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biodiversity

Scientists have identified over 1.75 million species on Earth—over one million of them are insects and spiders. There are many more yet to be identified! All living things are dependent upon one another for survival. This variety of life on Earth—and its interdependence—is called biodiversity.

Stats

What it is: the variety of life on Earth and the ways life is interconnected
Why it's important: it affects the air we breathe, the food we eat, how clean our drinking water is, and is the source of products that come from the Earth (medicine, clothes, shoes, paper, etc.)
Threats affecting it: habitat loss, invasive species, overconsumption, pollution, and climate change

Stumper

Scientists say we are in the middle of a sixth mass extinction. Based on fossil evidence, when did the fifth great extinction occur?

about 650 years ago

about 65,000 years ago

about 65 million years ago

Correct!

About 65 million years ago, around two-thirds of all species, including all the dinosaur groups except birds, became extinct. While this extinction was caused by a natural occurence (possibly due to an asteroid collision), the current extinction is being accelerated at an alarming rate by humans.

Fact or Fiction

Extinction is a natural process that can happen only to plants.

Fact

Fiction

Extinction is a natural process that can happen to any living organism -- plant or animal. When a species becomes extinct, it's gone forever.

Fact or Fiction

All kinds of plants and animals on Earth are related to each other.

Fact

Fiction

Fact

Every kind of life, from bacteria to humans, contains DNA. DNA contains genes -- the building blocks of life -- that pass information from one generation to the next.

Quote

Image credits: main image, jellyfish, © Marcos Paulo Prado/Unsplash; leopard gecko, © おにぎり/Unsplash; crab, © Amy Perez/Unsplash; red spotted newt, John White/© California Academy of Sciences; French angelfish, G. P. Schmahl, NOAA; Escherichia coli, NIAID; sea sponge, © Adam Mastrfshrmn/CC BY 2.0; Spanish shawl nudibranch, © Joan Li/Unsplash; Escherichia coli, © CDC/Unsplash; Greater Bird of Paradise, © AMNH; Rosy periwinkle, Courtesy of James A. Manhart; tiger, D. Finnin/© AMNH ; quote, Eleanor Sterling courtesy of AMNH.

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Test your knowledge about the variety of life on Earth with this quiz.

Test your knowledge about the major groups of life on Earth.

Biodiversity is the rich variety of life on Earth. But why is it important?

Correct!

Fiction

Fact

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