N E W Y O R K ST AT E MU SE U M

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
Biological Diversity:
T H E O L D E S T H U M A N H E R I T A G E
TH E UNI VERSI TY OF TH E STATE OF NEW YORK
REGENTS OF THE UNI VERSI TY
Carl T. Hayden, Chancellor, A.B., J.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elmira
Diane ONeill McGivern, ViceChancellor, 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
PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY AND COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
Richard P. Mills
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Richard H. Cate
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER FOR CULTURAL EDUCATION
Carole F. Huxley
DIRECTOR FOR THE STATE MUSEUM
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,
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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 M u s e u m
E d u c a t i o n a l 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
N E W Y O R K ST AT E MU SE U M
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 Natureand TheAnts(with co-author Bert
Hlldobler). 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 passionants
and he is recognized as the worlds leading authority on the kingdom of ants.
His major contributions to the field of myrmecology include the discovery of
B i o l o g i c a l
vii
D i v e r s i t y
B i o l o g i c a l
viii
D i v e r s i t y
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 Wilsons career continues to involve research on ants, he has also
recently assumed a new role as a leader in the crusade to save the worlds 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 HeritageProgram, 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.
Additional information on the activities of the BRI along with databases related
to New York states biodiversity can be found by accessing the BRIs 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 aware-
nessespecially by future generationsof 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 StateBiodiversity Research Institute
Clifford A. Siegfried
Director
New York StateMuseum
Albany, New York
February 1999
B i o l o g i c a l
ix
D i v e r s i t y
HE ROSY PERIWINKLE (CATHARANTHUS ROSEUS)
ISTHE SOURCE OF ALKALOID CHEMICALSTHAT
ARE USED TO TREAT TWO OF THE MOST DEADLY
FORMS OF CANCER: HODGKINS DISEASE AND
ACUTE LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA.
T
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,
Furbishs 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 (Catharanthusroseus), is the source of alkaloid
chemicals vinblastine and vincristine, used to cure two of the most deadly forms of
cancer: Hodgkins disease, especially dangerous to young adults, and acute lympho-
cytic 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
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
B i o l o g i c a l
1
D i v e r s i t y
B i o l o g i c a l
2
D i v e r s i t y
OME NORTHEASTERN PLANTSHAVE PROVIDED
PEOPLE WITH FOLK REMEDIES, SUCH AS
JEWELWEED SAP USED IN TREATING THE RASH
POISON IVY CAUSES. OTHER SPECIESFOR
EXAMPLE, GINSENG AND GOLDEN-SEALARE
GATHERED COMMERCIALLY AND CULTIVATED
TO A LIMITED EXTENT IN NEW YORK STATE.
S
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.
Simpleprudencedictatesthat no species, however humble, should ever beallowed
to go extinct if it iswithin thepower of humanity to saveit. Take anothereven
repugnantexample, 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 Canisfamiliarisfor the domestic dog, Hirudo
medicinalisfor the European medicinal leech, and Homo sapiensfor 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 conserva-
tiveness on the part of the scientist making the estimate. The truth is that we dont
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.
B i o l o g i c a l
3
D i v e r s i t y
B i o l o g i c a l
4
D i v e r s i t y
OME SPECIES OF LEECHES CONTAIN THE
CHEMICAL HIRUDIN AND THE ENZYME
HYALURONIDASE, BOTH OF WHICH ARE USED
IN MEDICINE.
S
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 Choc 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.
Weknow lessabout lifeon earth than weknow about thesurfaceof themoon and
Marsin 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 springtailsone is retiredand
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
B i o l o g i c a l
5
D i v e r s i t y
B i o l o g i c a l
6
D i v e r s i t y
VERY TIME THAT I GO INTO THE RAINFOREST
IN CENTRAL OR SOUTH AMERICA, I FIND
NEW SPECIES OF ANTS WITHIN SEVERAL HOURS
OF SEARCHING.
EDWARD O. WILSON

E
B i o l o g i c a l
7
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 cant 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 isnot a price
wearecompelled 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 2220 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
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 oppor-
tunity 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.
B i o l o g i c a l
8
D i v e r s i t y
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.
M
EW YORKS BIODIVERSITY ISTHREATENED MAINLY BECAUSE OF
HUMAN ACTIVITY. HABITAT DESTRUCTION AND/OR PESTICIDES HAVE
CAUSED SPECIES SUCH ASTHE 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 LONGS BULRUSH (SCIRPUS LONGII ) ONCE OCCURRED
IN THE NEW YORK METROPOLITAN AREA, BUT DISAPPEARED ASTHE CITY
EXPANDED AND DESTROYED WOODLANDS AND WETLANDS.
