Archive for the 'Science' Category

Beware! According to Nick Minchin, the leader of the liberals in the Senate, all the fuzz about global warming really is nothing but a left-wing conspiracy. Lefties who lost their cherished Communist cause now need a new one, and they found it: global warming.

I am deeply grateful to Nick for this insight. I now know where I stand.

I am always amazed how cocksure global warming skeptics are about their cause: no doubt whatsoever! I wished they were right and I could stop worrying about the Great Barrier Reef, the possible huge population movements, etc. Their seems to be something in the human mind that prevents rational reactions to events for which evolution has not pre-programmed them. Not really surprising if you think of it.

Another point of evidence for evolution by natural selection?

Google Knols have been available for over a year now and - although still in their infancy - have proven to be very useful.
Examples here: http://knol.google.com/k/klaus-rohde/klaus-rohde-knols-english/xk923bc3gp4/69#

An exiting new tool for science communication is now being developed. I thank my son Peter for sending me this. Links here:

http://wave.google.com.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v461/n7266/full/461881a.html

Professor Alexandra Grutter, University of Queensland, sent me this:

The coral reef crisis: The critical importance of less than 350 ppm CO2

By Veron et al. 2009. Marine Pollution Bulletin 58, 1428-1436.

“Abstract
Temperature-induced mass coral bleaching causing mortality on a wide geographic scale started when atmospheric CO2 levels exceeded 320 ppm. When CO2 levels reached 340 ppm, sporadic but highly destructive mass bleaching occurred in most reefs world-wide, often associated with El Niño events. Recovery was dependent on the vulnerability of individual reef areas and on the reef’s previous history and resilience. At today’s level of 387 ppm, allowing a lag-time of 10 years for sea temperatures to respond, most reefs world-wide are committed to an irreversible decline. Mass bleaching will in future become annual, departing from the 4 to 7 years return-time of El Niño events. Bleaching will be exacerbated by the effects of degraded water-quality and increased severe weather events. In addition, the progressive onset of ocean acidification will cause reduction of coral growth and retardation of the growth of high magnesium calcite-secreting coralline algae. If CO2 levels are allowed to reach 450 ppm (due to occur by 2030–2040 at the current rates), reefs will be in rapid and terminal decline world-wide from multiple synergies arising from mass bleaching, ocean acidification, and other environmental impacts. Damage to shallow reef communities will become extensive with consequent reduction of biodiversity followed by extinctions. Reefs will cease to be large-scale nursery grounds for fish and will cease to have most of their current value to humanity. There will be knock-on effects to ecosystems associated with reefs, and to other pelagic and benthic ecosystems. Should CO2 levels reach 600 ppm reefs will be eroding geological structures with populations of surviving biota restricted to refuges. Domino effects will follow, affecting many other marine ecosystems. This is likely to have been the path of great mass extinctions of the past, adding to the case that anthropogenic CO2 emissions could trigger the Earth’s sixth mass extinction.”

Full report here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2009.09.009

See also: http://blog.une.edu.au/klausrohde/2009/09/16/if-obama-cant-defeat-the-republican-headbangers-our-planet-is-doomed/

An article by Jonathan Freedland in The Guardian deals with climate change and the Copenhagen conference. Link here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/sep/15/obama-healthcare-climate-change-copenhagen

This summarizes the article:
“One year on, the world still looks to the US and holds its breath. The fate of a global climate treaty rests in American hands”

I would add that the totally irresponsible attitude particularly of the Nationals in Australia fits well in. Nationals = Republicans?

The worst aspect, a rich country expects the poorest to pay. After all, it is well established that most of the burdens will have to be paid by the underdeveloped world in southern Africa and Asia. So, why bother?

This is to draw your attention to a new book on the zoogeography of parasites, which will be published shortly:

The Biogeography of Host-Parasite Interactions. Oxford University Press.
Editors Serge Morand & Boris Krasnov

I have written the chapter on

Marine parasite diversity and environmental gradients.

A brief summary of this chapter follows:

This chapter, after a brief discussion of older studies which established the existence of zoogeographical regions and some patterns in the geographical distribution of marine parasites, describes latitudinal gradients in parasite diversity, reproductive strategies and host ranges; longitudinal gradients in diversity (centres of diversity and oceanic barriers between them); and depth gradients. The marine environment is less heterogeneous than terrestrial and freshwater habitats, and therefore more suitable for evaluating the causes of gradients. An attempt at such an evaluation is made. Important gaps in our knowledge are discussed and suggestions are made for future studies.

