### Biodiversity --- Where do you think are the places with the most biodiversity? <iframe width="560" height="315" style="display: block; margin: 0 auto;" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/iOIaA67WYD8?si=oVZ6na5cVZXCemwg" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> --- ### Why is Biodiversity Important? - Plants and algae maintain the atmosphere. During photosynthesis, they add oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. <!-- .element: class="fragment" data-fragment-index="1" --> - Plants help prevent soil erosion. They also improve soil quality when they decompose. <!-- .element: class="fragment" data-fragment-index="2" --> - Microorganisms purify water in rivers and lakes. They also return nutrients to the soil. <!-- .element: class="fragment" data-fragment-index="3" --> --- ### Why is Biodiversity Important? - Bacteria fix nitrogen and make it available to plants. Other bacteria recycle the nitrogen from organic wastes and remains of dead organisms. <!-- .element: class="fragment" data-fragment-index="1" --> - Insects and birds pollinate flowering plants, including crop plants. <!-- .element: class="fragment" data-fragment-index="2" --> - Natural predators control insect pests. They reduce the need for expensive pesticides, which may harm people and other living things. <!-- .element: class="fragment" data-fragment-index="3" --> --- ### Helpful Definitions - Biodiversity: The variety of living things in an area — different species, the genes they carry, and the different types of habitats they live in. - Ecosystem: A community of living things (plants, animals, microbes) and their nonliving surroundings (air, water, soil) that work together. --- ### Helpful Definitions - Competition: When two or more organisms need the same limited thing (like food, space, or mates) and each one makes it harder for the others to get it. - Resources: Things organisms need to live and grow, such as food, water, light, shelter, and space. - Population: A group of individuals of the same species living in the same place at the same time.