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Shiro TSUYUZAKI
Plant community ecology / Environmental conservation

Mount Usu / Sarobetsu post-mined peatland
From left: Crater basin in 1986 and 2006. Cottongrass / Daylily

(Update on March 11, 2005. Revised on Feb. 5, 2006)

Biodiversity

Definition

The totality or total complexity of genes, species, and/or ecosystems in a various scales from habitat to the world.

Types
Table. Biodiversity should be considered with three levels.
Level Measurable parameter
ecosystem number of functional types
species number of species (species richness) (see also, diversity index)
gene the total amount of genetic variation in a population or species.

reflected in the number of different species, the different combination of species, and the different combinations of genes within each species.

Biodiversity hotspots

Featuring exceptional concentrations of endemic species and experiencing exceptional loss of habitat (Myers et al. 2000)

References
  • Diversity index
  • Myers N, Mittermeier RA, Mittermeier CG, da Fonseca GAB & KentJ. 2000. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403: 853-858

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