31. Why So Many Species? The Factors Affecting Biodiversity

Principles of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior (EEB 122)

One can look at biodiversity from several perspectives. An ecological point of view tries to determine how necessary diversity is for an ecosystem to function. An economic point of view tries to capture the value of the “services” nature provides for mankind. An evolutionary point of view shows how artificial the human “right” to dominance is. Finally, a personal point of view captures the emotional basis for the values that humans place on biodiversity.

00:00 – Chapter 1. Introduction
05:39 – Chapter 2. The Ecological Perspective
11:45 – Chapter 3. The Economic Perspective
21:12 – Chapter 4. The Evolutionary Perspective
26:18 – Chapter 5. The Personal Perspective
33:01 – Chapter 6. What to Do?
45:28 – Chapter 7. Conclusion

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: https://open.yale.edu/courses

This course was recorded in Spring 2009.