What is biodiversity? How do ecosystems function when there is low biodiversity

Question

What is biodiversity?

How do ecosystems function when there is low biodiversity versus when there is high biodiversity?

Why does Costa Rica have high biodiversity?

Why biodiversity is considered important for the functioning of an ecosystem?

What are the limits of ecotourism in protecting the environment?

Evaluation Criteria:
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Did you explain what biodiversity is?

Did you compare how ecosystems function when there is low biodiversity versus when there is high biodiversity?

Did you explain why Costa Rica has high biodiversity?

Did you address why biodiversity is considered important for ecosystem function?

Did you describe the limits of ecotourism in protecting the environment?

Explanation / Answer

1- Biodiversity

Biodiversity, short for biological diversity, is the term used to describe the variety of life found on Earth and all of the natural processes. This includes ecosystem, genetic and cultural diversity, and the connections between these and all species.The different aspects of biodiversity all have a very strong influence on each other. We have only just started to understand the relationships between living things and their environments. It is helpful to think of an ecosystem as a woven carpet; if you pull on a loose thread it might only affect the thread and those closest to it or it might unravel the whole carpet.Biodiversity also helps us in our day-to-day lives. Unfortunately, the greenhouse gases produced by human activities are building up in the atmosphere and causing climate change. Climate change is a major threat to biodiversity.

Ecosystems function when there is low biodiversity versus when there is high biodiversity

he diversity of species and genes in ecological communities affects the functioning of these communities. These ecological effects of biodiversity in turn affect both climate change through enhanced greenhouse gases, aerosols and loss of land cover, and biological diversity, causing a rapid loss of ecosystems and extinctions of species and local populations. The current rate of extinction is sometimes considered a mass extinction, with current species extinction rates on the order of 100 to 1000 times as high as in the past.

The two main areas where the effect of biodiversity on ecosystem function have been studied are the relationship between diversity and productivity, and the relationship between diversity and community stability. More biologically diverse communities appear to be more productive (in terms of biomass production) than are less diverse communities, and they appear to be more stable in the face of perturbations.Also animals that inhabit an area may alter the surviving conditions by factors assimilated by climate.

Costa Rica has one of the highest concentrations of plant and animal species in the world. The country itself accounts for .03 percent of the earth's surface, yet within its borders lies 5 percent of all known plants and animal species.

Costa Rica have high biodiversity

One of the reasons for this high biological concentration is the variety of terrain, which transitions from wetlands to mountains to river valleys to arid plains, as well as the country's position between both the North and South American continents. The Corcovado National Park along the South Pacific is one of the most biologically diverse places in the country.Besides the unparalleled density of biodiversity, Costa Rica is committed to protecting large swaths of land, replanting and re-growing forests and enabling visitors to safetly explore parks and reserves.

Threats to Costa Rica

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