Biodiversity and Conservation

Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth. It encompasses far more than a simple count of species and is essential to the healthy functioning of ecosystems and to human wellbeing. As human activity accelerates the loss of biodiversity, understanding what it is and how to protect it has become one of biology's most urgent concerns.

Types of biodiversity

Biodiversity is usually described at three levels:

• Genetic diversity: The variety of genes and alleles within a species. High genetic diversity gives a population the raw material to adapt to changing conditions and resist disease. Populations with low genetic diversity are more vulnerable to extinction.
• Species diversity: The variety of different species in an area. This includes both species richness (the number of species present) and