Ron Whittenburg, age 15, of Muncie, Indiana, for. his question:

What is meant by the diversity of life?

Diverse means different and diversity means a spreading series of changes or variations. Life, of course, is the most miraculous word in this or in any other language. This is so because life itself is the greatest of all miracles on. this or an any other planet.
The diversity of life sounds like it might be a scientific term with a specialized meaning to biologists. But this is not so. It is a poetic expression that nature lovers have been using for many years. The fact that it is poetic, however, does not rob the expression of meaning. In fact, it is cram full of meaning. Each person can bring to it a few meanings of his own, depending upon how much he knows and appreciates in the living world of nature. This fascinating world is limited to a thin skin of surface ground and a few miles below the surface of our seas. Biologists call this realm the biosphere, the sphere of life or living things.
 The biosphere is limited in size, but its miracles are limitless. It supports nearly 1 1/2 million different species of plants and animals. Each species is different from all the others. This astounding variety of earthlings is most likely the first item that comes to mind when we think of the diversity of life. But it is merely a surface aspect of the immense topic. As we study deeper, we observe the vast variety of species in their natural homes and habitats. We classify them in families and trace back their family trees to their ancestors of the past.
These biological studies reveal patterns andpathways in the vast scheme of living things. Most species live only in their own limited ranges bf territory. And each domain always is shared by a number of plants and animals. The members of the community enjoy the same types of climate and surroundings. But what is more important, they depend upon each other. The grassy plains need deer to crop their greenery. The deer need to share their domain with big meat eating animals. The carnivores keep down the deer population so that there is enough greenery to go around. There is give take in the diversity of life.
     In jungles we find monkeys. But the New World monkeys can hang by their tails and the Old World monkeys cannot. Some of these diversities can be explained by past geological events. Animals travel and plants spread out to settle wherever new and suitable realms diversity of life can be found. The Ice Ages wiped out the snakes of Europe. When the glaciers melted, Ireland was cut off from the mainland and the snakes could not swim back home. Ages ago, the ancestors of our horses and camels wandered o~rer a land bridge into Asia. Camels roamed down into`.South America.. These wanderers settled in new lands and later the paths to their former homes were demolished. Meantime, generations of horses and camels had lived and changed in their new lands. In the Old World, the horses and camels grew bigger. The New World camels that never came back home became llamas.     The diversity of living things spreads and thrives wherever conditions are comfortable. One rule of the game is give take. Each domain of the biosphere is shared by many plants and animas that depend upon each other. Another rule is change. In order to survive and hand on life, each species must be able to change to cope with new living conditions. The dinosaurs, for instance, were unable to adapt themselves to a changing world climate and perished from the earth. The diversity of life includes countless varieties and follows a path of never ending changes.