Ecology Answers

Point diversity is biodiversity in a microhabitat or a sample taken from a homogeneous habitat.

What is meant by homogeneous habitat?

Are the following correct?

1. Biodiversity
It is the variation and variability of organisms within species, between species and between ecosystems.
OR
Biodiversity is the variation and variability of organisms within species and between species in a given area and also the variations(i.e. diversity) in ecosystems.

2. Ecosystem diversity
Is it the diversity of organisms in a particular type of ecosystem over different regions of the world, or, as defined by wikipedia it is the diversity of ecosystems in a given geographical region?

Which organisms are considered the secondary producers of an ecosystem?

Are organisms of the second trophic level e.g herbivores called the secondary producers or any consumer (belonging to any trophic level) termed secondary producers in the sense that they make energy available to the following trophic levels?

Is ecological threshold sometimes called inflection point?

What is ecoline?

I found this definition in a book: It is a spatial environmental factor gradient and plant community gradient considered together.

I found a different definition too, that said it is the rate of genetic change that occurs in an environment due to the merging of different varieties of a plant species.This doesn't make sense to me. One cannot measure the rate of genetic change.

Which one is right?

What are examples of ecological parameters?

I think an ecological parameter is:
A variable, measurable property whose value is a determinant of the characteristics of an ecosystem.
(From eea.europa.eu)
But what could these parameters be? In other words, what are some examples of 'parameters'? Can they be both abiotic(e.g.amount of rainfall) and biotic(e.g.species diversity)?
I assume they possibly vary with ecosystem.

P.S. This question is related to my last one. I actually wanted to replace it but it was too late for that. I will appreciate if you answered this one for I have figured out what ecological factors are.

How is ecological parameter different from ecological factor? Could you explain with example?

What are the basic principles of energy flow in an ecosystem?

Is it the two laws of thermodynamics and 10% law as well?

I'm supposed to study properties and principles of ecosystem.

I've gathered some information from a book called Ecosystem Ecology that mentioned the following points under the heading fundamental laws(i.e. principles):
1.The components of ecosystem are connected to each other.
2.All ecosystems are open systems embedded in environment , i.e they receive energy and discharge energy.
3.Ecosystems have levels of organisation and operate hierarchically.
4.Mass including biomass and energy are conserved.
5.All ecosystem processes are irreversible.
6.An ecosystem can grow and develop by increase in biomass, increase in cycling and genetic information.
But I'm not sure if these points qualify for properties as well.

Ecosystems have many levels of organisation and operate hierarchically.

What is meant by to operate hierarchically?