Evolution and Ecology Roadmap

1. Evolution and Ecology Roadmap We wish to know: • Where we are going • Why we should care • How the pieces fit together http://tolweb.org/tree/phylogeny.html

2. My Themes • Human-induced changes to the planet need to be understood within the context of natural processes and evolutionary change • Not just climate change: global deforestation and desertification, over-harvested resources, global homogenization of species, altered mineral cycles • Life diversity and life processes are at risk

3. The approximate number of pirates vs the average global temperature for the past 200 years. A statistically significant decline in number of pirates with rising global temperature is clearly evident. We need to be educated consumers of information!

4. Evolution and Ecology Roadmap • Where we are going…. • The study of origins, the generation of life diversity, ‘the ecological theatre and the evolutionary play.’ • Why we should care. • Environmental change impacts our lives. • Many important issues have a substantial scientific component: teaching of intelligent design, legalization of stem cell research, cloning, preservation of nature. • Importantly, these issues also have significant moral and ethical implications. • How the pieces fit together. • Time and earth history; Climate; Biodiversity and ecosystem function.

5. Efforts to Reconcile God and Nature Charles Darwin 1809 - 1882

6. Public Acceptance of Evolution “Human beings, as we know them, developed from earlier species of animals.” True or false? Asked since 1985 Miller JD, Scott EC, Okamoto, S (2006) Public acceptance of evolution. Science 313:765-766.

7. http://www.venganza.org/

8. On The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, orThe Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life by Charles Darwin First Edition, 1858

9. In order to pass the B.A. examination, it was, also, necessary to get up Paley's Evidences of Christianity, and his Moral Philosophy. . . The logic of this book and as I may add of his Natural Theology gave me as much delight as did Euclid. The careful study of these works, without attempting to learn any part by rote, was the only part of the Academical Course which, as I then felt and as I still believe, was of the least use to me in the education of my mind. I did not at that time trouble myself about Paley's premises; and taking these on trust I was charmed and convinced of the long line of argumentation. Charles Darwin. Autobiography Natural Theology: or, Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity, Collected from the Appearances of Nature. Published 1802 William Paley (1743 – 1805)

10. “. . . when we come to inspect the watch, we perceive. . . that its several parts are framed and put together for a purpose, e.g. that they are so formed and adjusted as to produce motion, and that motion so regulated as to point out the hour of the day; that if the different parts had been differently shaped from what they are, or placed after any other manner or in any other order than that in which they are placed, either no motion at all would have been carried on in the machine, or none which would have answered the use that is now served by it. . . . the inference we think is inevitable, that the watch must have had a maker..” To account for the often amazing adaptations of animals and plants, Paley argued that only an intelligent Designer could have created them, just as only an intelligent watchmaker can make a watch

11. The Selfish Gene In its preface, Dawkins states that he wrote the book "to persuade the reader, not just that the Darwinian world-view happens to be true, but that it is the only known theory that could, in principle, solve the mystery of our existence." Wikipedia – the free Encyclopedia

12. Changing How We Think • Darwin tells us that human origins can be explained solely by natural processes. • Life, and by inference the universe, is without design or divine purpose. • Dawkins tells us that selfish hereditary molecules live forever (or until they mutate); Humans are their temporary vessels. • Evolution is selfish rather than altruistic.

13. Can Science and Religion Be Reconciled? • Separate realms, each of value • Too disparate for any reconciliation

14. Darwin’s Theory of Evolution • Organisms have changed over time; Those living today are different than they were in the past • All organisms are derived from common ancestors by a process of splitting, or speciation, that gave rise to the entire tree of life • Change is gradual and slow, taking place over a long time • The mechanism of evolutionary change is natural selection

15. The Aftermath “Was it through his grandfather or his grandmother that he claimed his descent from a monkey? “ Oxford, June 30, 1860: bishop Wilberforce question to evolutionist Thomas Huxley, known as “Darwin’s bulldog” for his vigorous defense of Darwin’s theories.

