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The table below gives the populations (in thousands) of ten species $(A-J)$ in four areas $(p-s)$ consisting of the number of habitats given within brackets against each. Study the table and answer the question which follows. Which area out of $p-s$ shows maximum species diversity ?
Species, and their populations ( in thousands ) in the areas
| Area and No. of habitats | $A$ | $B$ | $C$ | $D$ | $E$ | $F$ | $G$ | $H$ | $I$ | $J$ |
| $p(11)$ | $2.3$ | $1.2$ | $0.52$ | $6.0$ | - | $3.1$ | $1.1$ | $9.0$ | - | $10.3$ |
| $q(11)$ | $10.2$ | - | $0.62$ | - | $1.5$ | $3.0$ | - | $8.2$ | $1.1$ | $11.2$ |
| $r(13)$ | $11.3$ | $0.9$ | $0.48$ | $2.4$ | $1.4$ | $4.2$ | $0.8$ | $8.4$ | $2.2$ | $4.1$ |
| $s(12)$ | $3.2$ | $10.2$ | $11.1$ | $4.8$ | $0.4$ | $3.3$ | $0.8$ | $7.3$ | $11.3$ | $2.1$ |
$s$
$p$
$q$
$r$
Solution
(a) : Species diversity is related to the variety in the number and richness of the species within a region and is measured at the level of ‘species’. Thus, it is the product of species richness and species evenness. Species richness refers to the number of species per unit area. As the area of the site increases, the number of species also increases due to more availability of natural resources. Species evenness is the relative abundance with which each species is represented in an area. Thus, variation in the number of species, kinds of species as well as the number of individuals per species lead to greater diversity. In the given table, the area which shows maximum species diversity is ‘$s$’.
