According to my textbook on the history of taxonomy, a dude named Carl Linnaeus was flabbergasted at the old way of naming organisms which was quite disorganized, to say the least. So he thought of a way to classify all organisms so each will belong to a certain branch of the tree of life and will be known by a name that will be accepted and recognized everywhere. BTW, Carl was, and still is, known as the Father of Taxonomy but this cool chap officially started his business with nature at the age of 24.

He thought about using Latin for his nomenclature because it is a dead language. By dead, he didn’t mean anything that smell awful but something that won’t change in all eternity and from culture to culture. Carl had a bright idea but the only thing I hate about nature is memorizing her Latin names.

Every known and classified organism has 2 Latin names, much like a surname and a first name (in that order). The first name is the Genus and the second is the Species Name (BTW, species is both singular and plural). Officially, they are written this way… Genus species. A Genus is a group. Much like the family Doe, which is the Genus while John, Jane, and baby are the species name.

For instance, the domestic cat belongs to the Genus Felis, 7 members in all. They belong to the biological family Felidae. Remember, whenever we see the suffix ceae or ae, it means a family. Daisy the Curly Cat and Chica and Pumuckl are breeds of Felis catus, members of the sub-family Felinae and family Felidae, under the order of Carnivora.

For a basic idea on how this naming system works, let’s take a look at the confusing taxonomy of the vanda orchid. The Vanda belongs to the family Orchidaceae. That should be easy enough. The problem lies in the fact the the term Vanda is actually the Genus name of approximately 50 species of orchids, not counting the hybrids.

So when we tell a horticulturist we want a Vanda, we’d best expect a blank stare. It’ll be of no help if we say Tiger Vanda as many flowers of the Genus bears the markings. Besides what we call a tiger might be a kitten to another. Interested to know the different species of Vanda? Here’s a list at Wikipedia.

Did Carl Linnaeus simplified things?

Animals in the wild need a home and sources of food. Once we deny them these resources by destroying forests, reefs, and other ecosystems, they will die. How much area do they really need? It depends on the size of the animal.

Consider the Critically Endangered and majestic Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi), of which there are an estimated number of less than 400 pairs in the wild and only a dozen or so in captivity. A breeding pair usually needs 38 square miles (approxiamately 100 square kilometers) of hunting ground–for comparison, Manhattan has 22.7 square miles. That is assuming that the said area is well-stocked with monkeys, rodents, lemurs, civets, and snakes.

Man is competing with the eagle for the available resources by cutting down trees for timber and clearing forests for farming. These activities reduces the eagles’ hunting range which serves as home for their food too. As men encroaches on the eagles’ home ground, the risk of hunters trying to bag one as a trophy also increases.

The Philippine Eagle is not alone, if we check all species on the Critically Endangered list, they all face the same problems: habitat loss, dwindling food supply, and poaching.

If we live far away from Biodiversity Hotspots, are we powerless to get involved in biodiversity issues? On the contrary, we can do a lot to help. See, most biodiversity-related issues has their roots in densely-populated urban environments.

Here are a few measures to protect biodiversity we can do right where we are:

1. Be aware of where the stuff that we buy comes from and don’t buy anything that contributes to habitat loss.

Reaching for a can of corned beef at your local mart? Check where did the beef came from. If it says Brazil, then think about the Amazon rainforest. For the record, Brazil provides only a minuscule amount of the FRESH beef available in the US market. It’s main market is Europe.

Brazilian ranchers tore down the Amazon to raise beef. A few enlightened individuals have cropped up with eco-friendly ideas but they are only a drop in the bucket. Some people contends that cutting down the Amazon for cattle can be compensated for by planting a forest elsewhere. Sadly, this is impossible to do so because we’re not talking here only about trees but of the biodiversity contained in a patch of the Amazon. Biodiversity lost cannot be regained, except on paper.

2. Don’t buy or keep exotic pets.

That colorful Macaw might come from a long line of birds breed in captivity but it still sends the signal that it is okay to keep them. Trapping for the underground exotic pet industry is a major factor why colorful species regularly turn up in the Critically Endangered list.

