower in polar regions generally. Rain forests that have had wet climates for a long time, such as Yasuní National Park in Ecuador, have particularly high biodiversity.[76][77]

There is local biodiversity, which directly impacts daily life, affecting the availability of fresh water, food choices, and fuel sources for humans. Regional biodiversity includes habitats and ecosystems that synergizes and either overlaps or differs on a regional scale. National biodiversity within a country determines the ability for a country to thrive according to its habitats and ecosystems on a national scale. Also, within a country, endangered species are initially supported on a national level then internationally. Ecotourism may be utilized to support the economy and encourages tourists to continue to visit and support species and ecosystems they visit, while they enjoy the available amenities provided. International biodiversity impacts global livelihood, food systems, and health. Problematic pollution, over consumption, and climate change can devastate international biodiversity. Nature-based solutions are a critical tool for a global resolution. Many species are in danger of becoming extinct and need world leaders to be proactive with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Terrestrial biodiversity is thought to be up to 25 times greater than ocean biodiversity.[78] Forests harbour most of Earth's terrestrial biodiversity. The conservation of the world's biodiversity is thus utterly dependent on the way in which we interact with and use the world's forests.[79] A new method used in 2011, put the total number of species on Earth at 8.7 million, of which 2.1 million were estimated to live in the ocean.[80] However, this estimate seems to under-represent the diversity of microorganisms.[81] Forests provide habitats for 80 percent of amphibian species, 75 percent of bird species and 68 percent of mammal species. About 60 percent of all vascular plants are found in tropical forests. Mangroves provide breeding grounds and nurseries for numerous species of fish and shellfish and help trap sediments that might otherwise adversely affect seagrass beds and coral reefs, which are habitats for many more marine species.[79] Forests span around 4 billion acres (nearly a third of the Earth's land mass) and are home to approximately 80% of the world's biodiversity. About 1 billion hectares are covered by primary forests. Over 700 million hectares of the world's woods are officially protected.[82][83]

The biodiversity of forests varies considerably according to factors such as forest type, geography, climate and soils – in addition to human use.[79] Most forest habitats in temperate regions support relatively few animal and plant species and species that tend to have large geographical distributions, while the montane forests of Africa, South America and Southeast Asia and lowland forests of Australia, coastal Brazil, the Caribbean islands, Central America and insular Southeast Asia have many species with small geographical distributions.[79] Areas with dense human populations and intense agricultural land use, such as Europe, parts of Bangladesh, China, India and North America, are less intact in terms of their biodiversity. Northern Africa, southern Australia, coastal Brazil, Madagascar and South Africa, are also identified as areas with striking losses in biodiversity intactness.[79] European forests in EU and non-EU nations comprise more than 30% of Europe's land mass (around 227 million hectares), representing an almost 10% growth since 1990.[84][85]

### Latitudinal gradients

[edit]

Main article: Latitudinal gradients in species diversity

Generally, there is an increase in biodiversity from the poles to the tropics. Thus localities at lower latitudes have more species than localities at higher latitudes. This is often referred to as the latitudinal gradient in species diversity. Several ecological factors may contribute to the gradient, but the ultimate factor behind many of them is the greater mean temperature at the equator compared to that at the poles.[86]

Even though terrestrial biodiversity declines from the equator to the poles,[3] some studies claim that this characteristic is unverified in aquatic ecosystems, especially in marine ecosystems.[87] The latitudinal distribution of parasites does not appear to follow this rule.[74] Also, in terrestrial ecosystems the soil bacterial diversity has been shown to be highest in temperate climatic zones,[88] and has been attributed to carbon inputs and habitat connectivity.[89]

In 2016, an alternative hypothesis ("the fractal biodiversity") was proposed to explain the biodiversity latitudinal gradient.[90] In this study, the species pool size and the fractal nature of ecosystems were combined to clarify some general patterns of this gradient. This hypothesis considers temperature, moisture, and net primary production (NPP) as the main variables of an ecosystem niche and as the axis of the ecological hypervolume. In this way, it is possible to build fractal hyper volumes, whose fractal dimension rises to three moving towards the equator.[91]

### Biodiversity Hotspots

[edit]

A biodiversity hotspot is a region with a high level of endemic species that have experienced great habitat loss.[92] The term hotspot was introduced in 1988 by Norman Myers.[93][94][95][96] While hotspots are spread all over the world, the majority are forest areas and most are located in the tropics.[97]

Brazil's Atlantic Forest is considered one such hotspot, containing roughly 20,000 plant species, 1,350 vertebrates and millions of insects, about half of which occur nowhere else.[98][99] The island of Madagascar and India are also particularly notable. Colombia is characterized by high biodiversity, with the highest rate of species by area unit worldwide and it has the largest number of endemics (species that are not found naturally anywhere else) of any country. About 10% of the species of the Earth can be found in Colombia, including over 1,900 species of bird, more than in Europe and North America combined, Colombia has 10% of the world's mammals species, 14% of the amphibian species and 18% of the bird species of the world.[100] Madagascar dry deciduous forests and lowland rainforests possess a high ratio of endemism.[101][102] Since the island separated from mainland Africa 66 million years ago, many species and ecosystems have evolved independently.[103] Indonesia's 17,000 islands cover 735,355 square miles (1,904,560 km2) and contain 10% of the world's flowering plants, 12% of mammals and 17% of reptiles, amphibians and birds—along with nearly 240 million people.[104] Many regions of high biodiversity and/or endemism arise from specialized habitats which require unusual adaptations, for example, alpine environments in high mountains, or Northern European peat bogs.[102]

Accurately measuring differences in biodiversity can be difficult. Selection bias amongst researchers may contribute to biased empirical research for modern estimates of biodiversity. In 1768, Rev. Gilbert White succinctly observed of his Selborne, Hampshire "all nature is so full, that that district produces the most variety which is the most examined."[105]

## Evolution over geologic timeframes

[edit]

Main article: Evolution

Biodiversity is the result of 3.5 billion years of evolution.[106] The origin of life has not been established by science, however, some evidence suggests that life may already have been well-established only a few hundred million years after the formation of the Earth. Until approximately 2.5 billion years ago, all life consisted of microorganisms – archaea, bacteria, and single-celled protozoans and protists.[81]

Life timeline

This box:

* view
* talk
* edit

−4500 --

−4000 --

−3500 --

−3000 --

−2500 --

−2000 --

−1500 --

−1000 --

−500 --

0 --

Water

Single-celled life

Photosynthesis

Multicellular life

Plants

Arthropods Molluscs

Flowers

Dinosaurs

Mammals

Birds

Primates

Hadean

Archean

Proterozoic

Phanerozoic

| | <-|

Earth formed

|

<-|

Earliest water

|

<-|

LUCA

|

<-|

Earliest fossils

|

<-|

Atmospheric oxygen

|

<-|

Sexual reproduction

|

<-|

Earliest fungi

|

<-|

Neoproterozoic oxygenation event

|

<-|

Ediacaran biota

|

<-|

Cambrian explosion

|

<-|

Earliest tetrapods

|

<-|

Earliest hominoid

|

(million years ago)

Apparent marine fossil diversity during the Phanerozoic[107]

Biodiversity grew fast during the Phanerozoic (the last 540 million years), especially during the so-called Cambrian explosion—a period during which nearly every phylum of multicellular organisms first appeared.[108] However, recent studies suggest that this diversification had started earlier, at least in the Ediacaran, and that it continued in the Ordovician.[109] Over the next 400 million years or so, invertebrate diversity showed little overall trend and vertebrate diversity shows an overall exponential trend.[110] This dramatic rise in diversity was marked by periodic, massive losses of diversity classified as mass extinction events.[110] A significant loss occurred in anamniotic limbed vertebrates when rainforests collapsed in the Carboniferous,[111] but amniotes seem to have been little affected by this event; their diversification slowed down later, around the Asselian/Sakmarian boundary, in the early Cisuralian (Early Permian), about 293 Ma ago.[112] The worst was the Permian-Triassic extinction event, 251 million years ago.[113][114] Vertebrates took 30 million years to recover from this event.[115]

The most recent major mass extinction event, the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, occurred 66 million years ago. This period has attracted more attention than others because it resulted in the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs, which were represented by many lineages at the end of the Maastrichtian, just before that extinction event. However, many other taxa were affected by this crisis, which affected even marine taxa, such as ammonites, which also became extinct around that time.[116]

The biodiversity of the past is called Paleobiodiversity. The fossil record suggests that the last few million years featured the greatest biodiversity in history.[110] However, not all scientists support this view, since there is uncertainty as to how strongly the fossil record is biased by the greater availability and preservation of recent geologic sections.[117] Some scientists believe that corrected for sampling artifacts, modern biodiversity may not be much different from biodiversity 300 million years ago,[108] whereas others consider the fossil record reasonably reflective of the diversification of life.[118][110] Estimates of the present global macroscopic species diversity vary from 2 million to 100 million, with a best estimate of somewhere near 9 million,[80] the vast majority arthropods.[119] Diversity appears to increase continually in the absence of natural selection.[120]

### Diversification

[edit]

The existence of a global carrying capacity, limiting the amount of life that can live at once, is debated, as is the question of whether such a limit would also cap the number of species. While records of life in the sea show a logistic pattern of growth, life on land (insects, plants and tetrapods) shows an exponential rise in diversity.[110] As one author states, "Tetrapods have not yet invaded 64 percent of potentially habitable modes and it could be that without human influence the ecological and taxonomic diversity of tetrapods would continue to increase exponentially until most or all of the available eco-space is filled."[110]

It also appears that the diversity continues to increase over time, especially after mass extinctions.[121]

On the other hand, changes through the Phanerozoic correlate much better with the hyperbolic model (widely used in population biology, demography and macrosociology, as well as fossil biodiversity) than with exponential and logistic models. The latter models imply that changes in diversity are guided by a first-order positive feedback (more ancestors, more descendants) and/or a negative feedback arising from resource limitation. Hyperbolic model implies a second-order positive feedback.[122] Differences in the strength of the second-order feedback due to different intensities of interspecific competition might explain the faster rediversification of ammonoids in comparison to bivalves after the end-Permian extinction.[122] The hyperbolic pattern of the world population growth arises from a second-order positive feedback between the population size and the rate of technological growth.[123] The hyperbolic character of biodiversity growth can be similarly accounted for by a feedback between diversity and community structure complexity.[123][124] The similarity between the curves of biodiversity and human population probably comes from the fact that both are derived from the interference of the hyperbolic trend with cyclical and stochastic dynamics.[123][124]

Most biologists agree however that the period since human emergence is part of a new mass extinction, named the Holocene extinction event, caused primarily by the impact humans are having on the environment.[125] It has been argued that the present rate of extinction is sufficient to eliminate most species on the planet Earth within 100 years.[126]

New species are regularly discovered (on average between 5–10,000 new species each year, most of them insects) and many, though discovered, are not yet classified (estimates are that nearly 90% of all arthropods are not yet classified).[119] Most of the terrestrial diversity is found in tropical forests and in general, the land has more species than the ocean; some 8.7 million species may exist on Earth, of which some 2.1 million live in the ocean.[80]

### Species diversity in geologic time frames

[edit]

Further information: History of life and Earliest known life forms

It is estimated that 5 to 50 billion species have existed on the planet.[127] Assuming that there may be a maximum of about 50 million species currently alive,[128] it stands to reason that greater than 99% of the planet's species went extinct prior to the evolution of humans.[129] Estimates on the number of Earth's current species range from 10 million to 14 million, of which about 1.2 million have been documented and over 86% have not yet been described.[130] However, a May 2016 scientific report estimates that 1 trillion species are currently on Earth, with only one-thousandth of one percent described.[131] The total amount of related DNA base pairs on Earth is estimated at 5.0 x 1037 and weighs 50 billion tonnes. In comparison, the total mass of the biosphere has been estimated to be as much as four trillion tons of carbon.[132] In July 2016, scientists reported identifying a set of 355 genes from the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) of all organisms living on Earth.[133]

The age of Earth is about 4.54 billion years.[134][135][136] The earliest undisputed evidence of life dates at least from 3.7 billion years ago, during the Eoarchean era after a geological crust started to solidify following the earlier molten Hadean eon.[137][138][139] There are microbial mat fossils found in 3.48 billion-year-old sandstone discovered in Western Australia. Other early physical evidence of a biogenic substance is graphite in 3.7 billion-year-old meta-sedimentary rocks discovered in Western Greenland.[140][141] More recently, in 2015, "remains of biotic life" were found in 4.1 billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia. According to one of the researchers, "If life arose relatively quickly on Earth...then it could be common in the universe."[142]

## Role and benefits of biodiversity

[edit]

Summer field in Belgium (Hamois). The blue flowers are Centaurea cyanus and the red are Papaver rhoeas.

### Ecosystem services

[edit]

Further information: Ecosystem services and Ecological effects of biodiversity

There have been many claims about biodiversity's effect on the ecosystem services, especially provisioning and regulating services.[143] Some of those claims have been validated, some are incorrect and some lack enough evidence to draw definitive conclusions.[143]

Ecosystem services have been grouped in three types:[143]

1. Provisioning services which involve the production of renewable resources (e.g.: food, wood, fresh water)
2. Regulating services which are those that lessen environmental change (e.g.: climate regulation, pest/disease control)
3. Cultural services represent human value and enjoyment (e.g.: landscape aesthetics, cultural heritage, outdoor recreation and spiritual significance)[144]

Experiments with controlled environments have shown that humans cannot easily build ecosystems to support human needs;[145] for example insect pollination cannot be mimicked, though there have been attempts to create artificial pollinators using unmanned aerial vehicles.[146] The economic activity of pollination alone represented between $2.1–14.6 billion in 2003.[147] Other sources have reported somewhat conflicting results and in 1997 Robert Costanza and his colleagues reported the estimated global value of ecosystem services (not captured in traditional markets) at an average of $33 trillion annually.[148]

#### Provisioning services

[edit]

With regards to provisioning services, greater species diversity has the following benefits:

* Greater species diversity of plants increases fodder yield (synthesis of 271 experimental studies).[75]
* Greater species diversity of plants (i.e. diversity within a single species) increases overall crop yield (synthesis of 575 experimental studies).[149] Although another review of 100 experimental studies reported mixed evidence.[150]
* Greater species diversity of trees increases overall wood production (synthesis of 53 experimental studies).[151] However, there is not enough data to draw a conclusion about the effect of tree trait diversity on wood production.[143]

#### Regulating services

[edit]

With regards to regulating services, greater species diversity has the following benefits:

Greater species diversity

* of fish increases the stability of fisheries yield (synthesis of 8 observational studies)[143]
* of plants increases carbon sequestration, but note that this finding only relates to actual uptake of carbon dioxide and not long-term storage; synthesis of 479 experimental studies)[75]
* of plants increases soil nutrient remineralization (synthesis of 103 experimental studies), increases soil organic matter (synthesis of 85 experimental studies) and decreases disease prevalence on plants (synthesis of 107 experimental studies)[152]
* of natural pest enemies decreases herbivorous pest populations data from two separate reviews; synthesis of 266 experimental and observational studies;[153] Synthesis of 18 observational studies.[154][155] Although another review of 38 experimental studies found mixed support for this claim, suggesting that in cases where mutual intraguild predation occurs, a single predatory species is often more effective[156]

### Agriculture

[edit]

Main article: Agricultural biodiversity

Agriculture production, pictured is a tractor and a chaser bin

Agricultural diversity can be divided into two categories: intraspecific diversity, which includes the genetic variation within a single species, like the potato (Solanum tuberosum) that is composed of many different forms and types (e.g. in the U.S. they might compare russet potatoes with new potatoes or purple potatoes, all different, but all part of the same species, S. tuberosum). The other category of agricultural diversity is called interspecific diversity and refers to the number and types of different species.

