Question

Explain the three causes for biodiversity depletion.

Answer 1

Hint: Biodiversity refers to any different kind of species whether plants or animals which reside in a particular area that gives the area its diversity. But in recent times, the majority of the biodiversity is being depleted due to many factors and the major being human activities.

Complete answer: The three causes of biodiversity are as follows:
1) Habitat loss: Deforestation is the human activity which is done for urbanization, agriculture and establishment of industries. These are the reasons that have caused a decrease in the forest area on the earth's surface. Animals that are adapted to living in these areas lost their habitat because they lost their homes to reside and they cannot adapt in new areas. Apart from these, the fragmentation of forests will disrupt the migration routes for many animals and will also divide the group of animals. These have led to the extinction of many species of animals and plants.
2) Overexploitation: For over a very long time we have been using natural resources. Since there is an increase in the human population, the requirement also increases but the sources that we have are finite and it would get replenished easily. For example, if we use agricultural land to produce a certain crop and use it continuously without giving it a break between two crops, nutrients and minerals in the soil gets depleted and the land becomes barren, or when we over catch fish in ponds, the fish population will start to decline and in no time there will be no fishes left.
3) Alien/ invasive species: For our benefit, we introduce certain types of species in an area where they do not belong. These species are called invasive species or alien species. These species do not belong to that ecosystem, so when they are introduced into a new ecosystem, they start to compete with the locally grown native crops and after some time they may even overgrow and make the local plant extinct.

Note: Biodiversity has to be protected. It can be done by following ways such as strict government legislation, habitat restoration, invasive species reduction, usage of sustainable products, seed banks, captive breeding, etc.