MARINE BIODIVERSITY

Binh Thuy Dang

 Chapter 1: Biodiversity

an overview

Course require:

- Fieldtrip report (Individual)

- Oral examination
- Group assignment (Divide into 2 groups, free
methodology such as presentation, video,
collection..)
 Biodiversity: What is it?

usually defined as diversity of a series of

hierarchical units, such as...
-gene -population -species
-communities -ecological interactions
-systems at the landscape or ecosystem level
Which do you like better?

A B
 Which do you like better?

A B
 Which do you like better?

A B
 Components of biodiversity
Biodiversity exists on several levels:

Genetic Species
diversity diversity

Ecosystem
diversity
Figure 15.2
 Genetic diversity

• Includes the differences

in DNA composition
among individuals
within a given species

Adaptation to particular environmental conditions may weed out

genetic variants that are not successful.

But populations benefit from some genetic diversity, so as to avoid

inbreeding or disease epidemics.

Figure 15.2
 There are 3 components of biodiversity

1. Diversity of genes
Chihuahuas, beagles, and rottweilers are all dogs—but
they're not the same because their genes are different.

Chihuahua Beagle
Rottweilers
 Species diversity

The number or variety of

species in a particular region

Species richness = number of species

Species = a particular type of organism; a population or group of

populations whose members share certain characteristics and can
freely breed with one another and produce fertile offspring

Figure 15.2
 There are 3 components of biodiversity

Diversity of species
For example, monkeys, dragonflies, and
meadow beauties are all different species.

Saki Monkey Golden Skimmer Meadow Beauty

 Ecosystem diversity

Includes diversity
above the species
level

Biologists have viewed diversity above the species level in

various ways. Some alternative ways to categorize it include:
• Community diversity
• Habitat diversity
• Landscape diversity

Figure 15.2
 There are 3 components of biodiversity

Variety of ecosystems
Prairies, Ponds, and tropical rain forests are all
ecosystems. Each one is different, with its own set of
species living in it.

Paines Prairie Florida Sand hill Pond

Rain Forest
Diversity of subspecies Within species,
diversity exists in
subspecies, or
geographic
variations.
The tiger,
Panthera tigris,
had 8
subspecies.
5 persist today,
including
Panthera tigris
altaica, the
Siberian tiger.

Figure 15.4
Diversity of subspecies

Edible-nest Swiftlet
(Aerodramus
fuciphagus)
 Measuring biodiversity

We are still profoundly ignorant of the number of

species that live on our planet.

But many more exist:

How many species are there?
Good question!
About 1.8 million have been
described, but there are an
estimated 10-100 million out there.
Check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D
G-sblc-8g4 (4 min 20seconds into
it…)
http://www.dw.de/estimating-global-
biodiversity-a-tricky-task/a-
17423422
 Measuring biodiversity
Why are we still so unsure of the number of species
on Earth?

–Some areas remain little explored (hydrothermal

vents, rainforest canopies, tropical soils).

–Many species are tiny and inconspicuous (microbes,

roundworms, protists, fungi…).

–Some species are very similar in appearance (many

taxa, even trees, birds, whales).
Montastraea
annularis species
complex
 Biological diversity is fundamentally
genetic diversity
(which arises from…)

Recombination of genes
mating
crossing-over
Point mutations, gene duplication, etc.
 Aspects of Biodiversity

Endemism – species whose distributions

are limited to small areas.
Local extinction = global extinction
408 new mammal species have been found in last 15 yrs. About 60% of these
are ‘cryptic’ (reproductively isolated but have similar morphology) but the rest
are large and distinctive. Most have been found in previously poorly surveyed
regions (see Caballos and Ehrlich PNAS 2009)
 Biodiversity: Where

Where is biodiversity concentrated?

– Tropical forests have 50% of terrestrial species
– Coral reefs
– Latitudinal gradient in species richness
– "Hot spots", areas of high endemism
2 new phyla discovered in last two decades
2000 new plant spp described ea. year
ca 1000 new spp mammals in last two
decades (James L. Patton, 6 spp in 3
weeks, Colombian Andes)
– Since 2000, new spp in 10/20 mammal orders

new ‘cryptic spp’ birds, may be many

 Photo by Mary Aline Stevens

Calochortus tiburonensis, discovered in 1972,

grows on one hillside in Tiburon, California
Goodman's Mouse Lemur, discovered in 2005, one of a host of
new primates discovered so far this century
Pigmy seahorse
This first known species was
discovered in 1969 by George
Bargibant and described in 1970 by
Gilbert Percy Whitley.
Video – Pigmy seahorse
The report
notes that
1,710 new
species have
been
described from
the Greater
Mekong
region since
1997

The Ruby-eyed pit viper (Trimeresurus rubeus) was

discovered in the forest of Vietnam’s Cat Tien national
park. Photograph: Peter Paul van Dijk/Darwin Initiative.
Beelzebub’s tube-nosed bat (Murina beelzebub) from
Quang Tri province, Vietnam. Photograph: Gabor
Csorba/WWF
2 new phyla discovered in last two decades
2000 new plant spp described ea. year
ca 1000 new spp mammals in last two
decades (James L. Patton, 6 spp in 3
weeks, Colombian Andes)
new ‘cryptic spp’ birds, may be many
Tropical examples of species richness

