Is high biodiversity always the best thing?

“Biodiversity within particular populations and habitats may be very important for their continued success and survival in the face of both competition and disease.” (Thomas, P. and Packham, J. 2007)

High biodiversity is beneficial within habitats and also for humans. I will talk about a couple of examples.

In a habitat, high biodiversity can allow species to survive diseases, because if there is a lot of variation in the genetic make-up of a species in a habitat, and the area is affected by disease, the genetic diversity gives at least some of the specimens a chance to survive and reproduce. Therefore, the level of biodiversity in a habitat can depend on the history of the area.

Another advantage of a high level of biodiversity it that it is likely that all niches in the habitat will be filled, thus reducing the chance of an invasive alien species filling a niche and destabilising the environment through introducing new pests, and competing for food, space and sunlight. Sometimes, different species in a habitat can form symbiotic relationships, resulting in benefits for both species and consequently the habitat can be more stable.

High biodiversity is also an advantage for humans and society. Humans have an enormous variety of uses for plant and animal resources.

It is widely known that there are many species that are yet to be discovered, which may, for example, provide a breakthrough in treatment of an illness that as yet we have no cure for. If there was a reduction in biodiversity, the balance of environments may be disrupted, resulting in species changing, or dying out in a particular area.  A loss in high biodiversity would negatively impact society as it may result in the loss of resources, medicines, food and nutrition, whether directly or indirectly.

From this I have concluded that a high level of biodiversity is a good thing!

I found these resources useful when thinking about biodiversity:

http://www.who.int/globalchange/ecosystems/biodiversity/en/index.html

http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/veg_measure/Modules/Lessons/Module%207/7_2_Biodiversity.htm

Thomas, P. and Packham, J. (2007) Ecology of Woodlands and Forests. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

(Zoe)