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Humans and the Environment. 22.1 BioDiversity. BioDiversity. The Variety of forms of life in an area. Measured by Species Diversity Species richness refers to the number of unique species within an area
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Humans and the Environment 22.1 BioDiversity
BioDiversity • The Variety of forms of life in an area. • Measured by Species Diversity • Species richness refers to the number of unique species within an area • Species evenness refers to the relative number of individuals of each species in an area. (often more important to the survival of a species in a changing environment) • Measured by Genetic Diversity • Amount of genetic variation for all members in the population
Human Influence • Pollution – putting substances that cause unintended harm into the air, water, or soil. • Many human activities disrupt ecosystems • Possible effects: • Smog, acid precipitation, ozone thinning, global warming, land and water pollution
Biomagnification • Caused by the pollution by humans of land and water by disposing of waste (sewage and unused materials / chemicals released from factories) • Chemicals often are toxic and can cause cancer • Some chemicals are not directly harmful, but do cause damage to ecosystems
Biomagnification (cont) • Occurs when chemicals enter the ecosystem and become more concentrated in an organism that is higher on the food chain.