Biological Diversity : The Oldest Human Heritage (Educational Leaflet (New York State Museum), No. 34.)

Biological Diversity: T H E

O L D E S T

H U M A N

H E R I T A G E

By

Edward O. Wilson

NEW

YORK

STATE

MUSEUM

Biological Diversity: T H E

O L D E S T

H U M A N

H E R I T A G E

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

REGENTS

OF THE

UNIVERSITY

Carl T. Hayden, Chancellor, A.B., J.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elmira Diane O’Neill McGivern, Vice Chancellor, B.S.N., M.A., Ph.D. . . . . Staten Island J. Edward Meyer, B.A., LL.B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chappaqua R. Carlos Carballada, Chancellor Emeritus, B.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rochester Adelaide L. Sanford, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hollis Saul B. Cohen, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Rochelle James C. Dawson, A.A., B.A., M.S., Ph.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peru Robert M. Bennett, B.A., M.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tonawanda Robert M. Johnson, B.A., J.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lloyd Harbor Peter M. Pryor, B.A., LL.B., J.D., LL.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Albany Anthony S. Bottar, B.A., J.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Syracuse Merryl H. Tisch, B.A., M.A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New York Harold O. Levy, B.S., M.A. (Oxon.), J.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New York Ena L. Farley, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brockport Geraldine D. Chapey, B.A., M.A., Ed.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Belle Harbor Ricardo E. Oquendo, B.A., J.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New York P RESIDENT

OF THE

U NIVERSITY AND C OMMISSIONER Richard P. Mills

OF

E DUCATION

C HIEF O PERATING O FFICER Richard H. Cate D EPUTY C OMMISSIONER FOR C ULTURAL E DUCATION Carole F. Huxley D IRECTOR FOR THE S TATE M USEUM Clifford A. Siegfried

The State Education Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, religion, creed, disability, marital status, veteran status, national origin, race, gender, genetic predisposition or carrier status, or sexual orientation in its educational programs, services and activities. Portions of this publication can be made available in a variety of formats, including Braille, large print or audiotape, upon request. Inquiries concerning this policy of nondiscrimination should be directed to the Department’s Office for Diversity, Ethics, and Access, Room 152, Education Building, Albany, NY 12234.

Biological Diversity: T H E

O L D E S T

H U M A N

H E R I T A G E

By

Edward O. Wilson Pellegrino University Research Professor and Honorary Curator in Entomology at Harvard University

N e w

Y o r k

S t a t e

E d u c a t i o n a l

M u s e u m

L e a f l e t

3 4

A Publication of The New York State Biodiversity Research Institute

The University of the State of New York The State Education Department NEW

YORK

STATE

MUSEUM

Copyright © 1999 by The New York State Biodiversity Research Institute Printed in the United States of America Published in 1999 by: The New York State Biodiversity Research Institute New York State Museum Cultural Education Center Albany, New York 12230 (518) 486-4845 http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/bri.html

Requests for additional copies of this publication may be made by contacting: Publication Sales New York State Museum Cultural Education Center Albany, New York 12230 (518) 449-1404 http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/publications.html

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 99-70195 ISBN: 1-55557-210-3 ISSN: 0735-4401

Contents Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Biological Diversity: The Oldest Human Heritage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Appendix I (Glossary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Appendix II (Suggested Reading) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Appendix III (Discussion Questions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Appendix IV (Geologic Time Table) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Preface This book is based on a manuscript written by Edward Osborne Wilson following the first New York Natural History Conference at the New York State Museum in Albany on June 20-22, 1990. Wilson, who was the keynote speaker, opened the conference with a talk titled “Biodiversity and the Future of the Global Environment.” He described how the extinction of species caused by habitat destruction has increased to a rate that may be 10,000 or more times greater than the rate prior to human intervention. This mass extinction, according to Wilson, is the most destructive global environmental change occurring at this time, and it is critical that we reverse the process. Following his keynote address at the New York State Museum, Wilson put together a manuscript based on the topics covered in his talk to be used as the basis of this educational book. Although this manuscript was written in 1990, the ideas presented are of great value and will continue to be important for many years to come. Edward Osborne Wilson is a world-renowned scientist and researcher. He currently works at Harvard University as Pellegrino University Research Professor and as Honorary Curator in Entomology. Wilson is also a distinguished writer; he has written or edited 20 books, including two that have won Pulitzer Prizes in general non-fiction, On Human Nature and The Ants (with co-author Bert Hölldobler). Over a career of nearly 50 years, Wilson has focused on a wide range of topics from population biology to sociobiology and, most recently, biodiversity issues. His career has always centered on the study of his lifelong passion—ants— and he is recognized as the world’s leading authority on the kingdom of ants. His major contributions to the field of myrmecology include the discovery of

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pheromones that direct specific ant activities and the discovery of many previously unknown species of ants from around the world. He has also begun to unravel and describe some of the complex social behaviors of these insects. Although Wilson’s career continues to involve research on ants, he has also recently assumed a new role as a leader in the crusade to save the world’s biodiversity. In his book Biodiversity, he states: “… every scrap of biological diversity is priceless, to be learned and cherished, and never to be surrendered without a struggle.” In the pages that follow, Wilson describes why this is true. He explains how all aspects of human well being are dependent on preserving the remaining biological resources of our world, and why we can no longer ignore increased extinction rates that are the result of anthropogenic activities. In the final pages of this book, Wilson offers recommendations and a multi-disciplinary approach for the successful conservation and use of biodiversity. This book has been printed using funds from the New York State Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI). The BRI was created during a time of increasing awareness of the urgent need to preserve global and local biodiversity. State Education Law (Section 235-a (2, 3)) of 1993 mandated the establishment of the BRI within the New York State Museum to meet these demands. The BRI is funded through the Environmental Protection Fund and includes a number of collaborators, including the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the New York Natural Heritage Program, and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Activities of the BRI are guided by an executive committee, which is appointed by the legislature and the governor of New York. The major objectives of the BRI include the following: • promote and sponsor cooperative scientific and educational efforts to increase our knowledge and awareness of biodiversity within New York state; • advise the governor and officials of governmental agencies on biodiversity issues within New York state; • develop a comprehensive and readily accessible database on the status of biodiversity within New York state; and • identify areas within the state that lack adequate biodiversity information and promote research in such areas.

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D i v e r s i t y

Additional information on the activities of the BRI along with databases related to New York state’s biodiversity can be found by accessing the BRI’s Web site at http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/bri.html. By making this information readily available, natural resource managers will be better able to minimize potentially negative impacts on local biodiversity. Ultimately, however, the successful conservation of biodiversity will also depend greatly upon increasing public concern and awareness—especially by future generations—of local and global biological diversity. In recognition of this situation, the BRI published this book with the intent of educating primarily high school students on the values of biodiversity. However, considering the urgency and importance of the issues discussed, this book will, we believe, be of value to a much broader audience. We wish to acknowledge all the people who have assisted us in the publication of this book. Above all, we owe the most thanks to the author, Edward O. Wilson, who has graciously offered his writing to us. We are also grateful for all the effort Patricia Kernan has put into creating the drawings that illustrate the pages of this book and the cover. Finally, we extend our thanks to all those who have worked on editing the text, including Erin Davison, Jeanne Finley, Karen Frolich, Patricia Kernan, Norton Miller, Shannon Murphy, David Steadman, Gordon Tucker and Lisa Wootan.

Ronald J. Gill Biodiversity Research Specialist New York State Biodiversity Research Institute Clifford A. Siegfried Director New York State Museum Albany, New York February 1999

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T

HE ROSY PERIWINKLE

(CATHARANTHUS ROSEUS )

IS THE SOURCE OF ALKALOID CHEMICALS THAT ARE USED TO TREAT TWO OF THE MOST DEADLY FORMS OF CANCER:

HODGKIN’S DISEASE AND

ACUTE LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA.

Biological Diversity: T H E

O L D E S T

H U M A N

H E R I T A G E

By

Edward O. Wilson In the northeastern United States, as in most of the remainder of the country, about one plant species in five is threatened with significant reduction in numbers or even with total extinction. Here are the names of several: New England boneset, Furbish’s lousewort, threadleaf sundew, fairy wand and hairy beardtongue. Many people still ask the vexing question: Of what possible value, except to a few botanists, is a plant with a name like hairy beardtongue? Why should money and effort be spent to save this and other bits of floristic esoterica? Let me tell the ways. Consider periwinkles of the genus Catharanthus, flowering plants that live on Madagascar, a great island off the East Coast of Africa. Inconspicuous in appearance, located all the way around the world, the six species of periwinkles would seem to be even less worthy of attention than beardtongues and louseworts. But one of them, the rosy periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus), is the source of alkaloid chemicals vinblastine and vincristine, used to cure two of the most deadly forms of cancer: Hodgkin’s disease, especially dangerous to young adults, and acute lymphocytic leukemia, which, before the periwinkle alkaloids, was a virtual death sentence for young children. These anti-cancer substances are now the basis of an industry earning more than 100 million dollars a year. Ironically, the other five periwinkle species remain largely unexamined for their medical potential. One of them is near extinction due to the destruction of its habitat on Madagascar. On a global scale, one out of ten plant species has been found to contain anti-cancer substances of

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D i v e r s i t y

S

OME NORTHEASTERN PLANTS HAVE PROVIDED

PEOPLE WITH FOLK REMEDIES, SUCH AS JEWELWEED SAP USED IN TREATING THE RASH POISON IVY CAUSES.

