This experimental plot contains four species of prairie plants. The nearby plots, going clockwise, contain eight species, four species, and

16 species. (Photo courtesy David Tilman, University of Minnesota)

How many known species are there in the world?

Quentin Wheeler's Species-scape

Are there any new species left to discover?

2004

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0044271

• New Species Discovered in Local Mountains• January 17, 2006 - Scientists discovered a new form of life in our

local mountains.• Biologists found at least 27 new species in the caves of Sequoia

and Kings Canyon National Parks. The life includes previously unknown species of spiders, millipedes, centipedes, true bugs and pseudo-scorpions.

• During the three year study, park staff and contract biologists visited 30 caves in the two parks, as well as five caves in Yosemite National Park.

• Park staff will use the new information to monitor and study the health of the rare animals in an attempt to learn more about them.

Microcebus lehilahytsara – Discovered August 2005.Named for U.S. lemur expert Steve Goodman ("lehilahytsara" is Malagasy for "good man"). •The new primate species brings

the total number of known lemur species to 49—all of which occur naturally only on Madagascar or the nearby Comoros islands.

•Lemurs are the closest living analogs to our ancient primate ancestors who lived about 55 million years ago

•One-third of lemure species are extinct.

•Remaining species are under threat from hunting and habitat destruction.

• Science 20 May 2005:Vol. 308. no. 5725, pp. 1161 - 1164The Highland Mangabey Lophocebus kipunji: A New Species of African Monkey

• Trevor Jones,1* Carolyn L. Ehardt,2 Thomas M. Butynski,3 Tim R. B. Davenport,4 Noah E. Mpunga,4 Sophy J. Machaga,4 Daniela W. De Luca4 A distinct species of mangabey was independently found at two sites 370 kilometers apart in southern Tanzania (Mount Rungwe and Livingstone in the Southern Highlands and Ndundulu in the Udzungwa Mountains). This new species is described here and given the name "highland mangabey" Lophocebus kipunji sp. nov. We place this monkey in Lophocebus, because it possesses noncontrasting black eyelids and is arboreal. L. kipunji is distinguished from other mangabeys by the color of its pelage; long, upright crest; off-white tail and ventrum; and loud call. This find has implications for primate evolution, African biogeography, and forest conservation.

Discovered in 2002,

in Namibia

http://archives.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/11/14/new.lemurs/index.html

Now the bad news.

Not that humans had anything to do with it.

Bison skull pile - 1870

Save the whales!

Collect the whole set. Why?

H:\public_html\fieldnaturalhistory\fnhimages\l1images\Snailpainkiller.pdf

http://grimwade.biochem.unimelb.edu.au/cone/envenom.html

http://grimwade.biochem.unimelb.edu.au/cone/fish2.mov

Conus magus –venomous cone snail.

Slash-and-burn agriculture in the rainforest of Borneo. This section of forest was cut months past but the farmers missed their window for converting the land for agriculture. Rains came before the fallen vegetation had been thoroughly burned and thus, this land cannot be used for crops until the forest regrows and is slash-and-burned again. In its current state most nutrients have already been leached by the strong tropical sun and rain has washed away valuable soils. Location: Indonesia Photographer: Rhett A. Butler Mongabay.com

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ucdavis.edu/images/features_level2/0706/slash_and_burn.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ucdavis.edu/spotlight/0706/rain_forest.html&usg=___KyZ_WJqw_EtHC4IoyfO7hla_-o=&h=200&w=260&sz=35&hl=en&start=83&um=1&tbnid=r8AvjlWDXBmI1M:&tbnh=86&tbnw=112&prev=/images%3Fq%3DSlash%2Band%2BBurn,%2Btropical%2Bforests%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN%26start%3D72%26um%3D1

Economist sheds light on forces at work in slash-and-burn agriculture