Question

Species diversity increases as one proceeds from:
(A) High altitude to low altitude and high latitude to low latitude
(B) Low altitude to high altitude and high latitude to low latitude
(C) Low altitude to high altitude and low latitude to high latitude
(D) High altitude to low altitude and low latitude to high latitude

Answer 1

Hint: A species can be described as a collection of plants, animals, or other living creatures that share similarities and are categorized according to their similarities in characteristics. The vast variety or number of organisms present in a given biological system is commonly referred to as species diversity.

Complete answer:
In general if we understand the meaning of latitudes and altitude, we can easily identify the right answer.
Latitudes are the imaginary lines that run from westward to eastward direction. By using latitudes in combination with longitudes, they help us to identify the exact position of each place. The equator that separates the northern hemisphere of the earth from the southern hemisphere is considered to be the longest latitude, at the same time the latitudes near the poles are the shortest.
High latitudes means the latitudes near the poles and low latitude is the one closer to the equator. Note that there is a more favorable environment and climate near the equators or as we approach the equators, so more species tend to exist near the equator’s latitudes.
Altitude is basically the height measured for any region, from above the sea level to that region.
As the height tends to increase the amount of atmosphere present starts to decrease which means that there is a lack of air or oxygen. So when the altitudes are higher, it is more difficult for organisms to survive.
We shall examine each option carefully;
Option (A) ‘high altitude to low altitude and high latitude to low latitude’ is the correct option. This is because, due to lack of sufficient oxygen and atmosphere in higher altitudes the species cannot survive so there will definitely be a decrease in the number of species or their diversity as the altitudes increase. On the other hand, lower the altitude, more species can be found. Also in the case of latitude we know that near the poles the richness or favorable climate is not as abundant as present near the equator. So more species prefer lower latitudes, hence we can find diversity in species at lower latitudes. So this is the right answer.
Option (B) ‘low altitude to high altitude and high latitude to low latitude’ is an incorrect option. As altitude increases or higher, the atmosphere tends to decrease resulting in less favorable habitats for species. Then if altitude decreases species find it more habitable, so since the first part is wrong we can reject this option.
Option (C) ‘low altitude to high altitude and low latitude to high latitude’ is an incorrect option. Here both the case of altitude and latitude is wrong. This is because when altitude increases, species cannot survive due to lack of oxygen so there is a better diversity in lower areas. Similarly more favorable temperature and environment is found near the equator rather than poles. So this is the wrong option.
Option (D) ’high altitude to low altitude and low latitude to high latitude’ is an incorrect option. Here the case of altitudes is correct, but as latitude increases the diversity cannot increase. This is because near the poles there is more unfavorable climate change so more species exist near the equator where more favorable temperatures are available. So we reject this option.

Therefore the correct answer is option (A) ‘high altitude to low altitude and high latitude to low latitude’.

Note:
We sometimes mix up the terms 'species' and 'population’. Although a species contains several organisms of the same type, a population is made up of all the organisms of a given species in a specific area at a specific time. Within a population there also exist species with different genetic mixtures.