3. Keep the CREED of REAL mountaineers.

If we head off to the great outdoors for some fun and communing with nature, keep these words close to our hearts:

• Take nothing but pictures
• Leave nothing but footprints
• Kill nothing but time

4. Spread the word.

Do what TreasureNature tries to do, tell other people about it.

5. Support agencies and other entities that works for biodiversity.

There are dozens of them out there. If we want to get our hands dirty, then why not volunteer in Yachana’s Protected Forest in the Amazon?

More ideas on how we can help protect and preserve biodiversity?

East Melanesian Islands (Bismarck and Admiralty Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the islands of Vanuatu). Excessive logging, mining, and unsustainable farming practices have accelerated habitat loss in these islands, threatening the survival of one of the most remarkable number of endemic species — 3,000 unique species of plants, shrubs, and trees. Faunal diversity isn’t far behind, led by the majestic Solomon  sea-eagle and more than a dozen threatened species of flying fox (large fruit-eating bats).

Himalaya (Northern Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and the Northwestern and Northeastern states of India). The hotspot is home to numerous large birds and mammals, including vultures, tigers, elephants, rhinos and wild water buffalo.

Indo-Burma (Eastern Bangladesh, Northeastern India, Myanmar, part of Yunnan Province in China, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and part of Peninsular Malaysia). Covering 2 million square kilometers (772,204.317 square miles) of tropical Asia, this immense treasure trove of biodiversity is yet to divulged a lot of secrets. Six large mammal species have been discovered in the last 12 years: the large-antlered muntjac, the Annamite muntjac, the grey-shanked douc, the Annamite striped rabbit, the leaf deer, and the saola. Bird life is also incredibly diverse, holding almost 1,300 different bird species. Sadly, these documented species and possibly a host of others still waiting to be discovered are in danger of being killed-off due to exploitation and habitat loss.

Japan. When we talk about this country, images of bullet-trains, cars, high rises, and other accouterments of modern technology usually comes to mind. However, the islands isolation has harbored Critically Endangered endemic species like the Okinawa woodpecker and the Japanese macaque (snow monkey). There are 46 endemic mammals.

Mountains of Southwest China (Southwest China and a tiny part of Myanmar). These mountains are host to different ecosystems, including the most endemic-rich temperate flora in the whole world. The golden monkey, giant panda, red panda, and a number of pheasants are among the threatened species endemic to this hotspot. Primary threats include Illegal hunting, overgrazing and firewood collection.

New Caledonia (Neighbor of Vanuatu). This small island (smallest of the hotspots) is home to five (5) endemic plant families, containing nearly 2/3 of the world’s Araucaria species, all endemic. Nickel mining, forest destruction, and invasive species threaten it’s biodiversity.

New Zealand. This country is home to a renarkable number of endemic species. None of its mammals, amphibians, or reptiles are found anywhere else in the world. In 700 years of colonization, 50 bird species have gone extinct.

Polynesia-Micronesia. 4,500 islands scattered across the Southern Pacific ocean, it is the epicenter of the Gloab extinction crisis. From the time Europeans arrived there 200 years ago, 25 bird species were eradicated from the face fo the Earth. The spectacular endemic honeycreepers and other forest birds of the Hawaiian Islands are among those that are seriously threatened but still surviving in this hotspot.

Southwest Australia. This hotspot is characterized by high endemism among plants and reptiles.The primary cause of habitat loss in the region has been agricultural expansion, aggravated by extensive fertilizer use. Introuced species like foxes and cats theathen the local fauna.

Sundaland (Southern Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore,  Brunei Darussalam, Western half of Indonesia, and the Nicobar Islands). Only one word can describe the biodiversity of this hotspot, spectacular. The better known of its fauna are all in danger of being wiped-out, led by the orangutang (man of the forest) and 2 species of Southeast Asain rhinoceros. Rubber plantations, oil palm plantations, and pulp production are 3 of the most threathening forces facing biodiversity in the Sundaland Hotspot.

