SCE 3107 EVOLUTION, BIODIVERSITY, AND COMMUNITY PROCESSES

ELLY WONG

Questions :
What major types of life are found on the earth and

how do scientists account for the emergence of life on the earth? What is evolution and how has it lead to the current diversity of organisms on the earth? How do extinction of species and formation of new species affect biodiversity? What roles (ecological niches) do different types of new species affect biodiversity? How do communities and ecosystems change as environmental conditions change? Does species diversity increase the stability of ecosystem?

1.) What major types of life are found on the earth ?

Monera II. Protists III. Fungi IV. Plants (plantae) V. Animals (animalia)
I.

How do scientists account for the emergence of life on the earth??

Fossils Chemical evolutions biological evolutions

2.) What is evolution and how has it lead to the current diversity of organisms on the earth?
Evolution is the change in a populations genetic makeup

through successive generations. Microevolution Development of genetic variability in a population. A populations gene pool is the set of all genes in the individuals of the population of a species and microevolution is a change in populations gene pool over time. Sexual reproduction leads to a random shuffling or recombination of alleles. As a result, each individual in a population has a different combination of alleles. Without such genetic variability, evolution as we know it could not occur.

2.) What is evolution and how has it lead to the current diversity of organisms on the earth?
Coevolution
In coevolution, adaptation follows adaptation in

something like an ongoing, long-term arms race among individuals in interacting populations of different species.

How do extinction of species and formation of new species affect biodiversity?

Reduce biodiversity temporarily.

Create

evolutionary opportunities for surviving species to undergo adaptive radiations to fill unoccupied and new biological roles or niches.

4.) What roles (ecological niches) do different types of new species affect biodiversity?
The range of tolerance for various physical and chemical

conditions (temperature or water availability) The types of resources it uses (food or nutrient requirements) How it interact with other living and nonliving components of the ecosystems in which it is found (what it eats or is it eaten by) The role it plays in the flow of energy and cycling of matter in an ecosystem

5) How do communities and ecosystems change as environmental conditions change?

One or more of the species will be affected, either

reduced or increased. The imbalance will occur in the trophic level in certain community. Thus, if no negative feedback mechanism occurs, the imbalance will continue and leads to extinction. The community cannot perform its niche and the ecosystems will be affected.

6) Does species diversity increase the stability of ecosystem?

No.
It is because since the definition of stability and

diversity itself has so much problems. But many evidences support that the higher the diversity the greater the stability of an ecosystem.