Ecological Interactions and Evolution: Forgotten Parts of Biodiversity?

Abstract

Organisms are shaped contemporaneously by ecological processes and over long periods of time by evolution. These activities have lead to the diversification of life. But is the diversity of life all biodiversity is? We argue that biodiversity is the conclusion drawn both from the variety of life forms and the variety of processes that have shaped them. You cant talk about biodiversity in a scientifically meaningful way unless you go beyond describing it only in taxonomic terms.