J at 08:38, 6 January 2006

2006-01-06T08:38:45Z

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'''Biodiversity''' or '''biological diversity''' is a [[neologism]] and a [[portmanteau word]], from ''bio'' and [[diversity]]. It is the diversity of and in living [[nature]]. Diversity, at its heart, implies the number of different kinds of objects, such as species. However, defining biodiversity or measures of biodiversity, is not so simple. The term biological diversity, was coined by [[Thomas Lovejoy]] in 1980, while the word biodiversity itself, was coined by the entomologist [[E.O. Wilson]] in 1986, in a report for the first American Forum on biological diversity organized by the [[National Research Council]] (NRC). The word biodiversity was suggested to him by the staff of NRC, to replace biological diversity, considered to be less effective in terms of communication. Since 1986 the terms and the concept have achieved widespread use among biologists, environmentalists, political leaders, and concerned citizens world-wide. This use has coincided with the expansion of concern over [[extinction]] observed in the last decades of the 20th century.

Biodiversity - Revision history

J at 08:38, 6 January 2006