Biodiversity and Stability

Biodiversity is a term that describes how

varied living things are in a specific area.

Organisms are part of biodiversity and may be

economically and ecologically valuable.Their
products are source of food, medicine,
clothing, shelter, and energy.These organisms
are also important in maintaining balance in
the ecosystem as they performing their
specific roles. Some species maintain the
quality of natural bodies of water; some
prevent soil erosion and floods,cycle minerals
in the soil and absorb pollutants.Others feed
on insects and pests which control the
population of organisms in a certain
environment , thus making the ecosystem
balance and stable.
The value of species can be divided into
various categories:

1. Direct economic value

The species is considered to have direct
economic value if their products are sources
of food, medicine, clothing, shelter, and
energy.
For example, some medicines being used
nowadays have formulations extracted from
plants or animals. Vinblastine and vincristine
are two chemicals that have been extracted
from rosy periwinkle (tsitsira in Tagalog) and
are used in chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s
disease and some form of cancer, including
lymphocytic leukemia. Another common plant,
Vitex negundo (lagundi) is extracted for cough
syrup production.
2. Indirect economic value
A species has an indirect economic value if
there are benefits produced by the organism
without using them.
For example, certain species maintain the
chemical quality of natural bodies of water,
prevent soil erosion and floods, cycle
materials in the soil, and absorb pollutants.

3. Aesthetic value
A lot of species provides visual or artistic
enjoyment, like a forested landscape and the
calming beauty of a natural park; or they may
be used for spiritual meditation like the
Prayer Mountains.

Biodiversity is very important because it

sustains through flow of energy the food web
on earth and contributes to environmental
stability.
Stability of an ecosystem can be described as
the resilience to withstand changes that may
occur in the environment. There are many
changes that occur in the environment which
may be a result of natural or human activities.
These changes may severely reduce
biodiversity and result to the instability of the
ecosystem.

The Ups and Downs of Population Growth

A population is a group of organisms of

the same species that live in a certaion area.
Ecologists regularly monitor the number of
organisms in many populations.