According to the Convention on Biological Diversity, biodiversity is understood to mean the variability within species, between species and of ecosystems.
It can be evaluated at the habitat or landscape level and is estimated at the genetic, phenotypic (differences in characteristics between organisms) and/or functional (what functions each organism fulfils) level.
Time also influences biodiversity at various levels: for example, the same ecosystem will have variations in the species that comprise it throughout the different seasons, so it is always necessary to evaluate the species that occur in a given habitat during a specific period. Similarly, the synchronisation of life cycles between species is what allows, for example, the end of the metamorphosis of a pollinating insect to coincide with the flowering season of the plants it pollinates.
In short, it is these interactions between species that alter the flow of energy and matter in space and time and, consequently, determine the functioning of the ecosystem.
(Source: Associação Verde)
