> The term 'biodiversity' has remained remarkably vague and its measurement equally capricious. Is allelic diversity part of biodiversity? Or only species? What about individual differences? Do we have to worry about community structure? Is the number of species the appropriate measure? Do we have to take rarity and commonality into account? Or should we worry about differences between places? Both the problems of definition and measurement are widely acknowledged among conservation biologists, though precious little is done about them.
I think the most significant point here is: community. One cannot simply say this or that species or ecosystem is or is not biodiverse without evaluating its importance as part of that system. Will the loss of a particular allele or species affect system as a whole? What will the new system be like with that part gone, perhaps forever? Should we try to envision biodiversity in a world with far fewer species or less allelic diversity?
PLB
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