OTHER SPECIES—FOR

EXAMPLE, GINSENG AND GOLDEN-SEAL—ARE GATHERED COMMERCIALLY AND CULTIVATED TO A LIMITED EXTENT IN

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D i v e r s i t y

NEW YORK STATE.

some degree of potency. A much higher percentage yield pharmaceuticals and other natural products of potential use as well as basic scientific information. If we dismiss beardtongues and louseworts, we may be doing ourselves a considerable disservice. Simple prudence dictates that no species, however humble, should ever be allowed to go extinct if it is within the power of humanity to save it. Take another—even repugnant—example, the leech. We would certainly be better off without these miserable bloodsuckers, right? Wrong. The medicinal leech of Europe has proved to be of great value to modern medicine. To prevent the blood of its victims from clotting, it secretes a powerful anticoagulant called hirudin. This substance is used to treat contusions, thrombosis, hemorrhoids and other conditions in which clotting blood can be painful or dangerous. Thousands of lives are saved annually by hirudin. The leech uses a second substance, the enzyme hyaluronidase, to disperse cells and hasten the penetration of hirudin. Surgeons adapt this material in the same way to spread injected drugs and anesthetics. Leeches also contain antibiotics and substances that enlarge the diameter of blood vessels, which might someday lead to a cure for migraine headaches. Medicinal leeches are now the basis of a $4 million annual business. They are so much in demand that the European species is threatened by overcollecting in its natural habitat. With the aid of other specialists (my own special group is ants), I have estimated the total number of kinds of plants, animals, and microorganisms known to science to be about 1.4 million. By “known to science” we mean characterized anatomically and given a scientific name, such as Canis familiaris for the domestic dog, Hirudo medicinalis for the European medicinal leech, and Homo sapiens for humans. But the actual number of kinds is estimated to fall somewhere between 10 million and 80 million, depending on the statistical method used and the degree of conservativeness on the part of the scientist making the estimate. The truth is that we don’t know even to the nearest order of magnitude the amount of diversity. In other words, we cannot say whether the figure is closer to 1 million, 10 million or 100 million. When scientists fail to make a measurement to the nearest order of magnitude, it is fair to surmise that the subject is still poorly known. The truth is that life on planet earth has only begun to be explored. Every time I go to a rainforest site in Central or South America, I find new species of ants within several hours of searching.

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D i v e r s i t y

S

OME SPECIES OF LEECHES CONTAIN THE

CHEMICAL HIRUDIN AND THE ENZYME HYALURONIDASE, BOTH OF WHICH ARE USED IN MEDICINE.

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D i v e r s i t y

Some groups of organisms, such as fungi and mites (small spider-like organisms that abound in the leaf litter and soil) are so poorly studied that it is possible to find new species within a few miles of almost any locality in the United States, including the most densely populated urban areas. In the Chocó region of Colombia, as many as half the plant species, including trees and shrubs, still lack a scientific name. Even new species of mammals still turn up occasionally. In the past several years, a new deer, a kind of muntjac, was found in western China, and a new monkey, the sun-tailed guenon, was discovered in Gabon. We know less about life on earth than we know about the surface of the moon and Mars—in part because far less money has been spent studying it. Taxonomy, the study of classification and hence of biological diversity, has been allowed to dwindle, while other important fields such as space exploration and biomedical studies have flourished. Like glass-blowing and harpsichord manufacture, taxonomy of many kinds of organisms has been left in the hands of a small number of unappreciated specialists who have had few opportunities to train their successors. To take one of hundreds of examples, two of the four most abundant groups of small animals of the soil are springtails and oribatid mites. Marvelously varied, having complex life cycles, and teeming by the millions in every acre of land, these tiny animals play vital ecological roles by consuming dead vegetable matter. Thus they help to drive the energy and materials cycles on which all of life depends. Yet there are only four specialists in the United States who can identify springtails—one is retired—and only one is an expert on oribatid mites. The reason that so little is heard about these important organisms in the scientific literature and popular press is that there are so few people who know enough to write about them at any level. The general neglect of expertise in the face of overwhelming need and opportunity rebounds to the weakness of many other enterprises in science and education. Museums are understaffed, with too few biologists to develop research collections and prepare exhibitions. Systematics, the branch of biology that employs taxonomy and the study of similarities among species to work out the evolution of groups of organisms, is able to address only a minute fraction of life. Biogeography, the analysis of the distribution of organisms, is similarly hobbled. So is ecology, the extremely important discipline that explores the relationships of organisms

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D i v e r s i t y

“

E

VERY TIME THAT

IN

I GO INTO THE RAINFOREST

CENTRAL OR SOUTH AMERICA, I FIND

NEW SPECIES OF ANTS WITHIN SEVERAL HOURS OF SEARCHING.”

—EDWARD O. WILSON

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D i v e r s i t y

to their environment and to one another. A great deal of the future of biology depends on the strengthening of taxonomy, for if you can’t tell one kind of plant or animal from another, you are in trouble. Some kinds of research may be held up indefinitely. As the Chinese say, the beginning of wisdom is getting things by their right names. The study of classification and expertise on “obscure” groups of organisms such as periwinkles, leeches, springtails and mites may receive the needed boost by association with what has come to be known as biodiversity studies. Biodiversity studies constitute a hybrid discipline that took solid form during the 1980s. They can be defined (a bit formally, I admit, but bear with me) as follows: the systematic examination of the full array of organisms and the origin of this diversity, together with the technology by which diversity can be maintained and utilized for the benefit of humanity. Thus biodiversity studies are both scientific in nature, a branch of pure evolutionary biology, and applied studies, a branch of biotechnology. Two events during the past quarter-century brought biodiversity to center stage and encouraged the deliberately hybrid form of its analysis. The first was the recognition that human activity threatens the extinction of not only a few “star” species such as giant pandas and California condors, but also a large fraction of all the species of plants and animals on earth. At least one-quarter of the species on earth are likely to vanish due to the cutting and burning of tropical rainforests alone if the current rate of destruction continues. The second reason for the new prominence of biodiversity studies is the recognition that extinction can be slowed and eventually halted without significant cost to humanity. Extinction is not a price we are compelled to pay for economic progress. Quite the contrary: As the examples of the rosy periwinkle and medicinal leech suggest, conservation can promote human welfare. Ultimately conservation might even be necessary for continued progress in many realms of endeavor. The connection between the biodiversity crisis and economic development has been an important element in the reawakening of environmentalism in 1990, which reached a peak when Earth Day II was celebrated on April 22—20 years after the original event. The new environmentalism continues to endure. It arose with auspicious timing at the end of the Cold War, as Eastern Europe abandoned

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D i v e r s i t y

M

ARVELOUSLY VARIED, HAVING COMPLEX

LIFE CYCLES, AND TEEMING BY THE MILLIONS IN EVERY ACRE OF LAND, SPRINGTAILS PLAY VITAL ECOLOGICAL ROLES BY CONSUMING DEAD VEGETABLE MATTER.

communism and Russian-U.S. relations entered their most cooperative period since the Second World War. The industrialized countries could now, it seemed, turn more of their energies to domestic reform, including improvement of the environment. It appeared to many scientists, the public and political leaders that this opportunity was realized not a moment too soon. What were previously viewed as mostly local events such as pollution of a harbor here or landfilling of a marsh there, had coalesced into secular global trends. Through advances in technology, scientists were able to make precise measurements of changes in the atmosphere and of the rates of deforestation and other forms of habitat destruction. And when the iron curtain lifted, the environment was revealed to be even worse off in socialist countries than in the capitalist West. Action to reverse the decline was demanded everywhere.

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D i v e r s i t y

N

EW

YORK’S BIODIVERSITY IS THREATENED MAINLY BECAUSE OF

HUMAN ACTIVITY.

HABITAT DESTRUCTION AND/OR PESTICIDES HAVE

CAUSED SPECIES SUCH AS THE

KARNER BLUE BUTTERFLY (PICTURED

BELOW), LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE AND BLACK TERN TO BECOME ENDANGERED.

MISMANAGEMENT, SPECIFICALLY OVERHUNTING, HELPED BRING THE PASSENGER PIGEON TO EXTINCTION AND EXTIRPATED THE MOUNTAIN LION, GRAY WOLF AND ELK FROM THE NORTHEAST.

PLANT SPECIES LIKE

LEATHERFLOWER

(CLEMATIS OCHROLEUCA ), SHORTLEAF PINE (PINUS

ECHINATA ), AND

LONG’S BULRUSH (SCIRPUS LONGII ) ONCE OCCURRED

IN THE

NEW YORK METROPOLITAN AREA, BUT DISAPPEARED AS THE CITY

EXPANDED AND DESTROYED WOODLANDS AND WETLANDS.

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A

N e w

Y o r k

C a s e

S t u d y :

The Decline of an Endangered Species By Timothy L. McCabe Senior Scientist and Curator of Entomology New York State Museum

The Karner blue butterfly serves as an indicator of the environmental health of the Albany pine barrens. The Karner blue larvae are dependent on a single host plant—the blue lupine. Lupine requires a complex mix of fire, low graze pressure from herbivores, and disturbance. The butterflies have equally complex needs for winter snow cover, nectar sources, ant symbionts and traffic-free areas. In preserves, deer and rabbit populations are protected from exploitation, enabling them to build large populations. The resulting increased browsing puts unnatural pressure on selected plants, particularly the lupine, thus reducing host availability. The Karner blue butterflies disperse across the landscape, taking advantage of unexploited habitat. They may stay in an area for 20 years, then disappear as the area becomes more overgrown and shaded. Managing the habitat is important for the future of this species. Currently, unused suitable habitat necessary for establishing new populations is being destroyed. The delicate balance between the butterfly and habitat has been exemplified by its extirpation from four states. The Karner blue is found in Albany, Schenectady and Warren counties. Originally, the Albany pine barrens comprised 25,000 acres. Now there are less than 2,800 acres of undeveloped land. Loss of pine barrens habitat through development has resulted in a corresponding decline in butterfly abundance. Figure 1 is an example of a site that has experienced a severe decline with the population apparently being extirpated. However, at most other sites in the Albany pine barrens, the decline has not been as severe as in this example. This decline became well known in the late 1970s and early ’80s through a city-sponsored Environmental Impact Statement.

