Biodiversity

The variety of species contribute to the biodiversity on Earth; biodiversity affects the global ecosystem including humans. This biodiversity is important in providing us a plethora of novel compounds that can be used as human medicines. Painkillers, for instance, such as ziconotide have been discovered in cone snails. Biodiversity also provides choices for animal physiologies to model human diseases. All approved pharmaceutical compounds must undergo laboratory testing before testing and/or using on humans.

Also, animal diversity provides several incompatible hosts that forms a protective blanket against pathogens present in wildlife that could become zoonotic. These pathogens are “diluted” upon transmission into non-permissible hosts. This protective effect of biodiversity has already been discovered in the case of Lyme disease where people have a greater risk of contracting the disease near fragmented compared to intact forests.

Lastly, the thousands of species present in the ecosystem in crops help in preventing diseases and pests, recycling nutrients, and pollination. Thus, it is important to develop innovative technologies to save endangered species and maintain biodiversity.