Biodiversity loss

Loss of biodiversity or biodiversity loss is the ongoing extinction of species worldwide, and also the local reduction or loss of species in a certain habitat or ecological niche or biome.

The latter phenomenon can be temporary or permanent, depending on whether the environmental degradation that leads to the loss is reversible through ecological restoration / ecological resilience or effectively permanent (e.g. through land loss). Global extinction has so far been proven to be irreversible.

Even though permanent global species loss is a more dramatic phenomenon than regional changes in species composition, even minor changes from a healthy stable state can have dramatic influence on the food web and the food chain insofar as reductions in only one species can adversely affect the entire chain (coextinction), leading to an overall reduction in biodiversity, possible alternative stable states of an ecosystem notwithstanding. Ecological effects of biodiversity are usually counteracted by its loss. Reduced biodiversity in particular leads to reduced ecosystem services and eventually poses an immediate danger for food security, also for humankind.

Loss rate

The current rate of global diversity loss is estimated to be a 1000 times higher than the (naturally occurring) background extinction rate and expected to still grow in the upcoming years.

Locally bounded loss rates can be measured using species richness and its variation over time. Raw counts may not be as ecologically relevant as relative or absolute abundances. Taking into account the relative frequencies, a considerable number of biodiversity indexes has been developed. Besides richness, evenness and heterogeneity are considered to be the main dimensions along which diversity can be measured.

As with all diversity measures, it is essential to accurately classify the spatial and temporal scope of the observation. "Definitions tend to become less precise as the complexity of the subject increases and the associated spatial and temporal scales widen. Biodiversity itself is not a single concept but can be split up into various scales (e.g. ecosystem diversity vs. habitat diversity or even biodiversity vs. habitat d.) or different subcategories (e.g. phylogenetic diversity, species diversity, genetic diversity, nucleotide diversity). The question of net loss in confined regions is often a matter of debate but longer observation times are generally thought to be beneficial to loss estimates.

To compare rates between different geographic regions latitudinal gradients in species diversity should also be considered.

Further information: alpha diversity, beta diversity, and gamma diversity

See also: Diversity–function debate

Factors

Major factors for biotic stress and the ensuing accelerating loss rate are, amongst other threats:

1. Habitat loss and degradation

   Land use intensification (and ensuing land loss/habitat loss) has been identified to be a significant factor in loss of ecological services due to direct effects as well as biodiversity loss.

2. Climate change through heat stress and drought stress
3. Excessive nutrient load and other forms of pollution
4. Over-exploitation and unsustainable use (e.g. unsustainable fishing methods) we are currently using 25% more natural resources than the planet
5. Invasive alien species that effectively compete for a niche, replacing indigenous species

Insect loss

Main article: Pollinator decline

In 2017, various publications describe the dramatic reduction in absolute insect biomass and number of species in Germany and North America over a period of 27 years. As possible reasons for the decline, the authors highlight neonicotinoids and other agrochemicals.

See also

• Biodiversity
  • Global biodiversity
  • Measurement of biodiversity
  • Biodiversity offsetting
• Dark diversity
• Diversity and Distributions
• Eco-costs
• Ecological extinction
• Mass extinction
  • Holocene extinction
• No net loss
• Resource depletion
• Species reintroduction

References

• Anup Shah (2014). "Loss of Biodiversity and Extinctions". globalissues.org.
• "How does Biodiversity loss affect me and everyone else?". panda.org.
• "TOPICS IN BIODIVERSITY LOSS". Global Change Project of the Paleontological Research Institution.

Literature

• Charles Perrings (2008). Biodiversity Loss: Economic and Ecological Issues. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521588669.
• Neil Griffin, ed. (2015). Biodiversity Loss in the 21st Century. Ml Books International - Ips. ISBN 978-1632390943.
• Alexander Wood (2000). The Root Causes of Biodiversity Loss. Routledge. ISBN 978-1853836992.