This Cool Australia Powerpoint will help secondary students understand the three levels of biodiversity and why we should conserve biodiversity.

1. Biodiversity
Year 9 & 10

2. Biodiversity is not simply
the variety of plants and animals
on Earth…

3. Biodiversity is…..
The total of all living organisms found on Earth:
plants, animals, microorganisms
and
the genes they contain
and
the ecosystems they are a part of.

4. There are three levels of biodiversity
1. Genetic
diversity
2. Species
diversity
3. Ecosystem
diversity

5. 1. Genetic diversity
Genes are the basic units of heredity!
High genetic diverse means there is a great
variety of genes that are present in the
population. This maximizes the adaptive
potential for a species and reduces it vulnerably
to change.

6. 1. Genetic diversity continued…
Although a species may look the same, genetic
diversity in a population is essential for survival.
High genetic diversity maximises survival potential
of a species by:
-increasing the number of different alleles in the
gene pool
-increasing the chance of adaptation to
change/threat

7. 2. Species diversity
A species is a group of organisms capable of
interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.
For example: A donkey and a horse are from
different species because their offspring is
infertile.

8. 2. Species Diversity continued…
Two types:
• Species richness: the
number of different
species in a particular
area
• Species abundance: the
amount (abundance) of
individual species in a
particular area

9. Compare Species Richness and
Species Diversity in these two samples
Sample 1 Sample 2

10. 3. Ecosystem Diversity
Different species depend on a variety of
ecosystems.
Common ecosystems include:
Forests, Rainforest, Woodlands, Shrublands,
Marine, Freshwater, Estuarine, Heath, Grassl
and, Tundra, Alpine, Desert, Riparian, Wetlan
ds

11. Let’s reflect…
What is an ecosystem?
A community of organisms that depend upon and
interact with each other and the abiotic factors
surrounding them.
What is a community?
A number of populations of different species
interacting within a particular region.
What is a population?
Groups of organisms belonging to the one species
and living together in an area

12. Ecosystems
Any group of living (biotic) and non-living
(abiotic) things that are connected together in a
self-sustaining way are called ecosystems.
An ecosystem can be as large as a desert or
lake, or as small as a tree or puddle!

13. What are the major parts of an ecosystem?
All non-living components of an ecosystem are
ABIOTIC. For example, a rock or humidity.
All living parts of an ecosystem are known as BIOTIC.
For example, a bush or lizard.
Sort the following ecosystem parts into abiotic and
biotic components:
Soil, kangaroo, atmosphere, cactus,
sunlight, water, bacteria

14. Did you know…
Earth has existed for 4.5 billion years.
Life has existed on Earth for 3.5 billion years.
Life today is therefore a result of evolution that has
taken place over those 3.5 billion years.
Modern humans have only existed for only 100,000
years but we are having negative effects on
biodiversity!

15. Threats to Biodiversity
Humans have been damaging our biosphere
and ecosystems, which is affecting our
biodiversity!
What has happened in these pictures below?

16. The Sixth Mass Extinction
• Many scientists believe that that we are in
a period of mass extinction caused by
humans.
• Globally, humans have caused the
extinction of a total of 86 flora and 723
fauna.

17. Why conserve biodiversity?
1. Ecosystem Services
2. Biological Resources
3. Social Benefits

18. 1. Ecosystem services
• Clean drinking water
• Soil formation and protection
• Nutrient storage and cycling
• Pollution breakdown and
absorption
• Contribution to climate stability
• Maintenance of ecosystems
• Pollination of crops

19. 2. Biological Resources
• Food
• Medicines
• Resources use
• Ornamental plants
• Breeding stocks and population
reservoirs

20. 3. Social Benefits
• Education
• Recreation and research
• Cultural
• Aesthetic

21. Conservation
We need high levels of
biodiversity for clean
air, food, fresh
water, clothes, energy
and medicine.
Without
biodiversity, life for
humans would be both
dull and dangerous. So
we must conserve it.

22. Conservation Categories
The International Union for
Conservation of Nature (ICUN) Red
List is a global list of threatened
species.
It divides animals into categories such
as:
• Vulnerable
• Endangered
• Critically Endangered
• Extinct in the wild
• Extinct

25. Although humans have been changing the Australian
landscape for 50,000 years or more, the changes in the
last 200 years have caused a terrible loss of
soil, vegetation and biodiversity.
This sounds bad! What on earth are we humans doing
to cause all this?

26. Human Changes
• Pollution: Pollution of our
oceans, our air, our rivers and
our land. Pollution from
cars, industries, energy
production, and manufacturing.
• Over-fishing in our oceans has
drastically reduced fish
stocks, to the point of
extinction in some cases.

27. • Feral plants and animals
continue to cause devastation
to native plant and animal
communities, including those
in our oceans.
• Over-consumption:
We’re simply buying and eating
and consuming too much stuff!
• Climate change will potentially
cause further problems and
threats to biodiversity.

28. Habitat loss: We’ve been clearing or damaging the natural
environment to make way for all the stuff that we need (like
building houses, grazing sheep and cows, and growing food) that
there aren’t many healthy habitats left for our native plants and
animals.
THEN NOW

29. It’s not all bad
There are things that you can do to help stop
the damage to biodiversity.
And there are lots of people who are already
working hard to help protect and restore our
biodiversity. But they do need your help. In
fact, they need the help of everybody!
• So what can you do?

30. Tips for helping biodiversity

31. Tips for helping biodiversity
• Use less stuff!
• Plant native plants in your garden - good for the
birds, butterflies and bees, and good for the soil!
• Pollute less by driving less, buying less and wasting less
and thinking about what you’re flushing down the drain!
• Buy organic fruit and veggies if you can - these haven’t
been sprayed with chemicals that can harm biodiversity!
• Lock up your pets at night - the night belongs to native
animals!
• Donate some time to vegetating or cleaning up a local
wildlife park!
• Choose sustainably harvested fish to have with your chips!
• Spread the word!
• For more tips and more information on biodiversity visit
the Cool Australia site (www.cool.australia.org).

32. Biodiversity Review Questions:
Q1. What are the three levels of biodiversity?
Q2. Why is genetic diversity important?
Q3. What are the two components of species
diversity?
Q4. List 3 reasons why we should conserve
biodiversity.
Q5. What are conservation categories?
Q6. How can we help conserve biodiversity?