11:375:101 Midterm: Enviro Exam 2 Study Guide
30 Jan 2019
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Explain why biodiversity is one of the three principles of sustainability. Biodiversity in genes, species, ecosystems, and ecosystem processes is vital to sustaining the earth"s life. Biodiversity is the variety of life on earth. Species diversity- the number and abundance of different kinds of species living in an ecosystem. For most plants and animals, species diversity (most richness) is highest in the tropics and declines as you move from the equator and towards the poles. Genetic diversity is the variety of genes found in a population or in a species. Species have a better chance of surviving and adapting to environmental changes if they have greater genetic diversity. Ecosystem diversity is the earth"s diversity of biological communities such as deserts, grasslands, forests, mountains, oceans, lakes, rivers, wetlands. Biomes are large regions such as forests, deserts, and grasslands, defined by distinct climates and certain prominent species such as vegetation.
