● Noah’s Ark - Christian explanation for diversity in animals, from a centrally distributed source.● Massive flood that eventually dried and placed the Ark on Mt. Ararat, Turkey● British Naturalists for the Natural History Museum - kept discovering more species, and eventually had to discard idea of being able to carry all in one ship, and one centrally distributed source.● So now: scientists believe in natural selection causing speciation and gradual evolution.● Australasia - one of the most interesting places for biological diversity.● Formation of Australasia - the splitting of land led to movement of species● Wallace Line - a faunal boundary line drawn in 1859 by the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace that separates the ecozones of Asia and Wallacea, is a transitional zonebetween Asia and Australia, with different species east and west of the line. ● Many mountains and volcanoes created from collision of continental plates in Australasia. ○ Ex: New Guinea● Islands of Melanesia have different resident species because of each island’s traits. ○ Ex: due to small area and soil toxicity, New Caledonia has short food chain of only 3 trophic levels; dominated by reptiles and top predator is monitor lizard of 10kg.○ Ex: the much larger New Zealand with richer soils and larger birds. ● Q: Are the extinctions of all these birds/mammals on Australasian islands a result of climate change or humans?● A: All large mammals were lost from archaeological record 500 years after colonization - thus the result of humans hunting, overexploitation of resrouces, human introducing domestic animals and foreign species.● Currently, 60% of Africa’s original species are still present, ● Humans tend to live in coastal parts of the earth. ● Areas not as inhabited are usually result of physical, climate factors (too cold, too hot, too inaccessible by travel)● 70% of species affected are through habitat destruction - thus if you want to save species, need to set aside national parks and habitat○ Ex: foreign species were introduced to Hawaii and originals were lost.● VirungaMovie.com○ Habitats are matter of life and death for certain people○ The national park● Warblers occupy different regions of a tree - each in their ecological niche/habitat○ Each exploit their resources, find mates, etc. better than other species within their habitat.○ Process of niche-filling, species being specifically designed to perform in their regions.● Neutral Theory of Evolution○ = a random process.○ 1967 MacArthur & Wilson’s radical theory of island biogeography - where the species you find in an island is result of something you can’t predict.○ Mathematical exercise based on field research… Q: What determines the number of species on an island?○ This concept is basically used for the calculation of area needed for national parks and habitats.○ Both removal and addition of species can be affected.■ S is a function of rates of immigration○ Immigration rate becomes lower, as they continue to enter island, and extinction ● If your island is farther, the equilibrium state is lower, and if your island is more near, the equilibrium state is