Question

Tropical regions harbour more species than the temperate regions. How have biologists tried to explain this in their own ways? Explain.

Answer 1

There are three different hypotheses proposed by scientists for explaining species richness in the tropics.

1. Since tropical latitudes receive more solar radiation than temperate ones, they have higher levels of animal variety and productivity.
2. Tropical regions exhibit minimal seasonal variations and maintain a relatively stable environment. This encourages niche specialisation and consequently enhances species richness.
3. During the Ice Age, temperate regions experienced glacial, while tropical regions remained unaffected, resulting in increased biological diversity.