|
PLEASE CONTACT SCOTT ASAP TO ARRANGE FOR HONORS CREDIT FOR THIS COURSE. WE WILL MEET ONCE EACH WEEK DURING THE SEMESTER --- ON LINE ---.
Paper No. 1 for discussion This paper on termination of species is, I think, an especially good starter to get us thinking about what we are really losing. How fast it is occurring, and perhaps, what some of the consequences will be of these losses. Paper No. 2 for discussion This is by my friends Gerardo Ceballos, Paul Ehrlich, and Peter Raven. The ongoing sixth mass species extinction is the result of the destruction of component populations leading to eventual extirpation of entire species. Populations and species extinctions have severe implications for society through the degradation of ecosystem services. Here we assess the extinction crisis from a different perspective. We examine 29,400 species of terrestrial vertebrates,and determine which are on the brink of extinction because they have fewer than 1,000 individuals. There are 515 species on the brink (1.7% of the evaluated vertebrates). Around 94% of the populations of 77 mammal and bird species on the brink have been lost in the last century. Paper No. 3 for discussion> This paper is the second in a series of extinction or loss of species diversity papers that are relatively current. I am having you read this "Science" paper because it is something that few people consider when other "mega faunal animals or plants" are lost due to anthropogenic disturbances. Paper No. 4 for discussion This paper is the 3rd in the series of species biodiversity papers that we are reading. I like this one because I wrote it along with a former graduate student. We will look at this paper relative to the broad picture of biodiversity on the planet, and we will investigate what parasites with complex life cycles can show us. ABSTRACT: Cestodes of the genus Linstowia, parasitic in marsupials, show patterns of coevolution and ancient historical-ecological connections. Correlated with the breakup of the austral landmasses (Gondwanaland) of the Neotropical and Australian regions from the Antarctic continent, the age of this host-parasite community is estimated to be between 60 and 70 million years old. Based on the data from the survey of parasites of mammals from throughout Bolivia and from the phylogenetic analysis of the cestodes, we urge the planners of biodiversity preserves in the neotropics to consider the Yungas of Bolivia as a region that supports an ancient ecological community worthy of consideration as a biopreserve. Topics to understand in this paper are: Cestodes, complex life cycles, biogeography, mammals, marsupials, Bolivia, Andes - Yungas region, surveys, taxonomy. The correct form of the citation for this is: Gardner, S. L.; Campbell, M. L. 1992. Parasites as probes for biodiversity. Journal of Parasitology. 78: 596-600. Paper No. 5 for discussion - week of : This paper was written by me with a former graduate student, Mariel Campbell. It is the first in a series of papers where we are starting to publish on the diversity of parasites that occur within the small marsupials in Bolivia and elsewhere in the neotropics. The paper is very detailed with morphological descriptions, but the general introduction and the discussion are the important parts here. Plus the cool pictures that we included. Concepts and topics to uderstand here are taxonomy, systematics, biogeography, cestodes, marsupial evolution, tapeworm life cycles. The correct form of the citation for this is: Gardner, S. L.; Campbell, M. L. 1992. A new species of Linstowia Zschokke, 1899 (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) from marsupials in Bolivia with comments on the biogeography of cestodes of the genus Linstowia. Journal of Parasitology. 78: 795-799.
|
Contact: Scott L.
Gardner
|