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12

Species Number of Butterflies Observed

10 8 6 4 2 0

1991

1992

1993

1994 1995 Survey Year

F i g u r e

1996

1997

1998

1 .

Data were collected by observing and counting adult butterflies at one site in the Albany pine barrens. This visual survey method gives researchers a relative population index number, which, although it is not the actual population size, is very useful for monitoring some organisms such as butterflies. Each bar on the graph represents the total number of butterflies counted on different days. There were no butterflies observed on surveys in 1997 and 1998. (Data courtesy of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission.)

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I

SOLATED AREAS OF SOUTHEASTERN

NEW

YORK STATE ARE THE HABITAT OF THE EASTERN WOODRAT. IT WOULD SEEM THESE AREAS’ INACCESSIBILITY WOULD PROTECT THE WOODRAT FROM EXTINCTION, AND YET INEXPLICABLY IT DECLINED IN

NEW YORK STATE IN RECENT

DECADES, AND FINALLY DISAPPEARED FROM THE STATE IN

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1989.

D i v e r s i t y

It is possible that the next hundred years will become known as the “Century of the Environment.” If in the fullness of time that prophecy comes true, the beginning of this era might be marked by historians by environmental disasters, such as the 11 million-gallon Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska, the 350 tons of depleted uranium weapons still lying on Persian Gulf War battlefields, and the continued exploitation of precious ecosystems like the Brazilian Amazon, where deforestation, mining and over-development continue to flourish. I would like to summarize the whole picture by classifying global trends into four categories: 1. Ozone depletion in the stratosphere, allowing increased penetration of ultraviolet radiation to reach ground level. 2. Global warming due to the greenhouse effect, in which increased levels of carbon dioxide, methane and a few other gases trap growing quantities of heat. 3. Toxic pollution, including acid rain. 4. Mass extinction of species by destruction of habitats, especially tropical rainforests. The first three trends are dangerous to health and the economy—but they can be reversed. It is a matter of converting to cleaner forms of energy, changing our patterns of production and consumption, and above all, reversing population growth with an aim toward reaching supportable levels country by country. However, extinction cannot be reversed. No species can be called back. Extinction of species, or the reduction of biodiversity, is the one process that is being perpetrated not only on our children

ACIDIFICATION REDUCES THE DIVERSITY

and grandchildren but also on our descendants 10,000 years from now and beyond—as far into the future as can be imagined.

OF AQUATIC LIFE, BECAUSE FEW SPECIES CAN SURVIVE IN WATER WITH A LOW

THE pH LEVEL CAN BE RESTORED

With that somber but essential theme as background, let me now review some of the key facts about global biodiversity. The world is at or close to its highest level of biodiversity in the history of life, spanning 3.75 billion years. This

THROUGH LIMING; SOME OF THE PLANT SPECIES LOST MAY RE-ESTABLISH FROM SEED SOURCES IN NEARBY LAKES.

buildup has been associated with changes in the atmosphere, the most important of which were caused by organisms and their innovations as they adapted to the changing atmosphere and other parts of the

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pH.

D i v e r s i t y

T

HE DIVERSITY OF THE POWDERY MILDEW IS DEMONSTRATED BY THE

SHAPES OF THEIR APPENDAGES.

THIS ENGRAVING WAS DONE IN 1861 BY

CHARLES TULASNE.

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environment. For almost 3 billion years, life was limited to the oceans and consisted of bacteria, blue-green algae, and other relatively simple one-celled forms. Then complex cells evolved, incorporating organelles such as nuclear membranes, chloroplasts, and cilia. Soon afterward, these cells evolved into still more complex multicellular animals and plants. About 600 million years ago, the concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere climbed rather quickly (by geological standards) to near its current level, destroying most of the anaerobic life in the oceans and on land surfaces. A shield of ozone accumulated in the stratosphere, protecting life from harmful ultraviolet irradiation. For the first time, substantial numbers of larger animals filled the seas, and the global variety of life climbed sharply. Plants invaded the land, then animals, represented first by small arthropods and other invertebrates, then jawless fishes. The diversity of life continued to rise. Biodiversity stalled on a plateau during most of the Mesozoic Era, then climbed gradually to its current high level. It is a supreme irony that mankind, the great destroyer of life, began as one of the products of the living world’s maximum proliferation. A second major principle of biodiversity is that smaller organisms are generally more diverse than larger ones. The reason appears to be simply that they fit into smaller spaces, consume less food individually, complete their life cycles more quickly, and hence are able to divide the habitats in which they live into smaller and more numerous niches. And the more numerous the niches, the more species that can be packed into the same location. Take a typical epiphyte-laden tree in the rainforest of Peru. It may be the home of several hundred species of beetles, 40 species of ants, and as many as 50 species of orchids and other epiphytes. But it can only be the partial home for a flock of parrots, which must range over portions of the forest that contain many thousands of such trees in order to obtain enough food for survival. Among smaller animals, insects dominate diversity. About 750,000 of the 1 million animal species described to date are insects, and some estimates have placed the actual number as high as 80 million. The reason for this amazing disproportion is uncertain. It seems likely due to the metamorphosis experienced by the majority of kinds of insects during the individual life cycle: egg to larva to pupa to adult, with the egg and pupa as passive transitional stages and the larva and adult as the active stage. Larvae and adults are radically different in appearance (recall the caterpillar and butterfly), typically feed on different foods, and even live in different sites. As

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T

HE MARINE TURTLES, SUCH AS THIS GREEN

SEA TURTLE, ARE MOST OFTEN KILLED BECAUSE THEY ARE LARGE AND SLOW AND ARE CONSIDERED GOOD EATING.

ALL SIX SPECIES

ARE NOW IN DANGER OF EXTINCTION.

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W

ITH ITS WISPINESS AND LIGHT-AND-DARK

COLORATION, THE PHANTOM CRANE FLY MIMICS COBWEBS AS IT FLIES THROUGH THE AIR. IF CAUGHT, IT CAN EASILY LOSE A LIMB, A CHARACTERISTIC KNOWN AS AUTOTOMY.

a result, still more niches are generated by the combinations of life cycles. Another reason for the megadiversity of insects may be pre-emption. Insects were among the first small animals to adapt well to the land environment in early Paleozoic times, some 400 million years ago, and this advantage allowed them to expand their populations and species to an extreme degree while holding their own against rival groups among the land invaders. The pre-emption hypothesis gains some support from the fact that oribatid mites invaded the land about the same time, and today they too are exceptionally diverse and abundant.

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T

HE

MASSASAUGA IS A SMALL SPECIES OF

RATTLESNAKE THAT IS ENDANGERED. IT IS KNOWN IN

NEW YORK FROM ONLY TWO

SWAMPS IN THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN PARTS OF THE STATE.

If insects and other small invertebrate animals are so much more diverse than vertebrates and larger invertebrates due to size alone, is it true by extension of the same principle that still smaller creatures such as roundworms, fungi, and bacteria are even more diverse? The conventional answer is that for some unknown reason, they are not. But the conventional answer may prove to be wrong. The truth is that we know very little about the smallest of organisms. Because of their microscopic size and the difficulty of collecting and preserving them, they tend to be collected less frequently. Furthermore, many of the species can be distinguished only by

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sophisticated microscopic and biochemical techniques. Take the roundworms, for example. Vast numbers occur throughout the world, with untold varieties of species living free in the soil or in the bodies of insects and other animals. Since roundworms can specialize in particular species of hosts, which are excessively diverse themselves, or even certain parts of the bodies of their hosts, they have the potential for spectacular diversification. We simply have no idea how many kinds of roundworms live on earth. The same is true for fungi and bacteria. The number of recognized bacterial species is about 4,000, but most specialists on the subject agree that this is only a tiny fraction of the real number. Bacterial species usually exist in numbers too low to detect by direct inspection, and become apparent only when given the right nutrients, temperature, and chemical environment to create obvious population blooms. Many also flourish in very odd places, such as thermal springs or the intestines of termites. In the late 1980s, deep drilling in South Carolina uncovered an entire new flora of bacteria living 1,000 feet or more below the soil surface on nutrients carried to them by water seepage. The terra incognita of the smallest organisms is the reason why students of biodiversity, in giddier moments, are sometimes willing to entertain the idea of 100 million or more species of organisms on earth. Yet another peculiarity of global biodiversity is its inordinate concentration in tropical rainforests. This habitat, or biome-type as it is called by ecologists, is defined as a forest growing in tropical areas with 80 inches or more of annual rainfall, allowing the growth of broad-leaved evergreen trees that form several layers of dense canopies. Tropical rainforests today cover only about 6% of the land surface (9 million square kilometers), but they are generally thought to contain more than half the species of organisms on earth. The diversity of rainforest organisms is legendary, the common stuff of gossip among field biologists. For example, as many as 300 species of trees have been identified in a single hectare (2.5 acres) in the Peruvian Amazon; this compares with 700 native species found in all of North America. Each tree harbors as many as a thousand species of insects. One tree that I analyzed yielded 43 kinds of ants, approximately the same number found in the entire British Isles.

