Biology · Biodiversity and Conservation · NEET
No. Biodiversity is the full variety of life and has three levels. Species diversity is only the middle level. It looks at the variety of species in one area, not genes inside one species (genetic diversity) and not the variety of ecosystems (ecological diversity). So species diversity is one part of biodiversity, not the whole thing.
It counts the variety of different species in a region, not the number of individuals. A pond with 10 different types of fish has higher species diversity than a pond with 1000 fish that are all the same type. For NEET, remember: more kinds of species = higher species diversity.
NCERT gives one clear line: 'the Western Ghats have a greater amphibian species diversity than the Eastern Ghats.' Amphibians are animals like frogs, toads and salamanders. This exact example is the safest thing to write in an exam, so link it in your mind as Western Ghats plus frogs.
Amphibians have moist skin and need wet places to live and breed. The Western Ghats get heavy rainfall and have many streams, forests and constant moisture, so more amphibian species can survive there. The Eastern Ghats are drier and broken into patches, so they support fewer amphibian species. NCERT only asks you to know the fact; the reason is for understanding.
Genetic diversity is variation inside a single species (like 50,000 rice strains or 1,000 mango varieties in India). Species diversity is variation between different species in an area (like frogs, birds and insects all being different species). One is 'within a species', the other is 'across species'.
Try the real previous-year questions from this chapter — each with the answer and a full solution.
Species diversity is the second (middle) level of biodiversity, coming between genetic diversity and ecological diversity.
The Western Ghats have a greater amphibian species diversity than the Eastern Ghats. This is the standard example given in NCERT Class 12 Biology.
No. Amphibians are frogs, toads and salamanders with moist skin that need water to breed. Reptiles are snakes, lizards and turtles with dry, scaly skin. NCERT's species diversity example is about amphibians, so use frogs, not snakes.
Both. Species diversity covers all species in a region, plant and animal. The NCERT example just happens to use amphibians (animals) to make the idea clear.
It is a direct one-mark fact question. NTA often asks the difference between the three levels of biodiversity, and the Western Ghats amphibian example is a ready-made answer for species diversity.
