Session 1
SUBJECT: RE: Biodiversity conservation and knowledge synthesis
AUTHOR: Phil Lambdon
DATE: 14th April 2003

KEYWORDS: holistic approach, herbivores, chemicals, biotechnology, information, interactions.

ABSTRACT: The holistic view of biodiversity conservation may be the most beneficial approach to humans when "benefit" is also viewed in holistic terms. This is illustrated from the standpoint of the value of understanding plant ecology, their chemistry and their interactions with herbivores.

There has been a general opinion in this discussion that the value of biodiversity should not be seen solely in terms of direct human benefit. From this standpoint, a holistic approach to biodiversity conservation becomes more strongly favourable than a highly prioritized one. However, it occurs to me that the holistic route may sometimes also be the most economically-beneficial in the long-term also.

I will illustrate this with reference to an area of research in which I have been involved in the past. This research focused on the relationship between herbivores and the secondary chemicals produced by the plants on which they feed. Plants produce a dazzling array of such chemicals at great expense. They have evolved highly complex biosynthetic pathways to synthesize a wide range of subtle structural modifications, and very finely-tuned regulatory mechanisms to precisely control the location and concentration of their defences. As yet, we have very little understanding of how this effort helps to "control" the herbivores' behaviour and minimize the impact of the grazing damage sustained. But it has recently become a much more critical issue. Biotechnological advances - particularly genetic modification - have enabled plant breeders to change the types and levels of secondary compounds in a variety of crop species. Unfortunately, they have, as yet, very little idea of what they are aiming to achieve because of a lack of knowledge about the underlying biological systems.

From this, I draw three conclusions:-
(1) In the present context, the complexity of both herbivore and host interactions, in natural ecosystems, represents a wealth of one important resource - information. Only by studying systems which have adapted on an evolutionary time scale can we hope to identify adequate solutions to very modern conflicts with nature.
(2)Any loss of biological diversity will impoverish the knowledge we can gain from such systems. The information lies in the complexity of interactions.
(3)It is not necessarily only the "species-level" at which biodiversity should be conserved. Between populations there may be variations in plant chemistry which carry either important information or valuable new chemical forms which have yet to be discovered. Only an entirely holistic view can maximize the anthropogenic benefits.

A contribution by:

Phil Lambdon
CEH Banchory
Hill of Brathens
Banchory Ab31 4BW, UK