Question

Write a robust paragraph (or two) that details your current appreciation for the diversity of life. Please try and include personal experience and organisms that represent a few different types.

The rubric for grading this is as follows.

This is worth 10 Points - Here is how you get a 10: Assignment complete, full paragraph(s), on time, original, and shows some degree of intelligent thought. The paragraph contains a few different examples. The entry must not have punctuation and spelling mistakes that distract from reading the document. Failure to meet all of these will result in a zero for the assignment, regardless of subsequent marks. Attached journals will not be graded - only submissions written directly into the interface below.

Answer 1

In ecology the term biodiversity is widely used to define endpoints, to assess restoration needs, and to monitor the restoration success. However, the term is far from clear because there are different uses of it that result in ambiguities and misunderstandings. The appreciation of different thought styles, which are types of worldviews, and different values is important for a clearer and more consistent understanding of biodiversity. Three groups of thought styles that differently use the term biodiversity can be distinguished.

(1) Natural history interprets biodiversity as biotic elements of nature that can be described and classified.

(2) Science considers biodiversity as a measurable parameter that is relevant for the processing and functioning of the ecosystem.

(3) In environmentalism, biodiversity is used in the context of concerns about species extinctions and the destructions of their habitat.

Values play an important role in some perceptions of biodiversity but are negligible in others. Confusion arises from people considering biodiversity as something valuable per se and others who see it as a virtually value‐free parameter for the description of ecosystems. Because of different thought styles and values, the term biodiversity is used as a general concept, not as a specific element of nature. Biodiversity acts as a framework for the variety of life on Earth. Biodiversity in this sense is immeasurable. However, certain features of biodiversity, e.g., the species richness of vascular plants, can be quantified. The selection of such features depends on thought styles and values. This implies that biodiversity as a general concept can and should be distinguished from measurable features of biodiversity.