Name: why biodiversity matters in ecosystems
Uploaded: 2019-01-29T11:04:46.000Z
Duration: 5 min 41 s
Channel: JoVE

K12 Standards

north-carolina-k-12-science-standard-course-of-study

North Carolina K-12 Science Standard Course of Study

9-12

Earth and Environmental Science

Earth's Systems

ESS.EES.4.5

Measuring Biodiversity

Biodiversity. The word evokes the splendor of a great forest, or the teeming richness of the ocean, and is simply defined as the variety of organisms in an ecosystem of interest. To protect biodiversity, scientists must be able to measure it. This means figuring out how many different species are living together in a particular space. What is a convenient way to count species? 

Trying to count everything in an entire ecosystem would be impossible, so scientists use a tool called the quadrat, which is a frame of fixed size placed randomly in the environment in which to do the counting. After cataloging the species and individuals found in this small section, the process is repeated, placing more quadrats at random, or alternatively, at set positions along a line through the environment, referred to as a transect.

In order to then estimate the total number of species in an area, species accumulation curves are used. If the cumulative number of species found in a quadrat are plotted against the number of quadrats sampled, a curve will emerge. For example, in this data set, when four quadrats were investigated, it was found that there were 10 unique species. Six contained 17 and so on. The asymptote of this type of curve represents an estimate of the number of species supported by an environment. In this case, it&#39;s about 30. But while measuring diversity at a single site is incredibly useful, comparing sites over a greater area can give us an even larger scale indication of diversity. 

In 1972, the ecologist Robert Whittaker described three major kinds of biodiversity, alpha, beta, and gamma. Alpha diversity refers simply to the number of species in an area and is often referred to as species richness. For example, at this site there are seven different species, so the alpha score is seven. A second site, site B, has five species, and a third, site C, has seven. But by comparing between sites, we can determine what is called the beta diversity, the sum of species unique to each area. So if we compare site A with site B, we see three species in common between the two. Counting the remaining species, we find that there are six. This means that there is a beta diversity between site A and site B of six. Sites A and C also have three species in common, leaving eight unique ones. This is a beta diversity of eight. Sites B and C have two common species between them, or a beta diversity value of eight. Finally, gamma diversity is the number of different species in all sites combined. In this example, there is a gamma diversity of 12. So to summarize the three kinds of biodiversity, we can look at them this way, alpha, beta, and gamma. As well as recording diversity, scientists often refer to species evenness, meaning how many individuals of each type are present. For example, these two sites have the same richness, or alpha diversity, as they both have seven species. But site A is relatively overrun by rabbits with low numbers of the other species, whereas site B has a pretty even distribution of species, so it is considered to have greater evenness compared to site A. Scientists generally considered ecosystems with higher richness and evenness, i.e. many evenly distributed species, to be the healthiest. Disturbed habitats, often due to the actions of humans, like farming or pollution, often have poor richness and evenness. Being able to compare sites is critical because it allows researchers to determine the relative health of ecosystems. 
In this laboratory, you will carry out quadrat and transect sampling at three different environmental sites, as well as carrying out a laboratory simulation, and then analyze the data collected to describe the observed biodiversity.

measuring biodiversity

Diverse ecosystems are important for the health of the planet and our survival as humans; it is therefore incredibly important for us to understand and measure biodiversity, which is defined as the variability among living organisms in an ecosystem. Biodiversity can be measured at many different levels including genetic, species, community, and ecosystem. One way to measure biodiversity is to assess species richness of an ecosystem, which is the total number of distinct species within a local community. While having many species generally coincides with having a diverse and healthy ecosystem, the evenness also needs to be considered. Evenness refers to the equality of the proportion of each species within an area or community. For instance, when one species dominates the area while the others are very rare, the biodiversity in this area is lower than in an area with species of equal abundance. Therefore, areas with many species that are relatively equal in abundance have the highest values of biodiversity.

<h4>Estimating Biodiversity</h4>

The differences in richness and evenness between two communities can be visualized by rank-abundance curves. If the number of species is equal, the shape of the line can tell us which community is more diverse. If the line is flat, there is high evenness among species. However, if the line quickly dips, the evenness is low. If richness and evenness are both different between two communities, biologists must use equations to calculate diversity. These equations weight the importance of each component differently, and a consensus on which equation is the best at calculating diversity is still debated.

