Q.What are the reasons for greater biodiversity in the tropics ?
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Tropical regions harbour far more species than temperate or polar regions because of higher and more constant solar energy input, a longer undisturbed evolutionary time, and greater opportunity for niche specialization.
Several complementary explanations are given for why the tropics show much greater species diversity than temperate zones:
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Greater and more constant solar energy: The tropics receive abundant sunlight throughout the year with little seasonal variation, supporting high rates of photosynthesis and primary productivity. Greater productivity can support more species and larger food webs.
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Climatic stability and long evolutionary time: Tropical environments have remained relatively constant and stable for very long geological periods, unlike temperate and polar regions, repeatedly disturbed by glaciations during the ice ages. Species in temperate zones had less time to diversify since the last glaciation, whereas tropical species have had millions of years of uninterrupted evolution to speciate.
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