"Species richness contributes to the well being of an ecosystem" was explained through an analogy "the rivet popper hypothesis". The hypothesis was given by:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Paul Ehrlich
Option (1) Paul Ehrlich — Correct. The rivet popper hypothesis was given by the ecologist Paul Ehrlich. It compares an ecosystem to an aeroplane held together by rivets (species): removing a few may not matter, but losing more weakens the whole plane.
NCERT Extract:
The Importance of Species Diversity to the Ecosystem – “… There are no direct answers to such näive questions but we can develop a proper perspective through an analogy (the ‘rivet popper hypothesis’) used by Stanford ecologist Paul Ehrlich. In an airplane (ecosystem) all parts are joined together using thousands of rivets (species). If every passenger travelling in it starts popping a rivet to take home (causing a species to become extinct), it may not affect flight safety (proper functioning of the ecosystem) initially, but as more and more rivets are removed, the plane becomes dangerously weak over a period of time.”