Sometimes there are too many species in an area that it is unrealistic to count every single species. For example, a single tree in the Amazon Rainforest may contain hundreds of species of beetles. To circumvent this problem, ecologists use sampling tools called quadrats. A quadrat is simply a frame with a known internal area. For example, to measure the species richness of a one-acre field of grass, ecologists randomly place the quadrat in the field and count the species within the quadrat, instead of counting all of the species within the acre. They may also systematically sample by using transect tapes. Transects are stretched across the field, and quadrats are then placed along the transect at regular intervals. This method is semi-random and ensures ample coverage of sampling across the entire field to estimate its biodiversity.

While quadrats and transects may pick up most of the species, some rare species may go unnoticed. In this case, ecologists may use a species accumulation curve, which represents the cumulative number of species seen in a series of quadrats. The y-axis of the curve represents the total number of observed species, whereas the x-axis represents the number of quadrats for which species have been enumerated. The total number of species in the first quadrat represents the first point on the graph. Each successive point represents the number of new species found in each new quadrat sampled, plus all of the species from the previous quadrats. At some point, there will be few or no additional species found in each new quadrat sampled, and the curve will approach an asymptote, which is an estimate of the total number of species present. Even if the asymptote is never reached because of many rare species, biologists can estimate the total number based on this curve.

If comparisons need to be made among different areas or scales, alpha, beta, and gamma diversity measures are used. Alpha-diversity (&#945;) refers to the number of species in an area. Beta-diversity (&#946;) compares two different areas and is the sum of species unique to each area. Gamma-diversity (&#947;) is the number of species in many areas combined into a region. By using these measures, biologists can get an idea of diversity over space, including both small and large scales.

<h4>Threats to Biodiversity and their Implications</h4>

Biodiversity around the world is threatened by pollution, climate change, and invasive species. A main underlying reason for efforts to maintain biodiversity is based on ecosystem functioning. Ecosystems are made up of many working parts, including primary producers, herbivores, carnivores, and detritivores, all of which contribute to ecosystem function. If species are lost, the ecosystem may collapse. And if the ecosystem collapses, the services that it provides to humans will as well. Tropical coral reefs are a good example of this concept1. Spikes in water temperatures cause corals to lose their symbiotic algae cells. Without the algae, corals begin to starve, die, then degrade and lose their structure. When corals decay, they no longer provide cover for fish and the abundance of fish species declines, which in turn affects local fishermen, and the people that rely on fish for sustenance. Over time, dead coral reefs degrade on a larger scale and no longer provide a buffer for adjacent coastlines, eventually eroding the coast and destroying islands. A highly diverse community is less likely to collapse because of functional redundancy2. For example, corals may vary in their sensitivity to high temperatures. If one coral is extremely sensitive to temperature, another may take its place in the community, but if there are only a few species, it is less likely that such a substitute will be available.

A significant number of medicines that we benefit from are a direct result of the diversity of life. The medicines that we now synthesize were once isolated from animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria. There is a whole industry devoted to the discovery of new potential medicines by scanning various species for the presence of bioactive compounds. For example, plants produce chemicals for defense against infection and herbivores. Spiders and snakes produce diverse venoms. Both classes of organisms have been the source of important medicines, like Taxol from yew trees, which treats breast, lung and ovarian cancers, or Ohanin from King Cobra venom, which is a painkiller3-4. Each species that becomes extinct may hold the key to curing currently untreatable diseases. The faster we lose those species, the smaller the chance of discovering solutions.

Once a species goes extinct, we will never be able to experience them. This type of thinking has driven the conservation of pandas, sea otters, and other charismatic animals. These species are called flagship species, and their conservation can result in protection of biodiversity. Even though these animals are only a small part of the whole ecosystem, preserving them means preserving the ecosystem they occupy. Efforts to save the sea otter on the West Coast of North America have resulted in healthy kelp forests housing many thousands of other species5. Without protection of the sea otters, herbivores like sea urchins, which are usually eaten by the otters, are capable of completely devouring kelp forests leaving barren rocks where very few species could survive.

