Global-Scale Biodiversity Change Study
In this collaborative activity, your group will investigate how Earth's biodiversity has shifted from the pre-industrial era to the present day, and analyze how rising global surface temperatures drive species extinction, migration, and population decline.
Workflow Steps
- 1Literature Review
- 2Historical Timeline Study
- 3Climate & Temperature Link
- 4Species Impact Analysis
Evolution and Biodiversity: Past, Present & Climate Links
Before conducting your group literature review, read the foundational concepts below to understand how evolutionary processes shape biodiversity across geological time and how rapid climate change challenges species survival today.
Evolution and Biodiversity in the Past
Over 3.8 billion years, life on Earth diversified through mutation, genetic variation, natural selection, and speciation. During stable geological periods, adaptive radiation (such as the Cambrian Explosion ~541 million years ago) produced vast arrays of new species filling diverse ecological niches.
However, ancient biodiversity was periodically reshaped by five natural mass extinctions triggered by intense volcanism, continental drift, and asteroid impacts—each followed by millions of years of evolutionary recovery.
Evolution and Biodiversity in the Present
In the modern era (often termed the Anthropocene), human activities—such as habitat destruction, pollution, overexploitation, and greenhouse gas emissions—have become the dominant selective pressures on Earth's ecosystems.
Because environmental changes are occurring 100 to 1,000 times faster than background geological rates, many species experience an evolutionary mismatch: their genetic adaptation cannot keep pace with rapid habitat loss and warming, driving what scientists warn is a potential Sixth Mass Extinction.
Relationship Between Evolutionary Theory, Climate Change, and Biodiversity
According to Darwinian evolutionary theory, climate acts as a primary abiotic selective agent. When climate shifts, organisms face three evolutionary fates: adapt (via phenotypic plasticity or genetic evolution), migrate to suitable climates, or go extinct if phenotypic limits are exceeded.
- Coral Bleaching & Thermal Selection: Rising sea temperatures expel symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) from reef corals, causing mass mortality while selecting only for rare heat-tolerant genotypes.
- Phenological Mismatch: Earlier springs alter insect emergence times, causing migratory birds (like the European pied flycatcher) to miss peak food availability for their chicks.
- Morphological Shifts: Several bird and mammal species are evolving smaller body sizes or longer appendages (Allen's rule) to dissipate excess heat more efficiently.
- Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ~56 Ma): A rapid global warming event (+5°C to +8°C) caused deep-sea benthic foraminifera extinctions, drove poleward migration of tropical plants, and favored the evolutionary radiation of modern smaller mammals.
- End-Permian Extinction (~252 Ma): Massive volcanic CO₂ release triggered extreme global warming and ocean acidification, wiping out ~90% of marine species and resetting evolutionary lineages.
- Pleistocene Ice Age Cycles: Glacial-interglacial temperature swings forced repeated range shifts and contributed to the extinction of cold-adapted megafauna (e.g., woolly mammoths).
Group Identity
Complete your group details before starting the investigation.
Credible Literature Review
Conduct a literature study from various credible sources (textbooks, popular science articles, peer-reviewed journals, or environmental reports such as IPCC, WWF Living Planet Report, or IUCN). Document at least 3 credible references below.
| # | Source Type | Title, Author / Organization & Year | Key Findings / Relevance to Biodiversity |
|---|
Historical Study of Biodiversity Change (Pre-Industrial Era to Present)
Compare the condition of global biodiversity, ecosystems, and human impact across major historical eras from the pre-industrial period up to the modern era.
Describe ecosystem stability, forest/ocean coverage, natural extinction rates, and human interaction with nature.
Explain the onset of fossil fuel burning, land-use change, urbanization, and initial shifts in species habitats.
Summarize modern biodiversity trends (e.g., Living Planet Index decline, deforestation, habitat fragmentation, 6th mass extinction indicators).
Correlation with Earth's Surface Temperature & Global Climate Change
Connect the historical biodiversity changes you identified in Task 2 with global surface temperature anomalies and climate change phenomena.
Case Study Analysis: Rising Global Temperature & Species Impacts
Analyze specific species affected by rising Earth temperatures across three distinct ecological responses: Extinction, Migration / Range Shift, and Population Decline.
Ready to Submit Your Group Worksheet?
Download your completed worksheet as a PDF or Word document to upload to your class LMS / Google Classroom.