EXAMINE THE AFROTROPICAL AND NEOTROPICAL FOREST BIODIVERSITY WITH AN EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE ON HOW CHANGING CLIMATE PREDICTS ITS FUTURE

ABSTRACT

Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes that are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Biodiversity refers to the variety of living species on Earth, including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi. Africa is the second largest continent and comprises approximately 20% of the total land surface of the planet. The terrestrial Afrotropical biota exhibits significant biodiversity richness and hosts 5 of the 25 global hotspots of biodiversity, including the Western Indian Ocean Islands (e.g., Madagascar and the Seychelles Archipelago), the Cape Floristic Region, the Succulent and Nama Karoo, the Guinean Forests, and the Eastern Afromontane hotspot. The isolation of South America from Central America and Africa during the Tertiary Period left a strong imprint on the biota of the Neotropics. For almost 100 million years’ Neotropical flora, fauna and microorganisms evolved in completely isolation.