16. The Steady March of New Evidence • Scientists in Spain discovered fossils of ape species from about 13 million years ago. This may have been last common ancestor of all living great apes, including humans. (NY times Nov 2004) • A consortium of scientists recently completed a first sequence of chimp DNA. Comparison of similarities and differences help us explore recent human evolution and understand the genetic basis of uniquely human traits. (Nature 1 Sept 2005) Pierolapithecus catalaunicus

17. Why study chimpanzees? • To better understand chimp and human evolution • To ensure their survival • A model species for the study of diseases (hmm…) • Study of origins

18. Bushmeat trade • Habitat loss • Illegal capture for zoos and experimentation • Diseases (ebola), and from humans (polio) Threats to the Great Apes Today Gombe, only eight miles long and one to two miles wide, is surrounded by farms and people, including thousands of refugees fleeing violence in nearby countries. Audubon.org

19. Threats to Biodiversity Human actions now threaten species and ecosystems to an extent rarely seen in earth history. Habitat destruction Over-harvest Climate change Exotic species

20. Why Should We Care About Biodiversity? • The wonder of nature • Ecosystem goods and services • Clean water, productive soils, the recycling of nutrients, food and fiber, recreation, spiritual renewal • The accelerating rate of species loss • Emerging diseases http://www.divegallery.com/Leafy_Sea_Dragon.htm The March of the Penguins, narrated by Morgan Freeman

21. Nature’s Services

22. Are Diverse Systems More Productive?

23. Plant Biomass and Species Number Hector et al. 1999 Science 286:1123

24. Genetic Diversity of Salmon Stocks Hillborn et al. 2003 PNAS 100:6564

25. The Ecology of Infectious Diseases Albrecht Durer's - The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. Revelations 6:7

26. The Threat of Infectious Diseases Is Increasing • Human activities continue to cause environmental disruptions that can potentially favor new disease emergence • Most pathogens evolve rapidly • Global travel facilitates rapid spread The 1918 influenza affected 20-40 million people, and had a 5% mortality rate. Ebola has an 80% mortality rate. Current concern for bird flu is justified.

27. Emerging Infectious Diseases • EIDs: diseases that are, or have recently, increased in incidence, impact, pathogenicity, geographical or host range • Causative agents of infectious diseases are among the most ubiquitous organisms on the planet • Typically capable of high rates of evolutionary change, allowing them to adapt readily to new hosts and habitats • Examples include: • Malaria, Lyme, WNV, dengue, Schistosomiasis • SARS, HIV, Ebola, bird flu

28. Bushmeat Trade • For the tropical forests of central and west Africa (the Congo basin rainforests), greatest threat to vertebrate species is over-hunting for subsistence and commerce • For people living in these areas, up to 90% of total animal protein may be derived from wild animals

29. Will New Diseases Emerge ? • Obviously this is difficult to forecast exactly • HIV, Ebola and a number of diseases likely ‘jumped’ from primates to humans • SARS went away – no-one knows why. The wildlife host was never conclusively identified • Bird flu currently infects a few people, in bird to human exposure, under concentrated bird farming. If bird flu adapts to human-to-human infection, an outbreak is possible.

30. Biodiversity and Disease Dynamics • The presence of a diverse assemblage of vertebrates can dilute disease incidence • Occurs when reservoir competence varies among host species and the most competent reservoir host tends to be a community dominant. • Vertebrate communities with high species diversity will contain a greater proportion of incompetent reservoir hosts that deflect blood meals away from the most competent reservoirs (Ostfeld and Keesing, 2000 Can. J. Zool.)

31. Lyme Disease • An example of the dilution effect occurs in the ecology of Lyme disease, a tick-borne bacterial disease prevalent in north America • The principle reservoir, the white-footed mouse, increases dramatically in abundance in fragmented habitats that contain low vertebrate diversity (due to loss of predators and competitors) • More intact community assemblages effect a decrease in mouse abundance, resulting in fewer infected ticks and less disease risk to humans

32. Forest Fragmentation and Lyme Disease Risk

33. My Themes • Human-induced changes to the planet need to be understood within the context of natural processes and evolutionary change • Not just climate change: global deforestation and desertification, over-harvested resources, global homogenization of species, altered mineral cycles • Life diversity and life processes are at risk

34. The influence of global warming on coral reefs The bird flu pandemic of 2006 Is Nemo a mutualist or a commensalist? Rapid evolution in Darwin’s finches Can reforestation significantly slow global warming? Loss of rainforests threatens biodiversity How many kingdoms of life are there? How much biodiversity is needed to protect ecosystem function? The effects of climate change on nature reserves Possible Projects