EarthNews Radio: Center for Biodiversity Research and Information
Biodiversity is critical for our survival on Earth. But biodiversity is about more than a mix of plants and animals.
ENN's Jerry Kay spoke with Dr. Healy Hamilton of the Center for Biodiversity Research and Information at the California Academy of Sciences.
She said one level of diversity that is unrecognized is genetic diversity within species: For instance, the many different shapes that members of one species, such as humans, take.
At another level, Hamilton said, is the diversity of species. We don't know how many species there are on the Earth.
Sustaining life on Earth depends on the next level -- ecosystem diversity; that is, the many species functioning together within the natural environment in which they're found, such as in rainforests and coral reefs.
You can learn more about this and many other subjects at the California Academy of Sciences' website: www.calacademy.org