<h4>References</h4>

<ol class="references">
	<li>Knowlton, Nancy. The future of coral reefs. PNAS. 2001, Vol. 98 , (10) 5419-5425.</li>
	<li>Andrea S. Downing, Egbert H. van Nes, Wolf M. Mooij, Marten Scheffer. The Resilience and Resistance of an Ecosystem to a Collapse of Diversity. PLoS One. . 2012; , Vol. 7(9): e46135.</li>
	<li>Wall, Monroe E. Camptothecin and taxol: Discovery to clinic. Med Res Rev. 1998, Vol. 18, 5 (299-314).</li>
	<li>Yuh Fen Pung, Peter T. H. Wong, Prakash P. Kumar, Wayne C. Hodgson, R. Manjunatha Kini. Ohanin, a Novel Protein from King Cobra Venom, Induces Hypolocomotion and Hyperalgesia in Mice. J Biol Chem. 2005, 280, 13137-13147.</li>
	<li>Estes, J.A., et al. Complex Trophic Interactions in Kelp Forest Ecosystems. Bulletin of Marine Science, Volume . 2004, Vol. 7, 3: 621-638.</li>
</ol>

Diverse ecosystems are important for the health of the planet and our survival as humans; it is therefore incredibly important for us to understand and ...

Education

JoVE Lab Manual

Biology

Ecology

why biodiversity matters in ecosystems

Biodiversity matters because it helps keep ecosystems healthy and stable. Biodiversity is the variety of living organisms in an ecosystem, and it can be measured at the genetic, species, community, and ecosystem levels. Ecologists often focus on species richness, which is the total number of different species in a local community. They also consider evenness, which describes how similar the abundances of those species are.

A community with many species is not always the most diverse if one species dominates. When species are more evenly distributed, biodiversity is higher than in a community where rare species make up only a small part of the total. Biologists can compare communities with rank-abundance curves. A flat curve shows high evenness, while a curve that drops quickly shows low evenness. If richness and evenness both differ, ecologists use equations to calculate diversity, although there is still debate about which equation works best.

Counting every organism is often impossible. A single tree in the Amazon Rainforest may hold hundreds of beetle species. To estimate biodiversity, ecologists use quadrats, which are frames with a known area. They place quadrats randomly in a field or along transects, which are tapes stretched across an area so samples can be taken at regular intervals. This approach helps cover the site while making the survey practical.

Even with quadrats and transects, rare species can be missed. Ecologists use species accumulation curves to track the total number of species found as more quadrats are sampled. The curve rises as new species appear and eventually approaches an asymptote, which gives an estimate of the total number of species in the area. If the asymptote is not fully reached, scientists can still estimate how many species are likely present.

Biologists also compare diversity across space with alpha, beta, and gamma diversity. Alpha-diversity is the number of species in one area. Beta-diversity compares two areas and includes the species unique to each one. Gamma-diversity measures the number of species across many areas in a region. Together, these measures show diversity at small and large scales.

Biodiversity is threatened by pollution, climate change, and invasive species. Ecosystems depend on many working parts, including primary producers, herbivores, carnivores, and detritivores. If species are lost, the ecosystem can collapse, and the services it provides to people can disappear too. Coral reefs show this clearly. When water temperatures rise, corals lose their symbiotic algae cells, then starve, die, and lose their structure. Fish lose cover, fish numbers decline, fishermen are affected, and damaged reefs can no longer protect coastlines from erosion.

High biodiversity can make a community more resistant to collapse because of functional redundancy. If one coral species is very sensitive to heat, another may be able to fill its role. With only a few species, that backup is less likely. Biodiversity also supports medicine. Many medicines were first isolated from animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria. Scientists continue to search species for bioactive compounds, such as Taxol from yew trees for cancer treatment and Ohanin from king cobra venom as a painkiller. Each extinct species may remove a possible source of future cures.

Conservation often focuses on flagship species such as pandas and sea otters. Protecting these animals can also protect the ecosystems they live in. On the West Coast of North America, efforts to save sea otters helped keep kelp forests healthy and full of many other species. Without otters, sea urchins can overgraze kelp forests and leave barren rocks with very few species able to survive.

Why Biodiversity Matters in Ecosystems

animal behavior

Drosophila Taxis in Animal Behavior

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energy dynamics

Food Chain Energy Flow and Biomass

Food chain energy flow shows how energy moves through ecosystems from one organism to the next. Energy cannot be created or destroyed, so it can only change form or be passed along to another organism. When a cow grazes on grass or an osprey eats fish, energy moves to the consumer. Each transfer is part of a trophic level, and these links help explain how ecosystems stay balanced. Primary producers sit at the base of the food chain. They are autotrophs, or self-feeding organisms, because they...

