WWF UK - Conservation, climate change, sustainability. Greenpeace UK. IUCN - Home. Biodiversity. Coral reefs are amongst the most diverse ecosystems on earth. Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life.[1] This can refer to genetic variation, species variation, or ecosystem variation[1] within an area, biome, or planet. Terrestrial biodiversity tends to be highest near the equator,[2] which seems to be the result of the warm climate and high primary productivity.[3] Marine biodiversity tends to be highest along coasts in the Western Pacific, where sea surface temperature is highest and in mid-latitudinal band in all oceans.[4] Biodiversity generally tends to cluster in hotspots,[5] and has been increasing through time[6][7] but will be likely to slow in the future.[8] Rapid environmental changes typically cause mass extinctions.[9][10][11] One estimate is that <1%–3% of the species that have existed on Earth are extant.[12] The United Nations designated 2011–2020 as the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity.
Etymology[edit] Definitions[edit] Distribution[edit] Hotspots[edit]