Agricultural diversity can also be divided by whether it is 'planned' diversity or 'associated' diversity. This is a functional classification that we impose and not an intrinsic feature of life or diversity. Planned diversity includes the crops which a farmer has encouraged, planted or raised (e.g. crops, covers, symbionts, and livestock, among others), which can be contrasted with the associated diversity that arrives among the crops, uninvited (e.g. herbivores, weed species and pathogens, among others).[157]

Associated biodiversity can be damaging or beneficial. The beneficial associated biodiversity include for instance wild pollinators such as wild bees and syrphid flies that pollinate crops[158] and natural enemies and antagonists to pests and pathogens. Beneficial associated biodiversity occurs abundantly in crop fields and provide multiple ecosystem services such as pest control, nutrient cycling and pollination that support crop production.[159]

Although about 80 percent of humans' food supply comes from just 20 kinds of plants,[160] humans use at least 40,000 species.[161] Earth's surviving biodiversity provides resources for increasing the range of food and other products suitable for human use, although the present extinction rate shrinks that potential.[126]

### Human health

[edit]

The diverse forest canopy on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, yielded this display of different fruit

Biodiversity's relevance to human health is becoming an international political issue, as scientific evidence builds on the global health implications of biodiversity loss.[162][163][164] This issue is closely linked with the issue of climate change,[165] as many of the anticipated health risks of climate change are associated with changes in biodiversity (e.g. changes in populations and distribution of disease vectors, scarcity of fresh water, impacts on agricultural biodiversity and food resources etc.). This is because the species most likely to disappear are those that buffer against infectious disease transmission, while surviving species tend to be the ones that increase disease transmission, such as that of West Nile Virus, Lyme disease and Hantavirus, according to a study done co-authored by Felicia Keesing, an ecologist at Bard College and Drew Harvell, associate director for Environment of the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future (ACSF) at Cornell University.[166]

Some of the health issues influenced by biodiversity include dietary health and nutrition security, infectious disease, medical science and medicinal resources, social and psychological health.[167] Biodiversity is also known to have an important role in reducing disaster risk, including rising sea levels. For example, wetland ecosystems along coastal communities serve as excellent water filtration systems, storage, and ultimately create a buffer region between the ocean and mainland neighborhoods in order to prevent water reaching these communities under climate change pressures or storm storages. Other examples of diverse species or organisms are present around the world, offering their resourceful utilities to provide protection of human survival.[168]

Biodiversity provides critical support for drug discovery and the availability of medicinal resources.[169][170] A significant proportion of drugs are derived, directly or indirectly, from biological sources: at least 50% of the pharmaceutical compounds on the US market are derived from plants, animals and microorganisms, while about 80% of the world population depends on medicines from nature (used in either modern or traditional medical practice) for primary healthcare.[163] Only a tiny fraction of wild species has been investigated for medical potential.

Marine ecosystems are particularly important, especially their chemical and physical properties that have paved the way for numerous pharmaceutical achievements; the immense diversity of marine organisms have led to scientific discoveries including medical treatments to cancer, viral bacteria, AIDS, etc.[171] This process of bioprospecting can increase biodiversity loss, as well as violating the laws of the communities and states from which the resources are taken.[172][173][174]

### Business and industry

[edit]

According to the Boston Consulting Group, in 2021, the economic value that biodiversity has on society comes down to four definable terms: regulation, culture, habitat, and provisioning. To sum these up in a relatively short manner, biodiversity helps maintain habitat and animal functions that provide considerable amounts of resources that benefit the economy.[175]

Biodiversity's economic resources are worth at around $150 trillion annually which is roughly twice the world's GDP. The loss of biodiversity is actually harming the GDP of the world by costing an estimated $5 trillion annually.[175]

Business supply chains rely heavily on ecosystems remaining relatively maintained and nurtured. A disruption to these supply chains would negatively impact many businesses that would end up costing them more than what they are gaining.[176]

### Cultural and aesthetic value

[edit]

Eagle Creek, Oregon hiking

Philosophically it could be argued that biodiversity has intrinsic aesthetic and spiritual value to mankind in and of itself. This idea can be used as a counterweight to the notion that tropical forests and other ecological realms are only worthy of conservation because of the services they provide.[177]

Biodiversity also affords many non-material benefits including spiritual and aesthetic values, knowledge systems and education.[60]

## Measuring biodiversity

[edit]

This section is an excerpt from Measurement of biodiversity.[edit]

A variety of objective means exist to empirically measure biodiversity. Each measure relates to a particular use of the data, and is likely to be associated with the variety of genes. Biodiversity is commonly measured in terms of taxonomic richness of a geographic area over a time interval. In order to calculate biodiversity, species evenness, species richness, and species diversity are to be obtained first. Species evenness is the relative number of individuals of each species in a given area.[178] Species richness[179] is the number of species present in a given area. Species diversity[180] is the relationship between species evenness and species richness. There are many ways to measure biodiversity within a given ecosystem. However, the two most popular are Shannon-Weaver diversity index,[181] commonly referred to as Shannon diversity index, and the other is Simpsons diversity index.[182] Although many scientists prefer to use Shannon's diversity index simply because it takes into account species richness.[183]

### Analytical limits

[edit]

Less than 1% of all species that have been described have been studied beyond noting their existence.[184] The vast majority of Earth's species are microbial. Contemporary biodiversity physics is "firmly fixated on the visible [macroscopic] world".[185] For example, microbial life is metabolically and environmentally more diverse than multicellular life (see e.g., extremophile). "On the tree of life, based on analyses of small-subunit ribosomal RNA, visible life consists of barely noticeable twigs. The inverse relationship of size and population recurs higher on the evolutionary ladder—to a first approximation, all multicellular species on Earth are insects".[186] Insect extinction rates are high—supporting the Holocene extinction hypothesis.[187][56]

## Biodiversity changes (other than losses)

[edit]

### Natural seasonal variations

[edit]

Biodiversity naturally varies due to seasonal shifts. Spring's arrival enhances biodiversity as numerous species breed and feed, while winter's onset temporarily reduces it as some insects perish and migrating animals leave. Additionally, the seasonal fluctuation in plant and invertebrate populations influences biodiversity.[188]

### Introduced and invasive species

[edit]

Main articles: Introduced species and Invasive species

Male Lophura nycthemera (silver pheasant), a native of East Asia that has been introduced into parts of Europe for ornamental reasons

Barriers such as large rivers, seas, oceans, mountains and deserts encourage diversity by enabling independent evolution on either side of the barrier, via the process of allopatric speciation. The term invasive species is applied to species that breach the natural barriers that would normally keep them constrained. Without barriers, such species occupy new territory, often supplanting native species by occupying their niches, or by using resources that would normally sustain native species.

Species are increasingly being moved by humans (on purpose and accidentally). Some studies say that diverse ecosystems are more resilient and resist invasive plants and animals.[189] Many studies cite effects of invasive species on natives,[190] but not extinctions.

Invasive species seem to increase local (alpha diversity) diversity, which decreases turnover of diversity (beta diversity). Overall gamma diversity may be lowered because species are going extinct because of other causes,[191] but even some of the most insidious invaders (e.g.: Dutch elm disease, emerald ash borer, chestnut blight in North America) have not caused their host species to become extinct. Extirpation, population decline and homogenization of regional biodiversity are much more common. Human activities have frequently been the cause of invasive species circumventing their barriers,[192] by introducing them for food and other purposes. Human activities therefore allow species to migrate to new areas (and thus become invasive) occurred on time scales much shorter than historically have been required for a species to extend its range.

At present, several countries have already imported so many exotic species, particularly agricultural and ornamental plants, that their indigenous fauna/flora may be outnumbered. For example, the introduction of kudzu from Southeast Asia to Canada and the United States has threatened biodiversity in certain areas.[193] Another example are pines, which have invaded forests, shrublands and grasslands in the southern hemisphere.[194]

### Hybridization and genetic pollution

[edit]

The Yecoro wheat (right) cultivar is sensitive to salinity, plants resulting from a hybrid cross with cultivar W4910 (left) show greater tolerance to high salinity

Endemic species can be threatened with extinction[195] through the process of genetic pollution, i.e. uncontrolled hybridization, introgression and genetic swamping. Genetic pollution leads to homogenization or replacement of local genomes as a result of either a numerical and/or fitness advantage of an introduced species.[196]

Hybridization and introgression are side-effects of introduction and invasion. These phenomena can be especially detrimental to rare species that come into contact with more abundant ones. The abundant species can interbreed with the rare species, swamping its gene pool. This problem is not always apparent from morphological (outward appearance) observations alone. Some degree of gene flow is normal adaptation and not all gene and genotype constellations can be preserved. However, hybridization with or without introgression may, nevertheless, threaten a rare species' existence.[197][198]

## Conservation

[edit]

Main article: Conservation biology

A schematic image illustrating the relationship between biodiversity, ecosystem services, human well-being and poverty.[199] The illustration shows where conservation action, strategies, and plans can influence the drivers of the current biodiversity crisis at local, regional, to global scales.

Conservation biology matured in the mid-20th century as ecologists, naturalists and other scientists began to research and address issues pertaining to global biodiversity declines.[200][201][202]

The conservation ethic advocates management of natural resources for the purpose of sustaining biodiversity in species, ecosystems, the evolutionary process and human culture and society.[52][200][202][203][204]

Conservation biology is reforming around strategic plans to protect biodiversity.[200][205][206][207] Preserving global biodiversity is a priority in strategic conservation plans that are designed to engage public policy and concerns affecting local, regional and global scales of communities, ecosystems and cultures.[208] Action plans identify ways of sustaining human well-being, employing natural capital, macroeconomic policies including economic incentives, and ecosystem services.[209][210]

In the EU Directive 1999/22/EC zoos are described as having a role in the preservation of the biodiversity of wildlife animals by conducting research or participation in breeding programs.[211]

### Protection and restoration techniques

[edit]

Removal of exotic species will allow the species that they have negatively impacted to recover their ecological niches. Exotic species that have become pests can be identified taxonomically (e.g., with Digital Automated Identification SYstem (DAISY), using the barcode of life).[212][213] Removal is practical only given large groups of individuals due to the economic cost.

As sustainable populations of the remaining native species in an area become assured, "missing" species that are candidates for reintroduction can be identified using databases such as the Encyclopedia of Life and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

* Biodiversity banking places a monetary value on biodiversity. One example is the Australian Native Vegetation Management Framework.[214]
* Gene banks are collections of specimens and genetic material. Some banks intend to reintroduce banked species to the ecosystem (e.g., via tree nurseries).[215]
* Reduction and better targeting of pesticides allows more species to survive in agricultural and urbanized areas.
* Location-specific approaches may be less useful for protecting migratory species. One approach is to create wildlife corridors that correspond to the animals' movements. National and other boundaries can complicate corridor creation.[216]

## Protected areas

[edit]

Further information: Protected areas

Mother and child at an orangutan rehab facility in Malaysia

Protected areas, including forest reserves and biosphere reserves, serve many functions including for affording protection to wild animals and their habitat.[217] Protected areas have been set up all over the world with the specific aim of protecting and conserving plants and animals. Some scientists have called on the global community to designate as protected areas of 30 percent of the planet by 2030, and 50 percent by 2050, in order to mitigate biodiversity loss from anthropogenic causes.[218][219] The target of protecting 30% of the area of the planet by the year 2030 (30 by 30) was adopted by almost 200 countries in the 2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference. At the moment of adoption (December 2022) 17% of land territory and 10% of ocean territory were protected.[220] In a study published 4 September 2020 in Science Advances researchers mapped out regions that can help meet critical conservation and climate goals.[221]

Protected areas safeguard nature and cultural resources and contribute to livelihoods, particularly at local level. There are over 238 563 designated protected areas worldwide, equivalent to 14.9 percent of the earth's land surface, varying in their extension, level of protection, and type of management (IUCN, 2018).[222]

The benefits of protected areas extend beyond their immediate environment and time. In addition to conserving nature, protected areas are crucial for securing the long-term delivery of ecosystem services. They provide numerous benefits including the conservation of genetic resources for food and agriculture, the provision of medicine and health benefits, the provision of water, recreation and tourism, and for acting as a buffer against disaster. Increasingly, there is acknowledgement of the wider socioeconomic values of these natural ecosystems and of the ecosystem services they can provide.[223]

### National parks and wildlife sanctuaries

[edit]

Main articles: National park and Wildlife sanctuaries

A national park is a large natural or near natural area set aside to protect large-scale ecological processes, which also provide a foundation for environmentally and culturally compatible, spiritual, scientific, educational, recreational and visitor opportunities. These areas are selected by governments or private organizations to protect natural biodiversity along with its underlying ecological structure and supporting environmental processes, and to promote education and recreation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and its World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), has defined "National Park" as its Category II type of protected areas.[224]

Wildlife sanctuaries are areas of either shelter for animals who are unable to live in the wild on their own, or they are temporary rehabilitation centers for wildlife to improve in their overall health and wellbeing.[225]

Both of these serve as places in which biodiversity can be preserved rather than harmed. According to an article published in the National Park Service website, national parks aim their resources at maintaining animal and habitat integrity through conservation and preservation of their ecosystems. This along with educating the general public on wildlife functions, the aim for an increase in biodiversity is one of many goals trying to be focused on through national parks.[226]

### Forest protected areas

[edit]

Percentage of forest in legally protected areas (as of 2020).[79]

Forest protected areas are a subset of all protected areas in which a significant portion of the area is forest.[79] This may be the whole or only a part of the protected area.[79] Globally, 18 percent of the world's forest area, or more than 700 million hectares, fall within legally established protected areas such as national parks, conservation areas and game reserves.[79]

There is an estimated 726 million ha of forest in protected areas worldwide. Of the six major world regions, South America has the highest share of forests in protected areas, 31 percent.[227] The forests play a vital role in harboring more than 45,000 floral and 81,000 faunal species of which 5150 floral and 1837 faunal species are endemic.[228] In addition, there are 60,065 different tree species in the world.[229] Plant and animal species confined to a specific geographical area are called endemic species.[230]

In forest reserves, rights to activities like hunting and grazing are sometimes given to communities living on the fringes of the forest, who sustain their livelihood partially or wholly from forest resources or products.