B i o l o g i c a l
9
D i v e r s i t y
N
By Timothy L. McCabe
Senior Scientist and Curator of Entomology
New York StateMuseum
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 plantthe 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.
B i o l o g i c a l
10
D i v e r s i t y
A N e w Y o r k C a s e S t u d y :
The Decline of an Endangered Species
F i g u r e 1 .
Data werecollected by observingand countingadult butterfliesat onesitein theAlbany
pinebarrens. Thisvisual survey method givesresearchersa relativepopulation index
number, which, although it isnot theactual population size, isvery useful for monitoring
someorganismssuch asbutterflies. Each bar on thegraph representsthetotal number of
butterfliescounted on different days. Therewereno butterfliesobserved on surveysin
1997 and 1998. (Data courtesy of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission.)
B i o l o g i c a l
11
D i v e r s i t y
Species
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
Survey Year
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
N
u
m
b
e
r

o
f

B
u
t
t
e
r
f
l
i
e
s

O
b
s
e
r
v
e
d
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 1989.
B i o l o g i c a l
12
D i v e r s i t y
I
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 economybut 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 bereversed. No speciescan becalled back. Extinction of species, or
the reduction of biodiversity, is the one process
that is being perpetrated not only on our children
and grandchildren but also on our descendants
10,000 years from now and beyondas far into
the future as can be imagined.
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
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
ACIDIFICATION REDUCESTHE DIVERSITY
OF AQUATIC LIFE, BECAUSE FEW SPECIES
CAN SURVIVE IN WATER WITH A LOW pH.
THE pH LEVEL CAN BE RESTORED
THROUGH LIMING; SOME OF THE PLANT
SPECIES LOST MAY RE-ESTABLISH FROM
SEED SOURCES IN NEARBY LAKES.
B i o l o g i c a l
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D i v e r s i t y
HE DIVERSITY OF THE POWDERY MILDEW IS DEMONSTRATED BY THE
SHAPES OF THEIR APPENDAGES. THIS ENGRAVING WAS DONE IN 1861 BY
CHARLESTULASNE.
B i o l o g i c a l
14
D i v e r s i t y
T
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, chloro-
plasts, and cilia. Soon afterward, these cells evolved into still more complex multi-
cellular 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 worlds 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.
Amongsmaller animals, insectsdominatediversity. 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
B i o l o g i c a l
15
D i v e r s i t y
HE MARINE TURTLES, SUCH ASTHIS 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.
B i o l o g i c a l
16
D i v e r s i t y
T
ITH ITSWISPINESS AND LIGHT-AND-DARK
COLORATION, THE PHANTOM CRANE FLY
MIMICS COBWEBS AS IT FLIESTHROUGH THE
AIR. IF CAUGHT, IT CAN EASILY LOSE A LIMB,
A CHARACTERISTIC KNOWN AS AUTOTOMY.
B i o l o g i c a l
17
D i v e r s i t y
W
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.
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.
B i o l o g i c a l
18
D i v e r s i t y
T
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
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 round-
worms 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 round-
worms 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 incognitaof 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.
B i o l o g i c a l
19
D i v e r s i t y
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 LOOKSVERY MUCH LIKE THE STILL-
ABUNDANT WALLEYE, AND AS RECENTLY AS
THE 1970S IT WAS A MAJOR COMMERCIAL FISH.
B i o l o g i c a l
20
D i v e r s i t y
A
Thereason for theconcentration of terrestrial diversity in rainforestsand their
marineequivalent in thecoral reefsisoneof thegreat unknownsof ecology. The con-
centration 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 whichor all of whichcould 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:
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, short-
term 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
B i o l o g i c a l
21
D i v e r s i t y
RANKLINIA ALATAMAHA, A SHRUB OF THE TEA FAMILY, WAS DISCOVERED
IN GEORGIA IN 1765 BY JOHN BARTRAM AND HIS SON WILLIAM, WHO
MADE THISWATERCOLOR PAINTING. IN SPITE OF MANY ATTEMPTSTO FIND
IT AGAIN, THE FRANKLINIA HAS NOT BEEN SEEN IN THE WILD SINCE
1803, ALTHOUGH IT CONTINUESTO THRIVE HORTICULTURALLY IN MANY
PLACES OTHER THAN ITS ORIGINAL HABITAT, INCLUDING NEW YORK.
