Final answer:
Yes, the number of species in an ecosystem is an important measure of its biodiversity, which includes species richness and genetic variation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that the number of species living within an ecosystem is a measure of its biodiversity is true. Biodiversity is a broad term that refers to the variety of life within a particular area, typically measured by both the number of different species and the genetic variation within those species. The species richness or the number of different species and their relative abundance in an area is a commonly used measure of ecosystem diversity. High biodiversity is important as it directly benefits both humans and ecosystems, contributing to sustainability, resilience, and offering potential sources for medicinal and technological developments.
Biodiversity is a measure of the amount of variation of species in an ecosystem. It refers to the variety of life and its processes, including the variety of living organisms, genetic differences among them, and the communities and ecosystems in which they occur. One common way to measure biodiversity is by counting the number of different species in a given area. For example, scientists have identified about 1.9 million species alive today, but estimates for Earth's total number of living species range from 5 to 30 million.