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What is Biodiversity?

Shoals of Capricorn Programme

 as part of Shoals of Capricorn Programme

What is Biodiversity?

Ocypodid
Tripleurospermum maritimum

'Biodiversity' is the word that we use when we talk about the 'variety of living things'. This diversity is essential to our health, prosperity and well-being.

We get our food from many types of animals and plants, and we are continually discovering new and powerful drugs in our forests and oceans.

We continue to discover new species of plants and animals; of those that have been described, we know how only a few live, their habits, preferences and relationships.

If we are to understand the complexity we must know its building blocks, we must understand its variety, its biodiversity. We must also understand how different species relate to each other both in their interaction as living organisms (e.g. the interaction of insects and flowering plants) and in their evolutionary histories.

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