Welcome to the 31st IUBS General Assembly and Conference on ...

Department of Integrative Biology <strong>and</strong> Museum of Vertebrate
Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720‐3140,
USA. Email: mhwake@berkeley.edu
physiological responses <strong>to</strong> climate change
Simon MORLEY
Conservation biology <strong>and</strong> evolution, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> implications
for both of global climate change, are major concerns of
<strong>IUBS</strong>. One of our missions is <strong>to</strong> develop <strong>and</strong> present <strong>the</strong>
science involved in <strong>the</strong>se issues, <strong>and</strong> <strong>to</strong> educate scientists,
students, <strong>the</strong> public at large, <strong>and</strong> policy makers about
<strong>the</strong>se <strong>to</strong>pics. Education programs <strong>and</strong> <strong>to</strong>ols are being
developed that focus on <strong>the</strong>m, but <strong>the</strong>re is a more
fundamental problem that must be dealt with as well.
Given <strong>the</strong> impact of science on society, <strong>the</strong> lack of public
underst<strong>and</strong>ing of science is a grave concern. In large part,
<strong>the</strong> current confusions about evolution, global warming,
<strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r aspects of science are symp<strong>to</strong>matic of a
general misunderst<strong>and</strong>ing of what science is <strong>and</strong> what it
is not. Science is rarely considered a dynamic process
through which we gain a reliable underst<strong>and</strong>ing of <strong>the</strong>
natural world. As a result, <strong>the</strong> public becomes vulnerable
<strong>to</strong> misinformation <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> benefits of science become
obscured. The problem is particularly difficult in <strong>the</strong> US.
However, efforts are being made <strong>to</strong> develop responsible
education methods <strong>and</strong> <strong>to</strong>ols. An example is an
NSF‐funded initiative <strong>to</strong> improve public underst<strong>and</strong>ing
about how science works, why it matters, <strong>and</strong> who
scientists are. Underst<strong>and</strong>ing Science is a collaborative
project, developed by <strong>the</strong> University of California,
Berkeley, Museum of Paleon<strong>to</strong>logy. It includes <strong>the</strong>
creative aspects of scientific research, <strong>the</strong> influence <strong>and</strong>
diversity of <strong>the</strong> scientific community, <strong>the</strong> applications,
<strong>the</strong> joys, <strong>and</strong> even <strong>the</strong> frustrations. It is web‐based, <strong>and</strong>
includes materials appropriate <strong>to</strong> kindergarten through
undergraduate college students (<strong>and</strong> teachers!!), as well
as <strong>the</strong> lay public. It facilitates critical assessment of
conflicting representations of scientific evidence in <strong>the</strong>
media. Materials have been translated in<strong>to</strong> many
languages. Underst<strong>and</strong>ing Science, Underst<strong>and</strong>ing
Evolution, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Underst<strong>and</strong>ing Climate Change
program currently in development are designed <strong>to</strong>
provide <strong>the</strong> resources appropriate <strong>to</strong> underst<strong>and</strong>ing
science <strong>and</strong> its application <strong>to</strong> such issues as conservation
<strong>and</strong> climate change.
Using regions where biodiversity <strong>and</strong> ocean
warming hotspots overlap <strong>to</strong> predict
British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road,
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB30ET, UK. Email:
smor@bas.ac.uk
Underst<strong>and</strong>ing <strong>the</strong> responses of organisms <strong>to</strong>
environmental variability is crucial <strong>to</strong> our ability <strong>to</strong>
predict <strong>the</strong> global redistribution of biodiversity under
climate change. Both mean <strong>and</strong> extreme temperatures
are increasing causing <strong>the</strong> geographic ranges of species
<strong>to</strong> move polewards. Regions with <strong>the</strong> most rapid
warming, <strong>the</strong>refore, present an opportunity <strong>to</strong> quickly
advance our underst<strong>and</strong>ing of current <strong>and</strong> likely future
changes. The sub‐Antarctic isl<strong>and</strong> of South Georgia is
one such ocean warming hotspot. S. Georgia is also
geographically isolated, 1000 km from <strong>the</strong> nearest l<strong>and</strong>,
<strong>and</strong> whilst <strong>the</strong> marine fauna is predominately Antarctic,
with high levels of endemism, currents also supply larvae
from north of polar front. This leads <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> isl<strong>and</strong> being a
biodiversity hotspot <strong>and</strong> region where both <strong>the</strong>
equa<strong>to</strong>rward <strong>and</strong> poleward range limits overlap.
With its position at <strong>the</strong> nor<strong>the</strong>rn edge of <strong>the</strong> Sou<strong>the</strong>rn
Ocean S. Georgia already experiences <strong>the</strong> warmest
maximum sea surface temperatures (SST), <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>
widest annual SST range within <strong>the</strong> Sou<strong>the</strong>rn Ocean.
The summer SST at S. Georgia is above <strong>the</strong> measured
physiological limits of many of <strong>the</strong> co‐occurring species
from fur<strong>the</strong>r south on <strong>the</strong> Antarctic Peninsula. To cope
with <strong>the</strong> warmer environment at S. Georgia some of
<strong>the</strong>se co‐occurring species have altered depth
distributions at S. Georgia, <strong>to</strong> avoid <strong>the</strong> warmest water
masses, <strong>and</strong> have greater physiological plasticity <strong>to</strong> cope
with <strong>the</strong> more variable <strong>the</strong>rmal conditions.
Underst<strong>and</strong>ing how gene flow <strong>and</strong> adaptation of species
at S. Georgia has affected physiological <strong>to</strong>lerance will
indicate important mechanisms underlying species
geographic ranges in <strong>the</strong> ocean.
What is a cycadophyte? – The use of
morphotaxa in palaeobotany
Christian POTT <strong>and</strong> Stephen McLOUGHLIN
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