मराठी

Importance of Species Diversity to the Ecosystem

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Estimated time: 3 minutes
Maharashtra State Board: Class 12

Key Points: Importance of Species Diversity to the Ecosystem

  • A stable community maintains constant biomass production, withstands disturbances, recovers quickly and resists invasive species.
  • David Tilman proved that greater species richness maintains the stability of an ecological community. Rich diversity leads to lesser variation in biomass production — called Productivity Stability Hypothesis.
  • Paul Ehrlich (Stanford) proposed the Rivet Popper Hypothesis — an ecosystem compared to an aeroplane and species to rivets. Loss of one species may not cause immediate damage, but gradual loss seriously threatens the ecosystem.
  • Loss of key species causes rapid and serious damage, showing that diversity and ecosystem well-being do not share a linear relationship.
  • Loss of species disturbs food chains, food webs, energy flow and natural cycles — affecting the entire balance of the ecosystem.
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