CBSE Class 12-science Answered

The three hypotheses for explaining why tropics show great levels of species richness are-

(a) Speciation is a function of time and tropical latitudes have remained undisturbed for millions of years, thus had a long evolutionary time for species diversification.

(b) Tropical environments are less seasonal, relatively more constant and predictable. Such environments promote niche specialization and lead to greater species diversity.

(c) There is more solar energy present in the tropics which leads to higher productivity and in turn greater diversity.