Book contents
- The Living Planet
- The Living Planet
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- One Introduction and the Evolution of Life on Earth
- Two Flowering Plants
- Three Bryophytes and Pteridophytes: Spore-Bearing Land Plants
- Four Terrestrial Mammals
- Five Marine Mammals: Exploited for Millennia, But Still Holding On
- Six How Birds Reveal the Scale of the Biodiversity Crisis
- Seven Reptiles
- Eight Amphibians
- Nine Freshwater Fishes: Threatened Species and Threatened Waters on a Global Scale
- Ten The Amazing Yet Threatened World of Marine Fishes
- Eleven Insects
- Twelve Marine Invertebrates
- Thirteen Non-Insect Terrestrial Arthropods
- Fourteen Terrestrial Invertebrates Other Than Arthropods and Molluscs
- Fifteen Non-Marine Molluscs
- Sixteen An Account of the Diversity and Conservation of Fungi and Their Close Relatives
- Seventeen Simple Life Forms
- Eighteen Assessing Species Conservation Status: The IUCN Red List and Green Status of Species
- Nineteen Problems with the World’s Ecosystems: The Future and Attempts to Mitigate Decline
- Twenty Conservation Methods and Successes
- Twenty One What Does the Future Hold for Our Planet and its Wildlife?
- Species Index
- Subject Index
- References
One - Introduction and the Evolution of Life on Earth
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 April 2023
Edited by
Book contents
- The Living Planet
- The Living Planet
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- One Introduction and the Evolution of Life on Earth
- Two Flowering Plants
- Three Bryophytes and Pteridophytes: Spore-Bearing Land Plants
- Four Terrestrial Mammals
- Five Marine Mammals: Exploited for Millennia, But Still Holding On
- Six How Birds Reveal the Scale of the Biodiversity Crisis
- Seven Reptiles
- Eight Amphibians
- Nine Freshwater Fishes: Threatened Species and Threatened Waters on a Global Scale
- Ten The Amazing Yet Threatened World of Marine Fishes
- Eleven Insects
- Twelve Marine Invertebrates
- Thirteen Non-Insect Terrestrial Arthropods
- Fourteen Terrestrial Invertebrates Other Than Arthropods and Molluscs
- Fifteen Non-Marine Molluscs
- Sixteen An Account of the Diversity and Conservation of Fungi and Their Close Relatives
- Seventeen Simple Life Forms
- Eighteen Assessing Species Conservation Status: The IUCN Red List and Green Status of Species
- Nineteen Problems with the World’s Ecosystems: The Future and Attempts to Mitigate Decline
- Twenty Conservation Methods and Successes
- Twenty One What Does the Future Hold for Our Planet and its Wildlife?
- Species Index
- Subject Index
- References
Summary
This chapter serves as an introduction to the book. It discusses the origin of Planet Earth and its Moon, their dependence on the Sun for energy, and the evolution of life on Earth. The evolution of the first living cell seems to have been a single event and all life on Earth is directly derived from this individual primary organism. The first life forms were anaerobic bacteria, but these later gave rise to photosynthesising cyanobacteria, which produced oxygen. The presence of oxygen eventually led to the emergence of aerobic animals and plants. The chapter then details the emergence of the oceans and supercontinents Pangea and Gondwanaland, the eventual break-up of the supercontinents and the development of the varied ecosystems which characterise Planet Earth at the present time.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Living PlanetThe State of the World's Wildlife, pp. 1 - 17Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023
References
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