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A

MONG MANY OF THE ENDANGERED FISH

IN

NEW YORK STATE ARE THE SHORT-NOSED

STURGEON (PICTURED BELOW) AND THE EASTERN SAND DARTER.

THE NOW-EXTINCT

BLUE PIKE LOOKS VERY MUCH LIKE THE STILLABUNDANT WALLEYE, AND AS RECENTLY AS THE

1970S IT WAS A MAJOR COMMERCIAL FISH.

The reason for the concentration of terrestrial diversity in rainforests and their marine equivalent in the coral reefs is one of the great unknowns of ecology. The concentration is actually the result of a more or less continuous increase in diversity encountered while traveling from the poles to the equator, the so-called latitudinal gradient of biodiversity. When biologists say “unknown” in this particular case, they really mean “not known with certainty.” Several hypotheses have been advanced, any one of which—or all of which—could be true to some extent. I am going to take a deep breath and try to impart the most likely explanation from a synthesis of these hypotheses, with due respect to current evidence:

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The tropical zones generally have a more congenial climate for life, providing it with longer growing seasons, an even distribution of solar energy, and freedom from freezing and other extreme, unpredictable, shortterm changes in temperature. The rainforest, moreover, offers a humidity regime and tree structure (that is, prevalence of broad, nearly horizontal branches) favorable to epiphytes such as orchids and bromeliads. This “elevated swampland” with its little pools of water and moist root masses offers vast numbers of additional living sites for animals. The delicate life cycles of the epiphytes and their co-evolved animal populations are pre-eminently tropical. It is unlikely that the organisms could endure the freezes of the Temperate Zone. The stability of the climate and the layering of vegetation allows division of the ecosystem into large numbers of niches and a corresponding number of plant and animal species, many bound together by intricate and finely tuned symbioses. A small shift from one part of a tree to another, or from one species of tree to another, or from one elevation on a mountainside to another, opens an opportunity for the evolution of yet another kind of animal or plant. The entirety of evolution has built the equivalent of a house of cards: vast numbers of species propped and leaning on one another and dependent on a steady environment to avoid collapse. It used to be thought that diversity created stability; in other words, the more species were locked together by co-evolution, the less likely any one of them could be extirpated. This diversity-stability hypothesis has gradually given way to its exact reverse, the stability-diversity hypothesis, wherein external, climatic stability is thought to allow the buildup of biodiversity. In the Temperate Zones, plant and animal species must adapt to a more drastically and unpredictably shifting environment. As a consequence, each Temperate Zone species is, on the average, likely to occur in a greater range of habitats, elevation and so forth than individual tropical species. In short, Temperate Zone species occupy a broader niche. Fewer species can be fitted together, resulting in lower biodiversity in temperate climates. Destructive human activity, including habitat removal, pollution, and excessive exploitation, have reduced large numbers of plant and animal species in the Temperate Zones even though they are “tougher” in the sense of having wider ranges on the

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F IN

RANKLINIA ALATAMAHA, A SHRUB OF THE TEA FAMILY, WAS DISCOVERED

GEORGIA IN 1765 BY JOHN BARTRAM AND HIS SON WILLIAM, WHO

MADE THIS WATERCOLOR PAINTING. IN SPITE OF MANY ATTEMPTS TO FIND IT AGAIN, THE

FRANKLINIA HAS NOT BEEN SEEN IN THE WILD SINCE

1803, ALTHOUGH IT CONTINUES TO THRIVE HORTICULTURALLY IN MANY PLACES OTHER THAN ITS ORIGINAL HABITAT, INCLUDING

NEW YORK.

WHY IT DID NOT OCCUR NATURALLY ELSEWHERE REMAINS AN ENIGMA.

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average as well as greater ecological flexibility. In rainforests and other tropical environments with their legions of finely adapted species, degradation of this kind has deepened into catastrophe. Rainforests occupy about 9 million square kilometers currently, down some 45% from the original cover before the coming of man. The current area, then, is roughly equal to that of the United States. The forest is being cut and burned at the rate of 100,000 square kilometers a year, roughly the area of South Carolina—or, to use a more vivid measure, an area equal to a football field every second. Employing simple models based on the known relation of the area of islands and habitat patches to the number of species that can coexist,

MICRANTHEMUM (MICRANTHEMUM

I have conservatively estimated that on a world-

MICRANTHEMOIDES ), A TINY RELATIVE OF

wide basis the ultimate loss attributable to

THE GARDEN SNAPDRAGON, ONCE

rainforest clearing alone is from 0.2% to 0.3%

FLOURISHED ON THE MUDDY SHORES

of all species in the forests per year. Taking a very conservative figure of 2 million species confined

OF ESTUARIES ALONG THE

to the forests, the global loss that results from

INCLUDING

EAST COAST,

NEW YORK’S HUDSON

deforestation is thus at least 4,000 to 6,000 species RIVER. IT HAS NOT BEEN SEEN IN SEVERAL a year. That, in turn, is on the order of 10,000 times greater than the naturally occurring back-

DECADES, AND IS PRESUMED TO BE

ground extinction rate that prevailed before the

EXTINCT.

appearance of human beings.

SNAPDRAGON, CHAFFSEED

Although 4,000 species a year extinguished or doomed is a shocking figure, it is still almost

ANOTHER RELATIVE OF THE

AMERICANA IN THE

(SCHWALBEA

), HAS A LIMITED RANGE

NORTHEAST AND HAS NOT BEEN

certainly a gross underestimate. When we consider NEW YORK SINCE THE EARLY

that the true number of plant and animal species

SEEN IN

limited to the rainforests may well be in the tens

NINETEENTH CENTURY, WHEN IT WAS

of millions, and that many, or even most, species

FOUND IN THE

ALBANY PINE BUSH.

in these areas are very limited in distribution, even small reductions in forest coverage can make them vulnerable to extinction. Add to this the species extinctions occurring in other habitats worldwide, and the animal extinction rate could easily be 10 times higher—that is, 2% or more of all rainforest species, 50,000 or more species worldwide. A common estimate among biodiversity specialists, one to which I subscribe, is that one-fourth of the species of organisms on earth are likely to be eliminated outright or doomed to

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T

APIRS ARE HERBIVORES THAT LOOK VAGUELY

SIMILAR TO THE PIG BUT ARE MOST CLOSELY RELATED TO RHINOCEROSES.

THEY ARE SHY,

NOCTURNAL ANIMALS THAT SPEND THE HEAT OF THE DAY IN THE SHADOWS AND SHALLOW POOLS DEEP IN THE FOREST.

ALL FOUR SPECIES OF

TAPIRS IN THE WORLD ARE NOW SCARCE AND EXIST ONLY IN EXTENSIVE AREAS OF REMAINING TROPICAL FOREST.

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D i v e r s i t y

early extinction within the next 30 years if current rates of habitat destruction continue unabated.

RAINFORESTS OCCUPY ABOUT 9 MILLION

Habitat destruction is far from the whole

SQUARE KILOMETERS CURRENTLY, DOWN

picture. It represents most of the problem in warm climates, but global climatic warming due to the greenhouse effect is a potentially major second

SOME

45% FROM THE ORIGINAL COVER

BEFORE MAN.

THE FOREST IS BEING CUT

force in cold temperate and Polar Regions. A pole-

AND BURNED AT THE RATE OF

ward shift of climate at the rate of 100 kilometers

SQUARE KILOMETERS A YEAR

or more per century, which is considered at least a possibility, would leave wildlife reserves and entire

100,000

… AN AREA

EQUAL TO A FOOTBALL FIELD EACH SECOND.

species ranges behind. Many kinds of plants and animals simply could not spread fast enough to keep up. The Englemann Spruce, for example, has an estimated natural dispersal capacity of from 1 kilometer to 20 kilometers per century, so that massive new plantings would be required to sustain the size of the geographical range it currently occupies. Some kinds of plants and less mobile animals occupying narrow ranges might become extinct altogether. Entire arctic ecosystems might be endangered, because the warming will be greatest nearest the poles, and the organisms composing the ecosystems have no northward escape route to follow. People often ask, why should man-induced changes be thought apocalyptic or even very serious? After all, environmental change is perpetual, and organisms have always adjusted to it in past geological times. Isn’t the human impact just one more form of environmental change? Certainly over millions of years species adapted to alternative climatic warming and cooling, the expansion or shrinkage of continental shelves and the invasion of new competitors and parasites. Those that could not change became extinct, but at such a relatively slow rate that other better-adapted species evolved to replace them. In the midst of endless turnover, the balance of life was sustained. But now the velocity of change is too great for life to handle, and the equilibrium has been shattered. It has reached precipitous levels within a single human life span, merely a tick in geological time. Humanity is creating a radical new environment too quickly to allow the species to adjust. Species need thousands or millions of years to assemble complex genetic adaptations (see Appendix IV, Geologic Time Table). Most of life is consequently at risk. We are at risk.

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S

MALL POPULATIONS OF

MUSK OXEN LIVE IN ARCTIC REGIONS, IN SOME AREAS

DUE TO REINTRODUCTION.

THEY HUDDLE TOGETHER WHEN THREATENED, AN

EFFECTIVE DEFENSE AGAINST PREDATORS SUCH AS WOLVES, BUT ONE THAT ALLOWED EASY SLAUGHTER OF WHOLE HERDS BY HUMANS IN THE

18TH AND

19TH CENTURIES.

