Biodiversity and Conservation Lecture

Practice flashcards covering definitions, levels, importance, and threats to biodiversity, with a focus on specific pharmaceutical sources and Philippine ecological status.

Biodiversity

The variety and diversity of life forms (number of kinds) in an area, which increases the stability of an ecosystem and contributes to the health of the biosphere.

Extinction

A process that happens when an entire species permanently disappears from the biosphere due to the death of the species' last member.

Ecosystem Diversity

The variety of ecosystems present in the biosphere, consisting of interacting populations and the abiotic factors that support them.

Species Diversity

A measure of the number of different species and the relative abundance of each species in a biological community.

Genetic Diversity

The variety of genes or inheritable characteristics in a population, which serves as a basis for evolution and increases survival chances during environmental changes.

Healthy Ecosystem

An ecosystem that is able to support high biological diversity.

Stressed Ecosystem

An ecosystem that may not have the capacity to support high biological diversity.

Biomes

Large-scale geographic regions such as Tundra, Boreal forest, and Tropical forest that serve as examples of ecosystem diversity.

Habitat Destruction

A major cause of animal extinctions accounting for approximately $36\%$ of known cases since $1600$.

Species Introductions

The leading cause of animal extinctions since $1600$, accounting for approximately $39\%$ of known cases.

Over Exploitation

The excessive harvesting of species for food, medicine, and other human sustenance, leading to extinction.

Megadiverse Countries

A group of $17$ nations, including the Philippines, that house a significant portion of the world's rarest wildlife and endemic species.

Endemic Species

Species that are native or restricted to a specific geographic area, such as the $49\%$ of terrestrial wildlife recorded in the Philippines.