Humans have produced a diversity of domestic animals
Many gene codes for proteins, which in turn carry out metabolic processes that keep the organism alive and reproducing. Genetic diversity can be measured as chemical diversity in different species produces a variety of chemicals in their cells, both protein and metabolic products and byproducts. This chemical diversity has potential benefits for humans as a source of medicines, thus providing a way to measure diversity that is important for human health and well-being.
Humans have produced a diversity of domestic animals, plants and fungi.
This diversity also suffers from losses due to migration, market forces, and increased globalization in agriculture, especially in highly populated areas such as China, India, and Japan. Human populations are directly dependent on this diversity as a stable food source, the decline is disturbing biologists and agricultural scientists research journals.
It is also useful for determining ecosystem diversity: the number of different ecosystems on the planet or in certain geographical regions. Entire ecosystems can be lost even if some species might survive by adapting to other ecosystems. The loss of ecosystems means the loss of interaction between species, loss of unique features of co-adaptation, and loss of biological productivity that ecosystems are able to create.
An example of an ecosystem that is largely extinct in North America is the grassland ecosystem. The prairie once stretches the center of North America from the boreal forest in northern Canada down to Mexico. Now, they have largely disappeared, replaced by agricultural land, pasture, and urban development. Many of the species survive, but the highly productive ecosystems that are responsible for creating the most productive agricultural land are now gone. As a result, the land disappears or must be protected at a greater cost.
Despite considerable effort, knowledge of the species inhabiting the planet is limited. Recent estimates indicate that the number of identified eukaryote species, around 1.5 million species, reaches less than 20 percent of the total number of eukaryotic species present on the planet (8.7 million species, by one estimate) (Figure 1). Estimates of the number of prokaryotic species are largely guessed, but biologists agree that science is only beginning to catalog their diversity. Even with what is known, there is no central repository of names or samples of species described, so there is no way to ensure that 1.5 million is an accurate number.
This is the best estimate based on the opinion of experts in different taxonomic groups. Given the earth's loss of species in a fast tempo, science knows very little about what is being lost.
There are various initiatives to make species catalogs explained in an easily accessible way, the internet is facilitating that effort. Nevertheless, it has been shown that at the current level of species description, which according to the State of Observed Species Report is 17,000 to 20,000 new species per year, it will take nearly 500 years to complete describing life on this planet.
Naming and counting species may seem to be an unnecessary pursuit given other human needs, but the calculations are not that simple. Describing species is a complex process in which biologists determine the unique characteristics of an organism and whether organisms belonging to other species are described or not. This allows biologists to find and recognize species after initial discovery, which allows them to follow up on questions about biology. In addition, the unique characteristics of each species make it potentially valuable to humans or other species on which humans depend. Understanding these characteristics is the value of searching and naming species.