Biodiversity and conservation data

Biodiversity includes variation within species, diversity of species and diversity of ecosystems. Species richness counts species; evenness describes how individuals are distributed among them. More diverse systems can have greater resilience through varied responses and functional roles, but richness alone does not guarantee stability. Habitat destruction and fragmentation can reduce population sizes and connections.

A bottleneck is a sharp population reduction that can remove alleles by chance. Low genetic diversity can reduce the range of heritable responses to change and increase inbreeding risks. Conservation actions can protect habitat, maintain connections and manage breeding or reintroductions. Population, habitat and genetic data describe different outcomes. A larger headcount does not necessarily mean lost genetic variation has returned, and extrapolations assume that the stated trend continues.

Watch out: Population growth copies the variation remaining; lost alleles do not automatically return.