Biodiversity

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-003167",
  "term": "Biodiversity",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. The number and variety of different organisms in the ecological complexes in which they naturally occur. Organisms are organized at many levels, ranging from complete ecosystems to the biochemical structures that are the molecular basis of heredity. Thus, the term encompasses different ecosystems, species, and genes that must be present for a healthy environment. A large number of species must characterize the food chain, representing multiple predator-prey relationships.\n\n2. The spectrum of life forms and the ecological processes that support and sustain them. Biological diversity is a complex of four interacting levels: genetic, species, community, and landscape.\n\n3. Refers to the variety and variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they occur. Diversity can be defined as the number of different items and their relative frequencies. For biological diversity, these items are organized at many levels, ranging from complete ecosystems to the biochemical structures that are the molecular basis of heredity. Thus, the term encompasses different ecosystem, species, and genes.\n\n4. Refers to the variety and variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they occur. Diversity can be defined as the number of different items and their relative frequencies. For biological diversity, these items are organized at many levels, ranging from complete ecosystems to the biochemical structures that are the molecular basis of heredity. Thus, the term encompasses different ecosystems, species, and genes.\n\n5. The presence of many species of organisms, plant and animal.\n\n6. A measurement of the number of species and the variety of life and its processes in an area.\n\n7. The variety and variability among living organisms and the ecosystems in which they occur. Biodiversity includes the numbers of different items and their relative frequencies; these items are organized at many levels, ranging from complete ecosystems to the biochemical structures that are the molecular basis of heredity. Thus, biodiversity encompasses expressions of the relative abundances of different ecosystems, species, and genes (OTA 1987).\n\n8. The variety of life forms, the ecological roles they perform and the genetic diversity they contain.\n\n9. Refers to the variety and variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they occur. Diversity can be defined as the number of different items and their relative frequencies. For biological diversity, these items are organized at many levels, ranging from complete ecosystems to the biochemical structures that are the molecular basis of heredity. Thus, the term encompasses different ecosystems, species, and genes. [Biocriteria Glossary]\n\n10. Pertaining to Genetic diversity: the variation between individuals and between populations within a species; species diversity: the different types of plants, animals and other life forms within a region; community or ecosystem diversity: the variety of habitats found within an area (grassland, marsh, and woodland for instance. In general: An umbrella term to describe collectively the variety and variability of nature. It encompasses three basic levels of organization in living systems: the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels. Plant and animal species are the most commonly recognized units of biological diversity, thus public concern has been mainly devoted to conserving species diversity.\n\n11. The variety of life forms, the ecological roles they perform, and the genetic diversity they contain (Wilcox 1984:640)\n\n12. Measure of the variety of biological organisms\n\n13. The variety of life in all forms, levels and combinations, including ecosystem diversity, species diversity and genetic diversity.\n\n14. It is a measure of the variety of organisms present in different ecosystems. This can refer to genetic variation, ecosystem variation, or species variation (number of species) within an area, biome, or planet.",
  "subject": "Water",
  "references": [
    "Environmental Issues Terms & Acronyms",
    "Nearshore Terrestrial Ecosystems Glossary",
    "Aquatic Biodiversity Glossary",
    "Biocriteria Glossary; Terms of Environment",
    "Contaminated Sediments Glossary & Acronyms",
    "Natural Landscaping Glossary",
    "Environmental Modeling and Assessment Program (EMAP) Master Glossary",
    "Chesapeake Bay Glossary",
    "USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Glossary",
    "USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Glossary of Avian Terms For Use in Avian Conservation Biology",
    "Urban Watershed Glossary",
    "Aquatic Resources Awareness Course for Real Estate Appraisers Glossary"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/biodiversity/"
}