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5: Speciation

  • Page ID
    49520
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    • 5.1: Species Diversity
      Strictly speaking, species diversity is the number of different species in a particular area (species richness) weighted by some measure of abundance such as number of individuals or biomass. However, it is common for conservation biologists to speak of species diversity even when they are actually referring to species richness.
    • 5.2: Formation of New Species
      Although all life on earth shares various genetic similarities, only certain organisms combine genetic information by sexual reproduction and have offspring that can then successfully reproduce. Scientists call such organisms members of the same biological species.
    • 5.3: Reconnection and Rates of Speciation
      Speciation occurs over a span of evolutionary time, so when a new species arises, there is a transition period during which the closely related species continue to interact.


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