There have been five previous episodes of mass extinction during the past 500 million years, the time in which large, complex organisms flourished in the seas and on the land. These occurred at intervals of 20 million to 140 million years, during brief periods when the equilibrium between species formation and species extinction was upset. The most recent occurred at the end of the Mesozoic Era, the Age of Dinosaurs, 65 million years ago. Scientists generally agree that some major physical event was responsible, most likely a giant meteorite strike or abnormally heavy volcanic activity. Life required more than 5 million years to restore its original diversity by additional evolution. We are now in the midst of a comparable extinction spasm, almost entirely by our own actions. If a remedy is not found, we could continue on to approach the greatest crisis of all, the Permian crash of 240 million years ago, when 77% to 96% of all marine animal species

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D i v e r s i t y

perished. As the paleontologist David Raup put it, at that time “global biology (for higher organisms, at least) had an extremely close call.” There is an additional, sinister note in the current extinction spasm. For the first time ever, plant species are dying in large numbers. The world’s flora survived the end of the Mesozoic Era more or less intact, but now it is being eroded swiftly—with eventual consequences impossible to predict. Let me now shift gears abruptly, by saying that catastrophe can be replaced by a bright future if the world’s fauna and flora are saved and put to use for the benefit of humanity. This new enterprise, which should command our attention as fully as biomedical science and space exploration, will require the revitalization of “classical biology” and the unification of the best efforts of scientists, political leaders and business entrepreneurs. Much of future biology, I predict, will focus on biodiversity studies, carried down to the level of species and genetic strains. The study of biodiversity comprises several levels, each of which must be understood to protect and make full use of species and genetic strains. These levels correspond roughly to the conceptual levels of biological organization employed in basic research, which are used to illuminate pattern and process all the way from DNA replication to energy flow in ecosystems. The disciplines attending the levels are hierarchical. Starting with systematics, each feeds vital information to those up the line. In turn, the most comprehensive among them, community ecology and ecosystems studies, offer the broad vistas that guide biodiversity studies as a whole.

T

HE

AMERICAN ALLIGATOR WAS ON THE VERGE

OF EXTINCTION, BUT THROUGH A MAJOR REHABILITATION PROGRAM, ITS POPULATION HAS REBOUNDED.

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A

N e w

Y o r k

C a s e

S t u d y :

Why Biological Inventories Are Important By Robert A. Daniels Chair of Biological Survey and Curator of Ichthyology New York State Museum

Surveys and inventories of organisms provide the basic data used in research projects. Studying such changes as population size, species composition and distribution of organisms requires baseline data to which new information can be compared. Biological systems are dynamic; organisms living in a specific geographic area, often called a community, respond to physical, chemical and biological factors. As these factors change on a daily, seasonal, annual or long-term basis, the organisms in the community also change. To understand the effects of changes on these organisms, the biologist must first understand the various components that affect the community. Too often, the baseline data needed for this comparison are nonexistent because no early survey of the biological resources was conducted. New York has taken a lead in inventorying its natural resources with the establishment of the State Geological and Natural History Survey in 1836. Modern field surveys, documented by careful notes and voucher specimens, can be used to protect rare or unusual species, to define and map their habitats and to meet government regulations for building or other permits. Because both the environment and communities are dynamic, repeated surveys or long-term monitoring of specific sites provides the greatest amount of information and allows the researcher to observe and predict the response of the community to potential environmental changes. For example, biologists examine change in fish communities by comparing current information on fish abundance and distribution to information collected during past surveys. The simple comparison, as shown in Figure 2 describing fish communities in the Wallkill River, indicates that the composition and relative abundance of the fish community has changed markedly in this stream in the six decades between surveys. The chart shows that there were 22 species of fish

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D i v e r s i t y

mportant

collected in the stream in 1936 and only 16 species in 1992. Factors contributing to the loss of species and change of community composition are unknown. Had the stream been surveyed regularly, these mechanisms would be more obvious to the modern researcher, and they would be better able to understand the changes and to predict the effects of change.

Tessellated Darter Spotfin Shiner Spottail Shiner Golden Shiner Smallmouth Bass Largemouth Bass White Sucker Redbreast Sunfish Pumpkinseed Common Shiner Rock Bass Brown Bullhead Cutlips Minnow Creek Chubsucker Fallfish Creek Chub Redfin Pickerel Chain Pickerel Bluegill Margined Madtom Eastern Silvery Minnow Black Crappie Yellow Bullhead Sand Shiner Log Perch

1936 1992 0

20 40 60 Number of Fish Collected F i g u r e

80

100

2 .

Community composition of fishes in the riverine section of the lower Wallkill River, New York. The comparison is based on fishes collected at four sites during 1936 and 1992 between Dashville and Montgomery. The 1992 sites were selected to match, as closely as possible, the habitats sampled in 1936. This chart shows the decline in the relative abundance and diversity of fish that has occurred in the Wallkill River.

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T

HERE ARE SUCCESS STORIES IN

WHERE THE STATE BIRD, THE

NEW YORK,

EASTERN BLUEBIRD,

HAS MADE QUITE A COMEBACK MOSTLY DUE TO CITIZENS PLACING AND MANAGING NEST BOXES IN SUITABLE HABITATS.

THESE BOXES ALLOW

BLUEBIRDS TO BETTER COMPETE WITH INTRODUCED SPECIES LIKE THE HOUSE SPARROW AND THE

B i o l o g i c a l

EUROPEAN STARLING.

30

D i v e r s i t y

Systematics, or taxonomy, is at the base of biodiversity studies for the simple reason that if species cannot be identified they cannot be studied or marked for preservation. Systematics creates two key products, monographs and inventories. Monographs are complete classifications of particular groups of organisms for some larger part of the world, such as the ferns of tropical America or the Danaid butterflies of the world. The ideal monograph describes the species in the group, presents the available information on their distribution and natural history and interprets their evolutionary history. When appropriate monographs are available, inventories can be conducted of particular sites, including the hot spots of greatest interest in conservation. Typical inventories might include lists of the ferns, butterflies, or ideally all the species found in a rainforest on Cape York or the Chocó region of Colombia. The urgency in the need for systematics research comes from the fact that few appropriate monographs actually exist, forestalling inventories of any but a small number of relatively well-known groups such as flowering plants and birds and other vertebrates. As I noted earlier, the vast majority of species of invertebrates, fungi and microorganisms have not even been discovered, let alone described. There is a great need to promote monographic work on selected groups that are so different from flowering plants and vertebrates in their biology as to occupy unique places in the ecosystem and require special techniques in conservation. For adventurous scientists, these other groups await exploration in the field in the same way that elephants, gorillas and rhododendrons awaited exploration in the last century. Organismic biology moves us one level of organization down from systematics, rather than up. It comprises the physiology, genetics and life cycle studies of individual organisms. Once species have been distinguished taxonomically, those of most importance can be determined on the basis of whether they are keystone species, or close to extinction, or of potential economic importance, or offer extraordinary new biological phenomena for scrutiny. Detailed analysis can assess their status and role in the ecosystem. The next logical link in the chain is population biology, moving us back to the level of the species. Here we study the traits of whole populations, species by species, including the detailed distribution of each (selected) population, its fluctuation in size through time and hence its susceptibility to local extinction, and its internal genetic diversity—also important as a factor in potential extinction.

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A

T ONE TIME THE

TION.

PEREGRINE FALCON WAS ON THE VERGE OF EXTINC-

THROUGH EXTENSIVE REHABILITATION EFFORTS, IT HAS RETURNED

TO LARGE PARTS OF ITS ORIGINAL RANGE. IT HAS BEEN INTRODUCED INTO

NEW YORK AND OTHER LARGE CITIES TO HELP CONTROL THE PIGEON POPULATION.

THIS PAINTING IS BY LOUIS AGASSIZ FUERTES, A FAMOUS

BIRD ILLUSTRATOR OF THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY WHO LIVED AND WORKED IN ITHACA,

NEW YORK.

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D i v e r s i t y

Community ecology addresses the manner in which species are linked in local environments. One of the most important problems in modern biology, as well as in conservation practice, is the tightness and reach of such linkages. We know how small sets of species, such as pairs and triplets, closely interact as partners in symbiosis, competition, predation and prey. What we do not know to any extent, especially in the most species-rich, endangered communities, is the range of linkages for individual species. How many species, for example, are keystone species whose elimination would bring down, say, 100 or more other species? This kind of scientific research is as basic and subtle as any in molecular biology or physics. In ecosystems studies, the highest level of organization is the ecosystem, the combined biological and physical components of circumscribed domains such as islands, patches of forest and lakes. The emphasis at this level is on the properties of energy and material flow, and (for our purposes) the relation of these properties to species composition. When environments are disturbed, energy and material flows are shifted, and humidity and temperature are altered. As a consequence, some species flourish while others decline and die out. Economic analysis of local ecosystems becomes practical to the extent that knowledge of the fauna and flora increases. One very promising approach is biochemical prospecting, the screening of natural products of wild species, a relatively inexpensive procedure that can follow closely upon systematic inventories and other early biological studies. The aim of this approach is to create new pharmaceuticals and commercial products from the wildlands and to encourage the creation of extractive reserves as an alternative to habitat destruction. In conclusion, here is the way these several fields of study can be fit together in the service of conservation and use of biodiversity: • Promote monographic studies of the poorest known groups, especially those likely to display novel population traits and conservation needs. • Encourage inventories of “warm areas,” i.e., species-rich areas under considerable environmental assault, to identify the true hot spots within them that are both species-rich and most threatened, with an aim toward early remedial action. The inventories should cover flowering plants and vertebrates, which are taxonomically in the best shape, and should be extended as soon as

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D i v e r s i t y

possible to selected groups of smaller organisms likely to display different population traits and conservation needs. Inventories should be directed from some of the best-established field laboratory sites, such as the tropical forest stations on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, and La Selva in Costa Rica, as well as the many local stations and field laboratories throughout North America. • Focus on selected groups of species for those physiological and genetic studies most likely to identify the causes of population decline and extinction. Such studies are also best conducted at well-established field laboratory sites. • Select groups of organisms for studies of species linkages, the most basic level of community organization, aimed at disclosing the reach of such linkages and the nature of keystone species. Again, this kind of study is generally best conducted at well-established field laboratory sites. • Promote studies of ecosystem changes in natural habitats under assault, as these changes affect community cohesion and threaten the safety of keystone species. Finally, given that this conceptual structure is close to the mark, the best way to promote biodiversity studies and conservation would seem to be to strengthen our experimental field stations and museums while promoting the very best studies ranging from systematics to ecosystems analyses. Our brightest young people should consider careers in biodiversity studies; our government and foundations should promote their enterprise in the service of national interest. We already know what needs to be done and the first important steps to take. Now is the time to act.

