Question

Which of the following is not the effect of loss of biodiversity?

• A. Increase in variability in certain ecosystem process
• B. Decline in plant production
• C. Lowered resistance to environmental perturbation
• D. Habitat destruction

Answer 1

The correct option is D Habitat destruction

Biotic and abiotic factors are precisely controlled and maintained in an equilibrium within the ecosystem. Rich biodiversity in any ecosystem is an essential requirement because it provides stability to the ecosystem.

Loss of biodiversity disturbs the equilibrium and makes the ecosystem unstable causing

• Increase in variability in certain ecosystem services - loss of biodiversity hugely affects and alters the plant productivity, water use, pest and disease cycles, etc., of an ecosystem.
• Decrease in plant production - loss of biodiversity causes decrease in the photosynthetic productivity of the ecosystem due to reduction in the number of plant species in it. Ecosystems with higher biodiversity are more productive than the ones with less biodiversity.
• Lowered resistance to environmental perturbation - A biodiversity rich ecosystem has multiple resources that can help its inhabitants evade environmental perturbations such as alien species invasion or human interference. For example, in a biodiversity rich ecosystem, introduction of an alien species might not always lead to interspecific competition with the native species if the variety and quantity of food available is ample. But, the same will not hold true in an ecosystem that has limited bio-resources due to loss of biodiversity.

Habitat destruction is one of the causes of biodiversity loss and not the effect. Thus all the options indicate the effect of loss of biodiversity except option d.