WHY IT DID NOT OCCUR NATURALLY ELSEWHERE REMAINS AN ENIGMA.
B i o l o g i c a l
22
D i v e r s i t y
F
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 Carolinaor, 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,
I have conservatively estimated that on a world-
wide basis the ultimate loss attributable to
rainforest clearing alone is from 0.2% to 0.3%
of all species in the forests per year. Taking a very
conservative figure of 2 million species confined
to the forests, the global loss that results from
deforestation is thus at least 4,000 to 6,000 species
a year. That, in turn, is on the order of 10,000
times greater than the naturally occurring back-
ground extinction rate that prevailed before the
appearance of human beings.
Although 4,000 species a year extinguished
or doomed is a shocking figure, it is still almost
certainly a gross underestimate. When we consider
that the true number of plant and animal species
limited to the rainforests may well be in the tens
of millions, and that many, or even most, species
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 higherthat 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 thespeciesof organismson earth arelikely to beeliminated outright or doomed to
B i o l o g i c a l
23
D i v e r s i t y
MICRANTHEMUM (MICRANTHEMUM
MICRANTHEMOIDES), A TINY RELATIVE OF
THE GARDEN SNAPDRAGON, ONCE
FLOURISHED ON THE MUDDY SHORES
OF ESTUARIES ALONG THE EAST COAST,
INCLUDING NEW YORKS HUDSON
RIVER. IT HASNOT BEEN SEEN IN SEVERAL
DECADES, AND IS PRESUMED TO BE
EXTINCT. ANOTHER RELATIVE OF THE
SNAPDRAGON, CHAFFSEED (SCHWALBEA
AMERICANA ), HAS A LIMITED RANGE
IN THE NORTHEAST AND HAS NOT BEEN
SEEN IN NEW YORK SINCE THE EARLY
NINETEENTH CENTURY, WHEN IT WAS
FOUND IN THE ALBANY PINE BUSH.
APIRS ARE HERBIVORESTHAT LOOK VAGUELY
SIMILAR TO THE PIG BUT ARE MOST CLOSELY
RELATED TO RHINOCEROSES. THEY ARE SHY,
NOCTURNAL ANIMALSTHAT 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.
B i o l o g i c a l
24
D i v e r s i t y
T
early extinction within thenext 30 yearsif current
ratesof habitat destruction continueunabated.
Habitat destruction is far from the whole
picture. It represents most of the problem in warm
climates, but global climatic warming due to the
greenhouse effect is a potentially major second
force in cold temperate and Polar Regions. A pole-
ward shift of climate at the rate of 100 kilometers
or more per century, which is considered at least a
possibility, would leave wildlife reserves and entire
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. Isnt 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 (seeAppendix IV,
Geologic TimeTable). Most of life is consequently at risk. We are at risk.
B i o l o g i c a l
25
D i v e r s i t y
RAINFORESTS OCCUPY ABOUT 9 MILLION
SQUARE KILOMETERS CURRENTLY, DOWN
SOME 45% FROM THE ORIGINAL COVER
BEFORE MAN. THE FOREST IS BEING CUT
AND BURNED AT THE RATE OF 100,000
SQUARE KILOMETERS A YEAR AN AREA
EQUAL TO A FOOTBALL FIELD EACH SECOND.
B i o l o g i c a l
26
D i v e r s i t y
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. Wearenow in themidst of a
comparableextinction 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
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 ASWOLVES, BUT ONE THAT
ALLOWED EASY SLAUGHTER OF WHOLE HERDS BY HUMANS IN THE 18TH AND
19TH CENTURIES.
S
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 worlds flora survived the end of the Mesozoic Era
more or less intact, but now it is being eroded swiftlywith eventual consequences
impossible to predict.
Let me now shift gears abruptly, by saying that catastrophe can be replaced by
a bright future if the worlds 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 biodi-
versity 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.
HE AMERICAN ALLIGATOR WAS ON THE VERGE
OF EXTINCTION, BUT THROUGH A MAJOR
REHABILITATION PROGRAM, ITS POPULATION
HAS REBOUNDED.
B i o l o g i c a l
27
D i v e r s i t y
T
A N e w Y o r k C a s e S t u d y :
By Robert A. Daniels
Chair of Biological Survey and Curator of Ichthyology
New York StateMuseum
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 infor-
mation 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
B i o l o g i c a l
28
D i v e r s i t y
Why Biological Inventories Are Important
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.
F i g u r e 2 .
