Biodiversity Environment
Biodiversity is not easily defined. Try What is Biodiversity? and Defining The 'B' Word for approaches with differing emphases. Below is a definition adapted from the World Resources Institute, World Conservation Union, and United Nations Environment Programme in Global Biodiversity Strategy 1992."Biodiversity is the totality of genes, species, and ecosystems in a region... Biodiversity can be divided into three hierarchical categories -- genes, species, and ecosystems -- that describe quite different aspects of living systems and that scientists measure in different ways.Genetic diversity refers to the variation of genes within species. This covers distinct populations of the same species (such as the thousands of traditional rice varieties in India) or genetic variation within a populations (high among Indian rhinos, and very low among cheetahs) ...Species diversity refers to the variety of species within a region. Such diversity can be measured in many ways, and scientists have not settled on a single best method. The number of species in a region -- its species richness -- is one often- used measure, but a more precise measurement, taxonomic diversity, also considers the relationship of species to each other. For example, an island with two species of birds and one species of lizard has a greater taxonomic diversity than an island with three species of birds but no lizards ...Ecosystem diversity is harder to measure than species or genetic diversity because the boundaries of communities -- associations of species -- and ecosystems are elusive. Nevertheless, as long as a consistent set of criteria is used to define communities and ecosystems, their numbers and distribution can be measured ..."Resources related to biodiversity or conservation as an issue or a topic of debate belong primarily in the relevant subcategory of Society/Issues/Environment. Related: (very comprehensive guide) Where should I submit my website about animals? Or, where will I find the animal topic I am looking for?
Top: Science: Environment: Biodiversity
See Also:
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Kind Planet Biodiversity - Introductory notes.
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Biodiversity Series - Full text online of UNEP-WCMC series of project results.
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Fauna and Flora International - Supports international conservation activities. Documents on methodology, working with NGOs, governments, communities; news, publications, photo gallery.
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Biodiversity Fact Sheet - What is biodiversity, what threatens it, why is it important, and what are ecologists doing to better understand it? From Ecological Society of America.
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What is Biological Diversity? - Overview and definitions.
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Biodiversity Frequently Asked Questions - Presents answers to common questions about biodiversity.
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Animal Info - Information on Rare, Threatened and Endangered Mammals - Biology, ecology, habitat, and status of rare, threatened and endangered species of mammals and information on their native countries: biodiversity, ecosystems, population, and land use.
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Biodiversity and Protected Areas - Introductory documents on understanding and conserving biodiversity.
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Species 2000 - Project to provide indexing and links for all known species as the baseline dataset for studies of global biodiversity.
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Mass Extinction Underway - Links to articles on biodiversity and species extinction.
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Introduction to Biodiversity Theory - Overview and definitions.
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Bibliography of Genetic Variation in Natural Populations - Searchable database of citations on natural populations of animals, plants, and microbes.
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Biodiversity Hotspots - Comprehensive information on 25 of the world's biologically richest and most threatened ecosystems.
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Biodiversity II: Understanding and Protecting Our Biological Resources - National Academy of Sciences report (1996) addresses new strategies and techniques for quantifying, understanding, and protecting biodiversity. Full text online.
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The Global Diversity Foundation - The Global Diversity Foundation documents, monitors and promotes agricultural, biological and cultural diversity around the world, particularly through training and research.
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Natural Resources and Biodiversity - Background papers from the World Resources Institute on social and political dimensions of environmental policy-making.
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Biodiversity in Urban Ecosystems - Links to sites about urban biodiversity.
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Industrial Reliance on Biodiversity - Provides an overview of the extent to which industry in the developed world relies on the biodiversity of the developing world. (FTP site).
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Biodiversity Theory - Overview of some theoretical basics of biodiversity.
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Biodiversity Economics - Explores the economic dimensions of the global biodiversity agenda as reflected in the work of IUCN and the various biodiversity conventions, notably the Convention on Biological Diversity.
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Canadian Biodiversity - Biological diversity: theory, patterns, ecological zones, species distributions, conservation issues, and legislation, with an emphasis on Canada. Bilingual: English/French.
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Biodiversity Web - Personally maintained website with information and links about several aspects of biodiversity: biological, ecological, physical, chemical, social (e.g., population growth), economical and juridical. Some links in Dutch language or of particular relevance
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Biodiversity and Its Value: Biodiversity Series, Paper No. 1 - Outlines what biodiversity is, and the three levels at which it is usually defined: genetic, species and ecosystem.
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Biodiversity Resource Center - A branch library of the California Academy of Sciences specializing in information on biodiversity. Bibiographies, links to news and educator resources.
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What is Biodiversity? - Different definitions used by resource managers and ecologists.
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DIVERSITAS Programme - International collaborative project with the goal of providing accurate scientific information and predictive models of the status of biodiversity and sustainability of the use of the Earth's biotic resources, and to build a world-wide capacity for the
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World Atlas of Biodiversity - Interactive maps of biodiversity and human impacts from the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.
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