biodiversity and diversity index

• what is biodiversity?


  the variety and the diversity of life on earth in its many ecosystems and habitats.
• what does biodiversity of an ecosystem give an insight into?

  the overall health and how well its balanced and how likely it is to cope wot environmental changes.
• what does a high biodiversity indicate?

  a healthy ecosystem with lots of genetic variability, different species that are all thriving in the different niches they fill within the ecosystem. There are lots of different species and different genetics in the community and if the community faces a specific environmental challenge there is a higher probability there are species within it resilient enough to survive.
• what does a low biodiversity suggest?

  a struggling community, there won't be many species, limited genetic variation and these struggling communities are vulnerable to environmental challenges. Fewer species means lower probability that any one species is equipped to get through it.
• where is the highest biodiversity on Earth?

  around the equator because of favourable climate, environmental stability and high primary productivity (lots off photosynthetic plants working efficiently)providing a solid base to the food chain.
• what are the 3 ways biodiversity can be used?

  1. species diversity.
  2. genetic diversity.
  3. ecosystem diversity.
• what is species diversity?


  focuses on the number of different species and the number of individuals of these within a given community.
• what is genetic diversity?


  relates to the variety of genes in the gene pool of a population of a species.
• what is ecosystem diversity?

  measures the different types of habitat within an ecosystem, a region or planet earth as a whole.
• what is the most effective and informative way of looking at species diversity?

  species richness, looking generally at the number of species in a community doesn't tell you much.
• what is an example of species richness?

  2 areas of the ocean, they may have the same species present (fish, crabs, shellfish etc). One of the areas may have a balance while the other could be 90% crabs. The former is a healthier community but species diversity doesn't show this, species richness gives a measure of this richness.
• what is the equation for species diversity?

  species diversity = N(N-1) / n(n-1)

  N = total no. of organisms of all species.

  n = total no. of organisms of each species.
• the higher the result of using the species diversity formula, is that more or less diverse?

  the higher the number the more diverse and the healthier the community.