Endangered Species Program

Biodiversity...what is it?

A good but somewhat technical definition of biodiversity: Biodiversity, or biological diversity, is the term for the variety of life and the natural processes of which living things are a part. This includes the living organisms and the genetic differences between them and the communities in which they occur. The concept of biodiversity represents the ways that life is organized and interacts on our planet. These interactions can take place on scales ranging from the smallest, at the chromosome level, to organisms, ecosystems, and even to entire landscapes.

Translation for kids:
Here's a challenge: Imagine if you can, every single living thing on Earth. There are millions of species of plants, birds, reptiles, mammals, fish, shellfish, amphibians, insects, arachnids (spiders), and microorganisms such as bacteria. Try to imagine them all, on a planet teeming with life. Don't forget to put yourself in the picture! Now think about what makes each one of those species different from the others. Got a headache yet? Think about what makes them look and act different, what different kinds of habitats and climates they all live in, what their different needs are, and how they interact with one another. If you can, imagine even what differences you'd see between them if you could look at each one through a very powerful microscope. If you can do this, you've got a good idea of what the term biodiversity means. It's a mind-boggling concept, because it covers Earth's variety of life in all its forms and processes. Biodiversity, which is a short form of the words biological diversity, is really about the ways that life is organized and interacts on our entire planet. And that's a lot to think about!

Biodiversity Metaphor:
Imagine this nightmare: You're sitting on a plane that's ready to take off, looking out the window. Suddenly a mechanic walks up to the wing and removes several of the rivets that hold the wing on. You wonder what he's up to, but then the plane takes off before you can find out, and you figure that a few less rivets won't make much difference anyway. At the next airport, two mechanics start removing rivets from the wing, and you start to worry. But the plane takes off again before you can find out what's going on. When you land again, five mechanics start removing rivets like crazy! Now you're really worried! How many rivets can be removed before the wing falls off and causes the plane to crash? Which rivet will be "the last one"? Before the plane takes off again, you wake up. This wouldn't be such a ridiculous scene, if it weren't for the fact that it's a good metaphor for what humans are doing to the complex web of life on this planet. If you compare species to the rivets on that plane's wing, it makes you wonder how many more species might disappear forever before our ecosystem or life on our planet is irreversibly damaged.

 

BACK to the Kids Corner

Last updated: January 16, 2008