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SCIENCE
Quarter 4 - Module 4

Species Diversity

Government Property

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Science — Grade 8
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 4 — Module 4: Species Diversity
First Edition, 2020

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Published by the Department of Education – Division of Gingoog City

Division Superintendent: Jesnar Dems S. Torres, PhD, CESO VI

Development Team of the Module

Writer(s): Jessa Abao Lovido

Reviewer(s): Nilda U. Villegas, EPS – Science

Florida D. Arias, Ph.D.-PSDS
Melinda R. Garabato, Ph.D.
Riza R. Estrera, PhD- Asst. Principal II

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Co- Mary Ann M. Allera, PhD

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Pablito B. Altubar, CID Chief

Members: Nilda U. Villegas, EPS - Science

Himaya B. Sinatao, LRMS Manager
Printed in the Philippines Jay
by Michael A. Calipusan, PDO II

Department of Education – Division of Gingoog City

Office Address: Brgy. 23, National Highway, Gingoog City

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Science 8
Quarter 4 - Module 4
Species Diversity
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 Table of Contents

What This Module is About……………………………………………………………………….i

What I Need to Know…………………………………………………………………………..….i

How to Learn from this Module…………………………………………………………….…….ii

Icons of this Module………………………………………………………………….……………ii

What I Know……………………………………………………………………………….……....iii

Lesson 1: Species Diversity

What I Need to Know……...................................................................................................1

What’s New Activity 1: Species or not?...............................................................................1

What’s New Activity 2: Count me in!.................................................................................. .2

What Is It….………………………………………………………………………....................... 3

What I Have Learned Activity 3: Answer me…………………………………........................ 5

What I Can Do Activity 4: Enumerate me…………………………...………………………… 5

Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………..6

Assessment: (Post-Test)………………………………………………………………………….7

Key to Answer…………………………………………………………………………………..... .9

Reference……………………………………………………………………………………….....11
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What This Module is About
If you recall, when you were in Grade 7 you have learned the different organism that
you can find within your community and other places in the country. You have discovered
their observable characteristics and what makes it different from other form of organisms.
You were able to recognized their importance in the ecosystem.

This module will introduce you the concept of species as a fundamental unit of
biodiversity and taxonomic hierarchy. This will further discuss the biological concept of
species, it will also let you discover the importance of species diversity in maintaining the
ecosystem balance.

What I Need to Know

After going through this module, you should be able to explain concept of a species
(S8LT-IVg-19).

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How to Learn from this Module

1. Read carefully the instructions given.

2. Answer the pretest first.
3. Take not and records point for clarification as you go on reading the module.
4. Do the activities to fully understand each lesson.
5. Work diligently and honestly.
6. Answer the posttest after you have gone over all the lessons and you feel you have
learned the lesson well.

Icons of this Module

What I Need to This part contains learning objectives that

Know are set for you to learn as you go along the
module.

What I know This is an assessment as to your level of

knowledge to the subject matter at hand,
meant specifically to gauge prior related
knowledge
What’s In This part connects previous lesson with that
of the current one.

What’s New An introduction of the new lesson through

various activities, before it will be presented
to you

What is It These are discussions of the activities as a

way to deepen your discovery and
understanding of the concept.

What’s More These are follow-up activities that are

intended for you to practice further in order
to master the competencies.

What I Have Activities designed to process what you have

Learned learned from the lesson

What I can do These are tasks that are designed to

showcase your skills and knowledge gained,
and applied into real-life concerns and
situations.
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 What I Know
A. Directions: Read the following question carefully and select the letter of the
correct answer.

