Join thousands of students who trust us to help them ace their exams!Watch the first video
Multiple Choice
Which of the following is a measure of the biodiversity of an ecosystem?
A
Net primary productivity
B
Species richness
C
Carrying capacity
D
Trophic level
Verified step by step guidance
1
Understand the concept of biodiversity: Biodiversity refers to the variety of life in an ecosystem, including the number of different species, genetic variation, and ecosystem diversity.
Define species richness: Species richness is a measure of biodiversity that counts the number of different species present in an ecosystem. It does not consider the abundance of each species, only the variety.
Clarify why net primary productivity is not a measure of biodiversity: Net primary productivity refers to the rate at which plants and other producers convert energy into biomass, which is related to energy flow rather than species diversity.
Explain why carrying capacity is not a measure of biodiversity: Carrying capacity is the maximum population size of a species that an environment can sustain, which is related to population dynamics rather than the variety of species.
Discuss why trophic level is not a measure of biodiversity: Trophic levels describe the position of organisms in a food chain (e.g., producers, consumers), which is related to energy transfer rather than the number of species in an ecosystem.