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What is Biodiversity?

What is Biodiversity?

Biodiversity describes the variety of living things at multiple organizational levels: genetic, species and ecosystem diversity. Species diversity includes all branches of the evolutionary tree from single-celled prokaryotic organisms, bacteria, and archaea, to the eukaryotic kingdoms: plants; animals; fungi; and protists. To date, there have been about 1.75 million species identified, and new species are discovered every week.

What is Conservation Biology?

What is Conservation Biology?

Conservation biology is a scientific field that focuses on the preservation of biodiversity in order to protect ecosystems while meeting the needs of the human population. Humans require properly functioning ecosystems to maintain our supply of natural resources, including food, medicines, and building materials.

Threats to Biodiversity

Threats to Biodiversity

There have been five major extinction events throughout geological history, resulting in the elimination of biodiversity, followed by a rebound of species that adapted to the new conditions. In the current geological epoch, the Holocene, there is a sixth extinction event in progress. This mass extinction has been attributed to human activities and is thus provisionally called the Anthropocene. In 2019 the human population reached 7.7 billion people and is projected to comprise 10 billion by...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 17, 2025

A Concoction Pipeline for Generating Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs) Among Riparian and Aquatic Beetles

A Concoction Pipeline for Generating Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs) Among Riparian and Aquatic Beetles

Published on: July 11, 2025

Invertebrate biodiversity and conservation.

Nico Eisenhauer¹, Jes Hines¹

¹German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.

Current Biology : CB

|October 12, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Human activities are rapidly altering biodiversity, threatening essential ecosystem services. This study highlights the critical, yet overlooked, role of invertebrates in maintaining Earth's ecological balance and calls for their conservation.

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Last Updated: Oct 17, 2025

A Concoction Pipeline for Generating Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs) Among Riparian and Aquatic Beetles

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Published on: July 11, 2025

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Published on: January 19, 2020

Area of Science:

Ecology
Conservation Biology
Zoology

Background:

Biodiversity is declining globally due to human activities, impacting ecosystem services.
Current understanding of biodiversity trends relies heavily on charismatic species (plants, vertebrates), neglecting invertebrates.
Invertebrates constitute 75% of described species and exhibit vast taxonomic and functional diversity.

Purpose of the Study:

To emphasize the crucial ecological roles of invertebrates.
To advocate for increased research and conservation efforts focused on invertebrates.
To highlight the underrepresentation of invertebrates in biodiversity studies.

Main Methods:

Review of existing literature on invertebrate diversity and ecological roles.
Analysis of taxonomic data to quantify invertebrate representation in Earth's species.
Synthesis of information on ecosystem services provided by invertebrates.

Main Results:

Invertebrates represent 31 out of 32 animal phyla and approximately 75% of all described species.
Invertebrates exhibit extraordinary morphological and functional diversity across all realms.
Invertebrates are fundamental to numerous ecosystem services and disservices.

Conclusions:

Invertebrate diversity is essential for ecosystem function and services.
The conservation and study of invertebrates are paramount for future ecological research and policy.
A paradigm shift is needed to include invertebrates in biodiversity assessments and conservation strategies.