Approximately 50 million hectares (or 24%) of European forest land is protected for biodiversity and landscape protection. Forests allocated for soil, water, and other ecosystem services encompass around 72 million hectares (32% of European forest area).[231][232]

## Role of society

[edit]

### Transformative change

[edit]

In 2019, a summary for policymakers of the largest, most comprehensive study to date of biodiversity and ecosystem services, the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, was published by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). It stated that "the state of nature has deteriorated at an unprecedented and accelerating rate". To fix the problem, humanity will need a transformative change, including sustainable agriculture, reductions in consumption and waste, fishing quotas and collaborative water management.[233][234]

The concept of nature-positive is playing a role in mainstreaming the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) for biodiversity.[235] The aim of mainstreaming is to embed biodiversity considerations into public and private practice to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity on global and local levels.[236] The concept of nature-positive refers to the societal goal to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, measured from a baseline of 2020 levels, and to achieve full so-called "nature recovery" by 2050.[237]

### Citizen science

[edit]

Citizen science, also known as public participation in scientific research, has been widely used in environmental sciences and is particularly popular in a biodiversity-related context. It has been used to enable scientists to involve the general public in biodiversity research, thereby enabling the scientists to collect data that they would otherwise not have been able to obtain.[238]

Volunteer observers have made significant contributions to on-the-ground knowledge about biodiversity, and recent improvements in technology have helped increase the flow and quality of occurrences from citizen sources. A 2016 study published in Biological Conservation[239] registers the massive contributions that citizen scientists already make to data mediated by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Despite some limitations of the dataset-level analysis, it is clear that nearly half of all occurrence records shared through the GBIF network come from datasets with significant volunteer contributions. Recording and sharing observations are enabled by several global-scale platforms, including iNaturalist and eBird.[240][241]

## Legal status

[edit]

A great deal of work is occurring to preserve the natural characteristics of Hopetoun Falls, Australia while continuing to allow visitor access.

### International

[edit]

* United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) and Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety;
* UN BBNJ (High Seas Treaty) 2023 Intergovernmental conference on an international legally binding instrument under the UNCLOS on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (GA resolution 72/249)
* Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES);
* Ramsar Convention (Wetlands);
* Bonn Convention on Migratory Species;
* UNESCO Convention concerning the Protection of the World's Cultural and Natural Heritage (indirectly by protecting biodiversity habitats)
* UNESCO Global Geoparks
* Regional Conventions such as the Apia Convention
* Bilateral agreements such as the Japan-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement.

Global agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, give "sovereign national rights over biological resources" (not property).[242] The agreements commit countries to "conserve biodiversity", "develop resources for sustainability" and "share the benefits" resulting from their use. Biodiverse countries that allow bioprospecting or collection of natural products, expect a share of the benefits rather than allowing the individual or institution that discovers/exploits the resource to capture them privately. Bioprospecting can become a type of biopiracy when such principles are not respected.[243]

Sovereignty principles can rely upon what is better known as Access and Benefit Sharing Agreements (ABAs).[244] The Convention on Biodiversity implies informed consent between the source country and the collector, to establish which resource will be used and for what and to settle on a fair agreement on benefit sharing.

On the 19 of December 2022, during the 2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference every country on earth, with the exception of the United States and the Holy See, signed onto the agreement which includes protecting 30% of land and oceans by 2030 (30 by 30) and 22 other targets intended to reduce biodiversity loss.[220][245][246] The agreement includes also recovering 30% of earth degraded ecosystems and increasing funding for biodiversity issues.[247]

#### European Union

[edit]

In May 2020, the European Union published its Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. The biodiversity strategy is an essential part of the climate change mitigation strategy of the European Union. From the 25% of the European budget that will go to fight climate change, large part will go to restore biodiversity[207] and nature based solutions.

The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 include the next targets:

* Protect 30% of the sea territory and 30% of the land territory especially Old-growth forests.
* Plant 3 billion trees by 2030.
* Restore at least 25,000 kilometers of rivers, so they will become free flowing.
* Reduce the use of Pesticides by 50% by 2030.
* Increase Organic farming. In linked EU program From Farm to Fork it is said, that the target is making 25% of EU agriculture organic, by 2030.[248]
* Increase biodiversity in agriculture.
* Give €20 billion per year to the issue and make it part of the business practice.

Approximately half of the global GDP depend on nature. In Europe many parts of the economy that generate trillions of euros per year depend on nature. The benefits of Natura 2000 alone in Europe are €200 – €300 billion per year.[249]

### National level laws

[edit]

Biodiversity is taken into account in some political and judicial decisions:

* The relationship between law and ecosystems is very ancient and has consequences for biodiversity. It is related to private and public property rights. It can define protection for threatened ecosystems, but also some rights and duties (for example, fishing and hunting rights).[citation needed]
* Law regarding species is more recent. It defines species that must be protected because they may be threatened by extinction. The U.S. Endangered Species Act is an example of an attempt to address the "law and species" issue.
* Laws regarding gene pools are only about a century old.[250] Domestication and plant breeding methods are not new, but advances in genetic engineering have led to tighter laws covering distribution of genetically modified organisms, gene patents and process patents.[251]

Uniform approval for use of biodiversity as a legal standard has not been achieved, however. Bosselman argues that biodiversity should not be used as a legal standard, claiming that the remaining areas of scientific uncertainty cause unacceptable administrative waste and increase litigation without promoting preservation goals.[252]

India passed the Biological Diversity Act in 2002 for the conservation of biological diversity in India. The Act also provides mechanisms for equitable sharing of benefits from the use of traditional biological resources and knowledge.

## History of the term

[edit]

* 1916 – The term biological diversity was used first by J. Arthur Harris in "The Variable Desert", Scientific American: "The bare statement that the region contains a flora rich in genera and species and of diverse geographic origin or affinity is entirely inadequate as a description of its real biological diversity."[253]
* 1967 – Raymond F. Dasmann used the term biological diversity in reference to the richness of living nature that conservationists should protect in his book A Different Kind of Country.[254][255]
* 1974 – The term natural diversity was introduced by John Terborgh.[256]
* 1980 – Thomas Lovejoy introduced the term biological diversity to the scientific community in a book.[257] It rapidly became commonly used.[258]
* 1986 – According to Edward O. Wilson, the contracted form biodiversity was coined by W. G. Rosen: "The National Forum on BioDiversity [held on September 21–24, 1986]... was conceived by Walter G. Rosen ... he introduced the term biodiversity".[259][260][261][262]
* 1988 to Present – The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts on Biological Diversity in began working in November 1988, leading to the publication of the draft Convention on Biological Diversity in May 1992. Since this time, there have been 16 Conferences of the Parties (COPs) to discuss potential global political responses to biodiversity loss. Most recently COP 16 in Cali, Colombia in 2024.[263]

## See also

[edit]

* Biodiversity Informatics
* Ecological indicator
* Genetic diversity
* Global biodiversity
* Index of biodiversity articles
* International Day for Biological Diversity
* Megadiverse countries
* Soil biodiversity
* Species diversity
* 30 by 30
* Artificialization

