[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/EW-05-28-14-Natural-History-.mp3|titles=EW 05-28-14 Natural History]
I grew up with a butterfly net in hand. Not that my parents appreciated it. My mother dreaded most things in nature—rodents, poison ivy, and bugs. Even my rock collection was regarded as dirty. But my early comparisons of butterflies taught me about the variation within species; there was no perfect specimen of the cabbage butterfly.
When I attended college, the biology major required at least one class in field identification. Students who liked to get up early took ornithology. I took field botany, which required a collection of springtime plants from northern New England.
Now a recent assessment of the teaching of biology across our nation’s college and universities finds that classes in taxonomy and natural history are virtually non-existent and seldom required. It’s not that it is important to graduate from college being able to identify birds. But, the principles of taxonomy are important, especially in a world where we are driving species extinct at a rapid rate.
Knowing about natural history connects the educated citizen to the land. How did early humans survive in the environment? How have human changes to the land caused the rise and fall of certain species? What will happen if certain keystone species go extinct?
When we see scientific studies linking infectious disease risk to the presence or absence of certain species – it underscores the importance of understanding the fabric of nature. The environment, as we know it, is the sum of its parts. And knowing what defines a species and how species interact is essential to preserving our own health.
**********
.
Web Links
Photo, taken August 13, 2011, courtesy of John Fowler via Flickr.
.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY.