The arcticle posted by Richard (below) regarding the "cascading effects"
of removing top predators from a certain marine system, serves to
underline the important point that many people tend to overlook - even
those responsible for protecting and "managing" wildlife both within and
outside of artificial, irrelevant to natural systems national
boundaries:  ALL life on the planet, and indeed all componants of the
biosphere (ie, the portion of the planet which supports and contains
life - from the stratophere to a few km under the surface) are highly
interconnected: what affects one species out of many millions, affects
all (including us.....).  The out of date and irresponsible practice of
trying to "manage" individual populations of particular species, as if
they were somehow isolated from everything else, has to be changed
radically to take into account the interconnectedness of life on all
levels - local, regional, global.  Not to do so, especially for marine
life, could contribute to many developing "tears" and injuries to the
robust yet delicate web of life which our species and all others depend
upon for survival. (and yes, this is shell-related: I propose the
thought that we, as collectors, appreciators of, and researchers of at
least one major group of life-forms (mollusca) which inhabit a huge
range of habitats in all corners of the earth, should be as educating
ourselves in matters pertaining to the natural systems which support our
chosen group, and should be taking active steps on a variety of fronts,
to preserve and protect these systems and the various populations they
contain.)

-Ross Mayhew.

Subject:
Re: Rapidly developing danger to Indo-Pacific reefs - and now, America
From:
Richard Parker <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 1 Apr 2007 11:18:54 -0400


DOI: 10.1126/science.1138657
Science 315, 1846 (2007);
Ransom A. Myers, et al.
Cascading Effects of the Loss of Apex Predatory
Sharks from a Coastal Ocean
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/315/5820/1846.pdf

If you can't access this, I'll be glad to send it to you, directly.

Sharks go
Rays take over
Shellfish are dead

The very least I can do, after Henk Mienis pointed out my irresponsibility
in selling shark teeth in Spanish street markets, is to call attention to
their plight.

1% of sharks might eat you. The other 99% get their fins chopped off for
some (not very tasty) Chinese soup.


regards

Richard Parker

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