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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

That's Wild: Another Sex Trick … of Mussels
April 06, 2023
Marvelous freshwater mussels have ingenious ways of reproducing: They make a tantalizing lure to attract fish, then expel their larvae onto the fishes’ gills to be incubated, for example. Or they make long strings like fishing lines with a larva packet on the end. Well, now researchers have discovered a new tactic these jokers use to find fishy hosts for their offspring. A female of the endangered thick-shelled river mussel will climb up a streambank, with part of her body poking out of the water, and spurt larva-infused jets out into the air and down onto the water’s surface. Those jets make splashes that attract fish looking to gobble up insects, but end up inadvertently hosting the larvae in their gills. Learn more: https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/remarkable-squirting-mussels-captured-on-film Photo and video of thick-shelled river mussel by David Aldridge/University of Cambridge