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A N e w Y o r k C a s e S t u d y : Why Biological Inventories Are Important By Robert A. Daniels Chair of Biological Survey and Curator of Ichthyology New York State Museum Surveys and inventories of organisms provide the basic data used in research projects. Studying such changes as population size, species composition and distribution of organisms requires baseline data to which new information can be compared. Biological systems are dynamic; organisms living in a specific geographic area, often called a community, respond to physical, chemical and biological factors. As these factors change on a daily, seasonal, annual or long-term basis, the organisms in the community also change. To understand the effects of changes on these organisms, the biologist must first understand the various components that affect the community. Too often, the baseline data needed for this comparison are nonexistent because no early survey of the biological resources was conducted. New York has taken a lead in inventorying its natural resources with the establishment of the State Geological and Natural History Survey in 1836. Modern field surveys, documented by careful notes and voucher specimens, can be used to protect rare or unusual species, to define and map their habitats and to meet government regulations for building or other permits. Because both the environment and communities are dynamic, repeated surveys or long-term monitoring of specific sites provides the greatest amount of information and allows the researcher to observe and predict the response of the community to potential environmental changes. For example, biologists examine change in fish communities by comparing current information on fish abundance and distribution to information collected during past surveys. The simple comparison, as shown in Figure 2 describing fish communities in the Wallkill River, indicates that the composition and relative abundance of the fish community has changed markedly in this stream in the six decades between surveys. The chart shows that there were 22 species of fish B i o l o g i c a l 28 D i v e r s i t y
collected in the stream in 1936 and only 16 species in 1992. Factors contributing to the loss of species and change of community composition are unknown. Had the stream been surveyed regularly, these mechanisms would be more obvious to the modern researcher, and they would be better able to understand the changes and to predict the effects of change. Tessellated Darter Spotfin Shiner Spottail Shiner Golden Shiner Smallmouth Bass Largemouth Bass White Sucker Redbreast Sunfish Pumpkinseed Common Shiner Rock Bass Brown Bullhead Cutlips Minnow Creek Chubsucker Fallfish Creek Chub Redfin Pickerel Chain Pickerel Bluegill Margined Madtom Eastern Silvery Minnow Black Crappie Yellow Bullhead Sand Shiner Log Perch 1936 1992 0 20 40 60 80 100 Number of Fish Collected F i g u r e 2 . Community composition of fishes in the riverine section of the lower Wallkill River, New York. The comparison is based on fishes collected at four sites during 1936 and 1992 between Dashville and Montgomery. The 1992 sites were selected to match, as closely as possible, the habitats sampled in 1936. This chart shows the decline in the relative abundance and diversity of fish that has occurred in the Wallkill River. B i o l o g i c a l 29 D i v e r s i t y
Page 1: Biological Diversity: T H E O L D E
Page 4 and 5: THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW
Page 6 and 7: Copyright © 1999 by The New York S
Page 9 and 10: Preface This book is based on a man
Page 11 and 12: Additional information on the activ
Page 13 and 14: Biological Diversity: T H E O L D E
Page 15 and 16: some degree of potency. A much high
Page 17 and 18: Some groups of organisms, such as f
Page 19 and 20: to their environment and to one ano
Page 21 and 22: N EW YORK’S BIODIVERSITY IS THREA
Page 23 and 24: 12 10 Number of Butterflies Observe
Page 25 and 26: It is possible that the next hundre
Page 27 and 28: environment. For almost 3 billion y
Page 29 and 30: W ITH ITS WISPINESS AND LIGHT-AND-D
Page 31 and 32: sophisticated microscopic and bioch
Page 33 and 34: The tropical zones generally have a
Page 35 and 36: average as well as greater ecologic
Page 37 and 38: early extinction within the next 30
Page 39: perished. As the paleontologist Dav
Page 43 and 44: Systematics, or taxonomy, is at the
Page 45 and 46: Community ecology addresses the man
Page 47 and 48: Biological field stations from four
Page 49 and 50: Biogeography 1 The scientific study
Page 51 and 52: Dispersal In biology, the way a spe
Page 53 and 54: Global warming An increase in the c
Page 55 and 56: Ozone A form of oxygen (O 3 ) that
Page 57 and 58: Termites A group of insects that is
Page 59 and 60: Grifo, Francesca, and J. Rosenthal
Page 61 and 62: diverse and why the threat to that
Page 63 and 64: Mitchell, Richard S., L. Danaher, a
Page 65 and 66: 9. Is an ecologist the same as a ta
Page 67 and 68: 31. Do you know of a biological res
Page 69 and 70: B i o l o g i c a l 57 D i v e r s
Page 72: THE NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM IS A PROG

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