This is a fairly open-ended forum. In your posts, please address two or more of the following. You can also draw from other sources you’ve read independently, or make other relevant comments on the topic of biodiversity and extinction.

• Madagascar, Indonesia and the Amazon basin have some of the greatest numbers of different species concentrated in a single area. What kinds of environments do you think encourage greater biodiversity?
• What are some examples of non-native “weedy” (hardy, easily adaptable) species of plants and animals that have entered North America and have caused or are starting to cause major problems for existing plant and animal (and human) communities?
• How are humans and human activities contributing to extinctions of plants and animals?
• Can humans realistically do anything to reverse these trends described in the articles? If so, what sacrifices (economic, demographic, etc) are we willing to make in order to preserve biodiversity?