What does species richness refer to?

Species richness specifically refers to the number of different species present in a particular community or ecosystem. This measure is fundamental in ecology as it provides a straightforward way to quantify biodiversity. Higher species richness indicates a greater variety of species, which can contribute to the resilience and stability of an ecosystem.

In contrast, other options describe different ecological concepts; for instance, the diversity of habitats within an ecosystem is related to habitat heterogeneity rather than species count. Total biomass in a community pertains to the total mass of living organisms, indicating productivity but not directly measuring species diversity. The size of the largest species addresses individual organism characteristics, not the diversity of species present. Overall, species richness is a critical component in studying ecological dynamics and conservation biology.