1. Our Earth is consists of species diversity wherein it is composed of many different

types organism. What is the importance of species diversity in the environment?
a. Species never interconnect with environment.
b. Species interacts with its environment and thus perform certain functions.
c. Though species interacts with the environment it does not play any functions.
d. Species minimize interaction with its environment and thus perform certain
functions.
2. How is ecosystem directly affected if species diversity is increasing?
a. It only increases the productivity of an ecosystem.
b. It increases the efficiency and productivity of an ecosystem.
c. It does not increase the efficiency and productivity of an ecosystem.
d. It increases only the efficiency and not productivity of an ecosystem.
3. Why is biodiversity important to ecosystems?
a. It increases at each level of the food chain.
b. It helps populations adapt to ecological changes.
c. It reduces the number of insects in a given ecosystem.
d. It allows animals to feed permanently from one type of plant.
4. Which of the following scenario will lead to decreasing species diversity?
a. Conserving the forest area.
b. Decreasing in human population growth.
c. Converting agricultural areas to industrial.
d. Decreasing of pollution caused by industries.
5. If you were to take a count of the diversity of species in your place, what would you
be measuring?
a. Biodiversity c. Habitat diversity
b. Genetic diversity d. Species richness

B. Directions. Write true if the following statement if correct and write false if not.

1. Biological species concept, defined species as a population or a group of populations

whose members have the potential to interbreed in nature and produce viable as well
as fertile offspring, but are not able to breed with or produce viable offspring with
members of another species.
2. Biodiversity in an ecosystem includes only species diversity
and ecosystem diversity.
3. The picture on the right side shows high species evenness.

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Lesson
Species Diversity
1
What I Need to Know
Objectives: After going through this lesson, you are expected to explain the
concept of species (S8LT-IVg-19).

What’s New
The word species has been defined in different concepts based on their
genetic composition, morphological characteristics, adaptation to the environment
and ancestral descendants. In this activities you will explore the biological concept of
species and define species diversity in terms of richness and evenness.

Activity 1: Species or not?

Directions:
Using the definition of species stated below, answer the three cases
descriptions and give your reasons.
Species definition:
“A group of organisms that can interbreed with others of the same type and
can produce fertile offspring; individuals within a species possess similar anatomical
characteristics.”
BSCS Biology: An Ecological Approach, 10th edition

1. Case 1. Is a liger a separate species from the lion and tiger?_________________

Note: A liger is the offspring of a female tiger and a male lion

Source: https://bigcatrescue.org/liger-facts/

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2. Case 2: Is a wholphin a separate species from the dolphin and killer whale?_____
Note: Wholphin is rare cetacean hybrid born from a mating of a female common
bottlenose dolphin with a male false killer whale

Source: http://www.wikipedia.com

3. Case 3: Is the mule a separate species from the horse and donkey?___________
Note: A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse

Source: https://showmeinstitute.org/blog/individual-liberty-miscellaneous/labor-day-salute-missouri-mule

Activity 2: Count me in!

Directions: Read the procedures below, fill in the table with the correct data and
answer the questions that follows.

1. Look at the illustration below. It shows two different communities of trees.

Community 1 Community 2

2. Answer the table using the given image above. Write the species of trees present
in each community and count the number of each species.
Community 1 Community 2
Tree species Number of Tree species Number of
species species

Total number of trees:______ Total number of trees:______

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 Note:

Species richness describes the number of different species present in an

area (more species = greater richness)

Species evenness describes the relative abundance of the different species

in an area (equal numbers of each species = greater evenness)

Guide questions:

1. How many species of trees present in community 1 and 2?

________________________________________________________________
2. Which of the two community is more diverse in terms of the number of species of
trees?
________________________________________________________________
3. Which of the two community has even and uneven distribution of species?
________________________________________________________________

