108
O.T. Solbrig
Only a rigorous, unbiased, and mechanistic science of biodiversity can help resolve
these differences.
The Science of Biodiversity must include all the aspects of evolutionary and
ecological theory concerned with the Origin and Maintenance of the diversity of
living organisms. It also must include, the study of human behavior and their economic activities. Finally, in order to not only understand, but also influence human
behavior so as to reduce the environmentally negative aspects of their economic
activities, a new environmental ethics must be developed.
1 Introduction
In the early days of my scientific career only systematists, ecologists and a small
band of conservationists were interested in studying how to maintain the rich and
wonderful diversity of organisms. Yet the profound modification of many landscapes that have taken place in the last forty years, the actual and potential loss of
species, especially the so called "emblematic" species, i.e. those used in heraldic
emblems such as the Bald Eagle emblem of the United States, have brought the
issue of the maintenance of biological diversity to the public's attention, and today
even politicians feel obliged to mention loss of Biodiversity at least once in their
speeches. Yet what is Biodiversity, and why is it important?
As I have mentioned repeatedly in my writings (Solbrig 1991, 1994), "diversity" is a property not an entity in itself. It refers to the attribute of a set of objects of
not being identical, that is of varying one from another in one or more characteristics. When applied to organisms, it refers to the universal characteristic of all living
things that each individual being is unique, that is, no two organisms are identical,
with the possible exception of identical twins and clones.
The origin of this variability is to be found in the basic and fundamental property of the DNA molecule that the order of the bases does not affect the free energy
of the molecule, in other words all combinations of the four bases that form the
genetic code are chemically equally viable. This characteristic combined with natural selection allows the acquisition and accumulation of favorable mutations, and
in the approximately 3--4 thousand million years that life has existed on Earth these
processes have produced the enormous biological variation that we see today, which
is at best only a very small percentage of all the variation that has existed in these
thousands of million years.
Today this diversity of life is threatened by human activities, although the exact
rate of species loss is difficult to ascertain. And species loss is only one aspect of the
profound transformation of the terrestrial landscape that is presently taking place,
brought about by the growth of human popUlations and their economic activities.
This transformation extends from genes to ecosystems.
O.T. Solbrig
Only a rigorous, unbiased, and mechanistic science of biodiversity can help resolve
these differences.
The Science of Biodiversity must include all the aspects of evolutionary and
ecological theory concerned with the Origin and Maintenance of the diversity of
living organisms. It also must include, the study of human behavior and their economic activities. Finally, in order to not only understand, but also influence human
behavior so as to reduce the environmentally negative aspects of their economic
activities, a new environmental ethics must be developed.
1 Introduction
In the early days of my scientific career only systematists, ecologists and a small
band of conservationists were interested in studying how to maintain the rich and
wonderful diversity of organisms. Yet the profound modification of many landscapes that have taken place in the last forty years, the actual and potential loss of
species, especially the so called "emblematic" species, i.e. those used in heraldic
emblems such as the Bald Eagle emblem of the United States, have brought the
issue of the maintenance of biological diversity to the public's attention, and today
even politicians feel obliged to mention loss of Biodiversity at least once in their
speeches. Yet what is Biodiversity, and why is it important?
As I have mentioned repeatedly in my writings (Solbrig 1991, 1994), "diversity" is a property not an entity in itself. It refers to the attribute of a set of objects of
not being identical, that is of varying one from another in one or more characteristics. When applied to organisms, it refers to the universal characteristic of all living
things that each individual being is unique, that is, no two organisms are identical,
with the possible exception of identical twins and clones.
The origin of this variability is to be found in the basic and fundamental property of the DNA molecule that the order of the bases does not affect the free energy
of the molecule, in other words all combinations of the four bases that form the
genetic code are chemically equally viable. This characteristic combined with natural selection allows the acquisition and accumulation of favorable mutations, and
in the approximately 3--4 thousand million years that life has existed on Earth these
processes have produced the enormous biological variation that we see today, which
is at best only a very small percentage of all the variation that has existed in these
thousands of million years.
Today this diversity of life is threatened by human activities, although the exact
rate of species loss is difficult to ascertain. And species loss is only one aspect of the
profound transformation of the terrestrial landscape that is presently taking place,
brought about by the growth of human popUlations and their economic activities.
This transformation extends from genes to ecosystems.