Wallacea (central islands of Indonesia east of Java, Bali, and Borneo, and west of the province of New Guinea and Timor Leste). Flora and fauna species in this hotspot is so diverse, every island needs a Protected Area to safeguard its own species diversity. It is 2nd only to the Tropical Andes for bird endemism but also covers a relatively smaller area. It is threathend by a government-sponsored transmigration program, which aims to move people from urban areas into sparsely populated ones.

Western Ghats and Sri Lanka (the Ghats are in Southern India). The region harbors important populations of Asian elephants, Indian tigers, and the Endangered lion-tailed macaque. Sir Lanka is home to as many as 140 endemic species of amphibians. Freshwater fish endemism is extremely high, with over 140 native species. The region is  faced with a tremendous population pressure.

The Philippines. This archipelago of more than 7,000 islands is acknowledge as one of the word’s most biologically diverse countries. There are 6,000 plant and numerous animal species. Detailing the threatened and endangered species found in this country will take up one long article. Ironically, it is also one the most endangered hotspots with logging, farming, and population growth relentlessly pushing countless species to the verge of extinction.

So that’s 34 remaining biodiversity hotspots. Thirty-four regions of the Earth where most living species of this planet are concentrated. Will that number decrease or remain constant? It depends upon us humans, I guess.

Guinean Forest (West Africa). It is home to more than a quarter of West Africa’s mammals, including 20 species of primates. Population growth and human activities like logging, mining, and hunting are taking their toll on various species, particularly Jentink’s duiker, pygmy hippopotamus, and western chimpanzees.

Succulent Karoo (South Africa and Namibia). Home to the most number of succulent plant species in the planet. Around 69% of plants are endemic. Grazing, agriculture and mining, especially for diamonds and heavy metals, threaten this fragile region.

Cape Floristic Region (South Africa). One of only two hotspots that encompass an entire floral kingdom. The vegetation on the Cape is dominated by fynbo, a shrubland comprising of hard-leafed, evergreen, and fire-prone shrubs that thrives on the region’s rocky or sandy nutrient-poor soils. It is also home to the geometric tortoise, the Cape sugar-bird, and a number of antelope species.

Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany (Southern Mozambique, parts of South Africa, Eastern Swaziland). Home to nearly 600 tree species, the highest tree biodiversity of any temperate forest on the planet. Thw comeback of the white rhino is a success story of the region but there area increased threats from industrial expansion, farming, and grazing.

Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands. The region have an astounding total of eight plant families, four bird families, and five primate families that cannot be found anywhere else. Madagascar alone has 50 lemur species (featured in the animated movie Madagascar). The Seychelles, Comoros and Mascarene islands in the Indian Ocean between them support a number of Critically Endangered bird species.

Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa (coasts of Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique). The region is home to economically important plant species and a variety of primate species including three endemic and highly threatened monkey species and two endemic species of bushbabies. Agricultural expansion continues as its biggest threat. Horn of Africa (Somalia and parts of Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Oman, yemen, and Saudi Arabia) . The Horn of Africa is also one of the most degraded hotspots in the world, with only about 5 percent of its original habitat remaining.

Eastern Afromontane (found on widely scattered, but biogeographically similar mountain ranges in eastern Africa, from Saudi Arabia and Yemen in the north to Zimbabwe in the south). Contain’s some of the world’s most extraordinary lakes and a vast amount of freshwater fish diversity.

Horn of Africa (Somalia and parts of Kenya, Ethiopia, Entrea, Oman, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia). Home to a number of endemic and threatened antelope, notably threatened species like the beira, the dibatag, and Speke’s gazelle. This hotspot also holds more endemic reptiles than any other region in Africa. Other distinctive endemics include the Somali wild ass and the sacred baboon.

Mediterranean Basin (parts of Spain, France, the Balkan states, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Algeria). Its 22,500 endemic vascular plant species are more than four times the number found in all the rest of Europe. The Mediterranean monk-seal, the barbary macaque and the Iberian lynx, which is Critically Endangered, are among the region’s imperiled species.

