> Biodiversity is far less at the poles than at the equator. Are these
> ecosystems in trouble because of that? Are tropical ecosystems, being much
> more diverse, somehow healthier or more robust?
>
>
I did hear some researchers claiming that in a documentary I was watching
on coral reefs (that the diversity made them more robust).
I have also heard that the reason it took so long for the cod to start to
recover here after many years of moratorium on cod fishing was because of
the relative simplicity of the ecosystem here which was really screwed up
by the removal of a major top predator (cod).  But, like you say, you would
need some kind of biodiversity metrics to compare.

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