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What is Biodiversity? The variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems (Convention on Biological Diversity).
Changes in Biodiversity • Extinctions have always happened (e.g. dinosaurs) • Extinction rates have increased as human populations have increased • About 24% (1096) of world’s mammals and 11% (1107) of world’s birds are threatened
Why Biodiversity Loss?? • Direct through hunting and collection (e.g. dodo, whales) • Indirect through habitat destruction or degradation (e.g. tropical rain forests) • Global climate change in the future??