Question

Alpha diversity is the biodiversity present
(a) Within the community
(b) Between community
(c) Ranges of communities
(d) All of the above

Answer 1

Hint: There are 3 types of spatial components of biodiversity- alpha, beta, and gamma diversity. Alpha diversity refers to one species, whereas beta diversity compares between different communities. Gamma diversity sums up both the alpha and beta diversity of a region.

Complete step by step answer:
The biodiversity present within the community is said to be alpha diversity. It is usually expressed by the number of species or species richness of a particular area. Along with beta and gamma diversity, alpha diversity acts as a tool for the measurement of biodiversity.

Addition Information:
Biodiversity describes the variation of life forms present on the earth, be it the high mountains, the deep sea, or the atmosphere itself. It is the most essential feature of the earth. It deals with the biosphere to sustain life on earth.
Biodiversity includes a variety of plants, animals, and microbes and refers to their number and frequency in the environment.
The spatial components of biodiversity are described in 3 terms, mainly
- Alpha diversity: It is the average diversity of species within a habitat. It is of local measure, i.e. number of species found in a certain area. If we take an example- an area has 5 species of rats, then the alpha diversity of rats in that place will be 5.
- Beta diversity: The difference in species composition is defined by beta diversity. It compares the composition between communities. In this comparison, the alpha diversity and the number of unique species of each habitat come into consideration.
- Gamma diversity: It refers to the overall number of species within the region. It is the combination of both alpha and beta diversity. In a region, all the species of all habitat sums inside gamma diversity.

Note: The level of diversity of these 3 types is very much different from one another. We can memorize the levels by learning the fact that alpha diversity is considered in the case of a species in a community, beta in the case of comparison between two communities, and gamma in the case of a range of species in a region.