Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services and Sustainable Development

Biodiversity helps to ensure a healthy and functioning planet. We depend on biodiversity to facilitate ecosystem services essential for life and our well-being. These include the microorganisms that enrich soil and purify water, the pollinators that give us food, and the plants that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, as the human impact on the planet intensifies, the ability of ecosystems to provide these services is increasingly compromised.

To highlight this issue and support the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) 6: Clean water and sanitation, 13: Climate action, 14: Life below water and 15: Life on land, BMC Ecology and Evolution has published this collection to bring together research on:

• the impact of human activity on biodiversity and the functioning of ecosystems,
• reducing degradation of natural habitats,
• halting biodiversity loss and protecting threatened species,
• sustainable use of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems,
• the trafficking of protected species and
• the ecological impact of invasive species.

Assoc. Prof. Gary Bucciarelli, UCLA, USA

Dr Gary Bucciarelli currently serves as the Director of Research at the UCLA Stunt Ranch Biological Field Station and holds an Associate Professor position in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology. His research focuses on freshwater ecosystems to understand the drivers of population change, stressors affecting biodiversity patterns, and solutions to restore ecosystems. 

Assoc. Prof. Luisa Orsini, University of Birmingham, UK

Luisa is a Professor of Evolutionary Systems Biology and Environmental Omics at the University of Birmingham where she is affiliated both with Biosciences and the Institute of Interdisciplinary Data Science and AI. Luisa is also an Alan Turing Fellow at the UK Alan Turing Institute, the national institute for data science and artificial intelligence. Prof. Orsini's mission is to improve environmental health by pushing the boundaries of research and innovation. Luisa applies high throughput sequencing technologies, data science and AI to understand the impact of environmental change on freshwater ecosystems. Luisa works with ghost DNA and resurrected crustaceans to identify the causes of biodiversity loss and the mechanisms of evolution that allow species to persist. Luisa loves multidisciplinary science and thinking out of the box. This thinking has led her to patent and commercialize a water reclamation and waste valorization technology that meets the net-zero carbon emission goals and delivers clean water to all. By translating cutting-edge multidisciplinary science into practical applications, she provides tools and processes for mitigation interventions that enable green growth and meet UN developmental goals. 

Assoc. Prof. Luke Jacobus, IUPUC, USA

Luke is Associate Professor of Biology at Indiana University Purdue University Columbus and a Visiting Scholar at Purdue University, West Lafayette. His research focuses on the diversity and distribution of mayflies worldwide, including their roles in ecosystem services. Among others, Luke teaches a Global Change Biology class and is an active member of his campus's Sustainability committee.