Terry Parr asked us to 'identify the essential research and development
required, to ensure that biodiversity and the services it provides can
adapt to climate change'.

I would like to whole heartily support Ferdinando Boero assertion that
'We need digital libraries'. There is a wealth of information which is
just too expensive in terms of time to use. The scientific community is
moving fast to create databases and integrated networks with shared
information posted on the web etc. but more needs to be done. While this
may seem a pedestrian approach when there is so many interesting
research questions I would urge the scientific committee when they
present the results of the Electronic Conference at the EPBRS delegates
meeting in Aviemore to emphasise the need to digitise bibliographic
information in searchable databases as a very valuable tool 'to ensure
that biodiversity and the services it provides can adapt to climate
change'. This need I believe is relevant to all four of the themes
covered in this E-Conference.





Dr Jan Dick
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh
Bush Estate
PENICUIK
Midlothian
Scotland, UK
EH26 0QB
Tel - (44)-0131-445-4343
Fax - (44)-0131-445-3943
Web - www.nbu.ac.uk/tropical
DISCLAIMER: Any views or opinions expressed in this e-mail or any files
transmitted with it are those of the author and do not represent the
views of NERC unless otherwise explicitly stated. The information
contained in this e-mail may be subject to public disclosure under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. Unless the information is legally
exempt from disclosure, the confidentiality of this e-mail and your
reply cannot be guaranteed



>>> listmanager@lawe.nerc-lancaster.ac.uk 30/08/2005 16:48:54 >>>
From: "Ferdinando Boero"

The Mediterranean Sea is a small replica of the world Ocean and what is
happening there is probably an anticipation of what will happen
elsewhere. The Mediterranean Sea is undergoing an undeniable
tropicalisation. The International Commission for the Scientific
Exploration of the Mediterranean Sea published three atlases (available
on its web page) of the exotic species that have entered the basin in
the last decades. They are almost all of tropical affinity, hence the
term "tropicalisation". Furthermore, the Mediterranean is also
undergoing a meridionalisation. The species that thrive in the
southernmost parts of the basin are now thriving also towards the north.
This is valid for a high variety of animals, from fish to hydroids. Many
of the seasonal species that are active in the summer, now are present
throughout the year. Winter species are reaching greater depths, where
the water is colder. The eco-biological answer of the Mediterranean to
global warming is very evident!
. Of course, as suggested in the opening letter of this forum, one
might answer: so what? Is there anything we can do about it? Well, there
are people who deny that a change is underway, and there are governments
that refuse to sign protocols regarding our impact on the world climate,
often because they say that there is no proof that something is
happening. Something is happening for sure.

Paradoxically, seen in this framework, this phenomenon is enriching
Mediterranean biodiversity. New, tropical species are being added to the
ones that were there before. If one asks how many species became extinct
from the Mediterranean basin in historical times the answer is none.
Some became locally extinct (like the monk seal), there are some cases
of possible extinction (a mollusc from Malta, if I am well informed),
but this is nothing compared to the terrible figures that we can hear in
the press. Is that really true?

If the Mediterranean is becoming warmer, what is the part of the basin
that will be more sensitive to this change? The colder one. The one
where the cold waters of the basin are formed. That is: the Northern
Adriatic. Up there, there is flora and fauna very similar to those of
the Atlantic. There is a species of Fucus (Fucus virsoides) that is not
found anywhere else in the Mediterranean. And there are other species
that live only up there. I think that they are in danger.

If one asks me the name of a probable species that became extinct from
the Mediterranean I say: Tricyclusa singularis. Never heard about it? Of
course! We perceive extinction only if it affects popular species. We
tend to register what we find, and not what we do not find. Especially
for the inconspicuous groups. Tricyclusa is a little hydroid. It has
been described by Schulze from the Gulf of Trieste (Northern Adriatic),
its type locality, in 1865. Since then, it has never been found again in
the Mediterranean. It is a rare species, of course. But very
distinctive.

We should be able to make a list of putative extinct species. We need a
species list for a place, and an accurate bibliographic search for all
the records of the species. If one species is unrecorded let's say for
one hundred years, we might say that it is possibly locally extinct.
Reconstructing its "history" we might find the localities where it
occurred and go there, see if we can find it. If we cannot, chances are
good that it is gone or that, at least, it is in peril. You know who has
this information? Taxonomists. This is another good reason to use them.
And the literature. I was always surprised not to find bibliographic
support among all the services for Biodiversity information that are
offered around, based on heavy EU funding.

Bibliography is the key information in biodiversity. We need digital
libraries. I am building one for the Hydrozoa (based on funding coming
from the National Science Foundation) and strange things are coming out,
like this Tricyclusa affair.

Providing a list of endangered or possibly extinct species, along with
the list of the newcomers, will reinforce the perception of change in
the public opinion and, maybe, also in the politicians. Then we will
have to think about what to do. Change is part of the evolutionary game
and we have to accept it, even if it brings things that we do not like.
But we have to be able to distinguish natural change from
anthropogenically originated change. When the second type of change
occurs, then we have to try to lessen our impact. The reason for doing
so is very simple. We evolve at a very slow pace. Biologically. If the
ecosystems around us change rapidly, we will not be able to cope with
the change. We'll do it with technology. But it will not be so
effective. If we use air conditioning to fight hot weather, we produce
further heat in the atmosphere with our energy consumption, and make
things better in the short term and worst in the long term. We need this
environment. I could !
play some more and explain how a very inconspicuous species (like
Tricyclusa) might be ecologically important, even for us. But such
exercise requires a lot of space, and this message is too long already.

I wholeheartedly agree with Keith, marine reserves are instituted to
preserve beauty (like terrestrial national parks) and, eventually, for
some spill over effect. This is understood by the public, but not by
the scientists! They need cumbersome reasons for such things, beauty is
not a scientific concept....

By the way, Tricyclusa is a beautiful hydroid, and it is highly
valuable since it is the only species of a whole family, so if we lose
it we do not lose just a species, we lose also a genus and a family. It
is the only hydroid with three whorls of tentacles. Its only fault is
that it is just 2 mm long.

Ferdinando Boero
DiSTeBA (Dipartimento di Scienze e
Tecnologie Biologiche e Ambientali)
Universita' di Lecce
73100 Lecce
Italy




To reply: mailto:adpatationsites.7093@forums.ceh.ac.uk
To start a new topic: mailto:adpatationsites@forums.ceh.ac.uk
To login: http://forums.ceh.ac.uk:8080/~bioplatform/