425 trees, 1 ha, Brasil Atlantic forest

1000 butterflies, one corner of Manu NP,
Peru
43 ants, single tree, Peruvian Amazon
(approx. equal to entire British Isles)
 In vietnam

Pseudoryx nghetinhensis- sao la

This is the first of the new mammal species
discovered. First found in Vu Quang forest
reserve, which is in Ha Tinh province of north
central Vietnam. Specimens are also known
from Nghe An province just to the north, and it
is suspected from Thua Thien-Hue province
and Dak Lak in the southern central
highlands. Based on this information, we
believe that Pseudoryx nghetinhensis has a
wider distribution.
 you are an ecosystem: the human
‘rainforest’
mites at base of eyelashes

fungal spores and hyphae on your toenails

majority of the cells in your body are not
yours
--belong to bacteria and other
microorganisms (but most of mass is yours)
your mouth has ca 400 spp microbes
 Some main characteristics of Biodiversity in Vietnam
In 1992, the World Conservation Monitoring Center
evaluated Vietnam as one of the 16 most biologically
diverse countries in the world.
Vietnam’s Biodiversity is characterized by:

- Species diversity: about 11,458 species of fauna, 21,017

species of flora and 3,000 species of micro-organisms have
been recognized and every year many new species are
discovered.
For example, in period of 1993-2002, 13 new genera, 222
species, 30 subspecies were described and 2 families, 19
genera, over 70 species were added to the native flora. Five
new mammal, 3 bird species in mainland Southeast Asia
and large number of new species of reptiles, amphibians,
fishes and invertebrates have been described for 30 years.
 Known species richness of selected taxonomic groups
in Vietnam

Species group Number of Number of Percent of

known global species global species
species described found in
(approx.) (approx.) Vietnam
Terrestrial plants 13,766 220,000 6.3
Insects 7,750 750,000 71.0
Marine fishes 3,170 30,000 10.6
Reptiles 266 6,300 4.5
Amphibians 162 4,186 3.8
Birds 840 9,040 9.3
Mammals 310 4,000 7.7
Among marine
ecosystems, coral
reefs are
particularly
diverse…
 Chapter 2: Distribution of biodiversity

Species are not evenly spread among different

groups.

Insects comprise more than half of all species in world.

Beetles comprise fully 40% of all insects.

Mammals are outnumbered by spiders and their relatives 16

to 1.
Distribution of biodiversity
Size of each
organism is
scaled to its
number of
species.

Mammals
are located in
front of the
insect’s
mandibles.

Figure 15.5a
 Distribution of biodiversity
Some groups that have more species may have gone through an
adaptive radiation.

This is when an ancestral species give rise to many species that

fill different niches, adapting to them by natural selection.

Darwin’s Galápagos finches

Hawaiian honeycreepers
 VERMIVOROUS SPECIES

FEEDING
MODE

MOLLUSCIVOROUS
SPECIES

PISCIVOROUS SPECIES

47
MORPHOLOGIC
CHARACTER
Diverse external
morphology (size,
color, pattern and
shape ...)
Changes in
environmental
conditions.
Changes in diet
Difficulties in
identification and
classification
Distribution of biodiversity
Another pattern in the
uneven distribution of
biodiversity is the
latitudinal gradient:
species richness
increases toward the
equator.

30–100 bird species in

large area of the Arctic

500–700 bird species in

small area of the tropics
Figure 15.6
 Latitudinal gradient
Ecologists are not certain why the latitudinal gradient exists, but
one prevalent idea is that tropical climates encourage specialist
species that can pack tightly in a community.

Figure 15.7
(species richness and latitude)
ECOLOGICAL INTERACTION
Population – group of individuals of the same species
living in the same area, potentially interacting

Community – group of populations of different species

living in the same area, potentially interacting

What are some ecological interactions?

Why are ecological interactions important?

Interactions can affect distribution and abundance.

Interactions can influence evolution.

Think about how the following interactions can affect

distribution, abundance, and evolution.
Types of ecological interactions

competition
predation
parasitism
mutualism
commensalism
symbiosis
Competition – two species share a requirement for a
limited resource reduces fitness of one or both species
Predation – one species feeds on another enhances
fitness of predator but reduces fitness of prey

herbivory is a form of
predation
Parasitism – one species feeds on another enhances
fitness of parasite but reduces fitness of host
Mutualism – two species provide resources or services
to each other enhances fitness of both species
Commensalism – one species receives a benefit from
another species enhances fitness of one species; no
effect on fitness of the other species
Symbiosis – two species live together can include
parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism
 Organizing ecological interactions

effect on species 1

+ 0 -
predation
+ mutualism commensalism herbivory
parasitism

effect on
species 2 0 commensalism competition

predation
- herbivory competition competition
parasitism