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ECOLOGY BIODIVERSITY To scientists, biodiversity is a measure of the numbers of species that make up a biologic community and is considered to be one of the more important aspects of community organization and structure. The factors contributing to higher levels of diversity in some communities rather than in others are not known with certainty and remain a topic of scientific debate. Diversity appears to be partly a function of the variety of living spaces (habitats) present: more varied habitats tend to be inhabited by a larger number of species than less variable ones. A second factor seems to be the length of time that environments have existed or have been available to organisms; older habitats usually contain more species than younger ones. Other factors that may control diversity include temperature, the presence or absence of seasons, and the stability of food supplies. Warmer, more constant, temperatures reduced seasonal differences, and stable food supplies appear to result in high levels of biodiversity. One example of how these factors interact is the latitudinal diversity gradient in shallow seas where diversity is highest at the equator and gradually decreases toward the poles. More information on diversity and its controlling factors can be found within the Biodiversity Exercise, linked below. Workshop Exercises Link to the PAST Statistical Software Home Page |
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