Ecologists are interested in quantifying different kinds of biodiversity. In each of the two studies outlined here, which kind of biodiversity are ecologists studying?

a. Ecologists draw blood samples from basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) specimens caught from a single large population in the Atlantic Ocean. From each blood sample, the ecologists isolate DNA. Comparing several DNA sequences across the individuals that were sampled, the ecologists are able to estimate the variation in DNA sequences in the entire population.

b. Ecologists establish 20 small areas, called plots, randomly scattered across a California grassland. They count the number of different plant species present in each plot. By noting how many species appear in the plots, the ecologists are able to estimate the number of species in the entire grassland.

In the first study, ecologists are studying the DNA sequences of the basking sharks and comparing the DNA they collected from the blood sample for finding the variation in DNA. The study of DNA and comparing the variations of DNA of a species is studying the genetic diversity of the species.

In the second study, the ecologists tried to study the different types of species present in small patches or plants, they created small patches of land, it is the study of species diversity.