Chapter 4: Biodiversity and Evolution
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Section 1: What is Biodiversity and Why is it Important?
Concept 4-1: The Biodiversity found in genes, species, ecosystems, and ecosystem processes is vital to sustaining life on earth. Section 2: How Does the Earth's Life Change over Time?
Concept 4.2A: The scientific theory of evolution explains how life on the earth changes over time due to changes in the genes of populations. Concept 4.2B: Populations evolve when genes mutate and give some individuals genetic traits that enhance their abilities to survive and to produce offspring with these traits (natural selection). Section 3: How Do Geological Processes and Climate Change Affect Evolution?
Concept 4.3: Tectonic plate movements, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and climate change have shifted wildlife habitats, wiped out large numbers of species, and created opportunities for the evolution of new species. |
Section 4: How Do Speciation, Extinction, and Human Activities Affect Biodiversity?
Concept 4.4A: As Environmental conditions change, the balance between the formation of new species and the extinction of existing species determines the earth's biodiversity. Concept 4.4B: Human activities are decreasing biodiversity by causing the extinction of many species and by destroying or degrading habitats needed for the development of new species. Section 5: What is Species Diversity and Why is it Important?
Concept 4.5: Species diversity is a major component of biodiversity and tends to increase the sustainability of some ecosystems. Section 6: What Roles Do Species Play in Ecosystems?
Concept 4.6A: Each species plays a specific ecological role called its niche. Concept 4.6B: Any given species may play one or more of four important roles--native, nonnative, indicator, or keystone--in a particular ecosystem. |
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| APES Ch. 4 Glossary |
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