Caucasus (Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, the North Caucasian portion of the Russian Federation, the northeastern Turkey, and northwestern Iran). The Caucasus falls in Eurasia so we’ll just include it in Europe. The rugged landscape is home to the two species of highly threatened Caucasian mountain goats.

Irano-Anatolian (Central and Eastern Turkey, part of Southern Georgia, a province of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Northeastern Iraq, Northern and Western Iran, and the Northern Kopet Dagh Range in Turkmenistan).Oaks and Junipers dominate the forests of this region. The famed Silk Road crossed through this hotspot. Many of Turkey’s 1,200 endemic species occur only to the immediate east or west of it. It is home to four endemic and threatened species of vipers.

Mountains for Central Asia (Southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Eastern Uzbekistan, Western China, Northeastern Afghanistan, and part of Turkmenistan). The hotspot’s ecosystems is quite varied and range from high glaciers to low desert. It includes a highly threatened and unique type of walnut-fruit forest, which contains ancestors of domestic fruit varieties and is an important storehouse of genetic diversity. A rich variety of ungulates also call the mountains home, including the threatened argali wild sheep.

Next will be the Asia-Pacific region.

The site BiodiversityHotspots.org list has a flash presentation of the following regions with highly diverse life-forms. Let’s begin with the American continent…

1. California Floristic Province. Home to the largest living organism, the Giant Sequioa. It also shelters the Critically Endangered California Condor.
2. Madrean Pine Oak Woodlands. Embracing most of Mexico’s main  mountain range and some of Southern California’s. One fourth of Mexico’s total species calls it home, most of which can’t be found outside the region. The monarch butterflies overwinters at the pine forest of Michoacan.
3. MesoAmerican Forests (Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, as well as a third of Mexico and nearly two-thirds of Panama). Third largest of the hotspots and home to hundreds of exotic animal species and 17,000 plant species.
4. Tumbes-Choco-Magdalena (Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru). The white winged guan is seriously threathened with extinction due to deforestation and hunting.
5. Tropical Andes (Western Venezuela, Northern Chile, Argentina, and large portions of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia). Richest biodiversity on Earth. The vastness of the region and range in elevation has provided a home to an amazing number of species, with ecosystems varying from desert to cloud forests.
6. Chilean Winter Rainfall - Valdivian Forests (Chile). The Andes mountains and pacific has walled-off around 40% of Chile’s land area into a biological hotspot withmany unique indigenous species.
7. Caribbean Islands. This hotspot has several unique species such as the Cuban crocodile, bee hummingbird (smallest bird), and Leptotyphlos bilineatus (smallest snake).
8. Cerrado (Brazil). 21% of the country’s land area. The giant anteater, giant armadillo, jaguar, and maned wolf call the region home. The hotspot is being threathened by agricultural expansion.
9. Atlantic Forest (Brazil’s Atlantic coast, Eastern Paraguay, Northeastern Argentina, and parts of the Uruguay coast). 20,000 plant species, 40% of which are endemic (local origins). Less than 10% of the orginal forest remains. More than 2 dozens Critically Endangered vertebrae species are found in the region and barely clinging for survival. It’s long been threatened by sugar and coffee plantations. Recently, the cities of Rio de Janiero and Sao Paulo has began expanding into the forest too.

Next is Africa and Europe.

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Please read her story here. If you got a few bucks to spare, her ChipIn page is here.

We can also help by spreading the word.

The series on biodiversity will resume after this post.

Sustainable agriculture leads to food security and sovereignty. Security- contrary to popular belief, food is the most the third most important thing for humans (or most animals, for that matter), not sex :D, after air and water. When resources like food becomes scarce, social disturbances are not far behind.

Sovereignty? When a nation relies on another to feed its people, it won’t be able to shore up its social and political structure, succumbing to the ways of the countries feeding it. The most recent example of this was the former Soviet Union. When it imported wheat in great quantities from the U.S. in the ’80s rather than change its production and consumption pattern, it didn’t take long for the union to dissolve.

