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Biodiversity

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Biodiversity refers to the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem. It is necessary for life to thrive on Earth.

Aldo Leopold, one of the great thinkers of conservation, observed more than half a century ago the importance of protecting species. "To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering," he wrote. Losing species is like throwing away one by one the engine parts of an airplane while flying.

Biodiversity is a major initiative of Conservation International.

Biodiversity conservation provides substantial benefits to meet immediate human needs, such as those for clean, consistent water flows; protection from floods and storms; and a stable climate. 

Curated by mokiethecat

Roll up to the club like what up, millipede stampede
August 27, 2019
Wild & Weird: A Millipede and Its Shadow Although “millipede” comes from the Latin words for “a thousand” and “feet,” millipedes don’t actually have a thousand legs. The number varies from well under a hundred legs to several hundred legs, depending on how many body segments the millipede has. Millipedes are born with only three pairs of legs and grow the rest of their multitudinous limbs. The fossil record suggests that as some of the first air breathers, millipedes may be the oldest animals to have left the primordial soup of the ocean for the land — where legs can come in handy. Male millipedes have a few specialized “sex legs” called gonopods. The male uses these specially modified legs to transfer his sperm packet to the female.