Ecosystem biological diversity

Related to diversity is the notion of static and dynamic stability in ecosystems. Traditional dogma stated that diverse ecosystems were more stable and, therefore, healthier than less rich ecosystems. The work in the early 1970s of May did much to test these almost unquestionable assumptions, at that time, about properties of ecosystems. Biological diversity may be important, but diversity itself may be an indication of the longevity and size of the habitat rather than the inherent properties of the ecosystem. Rarely are basic principles such as island biogeography and evolutionary time incorporated into comparisons of species diversity when assessments of community health are made. Diversity should be examined closely as to its worth in determining xenobiotic impacts upon biological communities. 

The first version of the model was developed in 1991-1992. In the EPS system, the impacts are expressed in terms of socio-economic costs (or values) occurring by unit effects of damage to five safeguards subjects human health, biological diversity, ecosystem production, natural resources and aesthetic values. The latest version was published in 1999 [37, 38]. 

Gaevskaya AV, Korniychuk YM (2003) Parasitic organisms as an ecosystems constituent at the Black sea coast of the Crimea. Eremeev VN, Gaevskaya AV (eds) Modern condition of biological diversity in near-shore zone of Crimea (The Black sea sector). Ekosi-Gidrophizika, Sevastopol, p 425 (in Russian)... 

Burns, M. K. 1998. Biological diversity being eroded in Amazon Even in an Ecuadorean national park, where rain forest species are supposed to be protected, colonization and poaching threaten the delicate ecosystem. The Sun (Baltimore, MD), April 23, p. 2A. 

Tropical rainforests are the most biologically diverse terrestrial ecosystems on earth. They cover less than 1% of the land s surface but they are home to more than 50% of all species. For example, they are estimated conservatively to contain more than 125,000 species of higher plants, 5 million species of insects and 1.5 million species of fungi. ... 

In the last years different other biotic indices have been designed to assess the ecological quality of coastal waters. The development of biological indicators as a tool for the assessment and hence protection of biological diversity in European coastal and marine ecosystems has been advanced due to the implementation of the Habitats Directive and the Water Framework Directive (WFD). 

Although biological diversity is brought about by genetics and ecosystems-related adaptation, the question remains as to whether biological diversity is accompanied by some extent of chemical diversity on the ecosystems level (Markert and Fraenzle... 

Ecosystem Biological environment with all its diversity of life, interacting with the nonliving features associated with it. 

Criticism, largely from the NGO community (publicized by the International Rivers Network - IRN- and some journalists), raised concerns not only about displaced people, but also about threats to biological diversity posed by the reservoir and unidentified consequences for aquatic ecosystems up- and downstream of the dam. Specific concerns were not raised because environmental assessments had not been implemented in this largely unstudied region. 

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