Biodiversity matters because it helps keep ecosystems healthy and stable. Biodiversity is the variety of living organisms in an ecosystem, and it can be measured at the genetic, species, community, and ecosystem levels. Ecologists often focus on species richness, which is the total number of different species in a local community. They also consider evenness, which describes how similar the abundances of those species are. A community with many species is not always the most diverse if one...

extinction

Mass Extinction and the Fossil Record

Mass extinction is a major loss of species, and the fossil record shows how these events changed life on Earth. Fossils from different rock layers helped scientists see that life has a long history. In the early 19th century, that idea helped launch paleontology, the study of fossils and ancient life. At first, many scientists did not fully accept that a species could disappear forever. They thought unknown organisms seen only in fossils might still live in unexplored places on Earth. By 1859,...

species distribution and biogeography

Island Biogeography and Species Richness

Island biogeography explains why species are found in some places and not others. It looks at how biotic factors, like competition and predation, and abiotic factors, like habitat size and distance, shape birth, death, immigration, and emigration rates. For a species to avoid local extinction, births and immigration must match or exceed deaths and emigration. Edward O. Wilson and Robert MacArthur helped define this field in 1967 by studying isolated oceanic islands. Islands gave early...

population growth

Population Models and Carrying Capacity

Population ecology examines how a species population changes over time. A population is a group of individuals of the same species living in the same area at the same time. To persist, a population must grow or at least stay about the same size. Ecologists study birth rate, death rate, and age distribution to understand whether a population is increasing, declining, or at risk of extinction. Population ecologists use models to predict how population size changes. Two simple models are...

community diversity

Measuring Ecosystem Health

Ecosystem health is measured by looking at how species, habitats, and nonliving conditions interact in the same area. An ecological community includes many populations that live together and affect one another. When biotic parts, or living parts, also interact with abiotic parts, or nonliving parts, they form an ecosystem. These systems can be very small, like microbes in the human digestive tract, or very large, like a forest linked by the carbon cycle. Ecologists study ecosystem health...

climate change

Climate Change Effects on Sea Level and Species

Climate change affects Earth’s average temperature, sea level, and living things. Scientists distinguish climate from weather by time scale. Weather describes short-term conditions in one place, such as temperature and precipitation. Climate describes those same conditions over long periods, and global climate is measured using data from across the entire Earth. Researchers track climate change with help from meteorology, geography, oceanography, and computer models. Much of this work focuses...

group behavior

Hawk-Dove Strategy in Animal Populations

Hawk-dove strategy helps explain how animals compete and cooperate in populations. Organisms often face costs when they try to get food, shelter, or mates. Because of that, individuals can use different behavioral strategies to gain an advantage. This is clear in polymorphic mating systems, where one sex, usually males, uses more than one mating strategy. For example, dominant male sea lions defend groups of females on the beach. Non-dominant males stay in or near the water and try to mate...

optimal foraging

Patch Use in Optimal Foraging

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sexual selection and mate choice

Mate Competition and Fitness Traits

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eusociality and division of labor

Honeybee Altruism and Inclusive Fitness

Eusociality is a highly organized form of animal social life. It includes division of labor, where different individuals take on different roles in the group. In these systems, some animals help others even when it comes at a cost to their own survival or reproduction. That self-sacrificing behavior is called altruism. Early evolutionary biologists used to explain fitness only at the level of the individual. Observations of eusocial species, such as honeybees, challenged that idea. W. D.

ecology

Learn how biodiversity is measured with richness, evenness, quadrats, and diversity curves, and why it protects ecosystems, medicine, and conservation.

Why Biodiversity Matters in Ecosystems | JoVE K12

Louisiana Student Standards for Science

High School

Earth Science

Human Sustainability

HS-ESS3-3

Life Sciences

ecosystems-interactions-energy-and-dynamics

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy And Dynamics

HS-LS2-7

Environmental Science

Tennessee Academic Standards

Biological Change: Unity and Diversity

BIO1.LS4.3

Virginia  Standards of Learning

HIgh School

BIO.8

BIO.8.d

new-jersey-student-learning-standards-for-science

New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Science

Life Science

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

HS-LS2-2

Arizona Science Standards

HS+B.L2

HS+B.L2U1.1

Alabama Course of Study Science

Ecosystems: Interactions Energy and Dynamics

9-12.B.2.9

Unity and Diversity

9-12.EVS.2.3.a

Next Generation Science Standards

heredity-inheritance-and-variation-of-traits

Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

HS-LS4-6

Earth and Space Science

Earth’s Systems

HS-ESS2-6

Florida Department of Education

SC.912.L.15

SC.912.L.15.3

south-carolina-college-and-career-ready-science-standards

South Carolina College and Career Ready Science Standards

Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

B-LS4-6.

