Introduction

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The purpose of this section is for the 7th Grade Honors Life Science Class to explore a major factor harming our biodiversity. Invasive species are the 2nd largest factor for the reduction of biodiversity. We have one of the biggest invasive "pests" in the world here in Erie. The zebra mussel has been terrorizing Lake Erie and Presque Isle State Park for over 20 years. Our goal is to examine invasive species, the zebra mussel, to find out how it got here, why it is so successful, and to determine if there is anything we can do to help this problem. Lets' review the previous section...

Biodiversity is the number of different organisms in a given area.

There are three major factors that influence the biodiversity of an ecosystem. 1. AREA - the larger the area the greater the opportunity for biodiversity. 2. CLIMATE - biodiversity increases, as we get closer to the equator. 3. DIVERSITY OF NICHES - the greater the variety of places to live, the greater the biodiversity that ecosystem will have.

The benefits to having a diverse planet or living in an ecosystem with high biodiversity are endless. Biodiversity leads to clean air and water, it can help with pollution, it aids in the breakdown of waste, it helps controls disease and pests, it adds to the food web of that ecosystem, and it also adds information and opportunity to the medical field and with future technologies.

There are also a number of factors that are serious threats to biodiversity. The biggest threat, which we talked about in the previous section, is habitat destruction. Invasive species altering the ecosystem has become the second biggest threat to biodiversity. This is followed by global climate change, which we will focus on in the next section, development, and finally genetic pollution.