Measuring Ecosystem Health Through Diversity

A community's real strength isn't just about having a lot of life, but a lot of *different*

kinds of life. Scientists use a cool tool called the Index of Diversity to measure this.

A high score, like in a bustling coral reef, means the ecosystem is stable and can

bounce back from problems. A low score, like in a single-crop farm,

is super vulnerable. If one thing goes wrong, the whole system can collapse.

By measuring this and how crowded each species is, we can actually check the health

of our environment and see which places need our help the most.