Beyond purely scientific goals and satisfying curiosity, this understanding is essential for applied issues of major concern to humankind, such as the spread of invasive species, the control of diseas...Beyond purely scientific goals and satisfying curiosity, this understanding is essential for applied issues of major concern to humankind, such as the spread of invasive species, the control of diseases and their vectors, and the likely effects of global climate change on the maintenance of biodiversity (Gaston 2000).
Figure \PageIndex4: Biodiversity hotspots and some of their endemic species. (a) Melanesian Islands ["Solomon Islands" by Jim Lounsbury is available for open access]; (b) Emerald Lakes, New Zeal...Figure \PageIndex4: Biodiversity hotspots and some of their endemic species. (a) Melanesian Islands ["Solomon Islands" by Jim Lounsbury is available for open access]; (b) Emerald Lakes, New Zealand [Photo by Marcus Holland-Moritz is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0]; (c) Diademed sifaca, one of the endemic lemur species from Mantadia National Park, Madagascar ["Diademed ready to push off" by Michael Hogan is available in the public domain]; (d) Maned wolf, the largest canid of South America, a…