Community composition of fishesin theriverinesection of thelower Wallkill River, New
York. Thecomparison isbased on fishescollected at four sitesduring1936 and 1992
between Dashvilleand Montgomery. The1992 siteswereselected to match, asclosely
aspossible, thehabitatssampled in 1936. Thischart showsthedeclinein therelative
abundanceand diversity of fish that hasoccurred in theWallkill River.
B i o l o g i c a l
29
D i v e r s i t y
mportant
0 20 40 60 80 100
Number of Fish Collected
Tessellated Darter
Spotfin Shiner
Spottail Shiner
Golden Shiner
Smallmouth Bass
Largemouth Bass
WhiteSucker
Redbreast Sunfish
Pumpkinseed
Common Shiner
Rock Bass
Brown Bullhead
CutlipsMinnow
Creek Chubsucker
Fallfish
Creek Chub
Redfin Pickerel
Chain Pickerel
Bluegill
Margined Madtom
Eastern Silvery Minnow
Black Crappie
Yellow Bullhead
Sand Shiner
LogPerch
1936
1992
HERE ARE SUCCESS STORIES IN NEW YORK,
WHERE THE STATE BIRD, THE EASTERN BLUEBIRD,
HAS MADE QUITE A COMEBACK MOSTLY DUE TO
CITIZENS PLACING AND MANAGING NEST BOXES
IN SUITABLE HABITATS. THESE BOXES ALLOW
BLUEBIRDSTO BETTER COMPETE WITH INTRO-
DUCED SPECIES LIKE THE HOUSE SPARROW AND
THE EUROPEAN STARLING.
B i o l o g i c a l
30
D i v e r s i t y
T
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 butter-
flies 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 Choc 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 adven-
turous 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 extra-
ordinary 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 fluctu-
ation in size through time and hence its susceptibility to local extinction, and its
internal genetic diversityalso important as a factor in potential extinction.
B i o l o g i c a l
31
D i v e r s i t y
T ONE TIME THE PEREGRINE FALCON WAS ON THE VERGE OF EXTINC-
TION. THROUGH EXTENSIVE REHABILITATION EFFORTS, IT HASRETURNED
TO LARGE PARTS OF ITS ORIGINAL RANGE. IT HAS BEEN INTRODUCED INTO
NEW YORK AND OTHER LARGE CITIESTO 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.
B i o l o g i c a l
32
D i v e r s i t y
A
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 scien-
tific 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 bio-
chemical 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 pharma-
ceuticals 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 consid-
erable 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
B i o l o g i c a l
33
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.
B i o l o g i c a l
34
D i v e r s i t y
Biological field stations
from four parts of the world:
B i o l o g i c a l
35
D i v e r s i t y
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).
1. Sirena Biological Field Station
Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
Latitude: 829 North
Longitude: 8330 30 West
2. Palmer Station
Antarctic Peninsula
Latitude: 6446 30 South
Longitude: 6404 West
3. Fu-Shan Station
Northeastern Taiwan
Latitude: 2446 North
Longitude: 12143 East
4. Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve
& Biological Research Station
Rensselaerville, New York, USA
Latitude: 4231 30 North
Longitude: 749 30 West
A p p e n d i x I
Glossary
Acid rain Precipitation that is acidic due to the chemical reaction of nitrous
oxides (NO
x
) or sulfate (SO
4
) with water (H
2
O), 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.
Arthropod
1
A member of the Phylum Arthropoda, such as an insect, spider,
or crustacean, bearing an articulated, external skeleton.
Bacteria
1
Microscopic organisms (Kingdom Monera) that are prokaryotic, or
lacking nuclear membranes around the genes.
Biochemical Involving the chemical reactions of living organisms.
Biodiversity
1
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.
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D i v e r s i t y
Biogeography
1
The scientific study of the past and present geographical
distribution of organisms.
Biome
1
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 environ-
ment 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 evergreentrees 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.
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37
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.
Coevolution
1
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.
Conservation
1
To sustain biodiversity in the face of human-caused environ-
mental 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 butterflyA 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
CO
2
(carbon dioxide). This is vital to plants, which use it to produce energy
and O
2
(oxygen). The O
2
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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D i v e r s i t y
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.
Diversity
1
See Biodiversity.
DNA
1
A double helix of deoxyribonucleic acid. The fundamental hereditary
material of all living organisms, the polymer composing the genes.
Ecology
1
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.
Environment
1
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.
Epiphyte
1
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.
Evolution
1
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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D i v e r s i t y
Extinction
1
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 reserves
1
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.
Genus
1
A group of similar species of common descent. Examples: Canis, com-
prising 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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D i v e r s i t y
Global warming An increase in the climatic temperature of the earth over a
period of time.
