Those of us who retain dead trees or place nest boxes in our yards enjoy the wonder of watching woodpeckers listen and dig for termites; we are serenaded by wrens; and we benefit from the appetites of swallow, chickadee, bluebird, and flycatcher broods that are sated on insects, including pesky mosquitoes.
Species diversity can be thought of as an insurance policy against today's environmental change and tomorrow's new evolutionary challenges.
To remember what bio-diversity is and why it is important, we must conserve nature close to where we live and work as well as develop distant reserves.
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