Ecology and Biodiversity Watch out for the crocs, you drunks! 10 Nov 2007 When people visit Australia, we locals like to play up the dangers, like the most poisonous snakes and spiders, poisonous jellyfish, sharks, the drop bears, and of course the crocs. Very few of these are actually dangerous, in that with a bit of sensible precaution and awareness, you can avoid… Continue Reading
Ecology and Biodiversity Convention on biodiversity 7 Nov 2007 So, I was browsing through the CBD site, and idly wondered which countries have not signed on to this attempt to reduce the loss of biodiversity worldwide. The answer? Iraq Somalia Brunei The Holy See The United States of America Continue Reading
Ecology and Biodiversity Small world 31 Oct 2007 Here is an article in Harvard Magazine on bacteria and other wee beasties that make up the bulk of the living world, that is worth reading. It’s called “The Undiscovered Planet”. Hat tip to Jason Grossman. Continue Reading
Book Systematics and Biogeography blog 23 Oct 2007 The estimable Drs David Williams and Malte Ebach have started a blog on Systematics and Biogeography, which supports a recent book they haven’t sent me a free copy of yet. Expect much puncturing of pretensions and orthodoxies. Continue Reading
Ecology and Biodiversity Gore, peace and the “errors” 12 Oct 2007 The International Herald Tribune worries that Gore’s receiving the Peace Prize is going to denigrate the award because it “strays from traditional Nobel definitions of peace work”. Huh. As Tom Lehrer said, when Henry Kissinger can win the Peace Prize, the time for political satire is long past. If anything,… Continue Reading
Ecology and Biodiversity How not to Feyerabend 5 Oct 2007 On Monday night last, Jason Grossman, a philosopher form the Australian National University rang me with an idea. He was coming to my university to give a talk entitled “How to Feyerabend”, arguing that Feyerabend was a dadaist rather than an anarchist. I’d tell you more about his talk, but… Continue Reading
Ecology and Biodiversity A kiwi on moas 24 Sep 2007 This is a nice post by Christopher Taylor at Catalogue of Organisms, a kiwi studying spider systematics (and what’s not to love about that; cephalopods be buggered!) on the species of moas that used to live in New Zealand. I didn’t realise they’d be forest dwellers. It’s a worthwhile blog… Continue Reading
Ecology and Biodiversity Microbial species: some papers 22 Sep 200718 Sep 2017 One of the things I have previously discussed (see the “Best of ET” tab) is microbial species concepts. Two new papers have come out on this, and it seems to be a hot research topic right now. Continue Reading
Ecology and Biodiversity The constancy of change and the lack of balance 16 Sep 2007 All the strangers look like family All the family looks so strange The only constant I am sure of Is this accelerating rate of change — Peter Gabriel, Downside-Up, from the Ovo Album Creek Running North has a delightful rumination on the lack of a balance of nature, in which… Continue Reading
Ecology and Biodiversity What is “life”, again? 8 Sep 200718 Sep 2017 Now we turn to the modern accounts of life. In 1828, Friedrich Wöhler produced uric acid without using “kidney of man or dog”. Prior to that time, there was considered to be something different between organic chemistry and inorganic chemistry. Living things had some “vital fluid” that other things lacked…. Continue Reading