Unit 8 · 8.6 — Biodiversity [cite: 50, 52, 55]

Everything to learn here

• Concept: High, complex species diversity creates a massive ecological network, significantly boosting the entire ecosystem's baseline resilience to external disturbances and collapses [cite: 50, 52].
• Vocabulary: Keystone Species — a highly unique species that exerts radically disproportionate influence on total community structure relative to its low abundance; its sudden removal triggers catastrophic trophic cascades [cite: 14, 53].
• Skill: FRQ Task Verb "Calculate" — Calculate Simpson's Diversity Index given massive community species counts to accurately quantify mathematical biodiversity in a habitat [cite: 13, 14, 22, 53].
• Concept: Ecosystems with higher species diversity are generally more resilient and better able to recover from environmental disturbances.
• Concept: The addition or removal of ecosystem components, particularly keystone species, can lead to significant structural changes or collapse.
• Vocabulary: Vocabulary: Resilience — The ability of an ecosystem to maintain structure and function following environmental changes.
• Concept: Keystone species and essential abiotic factors are critical for maintaining the overall diversity and health of an ecosystem.
• Vocabulary: Vocabulary: Keystone species — A species that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance.

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