What’s happening with agricultural biodiversity right now? Modern agriculture, with its inclination to select the bestest (which is subjective) to produce the mostest, has managed to narrow down the list of food-producing species to a selected few. Not only that, it also defined what is “acceptable” food. Steak and burgers? Yummy! Bugs and crawly things? Gross!

What is wrong with developing a particular crop or animal to its full food-producing potential, we may ask. Nothing, except that “development” usually means putting all our eggs in one basket (pretty attractive for diseases and pests), massive use of chemicals to support high-yielding species and varieties, and killing the soil. In short, it is not sustainable and, sooner or later, we are going to run out of resources to keep this kind of agriculture going. It is ironic that the Green Revolution, whose aim is to produce more food, and globalization of the food system and marketing is threatening our future food supply.

Biodiversity in agriculture has the following benefits:

1. Ensure sustainable productivity.

Different species and varieties have different requirements so they will be able to utilize all available resources rather than relying on one. For example, if all of us love burgers, what will happen to natural resources that supports the production of beef?

2. Utilizes natural adaptation.

Indigenous species (plants and animals originally living in a specific environment) are already used to the pests and diseases within their locality and may have already developed immunity or tolerance. Introducing more “acceptable” food species in a new, and hostile environment, means we may have to support production with chemicals and hormones.

3. Produce other products for total ecosystem health.

Certain food species produces by-products that are needed for a healthy ecosystem. For instance, legumes are also nitrogen-fixers. They actively take nitrogen (a macro nutrient needed for plant growth) from the air and return it to the soil in a form that can be absorbed by other plants.

4. Potential future value.

Some species that doesn’t look very important now may actually be the key to something we will be looking for in the future. We haven’t mapped the gene code for every food species so rather than risk losing something that will be a life-saver later on, we can, instead, try to save and preserve as many as we can today.

Should we really try to impose our tastes and preferences on everybody else or should we be happy we have meat eaters, vegetarians, and fish lovers? Hey, there’s this study about blood types and nutrition here. Not sure how accurate it is but if its true then we have been programmed to be different in diet requirements to ensure survival of the species.

Pollution plays an important role in the loss of biodiversity. In our previous post on biodiversity, we learned that each species has role in an ecosystem and a balance must be maintained. Most ecosystems can withstand some abuse and regenerate as long as most species involved are still present. For instance, if we cut down half of a forest, the other half will soon cover the denuded area in 50 to a hundred years.

Pollution, however, has a more pervasive effect than simply cutting down a tree. Ultimately, it kills delicate species that might have a crucial role in the survival of another. Lets take a look at the 4 common pollution issues we are aware of today: (1) air, (2) water, (3) soil, and (4) species.

1. Air pollution as a threat to biodiversity.

Plants need sunlight to produce food via photosynthesis and smog prevents them from doing so. This affects both the plants (they die off) and the animals that depends on them for food. Fortunately, smog is geographically confined, usually in the vicinity of large cities where there are not much biodiversity anyway.

Another example would be acid rain, a product of the burning of “dirty” fossil fuel like coal. Lichens, fungi, and air plants are sensitive to acid rain and its impact can go far beyond where sulfur is being pumped into the atmosphere since they are incorporated into clouds and swept by the winds. A study in 1983 revealed that half of the Black Forest (in Germany, not the cake) was damaged by pollution, notably acid rain.

2. Water pollution as a threat to biodiversity.

The world’s oceans are our biggest garbage dumps. Everything we dump into streams or flush down the drain or throw out on land and gets swept away by rains goes into the oceans, where currents whirl them around for good measure. Toxins directly and adversely affect larvae, eggs, and other organism that lives near the surface or bottom, where toxins usually accumulate.

Larger fishes or mammals may not be directly affected but they store the toxins within themselves as they feed on the lower life forms. The beluga or white whale of the St. Lawrence river have high concentrations of toxins in their bodies.

