Question

Give three hypotheses for explaining why tropics show greatest levels of species richness.

Answer 1

Hi,
The tropical regions lie around the equator and hence recieve highest amount of sun light and heat throught the year. This leads to better photosynthesis by plants, which in turn supports better species richness.
Tropics experience less seasonal variations. Temperature does not vary much between summer and winter and this promotes niche specializations and species richness.
Tropics are not subjected to dynamic variations in evolution, whereas temperate regions have undergone ice age which changed the species on the whole. Thus the tropics are less disturbed and hence can sustain very old and homogenous species .