Biodiversity

In the syllabus and the exam

Biodiversity is introduced in the chapter on classification and biodiversity, where it is defined at three distinct levels that examiners test separately: species diversity (the number of different species and how evenly represented they are in an area), genetic diversity (the range of alleles present within a single species, which affects how well that species can survive disease or environmental change), and ecosystem diversity (the variety of habitats, such as forest, wetland and coral reef, found within a region). A common error is treating biodiversity as if it only means 'the number of species', which loses marks in questions specifically asking about genetic or ecosystem diversity. Candidates are also expected to explain why biodiversity matters, linking it to ecosystem stability (a more diverse food web has more alternative paths for energy flow if one species declines), to a gene pool for future crop or medicine development, and to ecotourism value, and to identify human activities such as deforestation, pollution, overhunting and the introduction of invasive species as the main threats reducing it locally. Malaysia's status as one of the world's megadiverse countries is a recurring context for exam scenarios on this topic. Candidates should also be able to distinguish measuring biodiversity (for example, using a simple species count or index in a sampled area) from conserving biodiversity, which is treated as a separate content standard about protected areas and legislation.

Example

A tropical rainforest with hundreds of tree species, thousands of insect species and many different forest, river and swamp ecosystems within the same region shows high biodiversity at the species, genetic and ecosystem levels.

Related terms

SpeciesClassificationEcosystem

Source:SRC-DSKP-EN