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Lec 5 Biodiversity
Lec 5 Biodiversity
Importance:
Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no
matter how small, all have an important role to play.
At least 40 per cent of the world’s economy and 80 per cent of the
needs of the poor are derived from biological resources. In addition,
the richer the diversity of life, the greater the opportunity for medical
discoveries, economic development, and adaptive responses to
such new challenges as climate change.
Biological Evolution Q
Biological evolution refers to the change in inherited (genetic) characteristics
of a population from generation to generation. It is one of the features that
distinguishes life from everything else in the universe.
According to the theory of biological evolution, new species arise as a
result of competition for resources and the difference among
individuals in their adaptations to environmental conditions.
It is a one-way process— when a new species evolves, it cannot evolve
backward into its parents.
Populations can no longer reproduce with members of the original species.
Biological evolution is the key to the diversity of different species that exist
today.
Four processes that lead to evolution:
Mutation
Natural Selection
Migration
Genetic Drift
Speciation: How do new species evolve
• Speciation is the evolutionary process by which populations
evolve to become distinct species.
Most common mechanism of speciation takes place in two
phases:
• Geographic Isolation
• Reproductive Isolation
• Geographic isolation is a term that refers to a population of
animals, plants, or other organisms that are separated from
exchanging genetic material with other organisms of the same
species.
This can be due to migration, or physical barriers:
e.g.,Uplifting mountains, rerouting of rivers, formation of desert
How do new species evolve? : Reproductive Isolation..
…
The mechanisms
of reproductive
isolation are a collection
of evolutionary
mechanisms, behaviors
and physiological
processes critical for
speciation.
They prevent members of
different species from
producing offspring, or
ensure that any offspring
are sterile.
• This process as a whole is
called Divergence, or
Divergent Evolution.
These same evolutionary
(Reproductive and Divergent)
changes can also result in the
populations evolving into
separate species. ... Other
predictions are that traits
involved in divergent
adaptation will also cause
reproductive isolation.
• Ostrich, rhea, and emu have a
common ancestor, examples
of divergent evolution.
Speciation
Geographic
isolation can
lead to
reproductive
isolation,
divergence
and
speciation.
Extinction
Human Actions:
• If large areas are modified, entire species may be displaced
• Intentional hunting or harvesting
• Disruption or elimination of habitat
• Introduction of new parasites, predators, or competitors of
a species
• Pollution of the environment
• Humans have become a major force in the premature
extinction of species
The IUCN estimates that 75% of the extinction of birds and mammals
since 1600 were caused by human beings
Hunting caused 42% & 33% of the extinctions of birds and mammals
respectively
During this century human expansion may cause the premature
extinction of up to a quarter of the Earth’s current species
Species : Types
• Kelp
Community Interaction
–mutualism
–commensalism
Symbiosis
pollinated a flower);