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Faith, Daniel P. (1992). "Conservation evaluation and phylogenetic diversity". Biological Conservation. 61 (1): 1–10\. Bibcode:1992BCons..61....1F. doi:10.1016/0006-3207(92)91201-3.
2. ^ Pillay, Rajeev; Venter, Michelle; Aragon-Osejo, Jose; González-del-Pliego, Pamela; Hansen, Andrew J; Watson, James EM; Venter, Oscar (February 2022). "Tropical forests are home to over half of the world's vertebrate species". Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 20 (1): 10–15\. Bibcode:2022FrEE...20...10P. doi:10.1002/fee.2420. PMC 9293027. PMID 35873358.
3. ^ a b Hillebrand, Helmut (February 2004). "On the Generality of the Latitudinal Diversity Gradient". The American Naturalist. 163 (2): 192–211\. Bibcode:2004ANat..163..192H. doi:10.1086/381004. PMID 14970922.
4. ^ Gabriel, Sigmar (9 March 2007). "30% of all species lost by 2050". BBC News.
5. ^ Ketcham, Christopher (3 December 2022). "Addressing Climate Change Will Not "Save the Planet"". The Intercept. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
6. ^ Caro, Tim; Rowe, Zeke; Berger, Joel; Wholey, Philippa; Dobson, Andrew (May 2022). "An inconvenient misconception: Climate change is not the principal driver of biodiversity loss". Conservation Letters. 15 (3). Bibcode:2022ConL...15E2868C. doi:10.1111/conl.12868.
7. ^ Brook, Barry W.; Bowman, David M. J. S. (April 2004). "The uncertain blitzkrieg of Pleistocene megafauna". Journal of Biogeography. 31 (4): 517–523\. Bibcode:2004JBiog..31..517B. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2699.2003.01028.x.
8. ^ Tor-Björn Larsson (2001). Biodiversity evaluation tools for European forests. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 178\. ISBN 978-87-16-16434-6. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
9. ^ Davis. Intro To Env Engg (Sie), 4E. McGraw-Hill Education (India) Pvt Ltd. p. 4\. ISBN 978-0-07-067117-1. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
10. ^ a b Sahney, S.; Benton, M.J.; Ferry, Paul (2010). "Links between global taxonomic diversity, ecological diversity and the expansion of vertebrates on land". Biology Letters. 6 (4): 544–547\. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.1024. PMC 2936204. PMID 20106856.
11. ^ Campbell, AK (2003). "Save those molecules: molecular biodiversity and life". Journal of Applied Ecology. 40 (2): 193–203\. Bibcode:2003JApEc..40..193C. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2664.2003.00803.x.
12. ^ Lefcheck, Jon (20 October 2014). "What is functional diversity, and why do we care?". sample(ECOLOGY). Retrieved 22 December 2015.
13. ^ Walker, Brian H. (1992). "Biodiversity and Ecological Redundancy". Conservation Biology. 6 (1): 18–23\. Bibcode:1992ConBi...6...18W. doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.1992.610018.x. ISSN 1523-1739.
14. ^ "Biodiversity". www.who.int. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
15. ^ Mora, Camilo; Tittensor, Derek P.; Adl, Sina; Simpson, Alastair G. B.; Worm, Boris; Mace, Georgina M. (23 August 2011). "How Many Species Are There on Earth and in the Ocean?". PLOS Biology. 9 (8): e1001127. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127. PMC 3160336. PMID 21886479.
16. ^ Wilson, J. Bastow; Peet, Robert K.; Dengler, Jürgen; Pärtel, Meelis (1 August 2012). "Plant species richness: the world records". Journal of Vegetation Science. 23 (4): 796–802\. Bibcode:2012JVegS..23..796W. doi:10.1111/j.1654-1103.2012.01400.x.
17. ^ Appeltans, W.; Ahyong, S. T.; Anderson, G.; Angel, M. V.; Artois, T.; et al. (2012). "The Magnitude of Global Marine Species Diversity". Current Biology. 22 (23): 2189–2202\. Bibcode:2012CBio...22.2189A. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2012.09.036. hdl:1942/14524. PMID 23159596.
18. ^ "Numbers of Insects (Species and Individuals)". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on 15 January 2024.
19. ^ Galus, Christine (5 March 2007). "Protection de la biodiversité : un inventaire difficile". Le Monde (in French). Archived from the original on 1 April 2023.
20. ^ Cheung, Louisa (31 July 2006). "Thousands of microbes in one gulp". BBC NEWS. Archived from the original on 23 December 2022.
21. ^ Hawksworth, D. L. (24 July 2012). "Global species numbers of fungi: are tropical studies and molecular approaches contributing to a more robust estimate?". Biodiversity and Conservation. 21 (9): 2425–2433\. Bibcode:2012BiCon..21.2425H. doi:10.1007/s10531-012-0335-x.
22. ^ Hawksworth, D (2001). "The magnitude of fungal diversity: The 1.5 million species estimate revisited". Mycological Research. 105 (12): 1422–1432\. doi:10.1017/S0953756201004725.
23. ^ "Acari at University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Web Page". Insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu. 10 November 2003. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
24. ^ "Fact Sheet – Expedition Overview" (PDF). J. Craig Venter Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
25. ^ Mirsky, Steve (21 March 2007). "Naturally Speaking: Finding Nature's Treasure Trove with the Global Ocean Sampling Expedition; and Natural Products Chemistry". Scientific American.
26. ^ Gross, Liza (13 March 2007). "Untapped Bounty: Sampling the Seas to Survey Microbial Biodiversity". PLOS Biology. 5 (3): e85. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0050085. PMC 1821062. PMID 20076663.
27. ^ McKie, Robin (25 September 2005). "Discovery of new species and extermination at high rate". The Guardian. London.
28. ^ Bautista, Luis M.; Pantoja, Juan Carlos (2005). "What species should we study next?". Bulletin of the British Ecological Society. 36 (4): 27–28\. hdl:10261/43928.
29. ^ "Living Planet Index, World". Our World in Data. 13 October 2022. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. "Data source: World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Zoological Society of London"
30. ^ Whiting, Kate (17 October 2022). "6 charts that show the state of biodiversity and nature loss – and how we can go 'nature positive'". World Economic Forum. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023.
31. ^ Regional data from "How does the Living Planet Index vary by region?". Our World in Data. 13 October 2022. Archived from the original on 20 September 2023. "Data source: Living Planet Report (2022). World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Zoological Society of London. –"
32. ^ Gabriel, Sigmar (9 March 2007). "30% of all species lost by 2050". BBC News.
33. ^ a b Reid, Walter V. (1995). "Reversing the loss of biodiversity: An overview of international measures". Arid Lands Newsletter. Ag.arizona.edu.
34. ^ Pimm, Stuart L.; Russell, Gareth J.; Gittleman, John L.; Brooks, Thomas M. (21 July 1995). "The Future of Biodiversity". Science. 269 (5222): 347–350\. Bibcode:1995Sci...269..347P. doi:10.1126/science.269.5222.347. PMID 17841251.
35. ^ "The Statistics of Biodiversity Loss [2020 WWF Report]". Earth.Org. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
36. ^ Carrington D (2 February 2021). "Economics of biodiversity review: what are the recommendations?". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
37. ^ a b Dasgupta, Partha (2021). "The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review Headline Messages" (PDF). UK government. p. 1. Retrieved 16 December 2021. "Biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history. Current extinction rates, for example, are around 100 to 1,000 times higher than the baseline rate, and they are increasing."
38. ^ De Vos, Jurriaan M.; Joppa, Lucas N.; Gittleman, John L.; Stephens, Patrick R.; Pimm, Stuart L. (April 2015). "Estimating the normal background rate of species extinction" (PDF). Conservation Biology. 29 (2): 452–462\. Bibcode:2015ConBi..29..452D. doi:10.1111/cobi.12380. PMID 25159086.
39. ^ Ceballos G, Ehrlich PR, Raven PH (June 2020). "Vertebrates on the brink as indicators of biological annihilation and the sixth mass extinction". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 117 (24): 13596–13602\. Bibcode:2020PNAS..11713596C. doi:10.1073/pnas.1922686117. PMC 7306750. PMID 32482862.
40. ^ "Researches find threat from biodiversity loss equals climate change threat". Winnipeg Free Press. 7 June 2012.
41. ^ Living Planet Report 2016 Risk and resilience in a new era (PDF) (Report). World Wildlife Fund International. 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 August 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
42. ^ Living Planet Report 2014 (PDF), World Wildlife Fund, archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2014, retrieved 4 October 2014
43. ^ Hallmann, Caspar A.; Sorg, Martin; Jongejans, Eelke; Siepel, Henk; Hofland, Nick; Schwan, Heinz; Stenmans, Werner; Müller, Andreas; Sumser, Hubert; Hörren, Thomas; Goulson, Dave (18 October 2017). "More than 75 percent decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas". PLOS ONE. 12 (10): e0185809. Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1285809H. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0185809. PMC 5646769. PMID 29045418.
44. ^ Carrington, Damian (18 October 2017). "Warning of 'ecological Armageddon' after dramatic plunge in insect numbers". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
45. ^ Briggs, Helen (10 September 2020). "Wildlife in 'catastrophic decline' due to human destruction, scientists warn". BBC. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
46. ^ "Biodiversity: Almost half of animals in decline, research shows". BBC. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
47. ^ Finn, Catherine; Grattarola, Florencia; Pincheira-Donoso, Daniel (2023). "More losers than winners: investigating Anthropocene defaunation through the diversity of population trends". Biological Reviews. 98 (5): 1732–1748\. doi:10.1111/brv.12974. PMID 37189305.
48. ^ Paddison, Laura (22 May 2023). "Global loss of wildlife is 'significantly more alarming' than previously thought, according to a new study". CNN. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
49. ^ Vignieri, S. (25 July 2014). "Vanishing fauna (Special issue)". Science. 345 (6195): 392–412\. Bibcode:2014Sci...345..392V. doi:10.1126/science.345.6195.392. PMID 25061199.
50. ^ "Strong evidence shows Sixth Mass Extinction of global biodiversity in progress". EurekAlert!. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
51. ^ Dirzo, Rodolfo; Young, Hillary S.; Galetti, Mauro; Ceballos, Gerardo; Isaac, Nick J. B.; Collen, Ben (25 July 2014). "Defaunation in the Anthropocene". Science. 345 (6195): 401–406\. Bibcode:2014Sci...345..401D. doi:10.1126/science.1251817. PMID 25061202.
52. ^ a b Wake D. B.; Vredenburg V. T. (2008). "Are we in the midst of the sixth mass extinction? A view from the world of amphibians". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 105 (Suppl 1): 11466–11473\. Bibcode:2008PNAS..10511466W. doi:10.1073/pnas.0801921105. PMC 2556420. PMID 18695221.
53. ^ Koh, Lian Pin; Dunn, Robert R.; Sodhi, Navjot S.; Colwell, Robert K.; Proctor, Heather C.; Smith, Vincent S. (10 September 2004). "Species Coextinctions and the Biodiversity Crisis". Science. 305 (5690): 1632–1634\. Bibcode:2004Sci...305.1632K. doi:10.1126/science.1101101. PMID 15361627.
54. ^ McCallum, Malcolm L. (September 2007). "Amphibian Decline or Extinction? Current Declines Dwarf Background Extinction Rate". Journal of Herpetology. 41 (3): 483–491\. doi:10.1670/0022-1511(2007)41[483:ADOECD]2.0.CO;2.
55. ^ Jackson, J. B. C. (2008). "Colloquium Paper: Ecological extinction and evolution in the brave new ocean". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105 (Suppl 1): 11458–11465\. Bibcode:2008PNAS..10511458J. doi:10.1073/pnas.0802812105. PMC 2556419. PMID 18695220.
56. ^ a b Dunn, Robert R. (August 2005). "Modern Insect Extinctions, the Neglected Majority". Conservation Biology. 19 (4): 1030–1036\. Bibcode:2005ConBi..19.1030D. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00078.x.
57. ^ Ceballos, Gerardo; Ehrlich, Paul R.; Barnosky, Anthony D.; García, Andrés; Pringle, Robert M.; Palmer, Todd M. (2015). "Accelerated modern human–induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction". Science Advances. 1 (5): e1400253. Bibcode:2015SciA....1E0253C. doi:10.1126/sciadv.1400253. PMC 4640606. PMID 26601195.
58. ^ [49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57]
59. ^ Dirzo, Rodolfo; Ceballos, Gerardo; Ehrlich, Paul R. (2022). "Circling the drain: the extinction crisis and the future of humanity". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 377 (1857). doi:10.1098/rstb.2021.0378. PMC 9237743. PMID 35757873.
60. ^ a b Hassan, Rashid M.; et al. (2006). Ecosystems and human well-being: current state and trends : findings of the Condition and Trends Working Group of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Island Press. p. 105\. ISBN 978-1-55963-228-7.
61. ^ UK Government Official Documents, February 2021, "The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review Headline Messages" p. 1
62. ^ Lovett, Richard A. (2 May 2006). "Endangered Species List Expands to 16,000". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017.
63. ^ "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species".
64. ^ Stokstad, Erik (6 May 2019). "Landmark analysis documents the alarming global decline of nature". Science. doi:10.1126/science.aax9287. "For the first time at a global scale, the report has ranked the causes of damage. Topping the list, changes in land use—principally agriculture—that have destroyed habitat. Second, hunting and other kinds of exploitation. These are followed by climate change, pollution, and invasive species, which are being spread by trade and other activities. Climate change will likely overtake the other threats in the next decades, the authors note. Driving these threats are the growing human population, which has doubled since 1970 to 7.6 billion, and consumption. (Per capita of use of materials is up 15% over the past 5 decades.)"
65. ^ Pimm, S. L.; Jenkins, C. N.; Abell, R.; Brooks, T. M.; Gittleman, J. L.; Joppa, L. N.; Raven, P. H.; Roberts, C. M.; Sexton, J. O. (30 May 2014). "The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution, and protection". Science. 344 (6187). doi:10.1126/science.1246752. PMID 24876501.
66. ^ Cafaro, Philip; Hansson, Pernilla; Götmark, Frank (August 2022). "Overpopulation is a major cause of biodiversity loss and smaller human populations are necessary to preserve what is left" (PDF). Biological Conservation. 272: 109646. Bibcode:2022BCons.27209646C. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109646. "Conservation biologists standardly list five main direct drivers of biodiversity loss: habitat loss, overexploitation of species, pollution, invasive species, and climate change. The Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services found that in recent decades habitat loss was the leading cause of terrestrial biodiversity loss, while overexploitation (overfishing) was the most important cause of marine losses (IPBES, 2019). All five direct drivers are important, on land and at sea, and all are made worse by larger and denser human populations."
67. ^ Crist, Eileen; Mora, Camilo; Engelman, Robert (21 April 2017). "The interaction of human population, food production, and biodiversity protection". Science. 356 (6335): 260–264\. Bibcode:2017Sci...356..260C. doi:10.1126/science.aal2011. PMID 28428391.
