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

Describe about the mitochondrial membranes, Describe about the mitochondria...

Describe about the mitochondrial membranes The composition of the two mitochondrial membranes is entirely different. The outer membrane is rich in lipids and contains nearly 50

Strategie of the anti-retroviral drug used in aids treatment, Q. What are s...

Q. What are some strategies of the anti-retroviral drugs used in the AIDS treatment? The Anti-retroviral drugs used in AIDS treatment try to approach any of the several steps o

Left internal mammary artery and coronary artery, Left internal mammar...

Left internal mammary artery (LIMA): It is most often used for bypassing left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery and its diagonal branch. The right internal mammary

How can the reactions of the nervous system be classified, Q. Concerning vo...

Q. Concerning volition of the individual how can the reactions of the nervous system be classified? The efferences (reactions) of the nervous system can be classified into volu

Explain the interaction of vitamin a with iron, Explain the interaction of ...

Explain the interaction of vitamin A with Iron? Iron: Iron status of an individual correlates with vitamin A. The deficiency of  vitamin A has been found to be associated with

Objectives of diabetes counselling, Objectives of Diabetes Counselling    ...

Objectives of Diabetes Counselling      1.  Facilitating decision to start treatment and change life style 2.  Providing psychological, social and emotional support for a.

Pathology of aortic regurgitation, Q. Pathology of aortic regurgitation? ...

Q. Pathology of aortic regurgitation? In Post Inflammatory situations scarring and retraction of valve cusps lead to aortic regurgitation. Varying degrees of commissural fusion

Define the role of protein and purines, Q. Define the Role of Protein and P...

Q. Define the Role of Protein and Purines? Cellular materials of plants, grams and legumes and animal glandular organ meats (liver, pancreas brain, kidneys) contain nucleoprote

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