It also shows a record of flourishing marine life before the event, followed by mass extinction and then evolution of new species and slow recovery of surviving life forms after the event. The Burgess Shale was discovered in 1909 by Charles Walcott, then Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and ranks as one of the 20th century's most significent paleontological discoveries. Diversity endangered Diversity Endangered examines the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to this loss of biological diversity. New conservation practices, alternatives to the loss of species and habitats, and the importance of zoos, botanical gardens, and national parks to the continuation of biological diversity are also covered. Species have evolved to fill niches, from high Andean forests to the depths of the ocean floor.
Scientists consider such diversity an indication of a healthy ecosystem.
But when a species disappears, it is cause for concern on many levels. As Vanishing Amphibians reveals, such is the case with amphibian populations around the world.