Anyone with a functioning sense of biophilia is familiar with the concept of biodiversity. It is the very substance of conservation biology; you cannot discuss one without discussing the other. Attempting to do so would be a bit like a biography of Bruce Springsteen failing to mention New Jersey. Yes, we have all heard the word, but it is often helpful to ensure that we are defining our terms correctly. So, then, what does the word biodiversity actually mean? Generally speaking, it seems that many people define biodiversity in a rather wiggly fashion, something along the lines of “a bunch of natural stuff interacting with other natural stuff.” That’s close, but the concept is a good deal more complex. According to the book An Introduction to Conservation Biology , biodiversity is defined this way: [Biodiversity is] the complete range of species and biological communities on earth, as well as the genetic variation within those species and all ecosystem processes. Broken do...
"Into wilderness people travel in search of new life and wonder… Wilderness settles peace on the soul because it needs no help; it is beyond human contrivance." – Edward O. Wilson, The Diversity of Life