Conservation of Biodiversity · Paper 1 — Free Biology SL Practice Questions

Selective logging removed 30% of the large canopy trees from a tropical rainforest. Five years later, bird species richness in the logged area was significantly lower than in adjacent undisturbed area. Which of the following most directly explains this decline in bird species richness?

Fragment X is a forest with 12 tree species and a Simpson's Diversity Index of $D = 0.85$. Fragment Y is an adjacent forest with 8 tree species and $D = 0.92$. Which statement best explains the difference in overall biodiversity between the two fragments?