In the best eKos tradition this is a recycled diary. I wrote it for Dawn Chorus last weekend but didn't actually use it. This is a virtual trip to Cumberland Island National Seashore, home to wild horses, armadillos, and the ever shifting boundary between the ocean and the firmament.
Welcome back to the world of biodiversity. Tonight we will pick up where we left off two weeks ago - taking a brief tour of the Great Barrier Reef. Last time we talked a bit about the ecology of the reef and about some of the fishes that live there.
Here's the reef at the surface reminding us of how vast it is.
I'm going to post-pone part II of the Great Barrier Reef for a week to take a bit of break for Hallowe'en. Below the fold are a bunch of scary looking critters. A lot of biologists and environmental types attempt to de-scarify snakes, spiders, etc. This is a valuable thing to do - it saddens me to see people so cut off from the natural world that their response to any organism is (unjustified) fear, horror, or disgust.
And yet...
Good evening and welcome a more ancient world, the world of biodiversity. Tonight let's take a tour of one of the great wonders of this world, the great barrier reef. I had the great privilege of spending a day snorkeling on the reef in May 2009. It was also the first time I used the underwater housing for my camera. Let's learn a bit about the reef and put away the cares of the day.
This is a repeat of a diary I posted two and a half weeks ago as part of my Sunday evening biodiversity series. For reasons foot-noted below* I am 'publishing' this diary again.
Just about a month ago I was privileged to attend, as a guest (rather than a participant) a conference devoted to developing a coordinated research program to measure the impact of the BP oil disaster on Gulf of Mexico coastal ecosystems. I'm going to attempt to give you an overview of the main points and show you some pictures to go along with them.
Beach in Panama City, Florida in fall 2008. This was the easternmost point (that I know of) where oil came ashore during June 2010.
We tend to think of evolution as a march through time, a climb out of the primeval ooze. In reality evolution is more like an 87 dimensional game of Snakes and Ladders (also called, as I am told by those who spent their childhood in the US of A, Chutes and Ladders). There are many directions in which you can go up and many that will take you down. One important reason for this is that the evolutionary landscape is really a stormy sea. It isn't static and it isn't wholly blind to the fate of the organism. In fact major components of the environment are evolving in concert.
We think of the environment as exerting a continuous influence resulting in evolutionary peaks, analogous to this volcano in the Andes (on the left). But the biological environment is changeable, like the clouds around the mountain.
Two weekends ago I was privileged to attend, as a guest (rather than a participant) a conference devoted to developing a coordinated research program to measure the impact of the BP oil disaster on Gulf of Mexico coastal ecosystems. I'm going to attempt to give you an overview of the main points and show you some pictures to go along with them.
Beach in Panama City, Florida in fall 2008. This was the easternmost point (that I know of) where oil came ashore during June 2010.
Note: There will not be an 'A More Ancient World' diary next weekend.
Image from The Malay Archipelago by Alfred Russel Wallace
This is the first entry in what will hopefully be a series. I'll start off with a brief description (more details at the end) saying that my goal is an edu-technical yet entertaining series about biodiversity and its role in our lives. This is the international year for biodiversity and biodiversity is facing a crisis that is unprecedented within the existence of humanity. So it seems timely. I'll try and publish every Sunday evening or at least as many Sundays as I can.