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Biological field stations from four parts of the world: 1. Sirena Biological Field Station Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica Latitude: 8° 29´ North Longitude: 83° 30´ 30´´ West

2. Palmer Station Antarctic Peninsula Latitude: 64° 46´ 30´´ South Longitude: 64° 04´ West

3. Fu-Shan Station Northeastern Taiwan Latitude: 24° 46´ North Longitude: 121° 43´ East

4. Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve & Biological Research Station Rensselaerville, New York, USA Latitude: 42° 31´ 30´´ North Longitude: 74° 9´ 30´´ West

There are many other biological field stations and preserves in New York state, including the Adirondack Ecological Center (Newcomb), Bard College Field Station (Annandale), Beaver Lake Nature Center (Baldwinsville), Betty Matthiessen Preserve (Fishers Island), Cranberry Lake Biological Station (Cranberry Lake), Mohonk Preserve (New Paltz), and Tift Farm Nature Preserve (Buffalo). B i o l o g i c a l

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A p p e n d i x

I

Glossary Acid rain Precipitation that is acidic due to the chemical reaction of nitrous oxides (NOx ) or sulfate (SO4 ) with water (H2O), forming nitric or sulfuric acid. These chemicals are picked up by clouds over industrial areas that burn fossil fuels. The acids formed can be carried long distances and deposited far away from their origin. Acid rain is thought to be killing some of the trees and polluting water in New York, Vermont and New Hampshire. Anatomy A branch of biology that deals with the physical structure of an organism. Anesthetic A substance that causes insensitivity and/or loss of consciousness. For example, novocaine or ether may be used during medical or dental operations, causing the patient to feel no pain. Antibiotic A substance, such as penicillin or erythromycin, that inhibits or stops the growth of bacteria or other microorganisms. Arthropod1 A member of the Phylum Arthropoda, such as an insect, spider, or crustacean, bearing an articulated, external skeleton. Bacteria1 Microscopic organisms (Kingdom Monera) that are prokaryotic, or lacking nuclear membranes around the genes. Biochemical Involving the chemical reactions of living organisms. Biodiversity1 The variety of organisms considered at all levels, from genetic variants belonging to the same species through arrays of species to arrays of genera, families, and still higher taxonomic levels; includes the variety of ecosystems which comprise both the communities of organisms within particular habitats and the physical conditions under which they live. B i o l o g i c a l

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D i v e r s i t y

Biogeography1 The scientific study of the past and present geographical distribution of organisms. Biome1 A major category of habitat in a particular region of the world, such as the tundra of northern Canada or the rainforest of the Amazon Basin. Biomedicine Developments in medical science using biological sources. Antibiotics and organ transplants are examples. Biome type An organism that is a characteristic species of a particular environment or biome. Biotechnology Developments using knowledge of biology for the benefit of humanity. For example, genetic engineering of more productive crop plants was developed through biotechnology. Blue-green algae Any of a division (Cyanophyceae) of unicellular, prokaryotic, aquatic organisms having chlorophyll masked by bluish-green pigments. They are more closely related to bacteria than to other algae and many scientists refer to them as blue-green bacteria. Broad-leaved evergreen trees Woody plants that have broad green leaves, not needles, all year. Those with needles are coniferous evergreens. The opposite of evergreen, deciduous woody plants grow new leaves and shed them each year. California Condor Near extinction, this large vulture-like bird is restricted in distribution today to small mountainous parts of southern California. It inhabited New York state in the Tertiary Period. Canopy The high leafy layer formed by the trees in a forest. In the tropics, many plants and animals live in the thick canopy where there is more water and sun than on the forest floor. Cell The basic structural unit of organisms which, alone or interacting with others, can perform the fundamental functions of life. Some organisms consist of a single cell, while others are multicellular. Chloroplast The part of a plant cell that contains chlorophyll, which captures light and is involved in photosynthesis. Cilia Tiny hair-like structures that enable unicellular creatures to move and that help other cells (for example, those in our lungs) to move particles around. B i o l o g i c a l

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D i v e r s i t y

Classical biology The study of organisms based on comparative morphology (physical structure). Classification Systematic arrangement into groups or categories according to established criteria. Coagulant A substance which causes a fluid to thicken to a solid. For example, platelets, found in red blood cells, are coagulants that cause a blood clot to form. Coevolution1 The evolution of two or more species due to mutual influence. For example, many species of flowering plants and their insect pollinators have coevolved in a way that makes the relationship more effective. Competition Active demand by two or more organisms or kinds of organisms for a resource. For example, male white-tailed deer could compete for food, territory or mates. Conservation1 To sustain biodiversity in the face of human-caused environmental disturbance. Continental shelf A shallow underwater plain of various widths that forms a border to a continent and that typically ends in a steep slope to the oceanic abyss. Danaid butterfly A type of butterfly, the best known example of which is the Monarch butterfly. Deforestation The cutting of a high percentage of trees and the clearing of most of the shrubs and brush in a forest. Degradation A decline to a low, destitute state with regard to a lower quality of resources. Dioxide A chemical compound with two molecules of oxygen. An example is CO2 (carbon dioxide). This is vital to plants, which use it to produce energy and O2 (oxygen). The O2 provided by plants is used by other forms of life, including humans. Dioxides can be harmful to the environment. When combined with sulfur or nitrogen, these chemical compounds contribute to air and water pollution.

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Dispersal In biology, the way a species can spread into the environment. For example, dandelion seeds may disperse by wind or be carried on an animal that brushes against the plant. Diversity1 See Biodiversity. DNA1 A double helix of deoxyribonucleic acid. The fundamental hereditary material of all living organisms, the polymer composing the genes. Ecology1 The scientific study of the interactions of organisms with their environment, including the physical environment and the other organisms living in it. Energy flow The path of energy from the environment that is used and returned by an organism. Energy and materials cycle The origin, movement, and recycling of energy and nutrients through an organism or several organisms through an ecological system back to the environment. Environment1 The surroundings of an organism or a species, the ecosystem in which it lives, including both the physical environment and the other organisms with which it comes in contact. Environmentalism An awareness and concern for the natural environment. This may lead to actions such as reusing, recycling and composting. Enzyme A protein that causes chemical reactions in cells. Some enzymes are secreted in the digestive system to aid in the absorption of nutrients. Others may be extracted and used in making bread or cheese. Epiphyte1 A plant specialized to grow on other kinds of plants in a neutral or beneficial manner, not as a parasite. Examples: most species of orchids, bromeliads, and many mosses and lichens. Evolution1 In biology, any change in the genetic material of a population of organisms. Evolution can vary in degree from small shifts in the frequency of minor genes to the origin of complex genes of new species. Changes of lesser magnitude are called microevolution, and changes at or near the upper extreme are called macroevolution. Evolution is also a theory or model to account for diversity of life on earth through these genetic changes.

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Extinction1 The termination of any lineage of organisms, from subspecies to species and higher taxonomic categories from genera to phyla. Extinction can be local, in which one or more populations of a species or another unit vanish but others survive elsewhere, or total (global), in which all the populations vanish. When biologists speak of extinction without further qualifications, they mean total extinction. Extirpate A species no longer occurring where it once lived; to entirely remove from an area. For example, the mountain lion has been extirpated from the Northeast, but is still found in much of the western U.S. Extractive reserves1 A wild habitat from which timber, latex and other natural materials are taken on a sustained yield basis with minimal environmental damage and, ideally, without the extinction of native species. Fern A flowerless, seedless lower vascular plant that reproduces by spores. Field laboratory site A temporary or permanent place where scientific research, usually having to do with the environment, is prepared and/or carried out. Flowering plant A plant that produces flowers, fruit, and seeds and is more complex than non-flowering plants, such as conifers (evergreens) or fungi. Fungi A group of plants, such as mushrooms, molds, rusts, and mildews, which derive nutrients from decomposing organic matter instead of through photosynthesis because they lack chlorophyll. Genetic adaptation A change in genetic composition that occurs naturally over time so that an organism is more efficient and competitive in its environment. Genetics A branch of biology that deals with the heredity and variation of DNA in organisms. Genus1 A group of similar species of common descent. Examples: Canis, comprising the wolf, domestic dog, and similar species; and Quercus, the oaks. Geological time Time periods throughout the history of the earth. Giant panda A mammal that resembles the bear but is actually related to the raccoon. It is found only in isolated parts of China and now in some zoos. It eats mainly bamboo and small rodents or fish.

