What do you mean by alpha diversity, Biology

Assignment Help:

Q. What do you mean by Alpha diversity?

Alpha (a) richness refers to the number of species found in small, homogenous area. Alpha diversity refers to the diversity in a particular area or ecosystem and is usually expressed by the number of species (i.e. species richness) in that ecosystem.

Alpha diversity is characterised by several widespread patterns that are characteristic of most taxa and are strongly correlated with physical environmental gradients. For example,

· Marine and terrestrial environments in tropical regions have more species of higher taxonomic groups than those in higher latitude communities.

· Richness of species in terms of most taxa is positively correlated with habitat structural complexity.

· Structurally simple habitats like open oceans, grasslands, etc. generally support fewer species than structurally complex communities such as forests and coral reefs. In the open oceans maximum richness of most groups is found at depths between 2000-4000 m. In contrast coral species richness peaks at depths between 15-30 m because corals obtain their energy from photosynthetic organisms embedded in their tissues, and are thus confined to the photic zone.

· Island communities are poor in species than comparable mainland communities.


Related Discussions:- What do you mean by alpha diversity

Amino acid metabolism, All tissues have some capability for synthesis of th...

All tissues have some capability for synthesis of the non-essential amino acid remodeling, amino acids and conversion of non-amino acid carbon skeletons into amino acids and other

Law of diminishing return, Law of Diminishing Return A German scientis...

Law of Diminishing Return A German scientist Mitscherlich calculated the effect of different quantities of various growth factors on the yield of plants by means of a mathemat

Polynephritis in cattle, Polynephritis in cattle Contagious bovine pol...

Polynephritis in cattle Contagious bovine polynephritis is a specific infection of urinary tract of cattle. The causative agent is Corynebacterium renale, a rod shaped gram-po

gas exchange, what are the organs of respiration in the lower form of anim...

what are the organs of respiration in the lower form of animals?

What is acute severe mitral regurgitation, Q. What is Acute Severe Mitral R...

Q. What is Acute Severe Mitral Regurgitation? Acute severe mitral regurgitation is a medical emergency. Patient presents with breathlessness and low output state. He may be is

Why do ribosomes move along mrna during translation, Why do ribosomes move ...

Why do ribosomes move along mRNA during translation? During translation the ribosome always exposes two mRNA codons to be translated by moving along the mRNA. When a peptide bo

Parasitology, how trematodes/nematodes adapt to their parasitic mode of fee...

how trematodes/nematodes adapt to their parasitic mode of feeding

Describe asd closure and vsd closure in heart dieases, Describe ASD closure...

Describe ASD closure and VSD closure in heart dieases? ASD Closures : Small ASD's can be closed directly. Others will need a pericardial patch. Piimum ASD and Sinus Venosus A

Describe the basic working of chemoreceptors, Q. Where are the chemorecepto...

Q. Where are the chemoreceptors that detect the acidity of the trigger and blood the respiratory compensation located? The chemoreceptors that participate in the ventilation co

Pre-mating isolating mechanisms, We mentioned earlier that pre-mating mecha...

We mentioned earlier that pre-mating mechanisms are concerned with the prevention of occurrence of interspecific crosses. In such cases, a) the potential mates do not meet in wh

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd