Life Has a History

The diversity of life we have today is a result of evolution.

The simplest way to define evolution takes just three words: change through time. Life has a long history, and it has changed throughout that history, resulting in the biodiversity that we see today.

Imagine for a moment that you have a lens through which you can view the oceans across geologic time. What would you expect to see? Which organisms would be the same as today? Which would be different?

Click the three lenses below for a peek at life in the sea through time.

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Ordovician marine scene by Karen Carr, © Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites; Jurassic marine scene © Karen Carr; Modern reef photo by Dr. James P. McVey, NOAA Sea Grant Program.