WHAT ARE SOME OF THE INTRINSIC VALUES OF BIODIVERSITY?
While it frequently is difficult to attach a numerical value for intrinsic qualities of biodiversity to assess comparative economic worth, there are several ecologically important factors we can consider:
Species range (site-endemic, local-endemic, regional-endemic, and widespread). The destruction of a natural habitat within an area is likely to be a mortal blow to a site-endemic species, but will have minimal consequences for the survival of a widespread, commonly-occurring, abundant species
Uniqueness of a species which shows unusual features or adaptations to habitats (link to Rudi's crab story)
Uniqueness of functional groups and their contribution to ecosystem stability (e.g. keystone species); top predators in a food web.)
