Have you ever dreamed of traveling to an unexplored planet; of encountering bizarre animals and plants never before seen by human eyes? Well, pinch yourself, wake up, and get started! You live on an unexplored planet — it's Planet Earth!
For years, scientists
believed that there were about 2 million species on earth. But that
low number is history! Since scientists began focusing on
the tropics, and particularly the canopy
of the tropical rain forest, we have learned that we have no
idea how many species there are. Ten million is a low
estimate, and some say the number could reach 100 million!
These new estimates are largely due to the discovery
of thousands of insect species, but two new bird species are discovered
each year, and scientists occasionally come across unknown
monkeys, rodents, and hoofed-animals too. Remember, eleven
species of whales were discovered in
this century!
Biodiversity is the word commonly used
to describe the amazing variety
of life found on our planet. It's a short way of saying “ biological
diversity,” and it includes everything from blue whales
to bacteria, fungi, plants; every living thing.
But it's more than just species. Biodiversity also includes the
different ecosystems-like rain forests,
wetlands, deserts, grasslands,
and coral reefs. And it also includes the variety within species-the
genes that make each individual in
a species different from the rest.
The great German zoologist Karl von Frish
dedicated his life to the study of honeybees.
He said the honeybee is like a magic well:
the more you draw from it, the more there is to draw. A person can
choose any species, study it for a
lifetime, and still leave unanswered
questions. But as amazing as individual species are, the
truly mind-boggling aspect of our planet
is that each species is part of a multi-million-piece jigsaw
puzzle. All of this glorious life is connected,
and humans - that's right, each one of us - is
connected to the puzzle in ways we are just beginning to understand.
Never before has earth had so many species - so much biodiversity.
And yet having just discovered that we are living in a biological
treasure house, we find that it is
in the process of being demolished.
We are losing species at a rate not
seen since the end of the Age of Dinosaurs,
65 million years ago. Some scientists think that many species will
disappear in the next 40 years. Why?
Habitats are the places animals live and get the food, water, shelter, and space they need to survive. Destruction of habitat is the main reason we are losing biodiversity. Other important reasons include:
Live Simply So That Others May Simply Live
In Your Own Backyard
We live on a largely unexplored
planet
Biodiversity is the word
commonly used to describe the variety
of life found on our planet.
All life is interconnected
in ways we are just beginning to understand.
Biodiversity is disappearing
because of habitat loss, introduced
species, pollution, human population
growth, and over-consumption of natural resources.
