Biodiversity

What is biodiversity? Let's analyze the word itself. "Bio" means life, creature, or organisms. "Diversity" means variety, or the state of being different. Together, "biodiversity" is the variety of life, or organisms.

The definition of "life" is quite vague and depends on different perspective. Through the lense of biology, "life" has these following characteristics:
- Organisms are composed of cells, the smallest units of life.
- Living organims have to use energy.
- Living organims can grow and reproduce.
- Living organims respond to stimuli and adapt to enviroment.

With these characteristics, organisms are divided into deeper levels (Genetic Biodiversity)
The first group is Prokaryotes (cells that do not have nucleus or membrane-bounded organelles). This group consists of 2 domains, Bacteria and Archea.
The second group is Eukaryotes (cells that have one or more nucleus and membrane-bounded organelles). This group has a domain called Eukarya.
Eukarya is further divided into smaller phyla based on biodiversity.
The first phylum is Fungi, consists of organisms such as molds, mushrooms, etc.
The second phylum is Plantae, consists of plants. Plantae is further divided into Bryophyte, Seedless Plants, Gymnosperm, and Angiosperm.
The third phylum is Animalia, including animals. Animalia is divided into Poferia, Cnidaria, Ctenophora, Platyhelminthes, Annelida, Mollusca, Anthropoda, Nematoda, Echinodermata, and Chordata.
The fourth phylum is Protista, which is the trash bin of Taxonomy, home of organisms that do not belong to Fungi, Plantae, or Animalia.

Biodiversity does not just appear on Taxonomy but also appear based on geography. In different locations with different characteristics, there are different organisms living (Ecological Biodiversity). For example, in desert, animals (such as caracal, ostrich) and plants (such as cactus) have to develop physical charactistic to prevent water loss and survive in harsh dry conditions. Meanwhile, arctic animals (such as arctic wolf and polar bear) develop thick coat of skin and fur to fight against the coldness. This is called adaptation.

Biodiversity plays an important role in survival of organims, including humans. Like a chain of life, if one or many species extinct, other species, directly or indirectly dependent on those species, will be affected, throwing nature out of balance. For example, snakes eat rats. If humans kill all the snakes, rats will be allowed to reproduce without being eaten. Rats will eat other smaller organisms, forcing that those organisms to extinction.

Biodiversity is bio (life) itself!