Georgia Standards of Excellence

SEV2.

SEV2.a

new-york-state-science-learning-standards

New York State Science Learning Standards

interdependent-relationships-in-ecosystems

Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems

HS-LS2-2.

HS-LS2-7.

Earth and Space Sciences

HS-ESS2-7.

Entomology

SEN1.

SEN1.c

SEC5.

SEC5.c

SB5.a

Set up quadrats, transects, and a bead-based diversity simulation to compare plant species in different habitats and explore richness and evenness.

Sampling Plant Diversity with Quadrats | JoVE K12

Measure plant biodiversity with quadrats and transects, then compare richness and evenness using bead models, species curves, and rank abundance graphs.

Biodiversity Sampling with Quadrats and Beads | JoVE K12

Igneous Volcanic Rock

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Igneous Intrusive Rock

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using-topographic-maps-to-generate-topographic-profiles

Using Topographic Maps to Generate Topographic Profiles

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Determining Spatial Orientation of Rock Layers with the Brunton Compass

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Making a Geologic Cross Section

Source: Laboratory of Alan Lester - University of Colorado Boulder
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Use models to explain how mantle convection powers plate tectonics.

ESS.EES.2.1

Analyze and interpret data to predict locations of volcanoes and earthquakes based on plate boundaries.

ESS.EES.2.2

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An Overview of Alkenone Biomarker Analysis for Paleothermometry

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Topographic Surveying and Contours

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Plotting of Topographic Maps

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Methods of Obtaining Topography

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Use models to explain how plate tectonics influence topography.

ESS.EES.2.3

The Soil Ecosystem

Plants obtain inorganic minerals and water from the soil, which acts as a natural medium for land plants. The composition and quality of soil depend not ...

Conditions on Early Earth

What are Biogeochemical Cycles?

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The Water Cycle

The Earth&rsquo;s hydrosphere includes all of the areas where the storage and movement of water occurs. Since water is the basis of all living processes, ...

The Nitrogen Cycle

Nitrogen atoms, present in all proteins and DNA, are recycled between abiotic and biotic components of the ecosystem. However, the primary form of ...

The Phosphorus Cycle

Unlike carbon, water, and nitrogen, phosphorus is not present in the atmosphere as a gas. Instead, most phosphorus in the ecosystem exists as compounds, ...

The Sulfur Cycle

Sulfur, an important element in the chemical makeup of proteins, is recycled through the atmosphere and aquatic and terrestrial environments. Found in the ...

Bioremediation

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Carry out investigations to explain how the rock cycle and rates of weathering, erosion, and soil formation influence Earth's systems.

ESS.EES.2.4

What is Climate?

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What is Weather?

Overview

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Variation of Atmospheric Pressure

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Analyze and interpret data to explain how volcanic activity influences changes in Earth's atmosphere, geosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere.

ESS.EES.2.5

States of Water

Water exists in any one of the three classical states: solid (ice), liquid (water), and gas (steam or water vapor). The state of water depends on i) the ...

The potential of hydrogen (pH) is a measure of the acidity or basicity of a water-based solution determined by the concentration of hydronium ions (H3O+). ...

Solvents

A solvent is a substance, most often a liquid, that can dissolve other substances. Here, the substance being dissolved is called a solute. When a solvent ...

Redox Reactions

Oxidation-reduction or redox reactions involve the transfer of electrons from one molecule or atom to another. When an atom gains an electron, another ...

Adhesion

Adhesion occurs when one type of molecule is attracted to a different molecule. Water exhibits adhesive properties in the presence of polar surfaces, such ...

Cohesion

Cohesion is the attraction between molecules of the same type, such as water molecules. Water molecules have an overall neutral charge but are polar ...

Specific Heat

The specific heat capacity of a substance refers to the energy required to increase the temperature of one gram of that substance by one degree Celcius. ...

Vaporization

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Solubility Equilibria: Ionic Product of Water

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Carry out investigations to explain the properties of water.

ESS.EES.3.1

Energy

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Energy Basics

Chemical reactions, such as those that occur when you light a match, involve changes in energy as well as matter.

Chemical changes and their accompanying ...

Use models to explain how water is an agent of energy transfer.

ESS.EES.3.2

Analyze how the geosphere is shaped by plate tectonics and the rock cycle.

Why Biodiversity Matters in Ecosystems

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