68. ^ Ceballos, Gerardo; Ehrlich, Paul R. (2023). "Mutilation of the tree of life via mass extinction of animal genera". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 120 (39): e2306987120. Bibcode:2023PNAS..12006987C. doi:10.1073/pnas.2306987120. PMC 10523489. PMID 37722053.
69. ^ Hughes, Alice C.; Tougeron, Kévin; Martin, Dominic A.; Menga, Filippo; Rosado, Bruno H. P.; Villasante, Sebastian; Madgulkar, Shweta; Gonçalves, Fernando; Geneletti, Davide; Diele-Viegas, Luisa Maria; Berger, Sebastian; Colla, Sheila R.; de Andrade Kamimura, Vitor; Caggiano, Holly; Melo, Felipe (1 January 2023). "Smaller human populations are neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for biodiversity conservation". Biological Conservation. 277: 109841. Bibcode:2023BCons.27709841H. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109841. "Through examining the drivers of biodiversity loss in highly biodiverse countries, we show that it is not population driving the loss of habitats, but rather the growth of commodities for export, particularly soybean and oil-palm, primarily for livestock feed or biofuel consumption in higher income economies."
70. ^ Weston, Phoebe (26 March 2025). "Biodiversity loss in all species and every ecosystem linked to humans – report". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
71. ^ Ketcham, Christopher (3 December 2022). "Addressing Climate Change Will Not "Save the Planet"". The Intercept. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
72. ^ Caro, Tim; Rowe, Zeke; Berger, Joel; Wholey, Philippa; Dobson, Andrew (May 2022). "An inconvenient misconception: Climate change is not the principal driver of biodiversity loss". Conservation Letters. 15 (3). Bibcode:2022ConL...15E2868C. doi:10.1111/conl.12868.
73. ^ Clay, Keith; Holah, Jenny (10 September 1999). "Fungal Endophyte Symbiosis and Plant Diversity in Successional Fields". Science. 285 (5434): 1742–1744\. doi:10.1126/science.285.5434.1742. PMID 10481011.
74. ^ a b Morand, Serge; Krasnov, Boris R. (1 September 2010). The Biogeography of Host-Parasite Interactions. Oxford University Press. pp. 93–94\. ISBN 978-0-19-956135-3. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
75. ^ a b c Cardinale, Bradley J.; Matulich, Kristin L.; Hooper, David U.; Byrnes, Jarrett E.; Duffy, Emmett; Gamfeldt, Lars; Balvanera, Patricia; O'Connor, Mary I.; Gonzalez, Andrew (March 2011). "The functional role of producer diversity in ecosystems". American Journal of Botany. 98 (3): 572–592\. Bibcode:2011AmJB...98..572C. doi:10.3732/ajb.1000364. hdl:2027.42/141994. PMID 21613148.
76. ^ "A Durable Yet Vulnerable Eden in Amazonia". Dot Earth blog, New York Times. 20 January 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
77. ^ Margot S. Bass; Matt Finer; Clinton N. Jenkins; Holger Kreft; Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia; Shawn F. McCracken; Nigel C. A. Pitman; Peter H. English; Kelly Swing; Gorky Villa; Anthony Di Fiore; Christian C. Voigt; Thomas H. Kunz (2010). "Global Conservation Significance of Ecuador's Yasuní National Park". PLOS ONE. 5 (1): e8767. Bibcode:2010PLoSO...5.8767B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008767. PMC 2808245. PMID 20098736.
78. ^ Benton M. J. (2001). "Biodiversity on land and in the sea". Geological Journal. 36 (3–4): 211–230\. Bibcode:2001GeolJ..36..211B. doi:10.1002/gj.877.3–4&rft.pages=211-230&rft.date=2001&rft_id=info:doi/10.1002/gj.877&rft_id=info:bibcode/2001GeolJ..36..211B&rft.au=Benton+M.+J.&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Biodiversity" class="Z3988">
79. ^ a b c d e f g h i The State of the World's Forests 2020. In brief – Forests, biodiversity and people. Rome, Italy: FAO & UNEP. 2020. doi:10.4060/ca8985en. ISBN 978-92-5-132707-4. S2CID 241416114.[page needed] Text was added from this source which has a Wikipedia-specific licence statement
80. ^ a b c Mora, Camilo; Tittensor, Derek P.; Adl, Sina; Simpson, Alastair G. B.; Worm, Boris (23 August 2011). "How Many Species Are There on Earth and in the Ocean?". PLOS Biology. 9 (8): e1001127. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127. PMC 3160336. PMID 21886479.
81. ^ a b Microorganisms Editorial Office (9 January 2019). "Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Microorganisms in 2018". Microorganisms. 7 (1): 13. doi:10.3390/microorganisms7010013. PMC 6352028.
82. ^ "Global Forest Resource Assessment 2020". Food and Agriculture Organization. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
83. ^ "The State of the World's Forests 2020: Forests, biodiversity and people [EN/AR/RU] – World | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. September 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
84. ^ "39% of the EU is covered with forests". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
85. ^ Cavallito, Matteo (8 April 2021). "European forests are expanding. But their future is unwritten". Re Soil Foundation. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
86. ^ Mora, Camilo; Robertson, D. Ross (July 2005). "Causes of Latitudinal Gradients in Species Richness: A Test with Fishes of the Tropical Eastern Pacific". Ecology. 86 (7): 1771–1782\. Bibcode:2005Ecol...86.1771M. doi:10.1890/04-0883.
87. ^ Karakassis, Ioannis; Moustakas, Aristides (September 2005). "How diverse is aquatic biodiversity research?". Aquatic Ecology. 39 (3): 367–375\. Bibcode:2005AqEco..39..367M. doi:10.1007/s10452-005-6041-y.
88. ^ Bahram, Mohammad; Hildebrand, Falk; Forslund, Sofia K.; Anderson, Jennifer L.; Soudzilovskaia, Nadejda A.; Bodegom, Peter M.; Bengtsson-Palme, Johan; Anslan, Sten; Coelho, Luis Pedro; Harend, Helery; Huerta-Cepas, Jaime; Medema, Marnix H.; Maltz, Mia R.; Mundra, Sunil; Olsson, Pål Axel (August 2018). "Structure and function of the global topsoil microbiome". Nature. 560 (7717): 233–237\. Bibcode:2018Natur.560..233B. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0386-6. hdl:1887/73861. PMID 30069051.
89. ^ Bickel, Samuel; Or, Dani (8 January 2020). "Soil bacterial diversity mediated by microscale aqueous-phase processes across biomes". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 116. Bibcode:2020NatCo..11..116B. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-13966-w. PMC 6949233. PMID 31913270.
90. ^ Cazzolla Gatti, R (2016). "The fractal nature of the latitudinal biodiversity gradient". Biologia. 71 (6): 669–672\. Bibcode:2016Biolg..71..669C. doi:10.1515/biolog-2016-0077.
91. ^ Cogitore, Clément (1983–....). (January 1988), Hypothesis, National Academy Press, ISBN 9780309037396, OCLC 968249007`{{citation}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
92. ^ Biodiversity A–Z. "Biodiversity Hotspots".
93. ^ Myers N (1988). "Threatened biotas: 'hot spots' in tropical forests". Environmentalist. 8 (3): 187–208\. Bibcode:1988ThEnv...8..187M. doi:10.1007/BF02240252. PMID 12322582.
94. ^ Myers, Norman (December 1990). "The biodiversity challenge: Expanded hot-spots analysis". The Environmentalist. 10 (4): 243–256\. Bibcode:1990ThEnv..10..243M. doi:10.1007/BF02239720. PMID 12322583.
95. ^ Tittensor, Derek P.; Mora, Camilo; Jetz, Walter; Lotze, Heike K.; Ricard, Daniel; Berghe, Edward Vanden; Worm, Boris (August 2010). "Global patterns and predictors of marine biodiversity across taxa". Nature. 466 (7310): 1098–1101\. Bibcode:2010Natur.466.1098T. doi:10.1038/nature09329. PMID 20668450.
96. ^ McKee, Jeffrey K. (December 2004). Sparing Nature: The Conflict Between Human Population Growth and Earth's Biodiversity. Rutgers University Press. p. 108\. ISBN 978-0-8135-3558-6. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
97. ^ "Explore the Biodiversity Hotspots | CEPF". www.cepf.net. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
98. ^ Galindo-Leal, Carlos (2003). The Atlantic Forest of South America: Biodiversity Status, Threats, and Outlook. Washington: Island Press. p. 35\. ISBN 978-1-55963-988-0.
99. ^ Myers, Norman; Mittermeier, Russell A.; Mittermeier, Cristina G.; da Fonseca, Gustavo A. B.; Kent, Jennifer (February 2000). "Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities". Nature. 403 (6772): 853–858\. Bibcode:2000Natur.403..853M. doi:10.1038/35002501. PMID 10706275.
100. ^ "Colombia in the World". Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Research on Biological Resources. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
101. ^ godfrey, laurie. "isolation and biodiversity". pbs.org. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
102. ^ a b Harrison, Susan P. (15 May 2013), "Plant Endemism in California", Plant and Animal Endemism in California, University of California Press, pp. 43–76, doi:10.1525/california/9780520275546.003.0004, ISBN 978-0-520-27554-6
103. ^ "Madagascar – A World Apart: Eden Evolution". www.pbs.org. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
104. ^ Normile, Dennis (10 September 2010). "Saving Forests to Save Biodiversity". Science. 329 (5997): 1278–1280\. Bibcode:2010Sci...329.1278N. doi:10.1126/science.329.5997.1278. PMID 20829464.
105. ^ White, Gilbert (1887). "letter xx". The Natural History of Selborne: With A Naturalist's Calendar & Additional Observations. Scott.
106. ^ Algeo, T. J.; Scheckler, S. E. (29 January 1998). "Terrestrial-marine teleconnections in the Devonian: links between the evolution of land plants, weathering processes, and marine anoxic events". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 353 (1365): 113–130\. doi:10.1098/rstb.1998.0195. PMC 1692181.
107. ^ Rosing, M.; Bird, D.; Sleep, N.; Bjerrum, C. (2010). "No climate paradox under the faint early Sun". Nature. 464 (7289): 744–747\. Bibcode:2010Natur.464..744R. doi:10.1038/nature08955. PMID 20360739.
108. ^ a b Alroy, J.; Marshall, C. R.; Bambach, R. K.; Bezusko, K.; Foote, M.; Fürsich, F. T.; Hansen, T. A.; Holland, S. M.; Ivany, L. C.; Jablonski, D.; Jacobs, D. K.; Jones, D. C.; Kosnik, M. A.; Lidgard, S.; Low, S.; Miller, A. I.; Novack-Gottshall, P. M.; Olszewski, T. D.; Patzkowsky, M. E.; Raup, D. M.; Roy, K.; Sepkoski, J. J.; Sommers, M. G.; Wagner, P. J.; Webber, A. (22 May 2001). "Effects of sampling standardization on estimates of Phanerozoic marine diversification". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 98 (11): 6261–6266\. doi:10.1073/pnas.111144698. PMC 33456. PMID 11353852.
109. ^ Servais, Thomas; Cascales-Miñana, Borja; Harper, David A.T.; Lefebvre, Bertrand; Munnecke, Axel; Wang, Wenhui; Zhang, Yuandong (August 2023). "No (Cambrian) explosion and no (Ordovician) event: A single long-term radiation in the early Palaeozoic". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 623: 111592. Bibcode:2023PPP...62311592S. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2023.111592.
110. ^ a b c d e f Sahney, S.; Benton, M.J.; Ferry, Paul (2010). "Links between global taxonomic diversity, ecological diversity and the expansion of vertebrates on land". Biology Letters. 6 (4): 544–547\. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.1024. PMC 2936204. PMID 20106856.
111. ^ Sahney, Sarda; Benton, Michael J.; Falcon-Lang, Howard J. (December 2010). "Rainforest collapse triggered Carboniferous tetrapod diversification in Euramerica". Geology. 38 (12): 1079–1082\. Bibcode:2010Geo....38.1079S. doi:10.1130/G31182.1.
112. ^ Didier, Gilles; Laurin, Michel (23 April 2024). "Testing extinction events and temporal shifts in diversification and fossilization rates through the skyline Fossilized Birth-Death (FBD) model: The example of some mid-Permian synapsid extinctions". Cladistics. 40 (3): 282–306\. doi:10.1111/cla.12577. PMID 38651531.
113. ^ Viglietti, Pia A.; Benson, Roger B. J.; Smith, Roger M. H.; Botha, Jennifer; Kammerer, Christian F.; Skosan, Zaituna; Butler, Elize; Crean, Annelise; Eloff, Bobby; Kaal, Sheena; Mohoi, Joël; Molehe, William; Mtalana, Nolusindiso; Mtungata, Sibusiso; Ntheri, Nthaopa; Ntsala, Thabang; Nyaphuli, John; October, Paul; Skinner, Georgina; Strong, Mike; Stummer, Hedi; Wolvaardt, Frederik P.; Angielczyk, Kenneth D. (27 April 2021). "Evidence from South Africa for a protracted end-Permian extinction on land". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 118 (17): e2017045118. Bibcode:2021PNAS..11817045V. doi:10.1073/pnas.2017045118. PMC 8092562. PMID 33875588.
114. ^ Kammerer, Christian F.; Viglietti, Pia A.; Butler, Elize; Botha, Jennifer (June 2023). "Rapid turnover of top predators in African terrestrial faunas around the Permian-Triassic mass extinction". Current Biology. 33 (11): 2283–2290.e3. Bibcode:2023CBio...33E2283K. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2023.04.007. PMID 37220743.
115. ^ Sahney, S. & Benton, M.J. (2008). "Recovery from the most profound mass extinction of all time". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 275 (1636): 759–765\. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.1370. PMC 2596898. PMID 18198148.
116. ^ Machalski, Marcin (1 October 2005). "The youngest Maastrichtian ammonite faunas from Poland and their dating by scaphitids". Cretaceous Research. 26 (5): 813–836\. Bibcode:2005CrRes..26..813M. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2005.05.007.
117. ^ Schopf, J. William; Kudryavtsev, Anatoliy B.; Czaja, Andrew D.; Tripathi, Abhishek B. (5 October 2007). "Evidence of Archean life: Stromatolites and microfossils". Precambrian Research. Earliest Evidence of Life on Earth. 158 (3–4): 141–155\. Bibcode:2007PreR..158..141S. doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2007.04.009.3–4&rft.pages=141-155&rft.date=2007-10-05&rft_id=info:doi/10.1016/j.precamres.2007.04.009&rft_id=info:bibcode/2007PreR..158..141S&rft.aulast=Schopf&rft.aufirst=J.+William&rft.au=Kudryavtsev,+Anatoliy+B.&rft.au=Czaja,+Andrew+D.&rft.au=Tripathi,+Abhishek+B.&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Biodiversity" class="Z3988">
118. ^ Marjanović, David; Laurin, Michel (September 2008). "Assessing Confidence Intervals for Stratigraphic Ranges of Higher Taxa: The Case of Lissamphibia". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 53 (3): 413–432\. doi:10.4202/app.2008.0305.
119. ^ a b "Mapping the web of life". Unep.org. Archived from the original on 14 February 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
120. ^ Okasha, S. (2010). "Does diversity always grow?". Nature. 466 (7304): 318. Bibcode:2010Natur.466..318O. doi:10.1038/466318a.
121. ^ "Stanford researchers discover that animal functional diversity started poor, became richer over time". biox.stanford.edu. 11 March 2015.
122. ^ a b Hautmann, Michael; Bagherpour, Borhan; Brosse, Morgane; Frisk, Åsa; Hofmann, Richard; Baud, Aymon; Nützel, Alexander; Goudemand, Nicolas; Bucher, Hugo; Brayard, Arnaud (2015). "Competition in slow motion: the unusual case of benthic marine communities in the wake of the end-Permian mass extinction". Palaeontology. 58 (5): 871–901\. Bibcode:2015Palgy..58..871H. doi:10.1111/pala.12186.
123. ^ a b c Markov, AV; Korotaev, AV (2008). "Hyperbolic growth of marine and continental biodiversity through the phanerozoic and community evolution". Journal of General Biology. 69 (3): 175–194\. PMID 18677962.
124. ^ a b Markov, A; Korotayev, A (2007). "Phanerozoic marine biodiversity follows a hyperbolic trend". Palaeoworld. 16 (4): 311–318\. doi:10.1016/j.palwor.2007.01.002.
125. ^ National Survey Reveals Biodiversity Crisis Archived 7 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine American Museum of Natural History
126. ^ a b Wilson, Edward O. (1 January 2002). The Future of Life. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-679-45078-8.
