Biological diversity

Question 1

Diversity of life

Answer 1

Variety of living organisms on earth

Question 2

Biodiversity

Answer 2

structure of ecological communities

number of different species

Question 3

Diverse community

Answer 3

many species evenly represented

Question 4

Evolution

Answer 4

Planet formed 4.5 billion years ago
Multicellular organisms appeared 800 million years ago
Cambrian explosion in biodiversity 535 million years ago

Question 5

Metazoan

Answer 5

Multicellular organism

Question 6

What evidence is there for evolution?

Answer 6

Fossils

Remains or imprints of remains preserved by natural processes

Question 7

Why are fossils important?

Answer 7

Vital for studying the evolution of animals in order to classify them and understand their relationships

Question 8

How many species exist on Earth?

Answer 8

We don’t know yet, they are undiscovered

Question 9

Estimated amount of organisms/species on earth

Answer 9

2.5 million classified (bias towards larger animals)
900 000 insects (>80% described are arthropods)
250 000 are plants
41 000 are vertebrates
The rest are invertebrates, fungi, algae and microorganisms
99% of all recorded organisms are extinct