Katie and Forum:
I love your post and the blog; illustrates an oft-neglected principle of simplicity, honestly stating the overlooked obvious sans obfuscation. In terrestrial systems one can observe profound difference in the effects of nutrients or their lack in varying responses to all kinds of variables. Not only is adding all ingredients at once a common assumption, but the quantitative and qualitative effects of different quantities and balances and relationships of the kinds of organisms introduced in what sequences often seem to be presumed unimportant or even irrelevant. It is easy, for example, to get all wrapped up with "productivity" and "cover," and neglect the fact that excesses spoil the pot au feu with too much of a good thing that overwhelms the other critical flavors. This happens to professional chefs, amateur cooks, and theoreticians alike, simple honesty being the most commonly missing ingredient in each case. Many a so-called "restoration" project, for example, suffers from too heavy a hand with plant seeds that are readily or cheaply available, leading to suppression of the more slowly-emerging species, and with things like herbicides and rodenticides that defeat essential ecological services on cultural grounds or other whims. Some stew too much about time, when timing is the more useful ingredient. With time comes a magical melding of flavors, in the pot a matter of days, in ecosystems a continuum. This is the kind of analogy that is most appropriate; it is different enough not to be taken literally, and at root similar enough to illuminate the buds of nourishment as well as taste. Eating cake is no substitute for diversity on the palate, and pairing of ingredients, dishes, and servings is at least as important as "presentation." WT As Walter Kubiëna pointed out, while men and women can be distinguished through quantitative measurements such as average percentages of muscle, fat, and bone, ". . . would it not be disastrous if we had no other methods for distinguishing between males and females?" ----- Original Message ----- From: "Katie Kline" <ka...@esa.org> To: <ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU> Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2010 2:23 PM Subject: [ECOLOG-L] EcoTone: Biodiversity is a delicate recipe Picture a simmering pot of vegetable broth, the condensed flavors the basis for what will become a hearty corn chowder. Looking at the recipe, you know that before the broth was introduced, onions and garlic were sautéed in olive oil until they grew translucent. Then flour was added to form the rue. And you know after the broth is added, potatoes, corn and other assorted vegetables will be left to simmer. But would you have known all of this just by seeing the list of ingredients alone? Unless you enjoy cooking regularly, you probably would not have known the sequence for preparing corn chowder just by the taste. According to a study recently published in Science Express, biodiversity is a similar process. Some scientists go about recreating an ecosystem by adding all of the elements at once into an experiment. Read more and comment at http://www.esa.org/esablog/research/biodiversity-is-a-delicate-recipe/. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.437 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2913 - Release Date: 06/02/10 09:57:00