What Is It

Aside from humans that inhabiting the Earth, there are different types of
organisms that you can see around us, there are mammals like dogs and cats;
insects such as spiders and ants, birds like chickens and doves; and plants from fruit
bearing trees to flowering plants. However, we tend to group species according to
their appearance only, where in fact there are different basis in identifying them,
whether it is of the same species or a separate one.
In early 1700’s, scientist idea about species was based on their direct
observable difference in terms of their appearance, it was then defined as group of
organism with similar physical characteristics. Later on, species became the
fundamental unit of taxonomic classification. However, when scientist learned about
evolution, their concept about species has changed. They now know that some
organism with identical physical traits are of different species while other that appear
different are of the same species.
At present, there are several definition and concept of species. But the widely
used definition of species is the biological concept of species. It was first proposed
by Ernst Mayr in 1942, his concept begins with the idea that species is a population
of individuals that can actually or can potentially breed with each other in
nature to produce fertile offspring. Members of different populations mate but
produce no fertile offspring or very rarely breed with each other, they are considered
to be different species. For example, all dogs are capable of interbreeding, biologists
consider all dogs to be members of the same species. However, if horses and
donkeys mate, they produce mule, but mules are sterile and cannot continue to
interbreed.

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 Therefore, horses and donkeys are not members of the same species. These
rules consider animals to be different species if they cannot breed together or if they
breed together and produce infertile offspring, meaning offspring that cannot have
their own babies.
Species Diversity
The term “Biodiversity” is coined from words, biological and diversity. It
refers to the variety of life in a particular habitat or ecosystem. Biodiversity
comprises of three levels:
 Ecological diversity – it refers to the variety of habitats, living in communities and
ecological processes where organisms live and their interconnections.
 Genetic diversity – it refers to the diversity of the genetic characteristics within a
species.
 Species diversity – it refers to the number of different species present in an
ecosystem and relative abundance of each of those species.
Diversity is greatest when all the species present are equally abundant in the
area. There are two components of species diversity namely:
 Species richness: refers to the number of different species present in an
ecosystem.
 Species evenness: refers to the relative abundance of individuals of each of
those species. If the number of individuals within a species is fairly constant
across communities, it is said to have a high evenness and if the number of
individuals varies from species to species, it is said to have low evenness. High
evenness leads to greater specific diversity.
High species diversity doesn’t always mean high species richness and high
species evenness. It is also possible in an ecosystem to have high species richness
but low species evenness. For instance, there are large number of different species
which means high species richness but only few numbers of each species which
means low species evenness. On the contrary, it could be only few species
organisms (low species richness) but has large number of each species (high
species evenness)
Importance of Species Diversity
Maintaining high species diversity will lead to more efficient, productive and
sustainable ecosystem.

 A more diverse ecosystem, has greater ability to withstand environmental

stresses
 High species richness makes an ecosystem able to respond to any disaster.
 Rich diversity is important for the survival of mankind
 Healthy biodiversity has significant benefits like nutrients storage and
recycling, soil formation and protection from erosion, absorption of harmful
gases, climate stability
 Pollinators, symbiotic relationships, decomposers, each species perform a
unique role, which is irreplaceable.
 Diversity in large numbers help in large scale interaction among organisms
such as in the food web.
 Apart from these, there are other benefits such as recreation and tourism,
education and research.
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What I have Learned?

Activity 3: Answer me
Direction:
Read the following questions and explain the concept properly using
your own words.

Questions:
1. Explain the biological concept of species. Give one example to support
your explanation.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
2. Give one situation that shows high species richness but low species
evenness.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

What I Can Do?

Activity 4: Enumerate five ways or activities to maintain high species diversity.

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Summary

In this module we have learned that:

1. A species is a group of organisms that share a genetic heritage, are able to

interbreed, and to create offspring that are also fertile.
2. There are four species concept namely: morphological concept of species, genetic
concept of species, ecological concept of species and the widely used biological
concept of species
3. According to the biological concept of species, organisms belong to the same
species if they can interbreed to produce viable, fertile offspring.
4. The major limitations of the biological species concept are that it is inapplicable to:
(1) fossil species; (2) organisms reproducing asexually or with extensive self-
fertilization; and (3) sexual organisms with open mating systems (species that freely
hybridize).
5. Biodiversity has three levels: Ecological/ecosystem diversity, genetic diversity and
species diversity.
6. Species diversity is defined as the number of species and abundance of each
species that live in a particular location.
7. There are two components of species diversity: species richness is the number of
different species present and species evenness is a measure of the relative
abundance of the different species making up the richness of an area.
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Assessment: (Post-Test)
Multiple Choice:
Directions: Read carefully and answer the questions below. Choose the letter
of the correct answer.

