Given the
ongoing biodiversity loss that seems to be happening everywhere around the
globe, it's really no wonder that ecologists try to measure biodiversity as
they hope that this may lead to more success in conservation and help many
species from going extinct.
Measuring
biodiversity focuses on three main factors:
-
- the
number of species in a given area (the richness of species).
-
- the
relation between the species in an area (how close is relation between one
species to another).
-
- different
variations in biological and ecological characteristics across an area or the
so called trait diversity (this mostly refers to ecosystem resilience against
disturbance from non-native elements).
Why is
important to measure biodiversity in as much areas as possible? The answer is
quite simple – Measuring biodiversity gives researchers the knowledge so they can
prioritize the areas that need the most protection, so these areas could be
turned into national parks, reserves or some other forms of protected areas.
However, it
is very difficult to quantify these three factors and decide which areas need
protection the most. The current practice was all about protecting areas with
the largest number of threatened species but the things aren’t that easy.
There are
also several major environmental issues that need to be put into the
biodiversity equation such as climate change, pollution, deforestation and
ocean acidification. This makes measuring biodiversity extremely complex and
often leads to inadequate conservation efforts.
From the
current point of view, it is very difficult to recognize the methods that could
lead to successful protection of threatened species. The interaction between so
many different factors often leads to guesses and estimates, even despite the
advanced scientific approach.
Science,
however, still remains our only weapon against the biodiversity loss. New
studies will hopefully help conservations to better protect threatened species across
the globe.
No comments:
Post a Comment