5 curiosities about Biodiversity

There are a lot of things we actually don´t know about biodiversity. So, if you are interested in knowing some new things about the biodiversity which surrounds us, you only have to read this little article.

1) You will think that the main place which provides us oxygen is the Amazonian jungle, don´t you? Well, sorry, but I have to tell you that you are wrong. According to some studies on a University in London, oceanic plankton provides us the 75% of the oxygen we breath, and on the other hand it absorbs the 25% of the carbon we emit.
2) As we all know, the amount of water in the earth surface is higher that the land surface. Well, a really curious thing is that the 60% of the oceanic animals live not farther that 60 km from us.
3) As you might know, tourism is one of the most important thing of a city, due to the fact that it improves the local economy. But maybe you didn't know that one of six jobs in a city are dedicated only to biodiversity.
4) Whales are pretty important in Canaries, for example, due to the fact that it attract turist and they earn more money.
5) Some scientists say that oceanic biodiversity is so important because it facilities the improvement of the creation of new medicines.

Jon Lozano and Lorea Bereciartua "Impact of business in biodiversity"

"Tourism in biodiversity"

It threatens our food supplies, opportunities for recreation and tourism, and sources of wood, medicines and energy. It interferes with essential ecological functions such as species balance, soil formation, and greenhouse gas absorption. It reduces the productivity of ecosystems, thereby shrinking nature's basket of goods and services, from which we constantly draw.

Moreover, it destabilizes ecosystems and weakens their ability to deal with natural disasters such as floods, droughts, and hurricanes, and with human-caused stresses, such as pollution and climate change.

Tourism, especially nature tourism, is closely linked to biodiversity and the attractions created by a rich and varied environment. It can also cause loss of biodiversity when land and resources are strained by excessive use, and when impacts on vegetation, wildlife, mountain, marine and coastal environments and water resources exceed the carrying capacity. This loss of biodiversity in fact means loss of tourism potential.

Jon Lozano and Lorea Bereciartua

Sources of information:

http://www.unep.org/resourceefficiency/Business/SectoralActivities/Tourism/FactsandFiguresaboutTourism/ImpactsofTourism/EnvironmentalImpacts/EnvironmentalImpactsofTourism-GlobalLevel/tabid/78777/Default.aspx 

HOW TO KILL A ZEBRA MUSSEL (Maiara, Bea and Mireia)

HOW TO KILL A ZEBRA MUSSEL

Some scientist of Cambridge University discovered how to kill a mussel. They said that packing potassium chloride into particles that are made by fats. Then the particles, that are harmless to other creatures, are transferred by mussels along their gills dissolving in their stomachs.

This is not harmful to people or other species that why we can prove and then if the solution is good we can use and stop with this invasion. 

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2006/feb/03/uk.research

Jon Lozano and Lorea Bereciartua "EATING ANIMALS TO SAVE BIODIVERSITY?"

"EATING ANIMALS TO SAVE BIODIVERSITY?"

Globally, livestock is considered to be one of the major threats to biodiversity. It’s quite clear that an increase in animal products is not the way to save biodiversity. Rather, a reduction and reformation is probably what’s needed from an environmental perspective.

An increase in diary and meat consumption does not automatically promote pasturelands (Wallman et al., 2014). This is likely due to that it’s more economically viable to feed animals more energy dense crops.

The issue as I see it, is that both globally and locally, livestock contributes to GHG-emissions, increased land usage and eutrophication. All of these factors are contributing to loss of biodiversity globally and locally. One has to weigh in the cost of producing livestock to the benefit of biodiversity locally. One issue as I see, is that if we increase our livestock production as it is, we will also increase the fodder imported – usually from monoculture- which instead contribute to a loss of biodiversity

Source of information:

https://veganbiologist.com/2016/01/07/eating-biodiversity/

      HOW TO STOP THE INVATION OF ZEBRA MUSSEL

The last news have shown that some scientist of Cambridge University discovered how to kill a mussel. They said that packing potassium chloride into particles that are made by fats. Then the particles, that are harmless to other creatures, are transferred by mussels along their gills dissolving in their stomachs.

