Biodiversity is the extraordinary variety of life on Earth — from genes and species to ecosystems and the valuable functions they perform. E.O. Wilson, the noted biologist and author who coined the term “biodiversity,” explains it as “the very stuff of life.”For at least 3.8 billion years, a complex web of life has been evolving on Earth. Millions of species inhabit land, freshwater, and ocean ecosystems. All species, including human beings, are intricately linked by their interactions with each other and the environments they live in.Biodiversity — short for biological diversity — is the variety of all living things and their interactions. Biodiversity changes over time as extinction occurs and newspecies.evolve.Scientists often speak of three levels of diversity: species, genetic, and ecosystem diversity. In fact, these levels cannot be separated. Each is important, interacting with and influencing others. Changes at one level can cause changes at other levels.
