Question at position 4 One reason to be concerned with the health and stability of an ecosystem is that it will be better able to provide humans important services like cleaner water and air. What aspect of an ecosystem is an indicator its heath? Species richnessBiome typeGeographic extentProximity to human developmentAnnual rainfall

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Question at position 4  One reason to be concerned with the health and stability of an ecosystem is that it will be better able to provide humans important services like cleaner water and air. What aspect of an ecosystem is an indicator its heath? Species richnessBiome typeGeographic extentProximity to human developmentAnnual rainfall

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Question at position 4 asks which ecosystem indicator reflects health and its ability to provide services like cleaner water and air. 
Option 1: Species richness. This measures how many different species are present in an area. In many ecosystems, higher species richness is linked to greater resilience, stability, and functioning, which supports ecosystem services such as water purification and air quality regulation. Hence, it serves as a robust proxy for overall ecosystem health. 
Option 2: Biome type. While recognizing the general category of an ecosystem (e.g., forest, grassland) is informative, biome type alone does not quantify current health or function. A biome can be well-preserved or degraded; classifying it by type misses the variation within it and how its services are performing. 
Option 3: Geographic extent. The total area covered by an ecosystem speaks to opportunity or scale but not necessarily its current health or service provision. An ecosystem could span a large geographic area yet be severely degraded and fail to deliver services effectively. 
Option 4: Proximity to human development. Being near humans may correlate with stressors like pollution or habitat loss, but proximity itself doesn’t measure ecological health or functioning; communities far from development can still be degraded, and certain near-development areas might maintain services due to restoration efforts. 
Option 5: Annual rainfall. While rainfall influences ecosystem processes, it is a climatic input rather than a direct health indicator. An area can receive typical rainfall but still suffer declines in biodiversity or services due to other stressors; rainfall alone doesn’t capture ecosystem integrity. 
In summary, among these options, species richness serves as a more direct and informative indicator of ecosystem health and its capacity to sustain services such as clean water and air, whereas the other choices describe attributes or conditions that do not, on their own, reliably reflect current health or functional service delivery.

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