Biodiversity refers to a wide range of living organisms that may be found in all kinds of environments, including terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems, as well as the ecological communities to which they belong. There are three main levels of biodiversity: Genetic Diversity (Diversity within species), Species Diversity (Diversity between species) and Ecosystem/Community Diversity (Diversity between ecosystems). All civilizations are built on the basis of biodiversity, which also supports our economics. The most important measurement of an ecosystem's health is its biodiversity. This article will explain to you about the Levels of Biodiversity which will be helpful in preparing the Environment Syllabus for the UPSC Civil Service exam.

Levels of Biodiversity

Biodiversity - Levels

Genetic Diversity

• Genetic diversity describes the variety of unique genetic features found in a species.
• There would be many individuals with a wide range of diverse characteristics in a species with significant genetic diversity.
• For a population to adapt to changing surroundings, genetic diversity is essential.
• A population's capacity to adjust to changes will be lowered if a highly selected and low diversity strain, such as fish populations raised for aquaculture, is introduced.
• Those individuals tend to survive to have offspring with that allele (a variant of a given gene).
• The success of these people will allow the population to continue for long generations.

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Species Diversity

• The number of different species found in a given area is referred to as species diversity.
• In nature, species do not interbreed because they differ genetically from one another.
• However, closely related species share a lot of their inherited traits.
• For example, 98.4% of the genes in humans and chimps are similar. It is the proportion of a species' total population to all the species' combined total number of organisms in a given biome.
• "One" denotes the presence of just one species, while "zero" would indicate infinite diversity.

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Ecosystem / Community Diversity

• Community diversity, also called ecosystem diversity, defines a community of interacting groups from different species living in a single habitat.
• The combination of a region's climate, vegetation, and terrain makes up a habitat. There are many different types of habitats on the earth.
• Examples of habitats in an environment include corals, grasslands, wetlands, deserts, mangroves, and tropical rain forests.
• Every species adjusts to a specific type of environment.
• The species that are most adapted to a changing environment become more prevalent.
• As a result, the ecosystem's features influence the variety or diversity of species present.

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Importance of Biodiversity

Ecological Role of Biodiversity

• Each species of biodiversity has an important role in the ecosystem, in addition to maintaining the ecological balance in the surrounding area.
• They have a significant impact on the creation and breakdown of organic wastes, the removal of atmospheric gases, and the control of water and nutrients across the ecosystem. With greater species diversity, the environment is more stable.
• They produce and decompose organic matter as well as capture and store energy. The ecosystem provides services that humans cannot live without.
• A diverse ecosystem is more productive and more resilient to environmental stress.

Economical Role of Biodiversity

• Biodiversity is a resource reservoir for the production of food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.
• In addition to serving as a source of energy, biodiversity plays a significant role in providing the raw materials for industrial goods like paper, rubber, wax, oils, lubricants, fragrances, and dyes.
• Crops, livestock, fishery, and forests are all excellent food sources.
• For medicinal purposes, wild plants such as Cinchona and Foxglove plant are used.
• Plant species provide wood, fibres, perfumes, lubricants, rubber, resins, poison, and cork.
• Tourism is generated by national parks and sanctuaries.
• Since ancient times, several plant species have been valued for their therapeutic properties.
• More than 70% of anti-cancer medications, it has been said, come from plants found in tropical rainforests.

Scientific Role of Biodiversity

Every species in the ecosystem contributes to the body of knowledge about how life developed on Earth and how important each species is to the ecosystem's sustainability.

Ethical Importance

• Every species has the right to exist.
• Humans should not be responsible for their voluntary extinction.
• Biodiversity protects various cultures and spiritual heritage.

Biodiversity - Threats

• Because of human activity, the pace of species extinction in the world is accelerating.
• "The Evil Quartet" is a term used to describe the four main reasons for diversity loss.
  • Habitat Loss and Fragmentation: Habitat loss and fragmentation are key contributors to the loss of species diversity and the extinction of plants and animals.
    • These factors include pollution, urbanization, and a variety of other human activities.
    • For instance, the Amazon rainforest (the planet's lungs), which is home to millions of species, is being cut down and removed for a variety of reasons.
    • Tropical rainforest, which once spanned 14% of the landmass, now only makes up about 6% of it.
• Overexploitation: Excessive use of natural resources causes many species to go extinct.
  • For instance, the passenger pigeon, Steller's sea cow, and several marine fish are overfished.
• Alien Species Invasions: Some alien species that are purposely or accidentally introduced can become invasive and wipe out native species.
  • For instance, the extinction of cichlid fish in Lake Victoria because the Nile perch was introduced
  • The indigenous catfish in rivers are in danger due to the illegal introduction of African catfish.
• Co-extinctions: Co-extinctions occur when two species that are related to one another go extinct at the same time. For instance, a parasite may become extinct along with its host fish.
  • When one species goes extinct, it also causes the extinction of other species, just like a plant-pollinator.

Threats to Species Diversity

Biodiversity - Conservation

• Every species contributes significantly to the environment. Diversity needs to be preserved because if it goes extinct, it is irreplaceable.
• In-situ Conservation: In-situ conservation refers to the protection of biodiversity-rich areas like biosphere reserves, national parks, and sanctuaries; preserving the Sunderbans for numerous threatened species, including the olive ridley sea turtle, mangrove species, and the royal Bengal tiger.
  • Hotspots for biodiversity have been found that are rich in species.
  • Globally, 34 hotspots have been identified; for instance, our country's Western Ghats, Sri Lanka, Indo-Burma, and Himalaya regions have significant biodiversity.
  • In many civilizations, wildlife and trees are given complete protection, such as in sacred groves.
• Ex-situ Conservation: Ex-situ conversations take place when endangered and threatened species are located, removed, and preserved in designated areas like botanical gardens, wildlife safaris, etc. with full protection.
  • Cryopreservation procedures are used to preserve the gametes of endangered species.
  • The seed bank houses the seeds of plants with significant economic value.

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Conclusion

Each species in an ecosystem plays a significant part in biodiversity. Thus the conservation of biodiversity is crucial for preserving the ecosystem's ecological balance and also for the survival of the human population. Besides, biodiversity can be best referred to as the key to building a sustainable future for the planet.