BIOA02H3 Chapter 49.5: 49.5

• School: UTSC
• Department: Biological Sciences
• Course: BIOA02H3
• Professor: Ivana Stehlik

Document Summary

Biodiversity patterns re ect natural selection, functional biology, ecological interactions among species, distribution of physical environments, and human activities. Biodiversity is threatened by habitat destruction, overexploitation, invasive species, global change. Conservation biology efforts by biologists and policymakers to address the challenge of sustaining biodiversity in a changing world crowded with people. At the broadest level, they want to sustain our shared heritage of global species richness. Biodiversity hotspots relatively small areas that have unusually high numbers of endemic species and that are under threat from human activities. Hotspots represent 2% of the land surface but support over half of the world"s endemic plant species and nearly 43% of endemic bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species high priorities for conservation efforts. Biodiversity provides important ecosystem services (bene ts to humans) including cleaner air and water, greater primary productivity, and improved resilience to environmental disruption and untapped sources of food and molecular compounds.