Taxonomic diversity of a region with several ecosystems is:

Correct option is C

Introduction
· Biodiversity can be measured at various spatial scales to understand how species are distributed across different habitats and landscapes.
· In 1960, R.H. Whittaker proposed the concepts of Alpha, Beta, and Gamma diversity to quantify the diversity of species at local, community, and regional levels.
· These metrics are essential for conservation planning, helping scientists identify areas with high species richness or unique biological assemblages.

Information Booster
· Gamma diversity is the correct answer because it represents the total species richness across an entire landscape or a large geographical region that incorporates several different ecosystems.
· It is essentially the product of the average diversity at the local level (Alpha) and the differentiation among those local sites (Beta).
· This measure provides a "big picture" view of biodiversity, accounting for all the species present in varied habitats such as forests, wetlands, and grasslands within a single region.
· High Gamma diversity indicates a large regional species pool, which is often a result of high habitat heterogeneity and a large geographical area.
· It is a crucial parameter for identifying biodiversity hotspots where multiple distinct ecosystems converge.

Additional Knowledge
· Alpha diversity refers to the diversity within a particular area or a single ecosystem, usually expressed as the number of species (species richness) in that specific local community.
· Beta diversity measures the rate of change in species composition as one moves from one ecosystem to another; it represents the "turnover" of species between different habitats.
· Sigma diversity is not a standard term used in the Whittaker classification of biodiversity scales; it is often used in general statistics to denote standard deviation but has no formal definition in ecosystem diversity hierarchy.
· While Alpha focuses on a single spot and Beta focuses on the difference between two spots, Gamma diversity sums up the biological wealth of the entire regional territory.