SC.912.L.15.3

 The variability among living organisms from all sources including, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems  Includes genetic variation within species, the variety of species in an area, and the variety of habitat types within a landscape

 Speciation: the origin of new species If one species evolves into 2 or more surviving species, diversity increases

 Extinction: process in which groups of organisms (species) die out  Extinction is a natural result of evolution and natural selection.  Species go extinct when they are unable to adapt to changes in the environment or compete effectively with other organisms. Well over 99 per cent of the species that have ever lived have gone extinct.

 Speciation (responsible for the vast number of species that we have on earth today) INCREASES  Biodiversity (the variety of all forms of life, from genes to species, through to the broad scale of ecosystems)

 Extinction (the loss of a species DECREASES  Biodiversity (the variety of all forms of life, from genes to species, through to the broad scale of ecosystems)