Hi everyone,
In the 1970's Lovelock & Margulis proposed the Gaia hypothesis according to which, the earth is a like a living organism.....because it is a self regulating system. The earth is said to evolve through a feed back system that leads to right conditions for habitation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesisAccording to this view, all the species that have evolved on earth are parts of a whole and serve some purpose for the totality. All the physical features of the planet like the water bodies, volcanoes, microbes, winds, flora and fauna are parts of this system.
This means that evolution far from being competitive and a fight for individual survival, is actually cooperative where every species serves a purpose in maintaining the equilibrium of the planet.
An interesting idea.
You could try this link also.
https://tsriramrao.wordpress.com/2012/05/18/the-earth-a-living-organism-gaia-hypothesis/Cheers.
Sriram