Where is the greatest biodiversity found on Earth?

Review for the KAMSC Honors Biology Exam. Enhance your knowledge with multiple-choice questions, flashcards, and detailed explanations to master key concepts. Prepare confidently for your semester exam!

Tropical rainforests are recognized as the ecosystems with the greatest biodiversity on Earth. This high level of biodiversity is due to several key factors. First, tropical rainforests have a warm climate with consistent temperatures and abundant rainfall throughout the year, which creates ideal conditions for a wide variety of plant and animal species to thrive.

Additionally, the layered structure of tropical rainforests, featuring a canopy, understory, and forest floor, provides numerous niches and habitats where different species can adapt and evolve. This complexity fosters high rates of speciation, allowing for a diverse array of life forms.

Moreover, tropical rainforests cover less than 10% of the Earth's surface but host more than half of the world's plant and animal species, emphasizing their role as biodiversity hotspots. In contrast, ecosystems like the Arctic tundra, savannah, and deserts have more limited climates and resources, leading to lower biodiversity levels.

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