Biodiversity Section 3

1. BiodiversitySection 3 Masterton 2011

2. Biodiversity – the number and variety of organisms found in a specific area (e.g. a single ecosystem, a biome, a country, a continent, the planet) For biodiversity to remain high, diverse ecosystems have to remain sustainable. By protecting individual species and their ecosystems we are helping to maintain global biodiversity

3. Newly Discovered Species Satanic leaf-tailed gecko Madagascar Sensitive to ongoing habitat destruction Walking shark Indonesia Walks along coral reefs Can swim Feeds on shrimp, crabs, molluscs

4. Measuring Biodiversity • Canopy fogging – tree canopy misted with insecticide and then insects collected in funnel when they fall down • Quadrats – square placed on ground and species counted. Repeated to get accurate representation • Transects – rope or tape, intervals where counts made and recorded • Netting – birds, bats. Organism identified, tagged, blood tested

5. Canada’s Biodiversity • currently over 71 000 species of plants and animals in Canada but there may be as many again still to be discovered • faces its greatest threat in Canada from competing land uses such as agriculture and urbanization • Assignment – use below website to answer questions on Canada’s Biodiversity worksheet http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?id=222

6. Homework • Complete website worksheet • p 94 Q 3, 5, 6, 7, 8