Chapter 12
Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts: Biodiversity
IN THIS CHAPTER
Defining biodiversity
Understanding evolution by natural selection
Identifying the main threats to biodiversity
Considering different ways to conserve biodiversity
Take a look around and you’ll see that you inhabit a world filled with variety. The Earth is a patchwork of different ecosystems, each filled with various species. A single species alone may seem like a small thing, but when you combine many species together, they become greater than the sum of their parts: They become a healthy, functioning ecosystem that sustains life on the planet (see Chapter 6 for details on ecosystems).
Human survival depends on the availability of natural resources, which thrive in healthy ecosystems. In general, ecosystem health is related to ecosystem diversity. In this chapter, I explain how scientists define and study biological diversity, and I describe how this diversity comes about — evolution by natural selection. I also cover the many ways in which humans benefit from maintaining the diversity of organisms and ecosystems ...
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