Life: complexity and diversity- 3. Growing larger

Abstract

Living organisms continually evolve to occupy newer environmental regimes. In the process they develop more complex structures and grow to larger sizes. They also evolve more intricate ways of relating to each other. The larger, more complex organisms do not replace the simpler, smaller ones, rather they come to coexist with them in increasingly complex ecosystems. This promotes a continual increase in the diversity of life over evolutionary time.