ENVS200 Chapter 4: Chapter 4 Intro Notes
Document Summary
The great diversity of organisms that live on the planet, and the even greater diversity of organisms that have gone extinct, are all the product of evolution and speciation. These organisms interact in countless ways with each other and their surroundings. The outcome of these ecological interactions influences an individual"s survival and reproduction. These variations in survival and reproduction can lead to evolutionary changes, completing the circle. There would be no ecology without the species that are produced through evolution and speciation. At the same time, ecological interactions are the mechanism that allow for evolution by natural selection. This linkage has always influenced the research of both ecologists and evolutionary biologists; however in recent years new subdisciplines such as community phylogenetics, ecological genomics, and conservation genetics have emerged. Because evolution is central to ecology, it is important that students of ecology have a broad understanding of evolution. Therefore, evolutionary biology is integrated into all chapters and sections of this text.
