EESC04H3 Lecture 3: Lecture 3 study guide (2010 fall semester)
25 Jun 2011
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Lecture 3: contemporary cues for limits & driving forces. Latitudinal diversity gradient: low latitude or closer to equator, the more species diversity (seen in birds) 30% of worlds 9040 bird species occur in amazon, and another 16% in indonesia. rainforest is 6% of world land mass, but have more than half of world"s species. similar pattern for shallow marine fauna: plankton, benthos (bottom dwellers), and especially coral reefs (greatest diversity) exceptions: in temperate zones, there are a few plants and animals that are more diverse: conifers, aphids, salamanders. degree of isolation of the faunas and floras (all of animal and plant life of any particular region or time) Energy-stability-area theory of biodiversity (esa theory): the more solar energy, the greater diversity. However, energy and biomass alone do not explain tropical dominance of biological diversity. Very few habitats do have dominant species, a lot don"t, however.
