How to Track Biodiversity

Biodiversity refers to the diversity of species and life forms in an ecosystem. Scientists track biodiversity to measure the human impact on the environment and the impact of climate change on different ecosystems. Biodiversity is an important biological concept, with an intact food chain and numerous different life forms occurring in a healthy environment. Tracking biodiversity is a time-consuming and challenging task, often plagued by underfunded operations, but such efforts prevent the collapse of different environments and extinction of different species.

Things You'll Need

• Historical biology, ethnology and marine biology records
• Field notes from surveys
• Wildlife tracking collars

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Instructions

• 1

  Outline a specific area to track biodiversity. Single ecosystems are common, but areas with multiple overlapping ecosystems also work well for tracking biodiversity.

• 2

  Research historical data from the study area. List the previous species recorded and the date of each record. Use the historical data to develop a vision of the study area before any development occurred.

• 3

  Conduct field surveys in the area to outline the ecosystem and current plant, insect and animal species. Conduct population surveys to determine the general health of the different species present in the area.

• 4

  Compare the current data to the historical data and look for any significant change. Removing any species from the top or bottom of the food chain can lead to a major reduction in biodiversity.

• 5

  Monitor the current plant populations through field observation and monitor the animal populations with tracking collars and regular field surveys. Natural population shifts occur over time and monitoring the relationship between prey and predator populations for several decades is common. Prey populations rise as predator populations decline, and the system shifts in the opposite direction as a response to the peak prey populations. Any sharp decline in both populations indicates a major issue in the environment and food chain.