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A T ONE TIME THE PEREGRINE FALCON WAS ON THE VERGE OF EXTINC- TION. THROUGH EXTENSIVE REHABILITATION EFFORTS, IT HAS RETURNED TO LARGE PARTS OF ITS ORIGINAL RANGE. IT HAS BEEN INTRODUCED INTO NEW YORK AND OTHER LARGE CITIES TO HELP CONTROL THE PIGEON POPULATION. THIS PAINTING IS BY LOUIS AGASSIZ FUERTES, A FAMOUS BIRD ILLUSTRATOR OF THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY WHO LIVED AND WORKED IN ITHACA, NEW YORK. B i o l o g i c a l 32 D i v e r s i t y
Community ecology addresses the manner in which species are linked in local environments. One of the most important problems in modern biology, as well as in conservation practice, is the tightness and reach of such linkages. We know how small sets of species, such as pairs and triplets, closely interact as partners in symbiosis, competition, predation and prey. What we do not know to any extent, especially in the most species-rich, endangered communities, is the range of linkages for individual species. How many species, for example, are keystone species whose elimination would bring down, say, 100 or more other species? This kind of scientific research is as basic and subtle as any in molecular biology or physics. In ecosystems studies, the highest level of organization is the ecosystem, the combined biological and physical components of circumscribed domains such as islands, patches of forest and lakes. The emphasis at this level is on the properties of energy and material flow, and (for our purposes) the relation of these properties to species composition. When environments are disturbed, energy and material flows are shifted, and humidity and temperature are altered. As a consequence, some species flourish while others decline and die out. Economic analysis of local ecosystems becomes practical to the extent that knowledge of the fauna and flora increases. One very promising approach is biochemical prospecting, the screening of natural products of wild species, a relatively inexpensive procedure that can follow closely upon systematic inventories and other early biological studies. The aim of this approach is to create new pharmaceuticals and commercial products from the wildlands and to encourage the creation of extractive reserves as an alternative to habitat destruction. In conclusion, here is the way these several fields of study can be fit together in the service of conservation and use of biodiversity: • Promote monographic studies of the poorest known groups, especially those likely to display novel population traits and conservation needs. • Encourage inventories of “warm areas,” i.e., species-rich areas under considerable environmental assault, to identify the true hot spots within them that are both species-rich and most threatened, with an aim toward early remedial action. The inventories should cover flowering plants and vertebrates, which are taxonomically in the best shape, and should be extended as soon as B i o l o g i c a l 33 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 and 40: perished. As the paleontologist Dav
Page 41 and 42: collected in the stream in 1936 and
Page 43: Systematics, or taxonomy, is at the
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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