Biodiversity

and Evolution
Key Questions:
Why is it important to study Biodiversity?
How does EVOLUTION occur?
Why is it important to trace the ancient organism?

The Mother Earth that we know today was once a house of

fire young planet in the making. The primitive Earth
received continuous bombardment of big and small rocks
from space. It seemed almost unending until it stopped.
Our cooling Earth, a rocky planet, gradually, developed life
that grew and proliferated through the course of time.
Now, life can be found everywhere under a huge boulder,
between crevices of rocks, near volcanoes, in stagnant
water on a pothole, on top of trees, and so on. The diversity
of life is truly amazing! Living things have adapted
themselves to any kind of environment.

OVERVIEW

At the end of the unit, you should be able to

Describe the Philippine biodiversity;
Explain that most species that once existed are now
extinct;
Identify the causes of extinction;
Relate species extinction and the failure of populations of
organisms to adapt to the abrupt changes in the
environment;
Make a multimedia presentation of a timeline of
extinction of representative microorganisms, plants and
animals; and
Explain the evidences of organic evolution.

Objectives:

Take note of the species that will be shown in the

pictures within one minute each.
Compare your findings.

LOOP:

Biodiversity refers to a variety of life on Earth today

that consist of many millions of distinct biological
species, the diversity of genes in the species together
with the places where they are found, such as deserts,
forests, and coral reefs.

BIODIVERSITY

Category

Species

Vertebrate Animals
Mammals
Birds
Reptiles
Amphibians
Fish

62, 305
5, 490
9, 998
9, 084
6, 433
31, 300

Invertebrate Animals
Insects
Spiders and scorpions
Mollusks
Crustaceans
Corals
Others

1, 305, 250
1, 000, 000
102, 248
85, 000
47, 000
2, 175
68, 827

Current No. of Species in the WORLD

Category

Plants
Flowering plants (angiosperms)
Conifers (gymnosperms)
Ferns and horsetails
Mosses
Red and green algae
Others
Lichens
Mushrooms
Brown algae

Species

321, 212
281, 821
1, 021
12, 000
16, 236
10, 134
51, 563
17, 000
31, 496
3, 067

Current No. of Species in the WORLD

It is amazing to know that according to scientists, there are

more than 117 million species of plants, animals, and other
microorganisms as of 2010 that have been discovered and
named; while they also believed that there are millions
more that are unknown. There are many more species,
especially in the worlds rainforests and oceans that have
not been discovered yet.
Since the living world is most widely considered in terms of
species, biodiversity is very commonly used as a synonym of
species diversity, which is the number of species in a site
or habitat.

Species Diversity

The relationships that are more complex between species

are often disturbed when organisms are transported to new
places or a new element is introduced such as chemicals
from pesticides. Sometimes, they compete with species that
are already there or prey on them.
We need to help protect our biodiversity. Species are at risk.
Biodiversity has remained threatened. Many kinds of plants
and animals have disappeared forever and are presumed
extinct, while others are missing and feared lost.

Species Diversity

The Convention of Biodiversity website summarizes what a

healthy biodiversity provides:
Ecosystem services
Protection of the different resources of water
Protection and soil formation
Storage and recycling of materials
Absorption and breakdown of pollution
Contribution to climate stability
Maintenance of the ecosystem
Recovery from unpredictable events

Importance of Biodiversity

Biological resources:
Food
Medical resources and pharmaceutical drugs
Wood products
Ornamental plants
Breeding stocks, population reservoirs
Future resources
Diversity of genes, species and ecosystem

Importance of Biodiversity

Social Benefits:
Research, education and monitoring
Recreation and tourism
Cultural values

Importance of Biodiversity

The Philippine Biodiversity

The Philippines was regarded as one of the biodiversity hotspots in

the world (Dr. Gosliner, 2011). This means that the country is one of
the worlds biologically richest but the most threatened ecosystems.
The Philippines has high species diversity in some groups of
organism and a very high level of endemism. Endemic species is a
species that is only found in a given region or location and nowhere
else in the world.
Plants = 65.8% endemism
Mammals = 61.1%
Birds = 34.8%
Reptiles = 67.5%
Amphibians = 85.4%
Freshwater Fish = 23.8%

The Philippine Biodiversity

PLANTS:

The Philippine Biodiversity

MAMMALS:

The Philippine Biodiversity

BIRDS:

The Philippine Biodiversity

REPTILES:

The Philippine Biodiversity

AMPHIBIANS:

The Philippine Biodiversity

FISH:

The Philippine Biodiversity

The Philippines is also one of the most endangered areas.

Historically logged for timber products, today, the forests
are also being cleared for farming needs and for
development to accommodate the nations growing
population.
It has long been feared that different human activities and
natural elements are causing massive species extinction.
Despite increased effort of conservation, it has not been
enough and biodiversity losses continue.
Causes of extinction may either be natural or/and
anthropogenic (human causes)

Causes of Extinction

 Climate Change
Changes in Sea Levels and Currents
Acid Rain
Invasive Species:
Migration refers to survival of a new species into an
already occupied area.
Ecesis refers to how well the new species adjusts to the
areas ecosystems.
Aggregation involves reproduction of the species after it
has been familiarized itself with its new place of residence.

Natural Causes

Human Population Growth

Habitat Destruction
Pollution
Agriculture
Hunting and Fishing

Human Interference

 These laws have been enacted to provide for the

establishment and management of national integrated
protected areas system.
These recognizes the critical importance of protecting and
maintaining the natural biological and physical diversities
of the environment notably the areas with biologically
unique features to sustain human life and development as
well as plant and animal life.

Laws of BIODIVERSITY

EVOLUTION is a branch of biology that describes the

gradual change of organisms from one state to another.

EVOLUTION