Biodiversity
Biodiversity: n., the variety of the world's organisms, including their genetic makeup and the communities they form.
Biological diversity is the living wealth of this planet. From the kangaroo rat of the Sonoran Desert to the largest animal alive today, the blue whale, life on Earth comes in many shapes and sizes and exists in many very different places.
During the past 3.5 billion years, evolution has witnessed the rise and fall of many species. Natural changes in the Earth's climate challenge all life, transforming ecosystems from the lush, tropical forests of the dinosaur's reign to the frozen tundras of the Ice Age and beyond. Fossils of life once found in ancient oceans are today discovered in dry rock formations thousands of feet above sea level.
Our planet gradually changes over time. Only the species best able to adapt to these changes will survive to the next century, only to face new challenges to survival. Evolution has molded life on Earth in this way from the beginning.
Only in the last two centuries, merely a blink of an eye in evolutionary terms, have billions of years of nature's work been rapidly transformed by one species—Homo sapiens.
Human beings have dominated life on this planet through advancement in technologies, growth in population, development of land and exploitation of natural resources. Our impact upon the Earth's biodiversity has been greater than any other species.
Scientists have documented five mass extinctions in the Earth's history. Today, many believe we are experiencing the sixth, the greatest mass extinction since the dinosaurs disappeared.
Scientists estimate five million species inhabit the earth, but with undocumented discoveries, the number could be several times higher. Within the beginning of this century, we will lose over a quarter of the world's existing plant and animal species. Our planet's biodiversity, its living wealth, is being decimated.
Jane Goodall said, "Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference." Solving the ecological crisis we have created will require all our efforts.
Biodiversity and the National Parks
The national park system claims some of the most complete ecosystems and biodiversity remaining in this country. Over sixty percent of the endangered species in the U.S. are found within our national parks. The habitat preserved within park boundaries affords many species an oasis of survival and some of the last bastions of intact ecosystems found today.
But even the biodiversity found within our national parks is in jeopardy. From pollution to poaching, invasive species to habitat loss and fragmentation, these islands of life we call our national parks may not be enough to ensure the survival of those who call them home.
