AP Environmental Science / Unit 2: The Living World: Biodiversity
2.1 Introduction to Biodiversity
Notes
Biodiversity includes genetic, species and ecosystem diversity.
- Species richness (number of species) and evenness (how balanced their numbers are).
- Higher genetic diversity helps populations survive change; small populations face bottlenecks.
Practice
Two forests each have 5 species. Forest A has equal numbers of each; B is 90% one species. A has higher:
Same richness, more balanced.
Populations with low genetic diversity are vulnerable because:
Little variation to select from.
Species richness is:
A count.
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