The Importance of Species Diversity to Ecosystem

CO-EXISTENCE

Earth is our home. This is how we have always been defining it. But really it is only our habitat. Think over it… and you will come to the conclusion that it is not only us who have the right to exploit it but there are many others too. There are thousands of animals, bacteria’s and birds over this land and all of them live in coordination with each other. 

From millions of years, these diverse species, organisms live together to establish a favorable ecosystem within them. Everything was going on right but with the evolution of monkeys and the formation of human species, everything got disturbed. Human development has hampered the growth of nature and we are not realizing this. We do not understand the importance of species diversity in this large ecosystem.

In the past few days, we all are facing a global problem of COVID-19(coronavirus). This small nano-sized organism has made every individual being hostile by himself only. But as every problem or argument is double-faced, it has a prone and a con, similarly this problem has also taught us a very nice lesson regarding the importance of biodiversity. When all the Homo sapiens (human) get quarantine, all other organisms got a golden opportunity to return back to their natural habitats. The dolphins have returned back to their Italian ports. Swans could also be seen in the Italian ponds. The entire world is enjoying the same behavior.

But how is it necessary for the environment? Can the movement of organisms do anything for this gifted earth? So, the answer is YES. As the earth sees the equal participation of all the organisms, it flourishes with joy and happiness and we should also be a part of this joyful movement by the different elements of nature.

Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have an important role to play. While there might be “survival of the fittest within a given species”, each species depends on the services provided by other species to ensure survival. It is a type of cooperation based on mutual survival and is often what a balanced ecosystem refers to. By increasing species diversity in an ecosystem, both the efficiency and the productivity of an ecosystem increases.  Greater species richness and diversity may cause ecosystems to function more efficiently and productively by making more resources available for other species within the ecosystem. 

So, species diversity is a measurement of an ecosystem’s species richness and species evenness. If an ecosystem has poor species diversity, it may not function properly or efficiently. A diverse species assemblage can contribute to ecosystem diversity. So, protect and preserve as much as possible.

By: Manya Joshi

School: DAV Public School, Pushpanjali Enclave

Class: 11th