Passage I: Life on Earth
Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth. It includes diversity at the genetic level, such as that
between individuals in a population or between plant varieties, the diversity of species, and the
diversity of ecosystems and habitats. Biodiversity encompasses more than just variation in
appearance and composition. It includes diversity in abundance (such as the number of genes,
individuals, populations or habitats in a particular location), distribution (across locations and
through time) and in behavior, including interactions among the components of biodiversity, such as
between pollinator species and plants, or between predators and prey. Biodiversity also
incorporates human cultural diversity, which can be affected by the same drivers as biodiversity, and
which has impacts on the diversity of genes, other species and ecosystems.
Biodiversity has evolved over the last 3.8 billion years or so of the planet’s approximately 5 billionyear
history. Although five major extinction events have been recorded over this period, the large
number and variety of genes, species and ecosystems in existence today are the ones with which
human societies have developed, and on which people depend.
Source: Neville Ash and Asghar Fazel. 2013. Chapter 5 Biodiversity [Online]. Available at:
http://www.unep.org/geo/geo4/report/05_Biodiversity.pdf. Access date: June 6, 2013.
Passage I: Life on EarthBiodiversity is the variety of life on Earth. It includes diversity at the genetic level, such as thatbetween individuals in a population or between plant varieties, the diversity of species, and thediversity of ecosystems and habitats. Biodiversity encompasses more than just variation inappearance and composition. It includes diversity in abundance (such as the number of genes,individuals, populations or habitats in a particular location), distribution (across locations andthrough time) and in behavior, including interactions among the components of biodiversity, such asbetween pollinator species and plants, or between predators and prey. Biodiversity alsoincorporates human cultural diversity, which can be affected by the same drivers as biodiversity, andwhich has impacts on the diversity of genes, other species and ecosystems.Biodiversity has evolved over the last 3.8 billion years or so of the planet’s approximately 5 billionyearhistory. Although five major extinction events have been recorded over this period, the largenumber and variety of genes, species and ecosystems in existence today are the ones with whichhuman societies have developed, and on which people depend.Source: Neville Ash and Asghar Fazel. 2013. Chapter 5 Biodiversity [Online]. Available at:http://www.unep.org/geo/geo4/report/05_Biodiversity.pdf. Access date: June 6, 2013.
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