Biodiversity is the range of different types of living organisms on Earth, from blue whales to sunflowers and zebras to microscopic bacteria. It’s the richness and variety of life, and without it, our planet wouldn’t sustain any living things.
We often think of biodiversity at the species level – the individual animals, plants, and microorganisms that make up a particular ecosystem. But biodiversity also includes genetic diversity, the range of genes within a single species. If a species has low genetic diversity, it will be less able to adapt to environmental changes, and may even become extinct.
Scientists work hard to protect and restore biodiversity, but some human activities can have major impacts on it. These include habitat destruction, overexploitation (including overfishing), pollution, climate change, and the spread of invasive species.
The benefits of biodiversity are many. In addition to the sheer beauty of natural areas, they provide food, fuel, fiber, and medicines. For example, crop pollination by insects is essential to global agriculture, and many modern medicines, such as antibiotics and painkillers, are derived from natural sources like plants and fungi.
Islands play a disproportionate role in biodiversity, hosting 20% of the world’s species despite taking up just 4% of the planet’s surface area. However, these “island-endemic” species are especially vulnerable to habitat destruction and other threats. They are also at risk of going extinct, with 80% of known extinctions occurring on islands. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature maintains a Red List of endangered species, which is updated regularly.
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