Not all scientsts use biodiversity as a bio-indicator for ecosystem functioning, but many do. Biodiversity is definitely a bio-indicator for human cultural flourishing. Here are some papers that discuss biodiversity’s significance.
Yes, it is. Bioindicators include biological processes, species, or communities and are used to assess the quality of the environment and are also an important tool for detecting changes in the environment over time. In your study the biodiversty is a good bio-indicator gives you results about the environment and its response to natural stress and the impacts of human activities on natural ecosystems.