摘要
We intend to establish how species diversity is dealt with, within the study of the ecosystem, in books for the 4th year of Compulsory Secondary Education, ESO （15-16 year-old students）. The analysis was carried out using a key issues dossier based on school science, which not only provides a description of reality, but also introduces a theoretical explanatory framework. Regarding species diversity, we focused on the descriptive approach, considering the link between diversity and trophic relationships, ecological succession and ecosystem stability through change, consequences for biodiversity of human activities and mechanisms to face such consequences; and on the explanatory perspective, which provides an interpretative answer for all the aspects previously mentioned. The findings drawn from textbooks show that biodiversity is linked both to the study of the ecosystem and to the impact of human societies on its maintenance. However, such study is particularly focused on the descriptive, rather than on the explanatory level. So, teachers should improve the study of biodiversity foresting a balance between descriptive and explanatory level.
