We wish to know:

• Where we are going

• Why we should care

• How the pieces fit together

Evolution and Ecology Roadmap

http://tolweb.org/tree/phylogeny.html

• And, maybe… Who is this guy?

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

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!

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

Efforts to Reconcile God and Nature

Charles Darwin 1809 - 1882

Natural Theology: or, Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity, Collected from the Appearances of Nature. Published 1802

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

William Paley (1743 – 1805)

“. . . 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

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." The book is widely regarded as clearly-stated and forceful. However, …. it has been noted that he makes no attempt to explain the origin of matter and energy, space, and time—the material and framework of evolution—nor the origin of physical law—the underlying rules for evolution.

Wikipedia – the free Encyclopedia

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

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

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.

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

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

Audubon.org

Threats to the Great Apes

• Bushmeat trade

• Habitat loss

• Illegal capture for zoos and experimentation

• Diseases (ebola), and from humans (polio)

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.

Threats to BiodiversityHuman actions now threaten species and ecosystems to

an extent rarely seen in earth history.

Over-harvest

Climate change

Habitat destruction

Exotic species

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 diseaseshttp://www.divegallery.com/Leafy_Sea_Dragon.htm

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

Studies of plant and animal biogeography have established a log-linear relationship between number of species in an area, and areal extent. An example for the reptiles and amphibians for the Caribbean is shown with the area axis reversed, to illustrate that reduction in area leads to a reduction in species.

Species-Area Species-Area RelationshipsRelationships

z = slope

Estimating Rates of Species Loss

• The relationship between number of species and area of habitat is S = c A z

• the rate of loss of tropical forest from satellite imagery is 1-2% annually

• the resulting loss rate of species results in an overall loss of 25 - 50% of the world’s species by 2100

• Assuming tropical forests harbor 10 million species, this loss is 27,000/yr (and 3/hr)

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

The Ecology of Infectious DiseasesThe Ecology of Infectious Diseases

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.

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

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

Human Immunodeficiency Virus• Genetic analyses indicate Human

Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) originated in at least three zoonotic transmissions of SIVcpz from chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) to humans

• HIV-1 first identified from blood samples collected in Kinshasa, Congo, in 1959

• Actual origin probably much earlier, possibly during the period of French colonial administration of French Equatorial Africa

Bushmeat Origin of HIV-1?

• This most probably occurred in the course of hunting and butchering apes for food

• Considering that the consumption of apes is not a new practice, transmission of SIVcpz to humans has probably taken place regularly at some low frequency for thousands of years

• What has caused recent emergence of HIV?

Increased Exposure Risk

• Colonial authorities conscripted local people for work as porters and forced labor

• People fled villages to live in the forests• Those conscripted were poorly fed and

were no longer able to produce food through agriculture

• Both would have increased reliance on bushmeat for sustenance

Increased Viral Transmission

• During this period there was a massive influx of rural peoples into major cities

• This increased urbanization would have created conditions favorable to the initial establishment of the disease

• Likely disrupted traditional social practices and networks that governed sexual behavior

Viral Adaptation

• Large-scale attempts to control infectious diseases relied upon massive, poorly-funded inoculation campaigns

• Example: Six syringes used to screen and treat nearly 90,000 people for sleeping sickness in 1917-1919

• Rapid passage of a virus through a series of hosts over a relatively short period of time can select for more virulent pathogen strains

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

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 less infected ticks and less disease risk to humans

Forest Fragmentation and Lyme Disease Risk

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

Possible Projects

• 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