Here are some resources for more in-depth reading about what biodiversity is, why it is important, and threats to biodiversity.
Why Should You Care about Biological Diversity? by Eleanor J. Sterling, Nora Bynum, Ian Harrison, Melina Laverty, Sacha Spector, and Elizabeth Johnson; a Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER) background paper.
The CBC's Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners (NCEP) project offers several modules for further exploration of biodiversity.
Biodiversity in Crisis. A 1998 poll commissioned by the American Museum of Natural History, "Biodiversity in the Next Millennium," suggested substantial gaps between scientists' and the public's self-described knowledge of aspects of biological diversity. The Biodiversity in Crisis site briefly highlights some of the main survey results and outlines the basis of scientific concerns for biodiversity.
Biodiversity Counts! This resource collection includes activities, articles, evidence and analysis and more, for educators, families, students, and anyone interested in teaching or learning about biodiversity. Biodiversity Counts! takes students into the field and engages them in life science research: the inventory of plants and arthropods outside their own backdoors. Resources in this collection include lesson plans, profiles of scientists and Museum staff, essays, and Web-based interactives that help students explore, analyze, and apply their field observations.
Hall of Biodiversity. The American Museum of Natural History's permanent exhibition hall devoted to what many scientists believe is the most pressing environmental issue of our time: the need to protect and preserve our planet's biodiversity.
Encyclopedia of Life. The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is an ambitious project to organize and make available via the Internet virtually all information about life present on Earth.
Koebner, L., J.E.S. Sokolow, F.T. Grifo, and S. Simpson (Eds.) 1998. Scientists on Biodiversity. American Museum of Natural History, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation.
Wilson, E.O. The Diversity of Life. 1999. W W Norton & Co Inc.
Eldredge, N. 1998. Life in the Balance. Humanity and the Biodiversity Crisis. Princeton University Press.
Eldredge, N (ed.). 2002. Life on Earth. An Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, Ecology, and Evolution. ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, California.