3. Soil pollution as a threat to biodiversity.

Soil pollution is the build-up of toxic substances in the soil over time. Soil contaminants not only kill beneficial microorganism, they are also taken up by the plants. If we grow corn on polluted soil, we’d be eating those toxins too.

For biodiversity, the immediate threat is the eradication or killing-off of those species belonging to the primary link in the food chain.

4. Species pollution.

This may be a strange concept, a foreign species contaminating an ecosystem and changing the species landscape, but it is real. That’s what happened to the American Walnut. It was the dominant tree species in the Eastern United States, providing both a beautiful wood and food for humans and a host of wildlife.

Then, in 1904, some Chinese chestnuts were brought into New York’s Zoological Society’s Bronx park, carriers of a deadly parasitic fungus. The American chestnut was wiped out in most of its natural range by the 1950s. The space left by the chestnuts were taken over by oaks.

Other examples of introduced species that became pests in their new habitat include cane toads (from South America to Australia), Golden Apple Snail (US to Vietnam and the Philippines), Wild European Rabbits (Europe to Australia), and Kudzu (Japan to US).

There are three kinds of biodiversity: (1) variety of genetic material within a species, (2) variety of species within a specific area or habitat, or (3) variety of habitats within a larger area. Also known as genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity.

As an example of the first, the different races of people represents genetic diversity in Homo sapiens sapiens. For species diversity, a classic example would be a reef ecosystem which is composed of corals (considered as animals), fishes, mollusks, plants, etc. Habitat diversity can be represented by Africa where we find rainforests, savannahs, and deserts (each of which is an ecosystem).

Biodiversity is important because we are highly dependent on other species for survival. Aside from each species fulfilling a role that keeps life on Earth in balance, biodiversity provides us the following services:

1. Ecosystem services

• Protection of water resources
• Soils formation and protection
• Nutrient storage and recycling
• Pollution breakdown and absorption
• Contribution to climate stability
• Maintenance of ecosystems
• Recovery from unpredictable events

2. Biological resources

• Food
• Medicinal resources and pharmaceutical drugs
• Wood products
• Ornamental plants
• Breeding stocks, population reservoirs
• Future resources

3. Social benefits, such as

• Research, education and monitoring
• Recreation and tourism
• Cultural values

If we somehow we will fail to protect other species as stewards of nature, the failure is more to ourselves than to them.

To celebrate a healthy Earth, the UN established International Day for Bilogical Biodiversity, which is celebrated every May 22, intending to bring biodiversity issues into focus. This is relevant to our times since global warming and climate change are likely to become the dominant and direct cause of biodiversity loss (wikipedia.org).

The theme for 2008 is “Biodiversity and Agriculture.” It seeks to “highlight the importance of sustainable agriculture not only to preserve biodiversity, but also to ensure that we will be able to feed the world, maintain agricultural livelihoods, and enhance human well being into the 21st century and beyond.”

Click here for a list of countries who have already scheduled and submitted activities. At the moment, they include Azerbaijan, Canada, Colombia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, the EU, Italy, Japan, Sri Lanka, and the UK. If your country is not on the list but celebrates biodiversity day in its own way, try to get the right officials to submit their participation to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat.

Canada, home to the CBD Secretariat, is inviting individuals and organizations to organize an event and submit a summary here. They also graciously provided a guide so we don’t have to wrack our brains for appropriate activities, click here for the list.

What can we do? Let’s help get the word out and promote awareness.

Need any help in introducing the concept of biodiversity to your kids? Try this books at Amazon:

1. Tree of Life: The Incredible Biodiversity of Life on Earth (Aspca Henry Bergh Children’s Book Awards)

Winner of the Aspca Henry Bergh Children’s Book Awards. The book offers an excellent introduction to biodiversity and how everything is related to one another in a great Tree of Life.

2. Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution

An introduction to evolution and Earth’s biodiversity for ages 4 to 8.  Atractive cover, typography, and illustrations.

3. Children of the Sea: Marine Diversity of Caribbean

Highlights of 2 teachers’ and their youthful students’ expeditions in the Bahamas and Caribbean. Hardcover and illustated with pictures.