1. What concept of species you are using if you see two organisms that are closely
of the same physical appearance and are capable of interbreeding?
a. Genetic concept of species
b. Biological concept of species
c. Ecological concept of species
d. Morphological concept of species
2. What level of biodiversity is most commonly equated with the different kinds of
organisms?
a. Genetic diversity c. Ecosystem diversity
b. Species diversity d. Morphological diversity
3. Which of the following choices correctly describes the biological concept of
species?
a. This concept does not apply to asexual organisms.
b. Members of a species have a single gene pool.
c. Members of the same species can interbreed.
d. All of these choices describe the biological species concept correctly.
4. Which of the following explains species richness?
a. It is the number of species in the community.
b. It is the number of endangered species in a community.
c. It is the number of resources each species has in a community.
d. It is the number of species in a community and how they are distributed
among other species.
5. Why is biodiversity important to ecosystems?
e. It increases at each level of the food chain.
f. It helps populations adapt to ecological changes.
g. It reduces the number of insects in a given ecosystem.
h. It allows animals to feed permanently from one type of plant.
6. Which of the two communities is species richness greater: Community A with 50
species that can all be found equally within 10 km radius of the area or
community B spread across the same area that has 50 species also but 5% of
the individuals are very rare species?
a. Community B with rare species.
b. Community A where species can be found equally.
c. Species richness is the same in both communities.
d. There is not enough information given to answer the question.
7. What do you call the variety of different kinds of organisms in a community?
a. Genetic diversity c. Ecosystem diversity
 b. Species diversity d. Morphological diversity

8. Which of the following community has the highest species evenness?

Species Community 1 Community 2 Community 3 Community 4
Ant 20 25 15 20
Beetle 15 1 15 20
Grasshopper 12 1 15
Earthworm 1 15 20
Millipede 10 15

a. Community 1 c. Community 3
b. Community 2 d. Community 4
9. Using the same information in number 8, which of the following community has
the low species evenness?
a. Community 1 c. Community 3
b. Community 2 d. Community 4
10. Look at the picture, which of the following statement is
true.
a. It shows rare species.
b. It has low species evenness.
c. It has high species evenness.
d. It shows unequal distribution of species.
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Key to Answer

Pre-test
A. B.
1. B 1. True
2. B 2. False
3. B 3. False
4. C
5. D

Activity 1
1. Yes
2. No
3. No

Activity 2
Community 1 Community 2
Tree species Number of Tree species Number of
species species
Mango tree 4 Mango tree 1
Pine tree 4 Pine tree 2
Orange tree 4 Orange tree 11
Coconut tree 4 Coconut tree 2
Total number of trees:16 Total number of trees:_ 16

Guide questions:

1. Both communities have 4 species of trees.

2. Both communities are diverse.
3. Yes, because both communities have the same number of species of
trees.
4. Community 1 has even distribution of species while community 2 the
distribution of species is uneven.
5. No, because the number of individual species in each community is not
the same with each other.
Activity 3
1. The two are considered to be separate species because of their
barriers which enables them to interbreed.
2. Horses and donkeys are different species because of the number of
chromosomes that they have. Interbreeding between the two species is
possible however it will have produced a sterile offspring.
3. They are separate species because of their habitat and their inability to
interbreed.

Activity 4
Student answers may vary.

Post-test
1. B 6. C
2. B 7. B
3. D 8. C
4. A 9. B
5. B 10. C

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References

https://bigcatrescue.org/liger-facts/

http://www.wikipedia.com

https://showmeinstitute.org/blog/individual-liberty-miscellaneous/labor-day-salute-missouri-
mule

https://www.maulesel.info/Bildergalerie_molly_hinny.htm

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2019.00113

https://www.ck12.org/c/biology/species/lesson/What-is-a-Species- Advanced- BIO-ADV/

https://slideplayer.com/slide/8232916/

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