Learning Objectives
6.4.1 Describe the process by which isolation of populations can lead to speciation.
6.4.2 Evaluate the roles of speciation and extinction in determining the diversity of species.
6.4.3 Explain how mass extinctions and rapid adaptations have influenced long-term patterns in diversity.
Earth is home to roughly 1.5 million species2 that have been named by taxonomists and it is estimated there are another 8.2 million that have yet to be discovered or named. This tremendous diversity serves as a foundation for all of ecology, which, as we saw in Concept 1.2, is the study of how species interact with one another and with their environment. But the causation runs both ways: while it is true that ecological interactions are affected by the diversity of
species, it is also true that the diversity of species is shaped by ecological interactions. To see why, let's examine the origin of species and some of the other processes that have affected the history of life on Earth.
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