Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
technology to identify species (Stoeckle and Hebert 2008). In theory, a se-
quence of DNA from a piece of the organism could be read using a hand-
held analyzing device, the information relayed via satellite to a database of
sequences of known organisms, and the name along with other information
(e.g., distribution, ecology, uses) retrieved instantaneously. The technique
is easier applied to animals than to plants, where extensive hybridization
makes it diffi cult to fi nd a “standard” piece of DNA for a species. Both are
new technologies just on the horizon, and if successful, they would revolu-
tionize identifying organisms and retrieving information about them. Even
with all these valuable new tools, however, there is still no substitute for
the wisdom gained through a career-long study of the organisms, or for
fi eld experience to avoid becoming a modern-day incarnation of what Rud-
wick (2005) called Buffon—an indoor savant snugly ensconced in his study
(read, e.g., laboratory). As a preliminary exercise, the electronic illustra-
tions, virtual herbaria, and general readings included in the references be-
low can bring greater meaning to the plants, animals, communities, terms,
descriptions, people, and subjects encountered in this work. As I have noted
previously:
A perception that has undoubtedly infl uenced my writing is that an in-
creasing number of students seem most comfortable as passive recipients
of information. This is in contrast to learning endeavors that involve active
participation. One of my most challenging and ultimately satisfying edu-
cational experiences as a beginning student was reading several texts that
were important in biology and geology, but that were outside my immediate
specialty and for which I had only a minimum background. I struggled to
a general understanding and a lasting appreciation of this material through
persistence and a great deal of help from others. Although the present survey
is intended to provide adequate background for the subject matter discussed,
dictionaries, glossaries, additional texts, libraries, peers, and teachers in
related fi elds do exist and are sources of additional explanatory information.
A more full, lasting, and satisfying understanding of the topic can be gained
by assuming the role of active participant and using the text as a cooperative
venture. (I, xii-xiii)
One way to become an active participant is to have a modern atlas—for
example, the 1997
Oxford Atlas of the World
—open to the physiographic fea-
tures of a particular continent or region (North America, 124-25; South
America, 150-51), and a computer open to access images of geography
available on Web sites like Falling Rain Genomics (Fallingrain.com/world)
