TONIGHT! Cafe Scientifique: Biodiversity- How Special We Are

Dave Harrelson and Susan Jewell, biologists with the  Endangered Species Program at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be discussing biodiversity at 6:15 tonight at The Front Page Restaurant (4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA).

Biodiversity describes the variety of organisms (animals, plants, even microbes) that exist within any given geographical area. This variety decreases as species go extinct. In the last 200 years, extinctions are clearly tied to human interference. Each species has a role that others depend on, including people, to keep the natural balance and a healthy planet. Our food, fuel, building materials, clothing fibers, and medicine all depend on a diverse assortment of native flora and fauna. With this presentation, you will be astounded at the variety of life in the United States – we are home to more than 10 percent of the 1.5 to 1.75 million species of plants and animals known to science. You’ll learn what types of life in the U.S. has more of than anywhere else in the world, what the most endangered groups are, and what the Fish and Wildlife Service is doing to maintain biodiversity.