Biodiversity can have three general meanings. (see http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/environment/biodiversity/ for more information) First, it can be used to describe the complexity of biological species that populate a specific ecosystem. At a macro level, biodiversity is influenced by the natural environmental features found within an ecosystem. These features may include lakes, oceans, forests, mountains, deserts, and swamps. Within these macro-environmental features there usually exists overlapping or distinct micro-ecosystems. Read the full story