The oak must also compete well against other trees for light and nutrients. If a population of oaks contains trees with a variety of traits, at least some trees are likely to survive each challenge. Diversity means a species can cope with different threats. Uniformity means the population is vulnerable and could go extinct. Uniformity may also lead to deformities in animals.
Diversity is tied to genes , which are the basic units of heredity .
A daughter resembles her parents because she inherited half of her genes from each parent. Brothers and sisters resemble each other because they have many genes in common. Identical twins look the same because all of their genes are the same. Genes carry the information used to produce the proteins required by an organism. Biologists recognize that the combination of an organism's genes and its environment determines how it grows and functions.