127. ^ Barry, John C. (1992). "Extinction: Bad genes or bad luck? By David M. Raup. New York: W. W. Norton. 1991. xvii + 210 pp. ISBN 0-393-03008-3. $19.95 (cloth)". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 88 (4): 563–564\. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330880410.
128. ^ May, Robert M. (16 September 1988). "How Many Species Are There on Earth?". Science. 241 (4872): 1441–1449\. Bibcode:1988Sci...241.1441M. doi:10.1126/science.241.4872.1441. PMID 17790039.
129. ^ McKinney, Michael L. (1997). "How do rare species avoid extinction? A paleontological view". The Biology of Rarity. pp. 110–129\. doi:10.1007/978-94-011-5874-9_7. ISBN 978-94-010-6483-5.
130. ^ G. Miller; Scott Spoolman (2012). Environmental Science - Biodiversity Is a Crucial Part of the Earth's Natural Capital. Cengage Learning. p. 62\. ISBN 978-1-133-70787-5. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
131. ^ Staff (2 May 2016). "Researchers find that Earth may be home to 1 trillion species". National Science Foundation. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
132. ^ Staff (2014). "The Biosphere". Aspen Global Change Institute. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
133. ^ Wade, Nicholas (25 July 2016). "Meet Luca, the Ancestor of All Living Things". New York Times. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
134. ^ "Age of the Earth". United States Geological Survey. 9 July 2007. Retrieved 10 January 2006.
135. ^ Dalrymple, G. Brent (2001). "The age of the Earth in the twentieth century: a problem (mostly) solved". Special Publications, Geological Society of London. 190 (1): 205–221\. Bibcode:2001GSLSP.190..205D. doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.2001.190.01.14.
136. ^ Manhes, Gérard; Allègre, Claude J.; Dupré, Bernard; Hamelin, Bruno (May 1980). "Lead isotope study of basic-ultrabasic layered complexes: Speculations about the age of the earth and primitive mantle characteristics". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 47 (3): 370–382\. Bibcode:1980E&PSL..47..370M. doi:10.1016/0012-821X(80)90024-2.
137. ^ Schopf, J. William; Kudryavtsev, Anatoliy B.; Czaja, Andrew D.; Tripathi, Abhishek B. (5 October 2007). "Evidence of Archean life: Stromatolites and microfossils". Precambrian Research. 158 (3–4). Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Elsevier: 141–155\. Bibcode:2007PreR..158..141S. doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2007.04.009.3–4&rft.pages=141-155&rft.date=2007-10-05&rft_id=info:doi/10.1016/j.precamres.2007.04.009&rft_id=info:bibcode/2007PreR..158..141S&rft.aulast=Schopf&rft.aufirst=J.+William&rft.au=Kudryavtsev,+Anatoliy+B.&rft.au=Czaja,+Andrew+D.&rft.au=Tripathi,+Abhishek+B.&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Biodiversity" class="Z3988">
138. ^ Schopf, J. William (29 June 2006). "Fossil evidence of Archaean life". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 361 (1470). London: Royal Society: 869–885\. doi:10.1098/rstb.2006.1834. PMC 1578735. PMID 16754604.
139. ^ Raven, Peter H.; Johnson, George B. (2002). Biology (6th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. p. 68\. ISBN 0-07-112261-3. LCCN 2001030052. OCLC 45806501.
140. ^ Ohtomo, Yoko; Kakegawa, Takeshi; Ishida, Akizumi; Nagase, Toshiro; Rosing, Minik T. (January 2014). "Evidence for biogenic graphite in early Archaean Isua metasedimentary rocks". Nature Geoscience. 7 (1): 25–28\. Bibcode:2014NatGe...7...25O. doi:10.1038/ngeo2025.
141. ^ Hassenkam, T.; Rosing, M. T. (2 November 2017). "3.7 billion year old biogenic remains". Communicative & Integrative Biology. 10 (5–6): e1380759. doi:10.1080/19420889.2017.1380759. PMC 5731516. PMID 29260796.5–6&rft.pages=e1380759&rft.date=2017-11-02&rft_id=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5731516#id-name=PMC&rft_id=info:pmid/29260796&rft_id=info:doi/10.1080/19420889.2017.1380759&rft.aulast=Hassenkam&rft.aufirst=T.&rft.au=Rosing,+M.+T.&rft_id=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5731516&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Biodiversity" class="Z3988">
142. ^ Borenstein, Seth (19 October 2015). "Hints of life on what was thought to be desolate early Earth". AP News.
143. ^ a b c d e Cardinale, Bradley J.; Duffy, J. Emmett; Gonzalez, Andrew; Hooper, David U.; Perrings, Charles; Venail, Patrick; Narwani, Anita; Mace, Georgina M.; Tilman, David; Wardle, David A.; Kinzig, Ann P.; Daily, Gretchen C.; Loreau, Michel; Grace, James B.; Larigauderie, Anne; Srivastava, Diane S.; Naeem, Shahid (7 June 2012). "Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity" (PDF). Nature. 486 (7401): 59–67\. Bibcode:2012Natur.486...59C. doi:10.1038/nature11148. PMID 22678280.
144. ^ Daniel, Terry C.; Muhar, Andreas; Arnberger, Arne; Aznar, Olivier; Boyd, James W.; Chan, Kai M. A.; Costanza, Robert; Elmqvist, Thomas; Flint, Courtney G.; Gobster, Paul H.; Grêt-Regamey, Adrienne; Lave, Rebecca; Muhar, Susanne; Penker, Marianne; Ribe, Robert G.; Schauppenlehner, Thomas; Sikor, Thomas; Soloviy, Ihor; Spierenburg, Marja; Taczanowska, Karolina; Tam, Jordan; von der Dunk, Andreas (5 June 2012). "Contributions of cultural services to the ecosystem services agenda". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109 (23): 8812–8819\. Bibcode:2012PNAS..109.8812D. doi:10.1073/pnas.1114773109. PMC 3384142. PMID 22615401.
145. ^ Broad, William (19 November 1996). "Paradise Lost: Biosphere Retooled as Atmospheric Nightmare". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
146. ^ Ponti, Crystal (3 March 2017). "Rise of the Robot Bees: Tiny Drones Turned into Artificial Pollinators". NPR. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
147. ^ LOSEY, JOHN E.; VAUGHAN, MACE (1 January 2006). "The Economic Value of Ecological Services Provided by Insects". BioScience. 56 (4): 311. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2006)56[311:TEVOES]2.0.CO;2.
148. ^ Costanza, Robert; d'Arge, Ralph; de Groot, Rudolf; Farber, Stephen; Grasso, Monica; Hannon, Bruce; Limburg, Karin; Naeem, Shahid; O'Neill, Robert V.; Paruelo, Jose; Raskin, Robert G.; Sutton, Paul; van den Belt, Marjan (May 1997). "The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital". Nature. 387 (6630): 253–260\. Bibcode:1997Natur.387..253C. doi:10.1038/387253a0.
149. ^ Kiaer, Lars P.; Skovgaard, M.; Østergård, Hanne (1 December 2009). "Grain yield increase in cereal variety mixtures: A meta-analysis of field trials". Field Crops Research. 114 (3): 361–373\. Bibcode:2009FCrRe.114..361K. doi:10.1016/j.fcr.2009.09.006.
150. ^ Letourneau, Deborah K. (1 January 2011). "Does plant diversity benefit agroecosystems? A synthetic review". Ecological Applications. 21 (1): 9–21\. Bibcode:2011EcoAp..21....9L. doi:10.1890/09-2026.1. PMID 21516884.
151. ^ Piotto, Daniel (1 March 2008). "A meta-analysis comparing tree growth in monocultures and mixed plantations". Forest Ecology and Management. 255 (3–4): 781–786\. Bibcode:2008ForEM.255..781P. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2007.09.065.3–4&rft.pages=781-786&rft.date=2008-03-01&rft_id=info:doi/10.1016/j.foreco.2007.09.065&rft_id=info:bibcode/2008ForEM.255..781P&rft.aulast=Piotto&rft.aufirst=Daniel&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Biodiversity" class="Z3988">
152. ^ Quijas, Sandra; Schmid, Bernhard; Balvanera, Patricia (November 2010). "Plant diversity enhances provision of ecosystem services: A new synthesis" (PDF). Basic and Applied Ecology. 11 (7): 582–593\. Bibcode:2010BApEc..11..582Q. doi:10.1016/j.baae.2010.06.009.
153. ^ Futuyma, Douglas J.; Shaffer, H. Bradley; Simberloff, Daniel, eds. (1 January 2009). Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics: Vol 40 2009. Palo Alto, Calif.: Annual Reviews. pp. 573–592\. ISBN 978-0-8243-1440-8.
154. ^ Philpott, Stacy M.; Soong, Oliver; Lowenstein, Jacob H.; Pulido, Astrid Luz; Lopez, Diego Tobar (1 October 2009). "Functional richness and ecosystem services: bird predation on arthropods in tropical agroecosystems". Ecological Applications. 19 (7). Flynn, Dan F. B.; DeClerck, Fabrice: 1858–1867\. Bibcode:2009EcoAp..19.1858P. doi:10.1890/08-1928.1. PMID 19831075.
155. ^ Bael, Sunshine A. Van; Philpott, Stacy M.; Greenberg, Russell; Bichier, Peter; Barber, Nicholas A.; Mooney, Kailen A.; Gruner, Daniel S. (April 2008). "Birds as Predators in Tropical Agroforestry Systems". Ecology. 89 (4): 928–934\. Bibcode:2008Ecol...89..928V. doi:10.1890/06-1976.1. hdl:1903/7873. PMID 18481517.
156. ^ Vance-Chalcraft, Heather D.; Rosenheim, Jay A.; Vonesh, James R.; Osenberg, Craig W.; Sih, Andrew (November 2007). "The Influence of Intraguild Predation on Prey Suppression and Prey Release: A Meta-Analysis". Ecology. 88 (11): 2689–2696\. Bibcode:2007Ecol...88.2689V. doi:10.1890/06-1869.1. PMID 18051635.
157. ^ Vandermeer, John H. (2011). The Ecology of Agroecosystems. Jones & Bartlett Learning. ISBN 978-0-7637-7153-9.
158. ^ IPBES (26 June 2018). "Assessment Report on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production". ipbes.org. IPBES. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
159. ^ Bommarco (2013). "Ecological intensification: harnessing ecosystem services for food security". Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 28 (4): 230–238\. Bibcode:2013TEcoE..28..230B. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2012.10.012. PMID 23153724.
160. ^ Aswathanarayana, Uppugunduri (2012). Natural Resources – Technology, Economics & Policy. Leiden, Netherlands: CRC Press. p. 370\. ISBN 978-0-203-12399-7.
161. ^ Aswathanarayana, Uppugunduri (2012). Natural Resources – Technology, Economics & Policy. Leiden. Netherlands: CRC Press. p. 370\. ISBN 978-0-203-12399-7.
162. ^ World Health Organization(WHO) and Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2015) Connecting Global Priorities: Biodiversity and Human Health, a State of Knowledge Review . See also Website of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity on biodiversity and health. Other relevant resources include Reports of the 1st and 2nd International Conferences on Health and Biodiversity. Archived 7 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine See also: Website of the UN COHAB Initiative Archived 4 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
163. ^ a b Chivian, Eric, ed. (15 May 2008). Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity. OUP US. ISBN 978-0-19-517509-7.
164. ^ Corvalán, Carlos; Hales, Simon; Anthony J. McMichael (2005). Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Health Synthesis. World Health Organization. p. 28\. ISBN 978-92-4-156309-3.
165. ^ (2009) "Climate Change and Biological Diversity" Convention on Biological Diversity Retrieved 5 November 2009
166. ^ Ramanujan, Krishna (2 December 2010). "Study: Loss of species is bad for your health". Cornell Chronicle. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
167. ^ Gaston, Kevin J.; Warren, Philip H.; Devine-Wright, Patrick; Irvine, Katherine N.; Fuller, Richard A. (2007). "Psychological benefits of greenspace increase with biodiversity". Biology Letters. 3 (4): 390–394\. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0149. PMC 2390667. PMID 17504734.
168. ^ "Protecting nature to minimize disaster risks | UNDRR". www.undrr.org. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
169. ^ Mendelsohn, Robert; Balick, Michael J. (April 1995). "The value of undiscovered pharmaceuticals in tropical forests". Economic Botany. 49 (2): 223–228\. Bibcode:1995EcBot..49..223M. doi:10.1007/BF02862929.
170. ^ (2006) "Molecular Pharming" GMO Compass Retrieved 5 November 2009, GMOcompass.org Archived 8 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
171. ^ Jain, Roopesh; Sonawane, Shailendra; Mandrekar, Noopur (2008). "Marine organisms: Potential source for drug discovery". Current Science. 94 (3): 292. JSTOR 24100323.
172. ^ Dhillion, Shivcharn S.; Svarstad, Hanne; Amundsen, Cathrine; Bugge, Hans Chr. (2002). "Bioprospecting: Effects on Environment and Development". Ambio: A Journal of the Human Environment. 31 (6): 491–493\. doi:10.1639/0044-7447(2002)031[0491:beoead]2.0.co;2. PMID 12436849.
173. ^ Cole, A. (16 July 2005). "Looking for new compounds in sea is endangering ecosystem". BMJ. 330 (7504): 1350. doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7504.1350-d. PMC 558324. PMID 15947392.
174. ^ "COHAB Initiative – on Natural Products and Medicinal Resources". Cohabnet.org. Archived from the original on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
175. ^ a b "The Biodiversity Crisis Is a Business Crisis". BCG Global. 23 February 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
176. ^ Singh, Geetika (11 September 2023). "Why Are Biodiversity and Business Related?". Earth.Org. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
177. ^ Tribot, Anne-Sophie; Mouquet, Nicolas; Villéger, Sébastien; Raymond, Michel; Hoff, Fabrice; Boissery, Pierre; Holon, Florian; Deter, Julie (28 September 2016). "Taxonomic and functional diversity increase the aesthetic value of coralligenous reefs". Scientific Reports. 6 (1): 34229. Bibcode:2016NatSR...634229T. doi:10.1038/srep34229. PMC 5039688. PMID 27677850.
178. ^ Moore, John C. (2013). "Diversity, Taxonomic versus Functional". Encyclopedia of Biodiversity. pp. 648–656\. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-384719-5.00036-8. ISBN 978-0-12-384720-1.
179. ^ Chakraborty, Jaya; Palit, Krishna; Das, Surajit (2022). "Metagenomic approaches to study the culture-independent bacterial diversity of a polluted environment—a case study on north-eastern coast of Bay of Bengal, India". Microbial Biodegradation and Bioremediation. pp. 81–107\. doi:10.1016/B978-0-323-85455-9.00014-X. ISBN 978-0-323-85455-9.
180. ^ Hamilton, Andrew J. (April 2005). "Species diversity or biodiversity?". Journal of Environmental Management. 75 (1): 89–92\. Bibcode:2005JEnvM..75...89H. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2004.11.012. PMID 15748806.
181. ^ Ortiz-Burgos, Selene (2016). "Shannon-Weaver Diversity Index". Encyclopedia of Estuaries. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. pp. 572–573\. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-8801-4_233. ISBN 978-94-017-8800-7.
182. ^ Allaby, Michael (2010), "Simpson's diversity index", A Dictionary of Ecology, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780199567669.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-956766-9, retrieved 25 February 2023
183. ^ Morris, E. Kathryn; Caruso, Tancredi; Buscot, François; Fischer, Markus; Hancock, Christine; Maier, Tanja S.; Meiners, Torsten; Müller, Caroline; Obermaier, Elisabeth; Prati, Daniel; Socher, Stephanie A.; Sonnemann, Ilja; Wäschke, Nicole; Wubet, Tesfaye; Wurst, Susanne (September 2014). "Choosing and using diversity indices: insights for ecological applications from the German Biodiversity Exploratories". Ecology and Evolution. 4 (18): 3514–3524\. Bibcode:2014EcoEv...4.3514M. doi:10.1002/ece3.1155. PMC 4224527. PMID 25478144.
184. ^ Wilson Edward O (2000). "On the Future of Conservation Biology". Conservation Biology. 14 (1): 1–3\. Bibcode:2000ConBi..14....1W. doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.2000.00000-e1.x.
185. ^ Nee S (2004). "More than meets the eye". Nature. 429 (6994): 804–805\. Bibcode:2004Natur.429..804N. doi:10.1038/429804a. PMID 15215837.
186. ^ Stork, Nigel E. (2007). "Biodiversity: World of insects". Nature. 448 (7154): 657–658\. Bibcode:2007Natur.448..657S. doi:10.1038/448657a. PMID 17687315.