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Global warming An increase in the climatic temperature of the earth over a period of time. Greenhouse effect A gradual warming of the earth’s atmosphere due to an increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air coming from industrial smoke, car exhaust and the destruction of vegetation that uses carbon dioxide to produce oxygen. The excess CO2 traps the sun’s energy radiating from earth, causing the warming. Habitat1 An environment of a particular kind, such as a lake shore or tall-grass prairie; also a particular environment in one place, such as the mountain forests of Tahiti. Habitat island1 A patch of habitat separated from other patches of the same habitat, such as a glade separated by a forest or a lake separated by dry land. Habitat islands are subject to much the same ecological and evolutionary processes as “real” islands. Hodgkin’s disease A cancer that involves the enlargement of the lymph glands, spleen and liver. There is no known cure, but there are successful treatments. Host An organism providing something (for example, food, transportation, etc.) for another. The relationship can harm, benefit or have no discernable effect on the host. Humidity The concentration of moisture in the air. If it is raining, there is 100% humidity. Hybrid1 The offspring of parents that are genetically dissimilar, especially of parents that belong to different species. Invertebrate1 Any organism lacking a backbone of bony segments that enclose the central nerve cord. Most organisms are invertebrates, from sea anemones to earthworms, spiders and butterflies. Keystone species1 A species, such as the sea otter, that affects the survival and abundance of many other species in the community in which it lives. Its removal or addition results in a relatively significant shift in the composition and sometimes even the physical structure of the community. Latitudinal diversity gradient1 The trend, widespread but not universal among plants and animals, toward greater diversity with closer proximity to the equator.

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Lymphocytic leukemia A cancer that causes enlargement of the lymph glands. While there is no known cure, there are successful treatments. Mesozoic Era1 The Age of Reptiles or Age of Dinosaurs, extending from 245 million to 66 million years ago. It is divided into the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. Meteorite A meteor that is not completely vaporized by friction with the atmosphere and reaches the surface of the earth. Methane gas A chemical product (CH4) of the decomposition of organic matter (in marshes, mines and garbage dumps) or of the carbonization of coal. It has no color or smell and is flammable. Muntjac A small deer (of the genus Muntiacus) found in southeastern Asia and the East Indies. Myrmecology The branch of entomology dealing with the study of ants. Niches1 A vague but useful term in ecology, meaning the place occupied by the species in its ecosystem—where it lives, what it eats, its foraging route, the seasonal activity and so on. In a more abstract sense, a niche is a potential place or role within a given ecosystem into which species may or may not have evolved. Nucleus1 In biology, the dense central body of the cell, surrounded by a double nuclear membrane and containing the chromosomes and genes. Nutrient A substance taken in by an organism that is used to produce energy and matter. Order of magnitude A range of estimation extending from a given value to 10 times that value. Organelle A specialized cellular structure that is analogous to an organ. For example, chloroplasts and mitochondria are organelles. Organism A living thing or creature, including plants, animals, invertebrates, fungi, etc.

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Ozone A form of oxygen (O3) that is created in the earth’s upper atmosphere by a photochemical reaction with solar ultraviolet radiation (UV). This ozone layer protects the earth from receiving too much UV. It is also a byproduct of industrial reactions and is a major contributor to smog. Paleontology1 The scientific study of fossils and all aspects of extinct life. Paleozoic Era A geologic time period starting with the Cambrian Period 620 million years ago and ending with the Permian Period 245 million years ago. Parasite An organism that lives by using another organism, returning no benefits to the host. Permian Period1 The last period of the Paleozoic Era, extending from 290 million to 245 million years ago and closing with the greatest extinction event of all time. Somewhere between 77% and 96% of all marine animal species perished during this period. Pharmaceutical Having to do with the drugs and medications used in medical science. Physiology A branch of biology that deals with the physical and chemical functions of an organism. Population1 In biology, any group of organisms belonging to the same species at the same time and place. Population biology The study of the population dynamics, or the changes in population distribution and density that occur over time, for a particular species. Pre-emption hypothesis Those species that established themselves in an area first and which have a more likely chance of thriving and evolving into diverse and abundant species. Replication The process of making an exact duplicate. For example, DNA uses replication to make more DNA. Roundworm A member of the Phylum Nematoda, an organism (can be a micro- or macroscopic species) with an unsegmented body that often lives in the soil or in host animals.

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Sociobiology The study of the biological bases of social behavior in animals and how this behavior is influenced by the processes of natural selection. Initially, sociobiology was quite controversial because it was applied to explain human behavior. Species1 The basic unit of classification, consisting of a population or series of populations of closely related and similar organisms. In sexually reproducing organisms, a species is more narrowly defined by the biological species concept: a population or series of populations of organisms that freely interbreed with one another, but not with members of other species, in natural conditions. Square kilometers A metric form of measurement of area; one square kilometer is equal to .3844 square miles. Statistical The collection, analysis and interpretation of numerical data. An opinion poll is statistical. Strain A group of organisms from a common ancestor with different hereditary characteristics. For example, there are many strains of lab mice, some that look different and others that are only physiologically different. Stratosphere The upper layer of the earth’s atmosphere, approximately seven miles from the surface. Symbiosis1 The living together of two or more species in a prolonged and intimate ecological relationship with no harmful effect, such as the incorporation of algae and cyanobacteria within fungi to form lichens. Synthesis A combination of thoughts, concepts, or materials constituting a logical process. Systematics1 The scientific study of the diversity of life. Sometimes used synonymously with taxonomy to mean the procedures of pure classification and reconstruction of phylogeny (relationship among species); on other occasions it is used more broadly to cover all aspects of the origins and content of biodiversity. Taxonomy1 The science (and art) of the classification of organisms. See also Systematics. Temperate A moderate climate characterized by distinct seasons. There are northern and southern temperate zones.

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Termites A group of insects that is socially structured like bees, with sexual forms, sterile workers and sometimes soldiers. There are several species living from the tropics to northern regions. Many species live in or feed on wood. Terra incognita Latin: incognita: unknown or unexplored; terra: place or territory. Terrestrial An organism that lives on or in or grows from the ground, as opposed to living in the water or air. Thrombosis The formation of a blood clot in a blood vessel. Trait An inherited characteristic. Tropical rain forest1 Also known more technically as tropical closed moist forest: a forest with 200 cm of annual rainfall spread evenly through the year and which supports broad-leaved evergreen trees, typically arranged in several irregular canopy layers dense enough to capture more than 90% of the sunlight before it reaches the ground. Ultraviolet radiation The rays of the sun that are of shorter wavelength than the spectrum visible to human eyes. Wildlife reserve An area of habitat(s) left undeveloped and supposedly safe from other human activities, designed to help wildlife flourish.

1From the Glossary in E.O. Wilson’s The Diversity of Life, 1992, Belknap Press of

Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, pp. 391-407.

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Suggested Readings B o o k s

Cohen, Joel E. 1995. How Many People Can the Earth Support? W.W. Norton and Company, Inc. New York, New York. “... the definitive work on the global population problem.” —Edward O. Wilson The Earthworks Group. 1995. 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth. Andrews and McMeel. Kansas City, Missouri. “To commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Earth Day, an updated guide to environmental awareness encompasses the latest research into such issues as global warming, ozone depletion, and endangered species and offers advice on how readers can help the environment.” —from Amazon.com NOTE: This book is out of print. The Earthworks Group. 1991. The Next Step: 50 More Things You Can Do to Save the Earth. Andrews and McMeel. Kansas City, Missouri. “It goes beyond simple, individual actions, and focuses on ways of expanding community participation and awareness, ways of empowering people to create an impact beyond their own homes.” —from Amazon.com Ehrlich, Paul R., and A. H. Ehrlich. 1998. Betrayal of Science and Reason: How Anti-Environment Rhetoric Threatens Our Future. Island Press. Washington, D.C. The most recent work by well known authorities on the problems of overpopulation and related environmental problems.

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Grifo, Francesca, and J. Rosenthal (eds.). 1996. Biodiversity and Human Health. Island Press. Washington, D.C. Until recently, the direct effects of declining biodiversity on human health have not been greatly discussed. This publication addresses some of these concerns while offering strategies for the sustainable use of biodiversity. Mackintosh, Gay (ed.). 1989. Preserving Communities and Corridors. Defenders of Wildlife. Washington, D.C. A thorough report that shows how the preservation of connections between natural communities can help to maintain biodiversity. Myers, Norman. 1983. A Wealth of Wild Species: Storehouse for Human Welfare. Westview Press. Boulder, Colorado. This book discusses the “utilitarian benefits” of preserving biodiversity. It is a classic text on the economic aspects and the questions continuously asked in ecological discussions. Myers, Norman. 1992. The Primary Source: Tropical Forests and Our Future. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. New York, New York. Dr. Myers describes not only the condition of these forests and what needs to be done to preserve them, but also how these forests influence the lives of all people on earth. Office of Technology Assessment. 1987. Technologies to Maintain Biological Diversity. Government Printing Office. Washington, D.C. This report identifies some potential opportunities and also some constraints to maintaining biodiversity. Platt, Rutherford H., R.A. Rowntree, and P.C. Muick (eds.). 1994. The Ecological City: Preserving and Restoring Urban Biodiversity. University of Massachusetts Press. Amherst, Massachusetts. “The symposium on ‘Sustainable Cities: Preserving and Restoring Urban Biodiversity,’ which led to this volume, was devoted to a reconnaissance of (1) the functions of biodiversity within urban areas, (2) the impacts of urbanization upon biodiversity, and (3) the ways to design cities compatibly with their ecological contexts.” —from the introduction and overview.