This is not harmful to people or other species that why we can prove and then if the solution is good we can use and stop with this invasion. 

WHY ARE WE LOSING BIODIVERSITY?

       The destruction of natural habitats is one of the first causes of the loss of biodiversity. When we transform woods, lands, jungles… into urban zones, roads, farms… we are destroying hundreds of natural habitats.

        And to show that this is real, I’m going to put an example. Last statistics reveal that 50% of the natural ecosystem was lost in Mexico last year.  As you know, we can find a lot of woods and jungles there, so, people take advantage of them and they destroy them in order to build some new buildings, roads, or whatever. But apart from that, they also kill hundreds of animals. Actually, it seems as if we don’t realise about the good luck we have, due to the fact that our statistics are not so high.

      Regarding the animals, we can’t forget about not native species, which are introduced in different places of all around the world. These type of species can become dangerous for some of the local species. In Ermua’s dam they introduce some new fish species each year. One of the most common one is the fish called Blas Blas. These fishes are pretty big, so they need to eat constantly. In this dam, apart from little fishes there are also ducks. So what these ugly fiches do, is eating them and leaving that dam without that duck specie.

Ainara De Jesús

Jon Lozano and Lorea Bereciartua "How vegan people affects biodiversity?"

"How vegan people affects biodiversity?"

The vegan lifestyle is the strictest of all vegetarian diets as it excludes meat, eggs and all animal derived products. The reasons people choose this lifestyle vary from maintaining health to animal rights, addressing ethical, dietary and religious issues. But what is the impact of a vegan lifestyle on the environment? Is conservation of biodiversity a legitimate reason for becoming vegan?

According to the Convention on Biological Diversity, biodiversity can be defined as “the variability among living organisms from all sources, including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species and of ecosystems.” Whether you follow an intrinsic view in the debate about if biodiversity is important for conservation and to what end, one point no longer debatable is: conservation of the natural environment is vital for the preservation of human life.

Science continues to reveal the damaging effects of human behaviour on the environment and the repercussions for human life. While many people may have a passion or mere interest in contributing to the earth’s preservation from – driving hybrid cars, walking more, switching to energy efficient light bulbs, lobbying and campaigning or making a substantive change wherever they think they can – there is one aspect of our lives that has an inevitable impact on biodiversity; and that is Eating!

Poor agricultural practices continue to devastate the environment and threaten biodiversity: altering habitats, displacing species, introducing alien species, poisoning surrounding soil and water systems with the use of chemicals and killing a large number of organisms in the process.

“World meat production has quadrupled in the last 50 years,” according to studies. The livestock population now outnumbers people more than three to one. Studies have long shown that vegans use less land and energy to meet their dietary needs. Reducing the land area used for agricultural purposes is a major way of contributing to biodiversity conservation.

A vegan lifestyle helps maintain biodiversity. The vegan diet is however considered by many to be a restrictive one and requires an entire change in ideology and careful attention to ensure that daily nutritional requirements are met. It is a lifestyle that a number of people continue to be open to or interested in but the population shift to a vegan lifestyle is relatively slow as compared to the global shift towards adopting a westernized diet. There is also a growing fear that an increase in plant based diets will lead to large scale mono-cropping, which also negatively affects biodiversity. However, a healthy vegan lifestyle requires a diet of a variety of fruits, vegetables and grain. An increase in the demand for these products will propel farmers to diversify their crops to satisfy the market.

Consumers have the power to alter the alarming rate at which agricultural production is destroying species diversity. Adopting meat-less days as part of varied diet can dramatically reduce the demand for livestock and by extension the effects of livestock production on biodiversity as well as other damaging effects on the environment. Agriculture is one of the most environmentally damaging of human activities and veganism helps to reduce its impact. Eating vegan helps to sustain life on the planet and maintain biodiversity.

Jon Lozano and Lorea Bereciartua

Information sources:

http://youthforumonclimatechange.com/how-veganism-affects-biodiversity/