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The article offers information on a study according to which considerable protection of earth can ensure protection of sufficient biodiversity. It mentions that achieving the goal of protecting large fractions of biodiversity is theoretically possible in relatively small fractions of the Earth's surface, because small-ranged species are geographically concentrated.

Darwin used the metaphor of a ‘tangled bank’ to describe the complex interactions between species. Those interactions are varied: they can be antagonistic ones involving predation, herbivory and parasitism, or mutualistic ones, such as those involving the pollination of flowers by insects. Moreover, the metaphor hints that the interactions may be complex to the point of being impossible to understand. All interactions can be visualized as ecological networks, in which species are linked together, either directly or indirectly through intermediate species. Ecological networks, although complex, have well defined patterns that both illuminate the ecological mechanisms underlying them and promise a better understanding of the relationship between complexity and ecological stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the biological diversity among humans. Observation that many human languages are disappearing; Different ways in which "language" is used, sometimes to refer to a major form of speech, sometimes dialects as well; Comparison of languages to animal species, which are not randomly distributed, are most plentiful in the tropics and wet tropics, and are being eliminated as time goes by.

Reflects on the state of the Earth and its environment in light of the new millennium. Claim that yet is still unknown about the environment, such as how many species there are, that ecologists in the future may know; Fact that a lack of knowledge about ecology today could be fatal in the future, having not been able to prepare; Proposals on how to accurately measure the number of species on Earth, the rate of their extinction and the amount of forest being cleared.

Summary: Most of the world’s remaining habitats are split into small fragments that lose species quickly. Knowledge of this fact can guide practical actions to prevent extinctions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimates of non-microbial diversity on Earth range from 2 million to over 50 million species, with great uncertainties in numbers of insects, fungi, nematodes, and deep-sea organisms. We summarize estimates for major taxa, the methods used to obtain them, and prospects for further discoveries. Major challenges include frequent synonymy, the difficulty of discriminating certain species by morphology alone, and the fact that many undiscovered species are small, difficult to find, or have small geographic ranges. Cryptic species could be numerous in some taxa. Novel techniques, such as DNA barcoding, new databases, and crowd-sourcing, could greatly accelerate the rate of species discovery. Such advances are timely. Most missing species probably live in biodiversity hotspots, where habitat destruction is rife, and so current estimates of extinction rates from known species are too low. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]