Wild organisms, in contrast, cannot be judged by one trait, such as milk production. The best adapted oak tree is not necessarily the one with the most or the biggest acorns. In one year it might be the tree that can survive a drought, and the following year, the one that can survive a plague of insects or a fire. 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.