Ecologists have extensively studied one of the fundamental characteristics of communities: biodiversity. One measure of biodiversity used by ecologists is the number of different species in a particular area and their relative abundance. The area in question could be a habitat, a biome, or the entire biosphere.
Species richness is the term used to describe the number of species living in a habitat or other unit. Species richness varies across the globe (Figure 19.23). Ecologists have struggled to understand the determinants of biodiversity. Species richness is related to latitude: the greatest species richness occurs near the equator and the lowest richness occurs near the poles. Other factors influence species richness as well. Island biogeography attempts to explain the great species richness found in isolated islands, and has found relationships between species richness, island size, and distance from the mainland.
Relative species abundance is the number individuals in a species relative to the total number of individuals in all species within a system. Foundation species, described below, often have the highest relative abundance of species.
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