Biodiversity - "Biodiversity:
The variety of different species in an ecosystem,
genetic variation within a population of a species,
and variety of kinds of ecosystems.

The word biodiversity has come to mean 'the web of life,' or 'all living things interconnected.' (Peter Raven, Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden)

Greater biodiversity makes species and systems more resilient, while loss of biodiversity weakens them, making them more vulnerable to extinction." (Committee for the National Institute for the Environment)

If a large proportion of the biosphere is invested in only a small number of species (such as humans and their associated domesticated/cultivated species), this will result in an inherently unstable system.
 

Species - a group of related and similar living organisms that can interbreed among their own species and produce fertile offspring.

Species diversity - the different types of living organisms within a region or ecosystem (plants, animals, and other life forms).

Genetic - heredity passed from parent to offspring (physical and functional)

Genetic diversity - the differences between living organisms within a species.

Ecosystem - all the living organisms and all the non-living components of a given area interacting as a whole functional unit.

Ecosystem diversity - the variety of different habitats in a particular area (i.e., wetland, woodland, grassland; coral reef, tidepool, mangrove)

In the simplest terms related to our daily lives, you might compare taxonomy to our filing systems where we keep papers and letters organized in file folders, or the way we keep our things organized in drawers and cupboards in our homes, or the way items are organized in grocery stores.  Things that are alike are kept together and organized, and we know what we have (like an inventory).

The taxonomy system is a valued global resource in helping developed and developing countries to accurately identify, name, and classify the biodiversity in their regions, and to understand the relationships of all organisms. 

The sequence of categories for identifying and classifying living organisms, starting at the top, is as follows:

Domain
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species

TAXONOMY AT WORK

Biologists Revise Outdated Amphibian Taxonomy (Fox News, 4/19/06)
New information is based on analyzing DNA and other data.

Amphibians Hang Out in New Tree of Life (LiveScience, 4/19/06)
The largest analysis ever, of the evolutionary relationships among all living amphibians has been completed.  In fact, this project also is the largest of any kind so far of any group of vertebrate animals.  See images of the project and the new amphibian tree of life.

"We have scarcely as yet read more than the title page and preface of the great volume of nature"

Joseph Henry,
First Smithsonian Secretary

"Ancient forests, free-flowing rivers, living oceans and deserts
and the abundance of life they contain:
all these, having evolved over millions of years,
are in danger of vanishing from the world within decades."

"Currently the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of its components is a priority, given the environmental crisis of the planet in recent decades. Knowledge of biodiversity becomes urgent in view of the rapid process of the loss of ecosystems, species and genes, as well as a broad spectrum of environmental services and products derived from plants and animals pending discovery or study."

(CONABIO/REMIB)
REMIB - World Biodiversity Information Network

"It is reckless to suppose that biodiversity can be diminished indefinitely 
without threatening humanity itself."