Greenhouse effect A gradual warming of the earths atmosphere due to an
increase in carbon dioxide (CO
2
) in the air coming from industrial smoke,
car exhaust and the destruction of vegetation that uses carbon dioxide
to produce oxygen. The excess CO
2
traps the suns energy radiating from
earth, causing the warming.
Habitat
1
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 island
1
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.
Hodgkins 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.
Hybrid
1
The offspring of parents that are genetically dissimilar, especially of
parents that belong to different species.
Invertebrate
1
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 species
1
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 composi-
tion and sometimes even the physical structure of the community.
Latitudinal diversity gradient
1
The trend, widespread but not universal
among plants and animals, toward greater diversity with closer proximity
to the equator.
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D i v e r s i t y
Lymphocytic leukemia A cancer that causes enlargement of the lymph
glands. While there is no known cure, there are successful treatments.
Mesozoic Era
1
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 (CH
4
) 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.
Niches
1
A vague but useful term in ecology, meaning the place occupied by
the species in its ecosystemwhere 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.
Nucleus
1
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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D i v e r s i t y
Ozone A form of oxygen (O
3
) that is created in the earths 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.
Paleontology
1
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 Period
1
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.
PhysiologyA branch of biology that deals with the physical and chemical
functions of an organism.
Population
1
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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D i v e r s i t y
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.
Species
1
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 earths atmosphere, approximately seven
miles from the surface.
Symbiosis
1
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.
Systematics
1
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.
Taxonomy
1
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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D i v e r s i t y
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 forest
1
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.
Ultravioletradiation 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.
1
FromtheGlossary in E.O. WilsonsThe Diversity of Life, 1992, Belknap Pressof
Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, pp. 391-407.
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D i v e r s i t y
A p p e n d i x I I
Suggested Readings
B o o k s
Cohen, Joel E. 1995. How Many PeopleCan theEarth 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 SimpleThingsYou Can Do to SavetheEarth.
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. TheNext Step: 50 MoreThingsYou Can Do to Save
theEarth. Andrews and McMeel. Kansas City, Missouri.
It goes beyond simple, individual actions, and focuses on ways of expand-
ing 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 Scienceand Reason: How
Anti-Environment Rhetoric ThreatensOur Future. Island Press. Washington, D.C.
The most recent work by well known authorities on the problems of over-
population and related environmental problems.
B i o l o g i c a l
46
D i v e r s i t y
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. PreservingCommunitiesand 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: Storehousefor 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. ThePrimary Source: Tropical Forestsand 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. Technologiesto 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. TheEcological
City: Preservingand RestoringUrban 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.
B i o l o g i c a l
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D i v e r s i t y
Reid, Walter V., and K.R. Miller. 1989. KeepingOptionsAlive: TheScientific Basis
for ConservingBiodiversity. World Resources Institute. Washington, D.C.
In a way, KeepingOptionsAliveis 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.
Soul, Michael E. (ed.). 1987. ViablePopulationsfor 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. TheLivingOcean: Understandingand
ProtectingMarineBiodiversity2nd 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 theTwenty-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. TheDiversity 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
B i o l o g i c a l
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D i v e r s i t y
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 ClimateChangeand Lifeon 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.
TheConservationist
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.
NatureConservancy
Bimonthly magazine of the Nature Conservancy, an organization dedicated
to saving unique natural areas primarily by buying and preserving them.
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D i v e r s i t y
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 u b l i c a t i o n s
P e r t a i n i n g t o N e w Y o r k S t a t e
Daniels, Robert A. 1996. Guideto theIdentification of Scalesof Inland Fishesof
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 Invasionsin theHudson 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. RarePlantsof 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, indepen-
dently of cultivation, within the state of New York.
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D i v e r s i t y
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, Birdsand Mammalsof New York State, Includingtheir
ProtectiveStatus. 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 & WildlifeSpeciesof 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 Communitiesof 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. UnderstandingNew York Lakes. New York State
Museum. Albany, New York.
This pamphlet serves as a starting point for the general reader who is inter-
ested 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. ThePearly Musselsof New York State. New
York State Museum. Albany, New York.
Illustrations, descriptions and keys of the shells of New Yorks pearly mussels.
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A p p e n d i x I I I
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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D i v e r s i t y
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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D i v e r s i t y
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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D i v e r s i t y
A p p e n d i x I V
Geologic Time Table
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D i v e r s i t y
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D i v e r s i t y
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 T i m e 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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D i v e r s i t y
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