Why is biodiversity so important? - Kim Preshoff
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TEDEd Animation
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Our planet’s diverse, thriving ecosystems may seem like permanent fixtures, but they’re actually vulnerable to collapse. Jungles can become deserts, and reefs can become lifeless rocks. What makes one ecosystem strong and another weak in the face of change? Kim Preshoff details why the answer, to a large extent, is biodiversity.
Additional Resources for you to Explore
How much biodiversity is in the rainforest? Check out this video clip: An Unseen World made using a game camera set deep in the Amazon by Paul Rosolie. Interested now? Read Paul Rosolie’s book: Mother of God. Follow him on his journey through the Amazon. Still not understanding the importance of biodiversity? Really want to have a greater understanding of this essential ecology topic? Watch the California Academy of Sciences: Why is biodiversity important? Can you define species richness? Be sure to watch the whole series on Biodiversity here. Visit the California Academy of Sciences Library of Life to get a small idea of the biodiversity in our world.
Resiliency and resistance? What are the meanings of these two key vocabulary words? What do they have to do with ecosystem survival? Read this article and find out! Ecosystem services? Biodiversity loss? So, what is the big deal? Visit this link and get some insight into the importance of having biodiversity in our world.
Coral reefs are amazingly beautiful features of Earth’s surface, full of biodiversity and life! Visit the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest living structure at National Geographic. What are some of the major threats to coral reefs? Let’s begin with Ocean Acidification by visiting The Seattle Times site: Sea Change: The Pacific’s Perilous Turn. The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program has a great list of volunteer and student opportunities where you can get involved. Learn from this TED-Ed Lesson: Conserving our spectacular, vulnerable coral reefs by Joshua Drew. Then listen How We Wrecked the Ocean by coral reef ecologist Jeremy Jackson and visit the site: A Day in The Life of Baby Coral by Kristin Marhaver.
How important is biodiversity? Check out a diverse collection of 32 TED Talks on biodiversity here. Want to get involved in some citizen science projects based on biodiversity? Check out Take Notes from Nature and Science Gossip then start transcribing! Why would you help? Many museums have tons of historical biodiversity data that could be available to everyone on their home computer if it could just be transcribed! How awesome would that be? You can also check out Microplants and help measure microleafs! Take the tutorial and get measuring. If you haven’t found one that piqued your interest yet, visit Zooniverse and scroll through the projects!
Resiliency and resistance? What are the meanings of these two key vocabulary words? What do they have to do with ecosystem survival? Read this article and find out! Ecosystem services? Biodiversity loss? So, what is the big deal? Visit this link and get some insight into the importance of having biodiversity in our world.
Coral reefs are amazingly beautiful features of Earth’s surface, full of biodiversity and life! Visit the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest living structure at National Geographic. What are some of the major threats to coral reefs? Let’s begin with Ocean Acidification by visiting The Seattle Times site: Sea Change: The Pacific’s Perilous Turn. The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program has a great list of volunteer and student opportunities where you can get involved. Learn from this TED-Ed Lesson: Conserving our spectacular, vulnerable coral reefs by Joshua Drew. Then listen How We Wrecked the Ocean by coral reef ecologist Jeremy Jackson and visit the site: A Day in The Life of Baby Coral by Kristin Marhaver.
How important is biodiversity? Check out a diverse collection of 32 TED Talks on biodiversity here. Want to get involved in some citizen science projects based on biodiversity? Check out Take Notes from Nature and Science Gossip then start transcribing! Why would you help? Many museums have tons of historical biodiversity data that could be available to everyone on their home computer if it could just be transcribed! How awesome would that be? You can also check out Microplants and help measure microleafs! Take the tutorial and get measuring. If you haven’t found one that piqued your interest yet, visit Zooniverse and scroll through the projects!
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Meet The Creators
- Educator Kim Preshoff
- Director Biljana Labović
- Animator Lisa LaBracio
- Script Editor Emma Bryce
- Narrator Pen-Pen Chen
