
Why is biodiversity higher at the equator than it is near the poles?
Answer
477.6k+ views
Hint: The biological variety and variability of life on Earth is referred to as biodiversity. Biodiversity is a term that refers to genetic, species, and ecosystem variation. Because of the warm environment and high primary productivity, terrestrial biodiversity is usually higher near the equator.
Complete answer:
This concept is also known as the latitudinal diversity gradient, which states that diversity decreases as you move from the equator to the poles.
There are a number of hypotheses as to why this is so.
According to one of the most current research on this topic, species turnover is higher in temperate zones.
Other explanations for the latitudinal diversity gradient include increased habitat diversity towards the equator, resulting in more niches for species to occupy.
Some people believe that the equator's higher primary productivity has resulted in more biodiversity. The availability of additional energy in this area means that more consumers can be served.
Biologists discovered that every 10 to 20 million years, a tropical fish species splits into two new species. Near the poles, however, the typical rate is around four million years, which is more than twice as rapid.
The reason for this could be due to the significantly more harsh and unstable climate conditions present near the poles. This leads to more frequent extinctions, which reduces species diversity and empties ecological niches, paving the way for a new burst of species formation in other creature groups.
Note:
Brazil is the world's champion of biodiversity. Brazil tops the world in plant and amphibian species counts, thanks to the Amazon rainforest and Mata Atlantica forest, the wooded savanna-like cerrado, the enormous inland marsh known as the Pantanal, and a variety of other terrestrial and aquatic environments.
Complete answer:
This concept is also known as the latitudinal diversity gradient, which states that diversity decreases as you move from the equator to the poles.
There are a number of hypotheses as to why this is so.
According to one of the most current research on this topic, species turnover is higher in temperate zones.
Other explanations for the latitudinal diversity gradient include increased habitat diversity towards the equator, resulting in more niches for species to occupy.
Some people believe that the equator's higher primary productivity has resulted in more biodiversity. The availability of additional energy in this area means that more consumers can be served.
Biologists discovered that every 10 to 20 million years, a tropical fish species splits into two new species. Near the poles, however, the typical rate is around four million years, which is more than twice as rapid.
The reason for this could be due to the significantly more harsh and unstable climate conditions present near the poles. This leads to more frequent extinctions, which reduces species diversity and empties ecological niches, paving the way for a new burst of species formation in other creature groups.
Note:
Brazil is the world's champion of biodiversity. Brazil tops the world in plant and amphibian species counts, thanks to the Amazon rainforest and Mata Atlantica forest, the wooded savanna-like cerrado, the enormous inland marsh known as the Pantanal, and a variety of other terrestrial and aquatic environments.
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