Links to my knols on parasitology, ecology, zoogeography, economics, philosophy and art can be found here:

http://knol.google.com/k/klaus-rohde/klaus-rohde-knols-english/xk923bc3gp4/69#

The list is continuously updated. Knols can be used as supplementary material for lectures.

A new paper by Gillman et al. (2009) confirms my hypothesis of “effective evolutionary time”, according to which species diversity is determined by direct temperature effects on mutation rates and generation times. The authors examined 260 mammal species of 10 orders and 29 families and found that substitution rates in the cytochrome B gene were substantially faster in species at warm latitudes and elevations, compared with those from cold latitudes and elevations. A critical examination of the data showed that this cannot be attributed to gene drift or body mass differentials. The only possibilities left are a Red Queen effect or direct effects of thermal gradients (including possibly an effect of torpor/hibernation differentials).

For details see

http://knol.google.com/k/klaus-rohde/effective-evolutionary-time/xk923bc3gp4/11#

and

http://knol.google.com/k/klaus-rohde/latitudinal-gradients-in-species/xk923bc3gp4/56#

For my publications on latitudinal gradients see:

http://blog.une.edu.au/klausrohde/2008/03/28/klaus-rohde-latitudinal-gradients-in-species-diversity-reproductive-strategies-and-geographical-ranges/

This “paper” is available free of charge on the website of the journal.

Natural Laws, Vacant Niches and Superorganisms. A Response to
Woodley
Klaus Rohde

Attualità biologica / News and Views
PUNTI DI VISTA / VIEWPOINTS
Rivista di Biologia / Biology Forum 101 (2009), pp. 331-352.

Conclusions
We conclude that Woodley’s evidence for his claim that evolu-
tion is characterised by generally unidirectional lineage degenera-
tion that terminates in overspecialization with resulting extinction
is not convincing. The same applies to the evidence in support of
his claim that niche space may be globally but not locally unsatu-
rated with species, and that ecosystems exhibit superorganismal
properties and can be considered as complex adaptive systems in
their own right. – The entire controversy about the validity of the
term vacant niche really amounts to a controversy about whether
ecosystems are generally saturated with species and individuals,
i.e., in equilibrium, or whether niche space is largely unsaturated,
i.e. in non-equilibrium. Acceptance of one of these paradigms
based on empirical evidence has important consequences for how
we deal with conservation of habitats and ecosystems.

Here are the Conclusions to my latest knol on Richard Dawkins: the God Delusion, as well as the replies by Terry Eagleton and Richard Schröder. Comments on the knol are very welcome.

Link to knol here:

http://knol.google.com/k/klaus-rohde/richard-dawkins-the-god-delusion-terry/xk923bc3gp4/60#edit

Conclusion

My conclusion is that Dawkins has underestimated the positive contributions of religions to human culture, in the arts, philosophy, literature, music and architecture. Religions may well have the function to bring about social coherence (as stated by Dawkins himself), and what would take over if religions should be abolished? Dawkins’ emphasis on religion might even be dangerous, if it deflects attention from other important issues. Would it be perhaps more useful to concentrate on social and economic inequalities and try to suggest recipes for their amelioration? - He considers the concept of God a scientific hypothesis that can be tested by scientific means. But, as pointed out by theological critics, God is more than that: a source of love. - From a scientific point of view, I believe that the role of natural selection, the very basis of Darwin’s interpretation of evolution, is not as important as he claims it is. According to Kauffman [2], many traits of organisms have evolved not because of natural selection but in spite of it. Stephen Wolfram’s [3] extensive computer simulations of many systems have shown that simple “rules” in programs lead to complex characters. In other words, it may not be necessary to assume lengthy processes of selection leading from simple to complex characters. These findings suggest that evolutionary patterns may fit into certain “molds”, i.e., that outcomes of evolution are to a certain degree predetermined by the laws of nature (see discussion in [9][10][11][12]), which opens the way to a Spinozistic interpretation of nature, in which a primary cause (which everybody is welcome to name God) is at the base of and determines all the rest. Of course, this does not imply the existence of a personal God who takes responsibility and care of us.

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