Biodiversity is an abbreviation for biological diversity and is the variety of living organisms in an area. It can be measured at different levels.
- Genetic diversity
- Species diversity
- Ecosystem diversity
Genetic Diversity
• The diversity of genetic characteristics (expressed or recessive) within a species (i.e. between individuals and populations of the same species).
• This component of biodiversity is important because it allows populations to adapt to environmental changes through the survival and reproduction of individuals within a population that have particular genetic characteristics that enable them to withstand these changes.
We look at this more in Unit 4.
Species Diversity
• Simply the number and relative abundance of species found in a given biological organisation (population, ecosystem, Earth).
• Species are the basic units of biological classification and hence, this is the measure most commonly associated with the term ‘biodiversity’.
We will now look at species and their classification, before coming back to ecosystem diversity.