187. ^ Thomas, J. A.; Telfer, M. G.; Roy, D. B.; Preston, C. D.; Greenwood, J. J. D.; Asher, J.; Fox, R.; Clarke, R. T.; Lawton, J. H. (19 March 2004). "Comparative Losses of British Butterflies, Birds, and Plants and the Global Extinction Crisis". Science. 303 (5665): 1879–1881\. Bibcode:2004Sci...303.1879T. doi:10.1126/science.1095046. PMID 15031508.
188. ^ "Biodiversity loss | Causes, Effects, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
189. ^ Levine, J. M. (5 May 2000). "Species Diversity and Biological Invasions: Relating Local Process to Community Pattern". Science. 288 (5467): 852–854\. Bibcode:2000Sci...288..852L. doi:10.1126/science.288.5467.852. PMID 10797006.
190. ^ GUREVITCH, J; PADILLA, D (1 September 2004). "Are invasive species a major cause of extinctions?". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 19 (9): 470–474\. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2004.07.005. PMID 16701309.
191. ^ Sax, Dov F.; Gaines, Steven D.; Brown, James H. (1 December 2002). "Species Invasions Exceed Extinctions on Islands Worldwide: A Comparative Study of Plants and Birds". The American Naturalist. 160 (6): 766–783\. Bibcode:2002ANat..160..766S. doi:10.1086/343877. PMID 18707464.
192. ^ Jude, David (1995). Munawar, M. (ed.). The lake Huron ecosystem: ecology, fisheries and management. Amsterdam: S.P.B. Academic Publishing. ISBN 978-90-5103-117-1.
193. ^ "Are invasive plants a threat to native biodiversity? It depends on the spatial scale". ScienceDaily (Press release). American Journal of Botany. 11 April 2011.
194. ^ Higgins, Steven I.; Richardson, David M. (1998). "Pine invasions in the southern hemisphere: Modelling interactions between organism, environment and disturbance". Plant Ecology. 135 (1): 79–93\. Bibcode:1998PlEco.135...79H. doi:10.1023/a:1009760512895.
195. ^ Mooney, H. A.; Cleland, EE (2001). "The evolutionary impact of invasive species". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 98 (10): 5446–5451\. Bibcode:2001PNAS...98.5446M. doi:10.1073/pnas.091093398. PMC 33232. PMID 11344292.
196. ^ Aubry, Carol; Shoal, Robin; Erickson, Vicky (January 2005). Grass cultivars: Their origins, development, and use on national forests and grasslands in the Pacific Northwest (PDF) (Report). USDA Forest Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2017.
197. ^ Rhymer, Judith M.; Simberloff, Daniel (1996). "Extinction by Hybridization and Introgression". Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics. 27 (1): 83–109\. Bibcode:1996AnRES..27...83R. doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.27.1.83. JSTOR 2097230.
198. ^ Potts, Bradley Michael; Barbour, Robert C.; Hingston, Andrew B. (2001). Genetic Pollution from Farm Forestry Using Eucalypt Species and Hydrids: A Report for the RIRDC/L & WA/FWPRDC Joint Venture Agroforestry Program. RIRDC. ISBN 978-0-642-58336-9.[page needed]
199. ^ Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005). World Resources Institute, Washington, DC. Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Biodiversity Synthesis
200. ^ a b c Soulé, Michael E. (1985). "What Is Conservation Biology?". BioScience. 35 (11): 727–734\. doi:10.2307/1310054. JSTOR 1310054.
201. ^ Davis, Peter (1996). Museums and the natural environment: the role of natural history museums in biological conservation. Leicester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7185-1548-5.[page needed]
202. ^ a b Dyke, Fred Van (29 February 2008). Conservation Biology: Foundations, Concepts, Applications. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-1-4020-6890-4.
203. ^ Hunter, Malcolm L. (1996). Fundamentals of Conservation Biology. Blackwell Science. ISBN 978-0-86542-371-8.
204. ^ Bowen, B. W. (1999). "Preserving genes, species, or ecosystems? Healing the fractured foundations of conservation policy". Molecular Ecology. 8 (12 Suppl 1): S5 – S10. Bibcode:1999MolEc...8.....B. doi:10.1046/j.1365-294x.1999.00798.x. PMID 10703547.
205. ^ Soulé, Michael E. (1 January 1986). Conservation Biology: The Science of Scarcity and Diversity. Sinauer Associates. ISBN 978-0-87893-794-3.
206. ^ Margules, C. R.; Pressey, R. L. (May 2000). "Systematic conservation planning" (PDF). Nature. 405 (6783): 243–253\. doi:10.1038/35012251. PMID 10821285.
207. ^ a b Knozowski, Paweł; Nowakowski, Jacek J.; Stawicka, Anna Maria; Górski, Andrzej; Dulisz, Beata (10 November 2023). "Effect of nature protection and management of grassland on biodiversity – Case from big flooded river valley (NE Poland)". Science of the Total Environment. 898: 165280. Bibcode:2023ScTEn.89865280K. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165280. PMID 37419354.
208. ^ Example: Gascon, C., Collins, J. P., Moore, R. D., Church, D. R., McKay, J. E. and Mendelson, J. R. III (eds) (2007). Amphibian Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. 64pp. Amphibians.org Archived 4 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine, see also Millenniumassessment.org, Europa.eu Archived 12 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
209. ^ Luck, Gary W.; Daily, Gretchen C.; Ehrlich, Paul R. (July 2003). "Population diversity and ecosystem services". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 18 (7): 331–336\. doi:10.1016/S0169-5347(03)00100-9.
210. ^ "Millennium Ecosystem Assessment". www.millenniumassessment.org. Archived from the original on 13 August 2015.
211. ^ "Beantwoording vragen over fokken en doden van gezonde dieren in dierentuinen" (PDF) (in Dutch). Ministry of Economic Affairs (Netherlands). 25 March 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
212. ^ "Barcode of Life". Barcoding.si.edu. 26 May 2010. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
213. ^ "Earth Times: show/303405,camel-cull-would-help-curb-global-warming.ht…". 1 August 2012. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012.
214. ^ "Australia's Native Vegetation Framework" (PDF).
215. ^ "Belgium creating 45 "seed gardens"; gene banks with intent to reintroduction". Hbvl.be. 8 September 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
216. ^ Kaiser, Jocelyn (21 September 2001). "Bold Corridor Project Confronts Political Reality". Science. 293 (5538): 2196–2199\. doi:10.1126/science.293.5538.2196. PMID 11567122.
217. ^ Mulongoy, Kalemani Jo; Chape, Stuart (2004). Protected Areas and Biodiversity: An Overview of Key Issues (PDF). Montreal, Canada and Cambridge, UK: CBD Secretariat and UNEP-WCMC. pp. 15 and 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
218. ^ Baillie, Jonathan; Ya-Ping, Zhang (14 September 2018). "Space for nature". Science. 361 (6407): 1051. Bibcode:2018Sci...361.1051B. doi:10.1126/science.aau1397. PMID 30213888.
219. ^ Allan, James R.; Possingham, Hugh P.; Atkinson, Scott C.; Waldron, Anthony; Di Marco, Moreno; Butchart, Stuart H. M.; Adams, Vanessa M.; Kissling, W. Daniel; Worsdell, Thomas; Sandbrook, Chris; Gibbon, Gwili; Kumar, Kundan; Mehta, Piyush; Maron, Martine; Williams, Brooke A.; Jones, Kendall R.; Wintle, Brendan A.; Reside, April E.; Watson, James E. M. (3 June 2022). "The minimum land area requiring conservation attention to safeguard biodiversity". Science. 376 (6597): 1094–1101\. Bibcode:2022Sci...376.1094A. doi:10.1126/science.abl9127. hdl:11573/1640006. PMID 35653463.
220. ^ a b Paddison, Laura (19 December 2022). "More than 190 countries sign landmark agreement to halt the biodiversity crisis". CNN. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
221. ^ Lambert, Jonathan (4 September 2020). "Protecting half of Earth may help solve climate change, save species". ScienceNews.
222. ^ "Protected areas". International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). 20 August 2015.
223. ^ "FAO – Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Toolbox". Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
224. ^ "Guidelines for Applying Protected Area Management Categories" (PDF).
225. ^ "Wildlife Sanctuaries & Properties". Mass Audubon. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
226. ^ "Biodiversity and national parks: What's relevance got to do with it? (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
227. ^ Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 – Key findings. FAO. 2020. doi:10.4060/ca8753en. ISBN 978-92-5-132581-0. S2CID 130116768.[page needed] Text was added from this source which has a Wikipedia-specific licence statement
228. ^ Sahayaraj, K. (10 July 2014). Basic and Applied Aspects of Biopesticides. Springer. ISBN 978-81-322-1877-7.
229. ^ Beech, E.; Rivers, M.; Oldfield, S.; Smith, P. P. (4 July 2017). "GlobalTreeSearch: The first complete global database of tree species and country distributions". Journal of Sustainable Forestry. 36 (5): 454–489\. Bibcode:2017JSusF..36..454B. doi:10.1080/10549811.2017.1310049.
230. ^ "Endemic species and their value to biodiversity".
231. ^ European Investment Bank (8 December 2022). Forests at the heart of sustainable development: Investing in forests to meet biodiversity and climate goals. European Investment Bank. ISBN 978-92-861-5403-4.
232. ^ "Forests - Environment - European Commission". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
233. ^ Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (PDF). the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
234. ^ Deutsche Welle, Deutsche (6 May 2019). "Why Biodiversity Loss Hurts Humans as Much as Climate Change Does". Ecowatch. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
235. ^ Booth, Hollie; Milner-Gulland, E.J.; McCormick, Nadine; Starkey, Malcolm (July 2024). "Operationalizing transformative change for business in the context of Nature Positive". One Earth. 7 (7): 1235–1249\. doi:10.1016/j.oneear.2024.06.003.
236. ^ Milner-Gulland, E.J.; Addison, Prue; Arlidge, William N.S.; Baker, Julia; Booth, Hollie; Brooks, Thomas; Bull, Joseph W.; Burgass, Michael J.; Ekstrom, Jon; zu Ermgassen, Sophus O.S.E.; Fleming, L. Vincent; Grub, Henry M.J.; von Hase, Amrei; Hoffmann, Michael; Hutton, Jonathan; Juffe-Bignoli, Diego; ten Kate, Kerry; Kiesecker, Joseph; Kümpel, Noëlle F.; Maron, Martine; Newing, Helen S.; Ole-Moiyoi, Katrina; Sinclair, Cheli; Sinclair, Sam; Starkey, Malcolm; Stuart, Simon N.; Tayleur, Cath; Watson, James E.M. (January 2021). "Four steps for the Earth: mainstreaming the post-2020 global biodiversity framework". One Earth. 4 (1): 75–87\. Bibcode:2021OEart...4...75M. doi:10.1016/j.oneear.2020.12.011.
237. ^ "What is Nature Positive?". Nature Positive Initiative. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
238. ^ Peter, Maria; Diekötter, Tim; Höffler, Tim; Kremer, Kerstin (April 2021). "Biodiversity citizen science: Outcomes for the participating citizens". People and Nature. 3 (2): 294–311\. Bibcode:2021PeoNa...3..294P. doi:10.1002/pan3.10193.
239. ^ Chandler, Mark; See, Linda; Copas, Kyle; Bonde, Astrid M.Z.; López, Bernat Claramunt; Danielsen, Finn; Legind, Jan Kristoffer; Masinde, Siro; Miller-Rushing, Abraham J.; Newman, Greg; Rosemartin, Alyssa; Turak, Eren (September 2017). "Contribution of citizen science towards international biodiversity monitoring". Biological Conservation. 213: 280–294\. Bibcode:2017BCons.213..280C. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2016.09.004.
240. ^ Walters, Michele; Scholes, Robert J. (2017). The GEO Handbook on Biodiversity Observation Networks. Springer Nature. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-27288-7. hdl:20.500.12657/28080. ISBN 978-3-319-27288-7.[page needed]
241. ^ Aristeidou, Maria; Herodotou, Christothea; Ballard, Heidi L.; Higgins, Lila; Johnson, Rebecca F.; Miller, Annie E.; Young, Alison N.; Robinson, Lucy D. (July 2021). "How Do Young Community and Citizen Science Volunteers Support Scientific Research on Biodiversity? The Case of iNaturalist". Diversity. 13 (7): 318. Bibcode:2021Diver..13..318A. doi:10.3390/d13070318. PMC 7613115. PMID 35873351.
242. ^ "Home". Convention on Biological Diversity. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
243. ^ Shiva, Vandana (January 2007). "Bioprospecting as Sophisticated Biopiracy". Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. 32 (2): 307–313\. doi:10.1086/508502.
244. ^ Unit, Biosafety (28 March 2025). "The Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing". www.cbd.int. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
245. ^ Einhorn, Catrin (19 December 2022). "Nearly Every Country Signs On to a Sweeping Deal to Protect Nature". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 December 2022. "The United States is just one of two countries in the world that are not party to the Convention on Biological Diversity, largely because Republicans, who are typically opposed to joining treaties, have blocked United States membership. That means the American delegation was required to participate from the sidelines. (The only other country that has not joined the treaty is the Holy See.)"
246. ^ "COP15: Key outcomes agreed at the UN biodiversity conference in Montreal". Carbon Brief. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
247. ^ Greenfield, Patrick; Weston, Phoebe (19 December 2022). "Cop15: historic deal struck to halt biodiversity loss by 2030". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
248. ^ "From Farm to Fork". European Commission website. European Union. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
249. ^ "EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030". European Commission website. European Union. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
250. ^ Ohwofasa Akpeninor, James (2012). Modern Concepts of Security. AuthorHouse. p. 234\. ISBN 9781467881623.
251. ^ "Gene Patenting". Ornl.gov. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
252. ^ Bosselman, Fred (15 December 2004). "A Dozen Biodiversity Puzzles". NYU Environmental Law Journal. 12 (366). SSRN 1523937.
253. ^ Harris, J. Arthur (1916). "The Variable Desert". The Scientific Monthly. 3 (1): 41–50\. Bibcode:1916SciMo...3...41H. JSTOR 6182.
254. ^ Dasmann, Raymond F. (1967). "A Different Kind of Country". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
255. ^ Brown, William Y. Brown (9 August 2011). "Conserving Biological Diversity". Brookings Institution. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
256. ^ Terbogh, John (1974). "The Preservation of Natural Diversity: The Problem of Extinction Prone Species". BioScience. 24 (12): 715–722\. doi:10.2307/1297090. JSTOR 1297090.
257. ^ Soulé, Michael E.; Wilcox, Bruce A. (1980). Conservation biology: an evolutionary-ecological perspective. Sunder*land, Mass: Sinauer Associates. ISBN 978-0-87893-800-1.
258. ^ "Robert E. Jenkins". Nature.org. 18 August 2011. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
259. ^ Wilson, E. O. (1988). Biodiversity. National Academy Press. p. vi. doi:10.17226/989. ISBN 978-0-309-03739-6. PMID 25032475.
260. ^ Tangley, Laura (1985). "A New Plan to Conserve the Earth's Biota". BioScience. 35 (6): 334–336+341. doi:10.1093/bioscience/35.6.334. JSTOR 1309899.
261. ^ Wilson, E. O.; Peter, F. M. (1988). Biodiversity. doi:10.17226/989. ISBN 978-0-309-03739-6. OCLC 42854996. PMID 25032475.[page needed]
262. ^ Global Biodiversity Assessment: Summary for Policy-makers. Cambridge University Press. 1995. ISBN 978-0-521-56481-6. Annex 6, Glossary. Used as source by "Biodiversity", Glossary of terms related to the CBD Archived 10 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Belgian Clearing-House Mechanism. Retrieved 26 April 2006.
263. ^ "COP16: Key outcomes agreed at the UN biodiversity conference in Cali, Colombia". Carbon Brief. 2 November 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2024.

