What Is Biodiversity?

The Lagoon Society is committed to preserving the biodiverse ecosystems of the Sunshine Coast, and raising awareness about threats to biodiversity around the world.

What is Biodiversity?

There are many different definitions of biodiversity, although the most all-encompassing one is simply ‘the variety of life on earth.’ But, as with most things about our natural environment, it goes a little deeper than that.

This video from the Vancouver Film School gives an excellent short primer on biodiversity:

This short clip shows how just one species (the wolf) can be linked to a web which has a multitude of effects on ecosystems:

How Wolves Change Rivers from Sustainable Man on Vimeo.

When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in the United States after being absent nearly 70 years, the most remarkable "trophic cascade" occurred. What is a trophic cascade and how exactly do wolves change rivers? George Monbiot explains in this movie remix.

Why is protecting biodiversity important?

People are inextricably linked to the natural environment and depend on it for clean air, clean water, nutrient cycling, pollination and other ‘ecosystem services’ of which we are only just beginning to understand the value. Biodiverse areas tend to be more resistant to change, so they provide the most stable ecosystem services upon which we all depend, even in the face of disturbances such as natural disasters and climate change.

Many would argue that there is a moral imperative to conserve biodiversity because it is the right thing to do. Many people think that it is wrong for humans to cause extinctions of ecosystems, species and populations for our own gain. Extinctions and declines are often undoubtedly due to the influence of people.

Humans depend on biodiversity for food, fuel, fibre, medicines, recreation, and for aesthetic and spiritual values. The Sunshine Coast would not be what it is today without its bountiful ocean, abundant forests, and pristine wetlands. By protecting and enhancing our biodiversity, we maintain the quality of life of our wildlife and our communities.

The following video gives a quick glimpse into the incredibly diverse biosphere we call home:

Biodiversity of the Sunshine Coast

The Sunshine Coast boasts a fantastic diversity of landscapes and wildlife, with crystal clear oceans that teem with sea life, productive wetlands and low-elevation forests which give refuge to wildlife at the very northern limits of their ranges, and lofty alpine meadows and high-elevation forests that are home to mysterious and elusive mountain creatures.

Among our most precious habitats are the Coastal Douglas-fir forests. These landscapes, with their towering ancient old-growth Douglas-fir trees by the sea, are the rarest in all of British Columbia.

In the abundant ponds and lakes of the Sechelt Peninsula, Western Painted Turtles lurk among the lilies and reeds. On a sunny day they’ll haul themselves out onto floating logs to sun themselves, but in the winter, they hibernate buried underwater in muddy lake bottoms for up to 5 months.

High up in the high-elevation old-growth forests of the Sunshine Coast you’ll find the nests of the Marbled Murrelet – a mysterious seabird that can travel dozens of kilometres daily from the ocean where they feed to where their growing chicks demand to be fed. Poor fliers, these inconspicuous little birds have to crash land at their nests and then take a flying leap to get airborne again!

These are just some of the incredible landscapes and wildlife that we are lucky to enjoy on the Sunshine Coast. By everyone in our community working together to develop a biodiversity strategy, we can protect and enhance our species and habitats for many years into the future.