Fall 2020

With its spectacular panoramas, vast grasslands, woodland habitats and vibrant vernal pools, the Carrizo Plain north of Los Padres National Forest is often called California’s Serengeti because of its incredible diversity of species and its ecologically important migration pathways for wildlife.

Where there are sea otters—furry, bewhiskered and adorable—floating offshore, tourists flock and dollars flow, according to a new analysis published in Science. Add the value sea otters provide to nearshore ecosystems, and the financial gains are potentially more than seven times greater than the economic losses to the fisheries that sea otters compete with for food.

Now that you’ve read about all the amazing things biodiversity does for us, here are some things you can do.

Earth is teeming with life, from the biggest blue whales and redwoods to the tiniest bacteria and fungi, all bound together by a maze of interactions. Earth has so many species in so many places—be it in a square inch of soil or along a thousand-mile migration route—no one is even sure how many there are.