## External links

[edit]

Look up biodiversity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikiquote has quotations related to Biodiversity.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Biodiversity.

* Assessment Report on Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), 2022.
* NatureServe: This site serves as a portal for accessing several types of publicly available biodiversity data
* Biodiversity Synthesis Report (PDF) by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA, 2005)
* World Map of Biodiversity an interactive map from the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre
* Biodiversity Heritage Library – Open access digital library of historical taxonomic literature
* Biodiversity PMC – Open access digital library of biodiversity and ecological literature
* Mapping of biodiversity
* Encyclopedia of Life – Documenting all species of life on Earth.

* v
* t
* e

Biodiversity worldwide

* Biodiversity hotspot
* Biodiversity loss
* Global biodiversity

Ecology|

* Bioresilience
* Dark diversity
* Ecological effects of biodiversity
* Elevational diversity gradient
* Genetic diversity
* Insect biodiversity
* Soil biodiversity
* Species–area relationship
* Species richness

Measurement|

* All-taxa biodiversity inventory
* Alpha diversity
* Beta diversity
* Diversity index
* Environmental DNA
* Gamma diversity
* Range condition scoring
* Species diversity
* Phylogenetic diversity
* Zeta diversity

Conservation|

* Biodiversity action plan
* Convention on Biological Diversity
* 2010 Biodiversity Target
* Key Biodiversity Areas
* Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework

Economics|

* Agricultural biodiversity
* Biodiversity in agriculture
* Biodiversity banking
* Biodiversity credit
* Crop diversity
* Biodiversity and drugs
* Food biodiversity
* Biodiversity offsetting

Health|

* Biodiversity hypothesis of health

By region|

| Africa|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Botswana
* Benin
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Comoros
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Eswatini
* Ethiopia
* Gabon
* The Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Mali
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Nigeria
* Rodrigues
* Rwanda
* Seychelles
* Somalia
* South Africa
* Cape Town
* Marine
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Tunisia
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

|

Asia|

* Azerbaijan
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* Borneo
* Cambodia
* China
* Georgia
* India
* Assam
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Israel
* Japan
* Jordan
* Laos
* Malaysia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* Pakistan
* Palestine
* Papua New Guinea
* Philippines
* Qatar
* Russia
* South Korea
* Sri Lanka
* Syria
* Thailand
* Turkey
* Vietnam
* Yemen

Europe|

* Albania
* Austria
* Azerbaijan
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Georgia
* Germany
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Italy
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Kosovo
* Montenegro
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Republic of Ireland
* Romania
* Russia
* Serbia
* Slovenia
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* Wales

North America|

* Belize
* Canada
* Costa Rica
* Cuba
* El Salvador
* Guatemala
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Martinique
* Mexico
* Nicaragua
* Trinidad and Tobago
* Turks and Caicos Islands
* United States

Oceania|

* Australia
* New Caledonia
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea

South America|

* Argentina
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Chile
* Colombia
* Ecuador
* French Guiana
* Guyana
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Suriname
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Antarctica|

* Antarctica

* List of biodiversity databases
* Global 200
* Megadiverse countries
* Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

* v
* t
* e

Biology

* Introduction (Genetics, Evolution)
* Outline
* History
* Timeline
* Index

Biology|

| Overview|

* Science
* Life
* Properties (Adaptation, Energy processing, Growth, Order, Regulation, Reproduction (Self-replication), Response to environment)
* Hierarchy of life (Atom > Molecule > Organelle > Cell > Tissue > Organ > Organ system > Organism > Population > Community > Ecosystem > Biosphere)
* Reductionistic
* Emergent property
* Mechanistic
* Scientific method
* Taxonomic rank
* Theory
* Law
* Peer review
* Biology journals
* Common name

|

Chemical basis|

* Atoms
* Amino acids
* Carbohydrates
* Chemical bond
* Chemical element
* Lipids
* Matter
* Quantum
* Molecules
* Monomer
* Nucleic acids
* Organic compounds
* pH
* Polymer
* Proteins
* Water

Cells|

* ATP
* Cell cycle
* Cell theory
* Cell signaling
* Cellular respiration
* Energy transformation
* Enzyme
* Eukaryote
* Fermentation
* Metabolism
* Meiosis
* Mitosis
* Photosynthesis
* Prokaryote

Genetics|

* DNA
* Epigenetics
* Evolutionary developmental biology
* Gene expression
* Gene regulation
* Genomes
* Mendelian inheritance
* Post-transcriptional modification

Evolution|

* Adaptation
* Earliest known life forms
* Function
* Genetic drift
* Gene flow
* History of life
* Macroevolution
* Microevolution
* Mutation
* Natural selection
* Phylogenetics
* Speciation
* Taxonomy

Diversity|

* Archaea
* Bacteria
* Eukaryote
* Alga
* Animal
* Fungus
* Plant
* Protist
* Virus

Plant form
and function|

* Epidermis (botany)
* Flower
* Ground tissue
* Leaf
* Phloem
* Plant stem
* Root
* Shoot
* Vascular plant
* Vascular tissue
* Xylem

Animal form
and function|

* Breathing
* Circulatory system
* Endocrine system
* Digestive system
* Homeostasis
* Immune system
* Internal environment
* Muscular system
* Nervous system
* Reproductive system
* Respiratory system

Ecology|

* Biogeochemical cycle
* Biological interaction
* Biomass
* Biomes
* Biosphere
* Climate
* Climate change
* Community
* Conservation
* Ecosystem
* Habitat
* niche
* Microbiome
* Population dynamics
* Resources

Research
methods|

| Laboratory
techniques|

* Genetic engineering
* Transformation
* Gel electrophoresis
* Chromatography
* Centrifugation
* Cell culture
* DNA sequencing
* DNA microarray
* Green fluorescent protein
* vector
* Enzyme assay
* Protein purification
* Western blot
* Northern blot
* Southern blot
* Restriction enzyme
* Polymerase chain reaction
* Two-hybrid screening
* in vivo
* in vitro
* in silico

|

Field techniques|

* Belt transect
* mark and recapture
* species discovery curve

Branches|

* Abiogenesis
* Aerobiology
* Agronomy
* Agrostology
* Anatomy
* Anthropogeny
* Anthropology
* Astrobiology
* Bacteriology
* Biochemistry
* Biogeography
* Biogeology
* Bioinformatics
* Biological engineering
* Biomathematics
* Biomechanics
* Biophysics
* Biosemiotics
* Biostatistics
* Biotechnology
* Botany
* Cell biology
* Cellular microbiology
* Chemical biology
* Chronobiology
* Cognitive biology
* Computational biology
* Conservation biology
* Cryobiology
* Cytogenetics
* Dendrology
* Developmental biology
* Ecological genetics
* Ecology
* Embryology
* Epidemiology
* Epigenetics
* Evolutionary biology
* Freshwater biology
* Generative biology
* Genetics
* Genomics
* Geobiology
* Gerontology
* Herpetology
* Histology
* Human biology
* Ichthyology
* Immunology
* Lipidology
* Mammalogy
* Marine biology
* Microbiology
* Molecular biology
* Mycology
* Neontology
* Neuroscience
* Nutrition
* Ornithology
* Osteology
* Paleontology
* Parasitology
* Pathology
* Pharmacology
* Photobiology
* Phycology
* Phylogenetics
* Physiology
* Pomology
* Primatology
* Proteomics
* Protistology
* Quantum biology
* Relational biology
* Reproductive biology
* Sociobiology
* Structural biology
* Synthetic biology
* Systematics
* Systems biology
* Taxonomy
* Teratology
* Toxicology
* Virology
* Virophysics
* Welfare biology
* Xenobiology
* Zoology

Glossaries|

* Biology
* Botanical terms
* Ecological terms
* Plant morphology terms

* Biology portal
* Category
* Commons
* WikiProject

* v
* t
* e

Threatened species

Template: Threatened species by region

IUCN Red List|

| Categories1|

| Extinct|

* Extinct (EX)
* Extinct in the Wild (EW)

|

Threatened|

* Critically Endangered (CR)
* Endangered (EN)
* Vulnerable (VU)

Lower risk|

* Near Threatened (NT)
* Least Concern (LC)
* Lower Risk (LR)
* Conservation Dependent (LR/cd)

Not fully assessed|

* Data Deficient (DD)
* Not Evaluated (NE)

Species|

| Lists|

* Extinct
* Extinct in the Wild
* Critically Endangered
* Endangered
* Vulnerable
* Near Threatened
* Least Concern
* Data Deficient

|

WP categories|

* Extinct
* Extinct in the Wild
* Critically Endangered
* Endangered
* Vulnerable
* Near Threatened
* Least Concern
* Data Deficient

CITES|

* Appendix I
* Appendix II
* Appendix III

By taxa|

* Threatened arthropods / Endangered arthropods / spiders / Decline in insect populations
* Decline in amphibian populations
* Threatened Banksia / rays / sharks / Fungi / Chromista
* The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates
* The world's 100 most threatened species

Conservation|

* Biodiversity action plan
* Biodiversity threats
* Conservation biology
* CITES
* ARKive
* Bird conservation
* Conservation status
* Conservation-reliant species
* Ecoregion conservation status
* Habitat destruction
* Latent extinction risk
* Rare species
* Vulnerability and susceptibility

1 Pre-2001 categories and subcategories shown in italics.

* v
* t
* e

Elements of nature

Universe|

* Space
* Time
* Energy
* Matter
* chemical elements
* particles
* Change

Earth|

* Earth science
* History
* geological
* Structure
* Geology
* Plate tectonics
* Oceans
* Gaia hypothesis
* Future

Weather|

* Meteorology
* Atmosphere (Earth)
* Climate
* Clouds
* Moonlight
* Rain
* Snow
* Sunlight
* Tides
* Wind
* tornado
* tropical cyclone

Natural environment|

* Ecology
* Ecosystem
* Field
* Radiation
* Wilderness
* Wildfires

Life|

* Origin (abiogenesis)
* Evolutionary history
* Biosphere
* Hierarchy
* Biology
* astrobiology

* Biodiversity
* Organism
* Eukaryota
* fauna
* animals
* flora
* plants
* fungi
* protista
* Prokaryotes
* archaea
* bacteria
* Viruses

See also|

* Nature-based solutions

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Zoos, aquariums, and aviaries

Types of zoos|

* Animal sanctuary
* Animal theme park
* Aquarium
* Aviary
* Bear pit
* Butterfly house
* Dolphinarium
* Herpetarium
* Insectarium
* Nature center
* Marine mammal park
* Menagerie
* Oceanarium
* Penguinarium
* Pheasantry
* Petting zoo
* Reptile centre
* Safari park
* Virtual zoo
* Vivarium
* Zoo

Conservation|

* Biodiversity
* Captive breeding
* Conservation biology
* Endangered species
* Ex situ conservation
* In situ conservation
* Species reintroduction

Lists|

* Zoos
* Aquariums
* largest
* Animal sanctuaries
* Butterfly houses
* Dolphinariums
* Conservation topics
* Former zoos and aquariums
* Nature centers
* Zoo associations
* WAZA members

Related|

* Animal rights
* Animal cruelty
* Animals in captivity
* Animal training
* Behavioral enrichment
* Frozen zoo
* Immersion exhibit
* Nocturnal house
* Wildlife conservation
* Zookeeper
* Zoo emergency response team
* Zoo key
* Zoological society
* Zoology

* Animals portal
* Category: Zoos
* Category: Aquariums

* v
* t
* e

Natural resources

Air|

| Pollution / quality|

* Ambient standards (US)
* Index
* Indoor
* Law
* Clean Air Act (US)
* Ozone depletion

|

Emissions|

* Airshed
* Trading
* Deforestation (REDD)

Energy|

* Bio
* Law
* Resources
* Fossil fuels (gas, peak coal, peak gas, peak oil)
* Geothermal
* Hydro
* Nuclear
* Solar
* sunlight
* shade
* Wind

Land|

* Agricultural
* arable
* peak farmland
* Degradation
* Field
* Landscape
* cityscape
* seascape
* soundscape
* viewshed
* Law
* property
* Management
* habitat conservation
* Minerals
* gemstone
* industrial
* ore
* metal
* mining
* law
* sand
* peak
* copper
* phosphorus
* rights
* Soil
* conservation
* fertility
* health
* resilience
* Use
* planning
* reserve

Life|

* Biodiversity
* Bioprospecting
* biopiracy
* Biosphere
* Bushfood
* Bushmeat
* Fisheries
* climate change
* law
* management
* Forests
* genetic resources
* law
* management
* non-timber products
* Game
* law
* Marine conservation
* Meadow
* Pasture
* Plants
* FAO Plant Treaty
* food
* genetic resources
* gene banks
* herbal medicines
* UPOV Convention
* wood
* Rangeland
* Seed bank
* Wildlife
* conservation
* management

Water|

| Types / location|

* Aquifer
* storage and recovery
* Drinking
* Fresh
* Groundwater
* pollution
* recharge
* remediation
* Hydrosphere
* Ice
* bergs
* glacial
* polar
* Irrigation
* huerta
* Marine
* Rain
* harvesting
* Stormwater
* Surface water
* Sewage
* reclaimed water
* Watershed

|

Aspects|

* Desalination
* Floods
* Law
* Leaching
* Sanitation
* improved
* Scarcity
* Security
* Supply
* Efficiency
* Conflict
* Conservation
* Peak water
* Pollution
* Privatization
* Quality
* Right
* Resources
* improved
* policy

Related|

* Commons
* enclosure
* global
* land
* tragedy of
* Economics
* ecological
* land
* Ecosystem services
* Exploitation
* overexploitation
* Earth Overshoot Day
* Management
* adaptive
* Natural capital
* accounting
* good
* Natural heritage
* Nature reserve
* remnant natural area
* Systems ecology
* Urban ecology
* Wilderness

Resource|

* Common-pool
* Conflict (perpetuation)
* Curse
* Depletion
* Extraction
* Nationalism
* Renewable / Non-renewable

Politics|

* Oil war
* Petroleum politics
* Petrostate
* Petro-Islam
* Resource war

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Deforestation and desertification

Deforestation|

* Assarting
* Deforestation
* Deforestation and climate change
* Deforestation by region
* Illegal logging
* Mountaintop removal
* Slash-and-burn
* Slash-and-char

Desertification|

* Aridification
* Historic desertification
* Moisture recycling
* Soil retrogression and degradation
* Water scarcity
* By region:
* China
* Gobi Desert
* Lebanon
* Libya
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Mongolia
* Sahel
* Yemen

Mitigation|

* Afforestation
* Arid Lands Information Network
* Biochar
* Conservation grazing
* Desert greening
* Ecoforestry
* Ecological engineering
* Farmer-managed regeneration
* Flexible Mechanisms
* Great Green Wall (Africa)
* Great Green Wall (China)
* Managed intensive rotational grazing
* Oasification
* Reforestation
* United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

Related articles|

* Forest Landscape Integrity Index
* Forestry
* Intact forest landscape
* Land surface effects on climate
* Land use, land-use change and forestry
* List of global issues
* Natural landscape
* Terra preta
* Wilderness

Authority control databases

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Japan
* Czech Republic
* Latvia
* Israel

Other|

* Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine
* Yale LUX

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template