Ecologists are interested in quantifying different kinds of biodiversity. In below study outlined here, which kind of biodiversity are ecologists studying? Ecologists establish 20 small areas, called plots, randomly scattered across a California grassland. They count the number of different plant species present in each plot. By noting how many species appear in the plots, the ecologists are able to estimate the number of species in the entire grassland.

a. Genetic diversity
b. Functional diversity
c. Ecosystem diversity
d. Species diversity

d. Species diversity

Explanation:

The species diversity can be measured by:

Species richness is the number of species present in a sample, within a community, habitat or microhabitat, ecosystem, landscape, region or any well-defined spatial unit. It is a metric for measuring biodiversity which simplicity and easy interpretation make it a standard metric.  It is the simplest and straightforward measure of biodiversity. It is just a count of species, with no need for abundance data. In some cases, this can be the cause of criticism, as it ignores information about the species-abundance distribution.