In ecosystem diversity, biologists look at the many types of functional units formed by living communities interacting with their environments.ДЄlthough all three levels of diversity are important, the term biodiversity usually refers to species diversity!ДЇigure 2. As Leopold clearly understood, the вЂњcogs and wheelsвЂќ include not only life but also the land, sea, and air that support life.

At the broadest most encompassing level, we have ecosystem diversity.This type of diversity simply looks at an area and reports what can be found there. The level just broader is species diversity, which best fits the literal translation of biodiversity: the number of different species in a particular ecosystem or on Earth.This measure of diversity looks at differences among individuals within aВ population, or at difference across different populations of the same species. The most precise and specific measure of biodiversity is genetic diversity or genetic variation within a species.Literally, the word biodiversityВ means the many different kinds ( diversity) of life ( bio-), or the number of species in a particular area.Д«iologists, however, are always alert to levels of organization, and have identified three unique measures of lifeвЂ™s variation: Leopold-often considered the father of modern ecology-would have likely found the term biodiversityВ an appropriate description of his вЂњcogs and wheels,вЂќВ even though the ideaВ did not become a vital component of biology until nearly 40 years after hisВ death in 1948. Aldo Leopold, Round River: from the Journals of Aldo Leopold, 1953 To save every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.

Three level of biodiversity