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Reid, Walter V., and K.R. Miller. 1989. Keeping Options Alive: The Scientific Basis for Conserving Biodiversity. World Resources Institute. Washington, D.C. “In a way, Keeping Options Alive is a ‘how-to’ publication. Its timely premise is that the biological sciences can help policy makers identify the threats to biodiversity, evaluate conservation tools, and come up with successful management strategies to the crisis of biotic impoverishment before it is full-blown.” —from the foreword. Soulé, Michael E. (ed.). 1987. Viable Populations for Conservation. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, England. “This book addresses the most recent research in the rapidly developing integration of conservation biology with population biology.” —from the back cover. Thorne-Miller, Boyce, and S.A. Earle. 1998. The Living Ocean: Understanding and Protecting Marine Biodiversity—2nd edition. Island Press. Washington, D.C. A valuable primer for understanding the threats to marine biodiversity and the conservation needs of this important ecosystem. Western, David, and M.C. Pearl (eds.). 1989. Conservation for the Twenty-First Century. Oxford University Press. New York, New York. This collection of writings from a diverse group of authors outlines approaches to nature conservation and it also reviews some possible future outcomes for habitats and wildlife. Wilson, Edward O. (ed.), and Frances M. Peter (photographer). 1989. Biodiversity. National Academy Press. Washington, D.C. This book is a collection of papers from a major conference that highlights the causes of biodiversity loss followed by a systematic analysis of the approaches to preserving biodiversity. “Anyone concerned with biodiversity should own this book …” —from the journal Science. Wilson, Edward O. 1992. The Diversity of Life. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. New York, New York. “In this book a master scientist tells the great story of how life on earth evolved. Edward O. Wilson describes how the species of the world became

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diverse and why the threat to that diversity today is beyond the scope of anything we have known before.” —from the back cover. Wyman, Richard L. (ed.). 1991. Global Climate Change and Life on Earth. Chapman and Hall. New York, New York. “Global Climate Change and Life on Earth focuses on the greenhouse effect and its relation to such crucial issues as deforestation, overpopulation and hunger, pollution, sea-level changes, and the loss of biodiversity. These environmental threats now facing us could have so much momentum that unless steps are taken now to reverse them, they may soon overwhelm our ability to respond.” —from the back cover.

P e r i o d i c a l s

Biological Conservation Monthly publication on theoretical and applied science, research and commentary on conservation issues; worldwide in scope. The Conservationist Monthly publication of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Lots of artwork; non-technical articles associated with wildlife management and outdoor recreation. National Geographic Monthly magazine. Non-technical; lots of color photographs; good coverage of wildlife refuges, national parks, rare species, unusual ecosystems. Natural History Monthly magazine. Non-technical; lots of photographs; emphasizes natural diversity of the landscape and diversity of organisms. Nature Weekly British scientific journal. Short, highly technical articles reporting original research on all scientific subjects. Nature Conservancy Bimonthly magazine of the Nature Conservancy, an organization dedicated to saving unique natural areas primarily by buying and preserving them.

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New Scientist Weekly British publication. Brief, non-technical, often “chatty” articles on a wide range of recent scientific discoveries, controversies, and public policy issues; excellent coverage of biological and conservation issues.

S e l e c t e d P e r t a i n i n g

P u b l i c a t i o n s

t o

N e w

Y o r k

S t a t e

Daniels, Robert A. 1996. Guide to the Identification of Scales of Inland Fishes of Northeastern North America. New York State Museum. Albany, New York. This book presents a comprehensive source of information to assist researchers in identifying the scales of inland fishes of the Northeast. Mills, Edward L., M.D. Scheuerell, J.T. Carlton, and D.L. Strayer. 1997. Biological Invasions in the Hudson River Basin. New York State Museum. Albany, New York. “The purpose of this study is to present a comprehensive inventory of the introduced flora and fauna of the Hudson River drainage basin.” —from the introduction. Mitchell, Richard S., and C.J. Sheviak. 1981. Rare Plants of New York State. New York State Museum. Albany, New York. “Through this publication we seek to reach the interested public as well as professionals in conservation and biology. The book is not intended to be a purely technical botanical document, but a practical guide and introduction to the subject of rare plants in the state.” —from the foreword. Mitchell, Richard S., and G. Tucker. 1997. Revised Checklist of New York State Plants. New York State Museum. Albany, New York. Revised compilation of all vascular plant species known to grow, independently of cultivation, within the state of New York.

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Mitchell, Richard S., L. Danaher, and G. Steeves. 1998. Northeastern Fern Identifier. New York State Museum. Albany, New York. This innovative software package allows identification of fern species from the northeastern United States by simply pointing and clicking. Each species is illustrated with a color photograph. This PC-compatible software is available only on CD-ROM. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. 1987. Checklist of Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals of New York State, Including their Protective Status. NYSDEC, Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources. Albany, New York. Available from the NYSDEC Web site: www.dec.state.ny.us New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. 1987. Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Fish & Wildlife Species of New York State. NYSDEC, Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources. Albany, New York. A checklist. Available from the NYSDEC Web site: www.dec.state.ny.us Reschke, Carol. 1990. Ecological Communities of New York State. New York Natural Heritage Program. Latham, New York. “The primary objective of this report is to classify and describe ecological communities representing the full array of biological diversity of New York State.” —from the introduction. Siegfried, Clifford A. 1986. Understanding New York Lakes. New York State Museum. Albany, New York. “This pamphlet serves as a starting point for the general reader who is interested in lakes. It is intended as an introduction to what lakes are and how they function, and to some of the problems that must be faced by resource managers in New York State.” —from part I. Strayer, David L., and K.J. Jirka. 1997. The Pearly Mussels of New York State. New York State Museum. Albany, New York. Illustrations, descriptions and keys of the shells of New York’s pearly mussels.

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Discussion Questions 1.

What is biodiversity?

2.

Why is biodiversity important?

3.

What recent worldwide events have made the importance of biodiversity and the health of the environment more widely recognized?

4.

Is there more or less diversity now than 100 million years ago?

5.

How long ago did the diversity start to increase? Why?

6.

Is there more or less diversity among small organisms? Why?

7.

How much do scientists know about all the plants and animals on earth?

8.

What is the science of systematics? Taxonomy? Classification?

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9.

Is an ecologist the same as a taxonomist? How are they the same or different? Do they work together?

10. Why is it important to know the name of an organism?

11. Do scientists have a name for every plant and animal on earth?

12. How many plants and animals are there on earth? What are scientists’ best guesses?

13. Can you name five plants that are used medicinally?

14. What can a leech do for humans?

15. Why are insects useful? Give two examples.

16. What areas of the world are called tropical?

17. What is unique about the way plants grow in the tropics?

18. Why are the tropics particularly rich but fragile environments?

19. Where is Madagascar?

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20. Why do so many of the plants and animals live in the tropical rainforest? Why do many of them live in the canopy of the forest? 21. What is extinction?

22. Can extinction be reversed?

23. When did much of the current environmental destruction and change start to occur?

24. Have there been other times in history of the earth when mass extinction occurred? When? Why?

25. What possible conditions caused the disappearance of the dinosaurs?

26. What is the major difference between environmental changes now and environmental changes 300 years ago?

27. What is the greenhouse effect?

28. What are the major causes of rainforest destruction?

29. Do you see signs of environmental destruction in your home area? What are they?

30. Do you know of a wildlife preserve near your home?

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31. Do you know of a biological research station or institution in your area? Have you been to visit it? Is there a scientist on its staff? What does he or she study?

32. Can you list five areas in which biological scientists specialize?

33. Are there plants and animals threatened with extinction in the northeastern United States? Can you name some of them?

34. Name some animals that are not threatened with extinction in New York. Why are they not considered threatened or endangered?

35. Can you name two environmental groups dedicated to saving biodiversity?

36. What are some things we each can do to help preserve biodiversity?

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I V

Geologic Time Table

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Credits A r t w o r k

The drawings throughout the book, except for those pieces noted below, are original graphite drawings by Patricia Kernan. Patricia has been a scientific illustrator at the New York State Museum since 1988. Cover artwork and design are also by Patricia Kernan.

O t h e r

A r t i s t s

Powdery mildew (p. 14), 1861 print from a copper plate engraving of a drawing by Charles Tulasne, printed by permission of Farlow Reference Library, Harvard University. Franklinia alatamaha (p. 22), watercolor (circa 1788) by William Bartram, printed by permission of the British Museum, Natural History. Peregrine Falcons (p. 32), watercolor by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, originally printed in 1914 by the New York State Museum.

F i e l d

S t a t i o n

P h o t o s

Sirena Biological Field Station, taken in 1988 by Patricia Kernan, New York State Museum. Palmer Station, taken in 1998 by Dean S. Klein, Antarctic Support Associates. Fu-Shan Station, taken in 1996 by John H. Haines, New York State Museum. Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve & Biological Research Station, taken in 1998 by Ronald J. Gill, New York State Museum.

G e o l o g i c

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t a b l e

The geologic time table is a publication of the Geological Survey at the New York State Museum. B o o k

D e s i g n

Design by: Documentation Strategies, Inc., Rensselaer, New York In cooperation with Kristine Fitzgerald, 2k Design, Clifton Park, New York.

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THE NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM IS A PROGRAM OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

ISBN: 1-55557-210-3 ISSN: 0735-4401