Think for a moment about the grade school acronym you may have learned for scientific classification of living organisms. I learned it at McMurray Middle School from Mr. Geo Cheroke, and it was some variation on “King Philip Came Over For Green Soup.”
This ditty would help me recall the nesting of Kingdom-Phylum-Class-Order-Family-Genus-Species, but the full enormity this classification, and the scope of individual levels, would not be felt until much later as I focused my studies upon insects.
Take, for example, the Lorquin’s admiral (Vanessa atalanta), one of the brightest and cheeriest native butterflies on Vashon. The Lorquin’s belongs to the Kingdom Animalia (there are six kingdoms in total), Phylum Arthropoda (there are 35 phyla within the Animalia), Class Insecta (there are five classes within the Arthropoda), Order Lepidoptera (there are approximately 30 orders within the Insecta) and Family Nymphalidae (there are 126 families within the Lepidoptera). Even within this family level of organization, V. atalanta is dwarfed; it is one of 6,000 species of Nymphalid butterflies.
The “King Philip” of the Lorquin’s admiral — more formally referred to as its taxonomical organization — illustrates a vital point. While many of us acknowledge that we occupy an incredibly biodiverse world, the extent of variation is difficult to imagine until one follows a single species, level by level, from the broadest to most specific of its description. The magnitude of living diversity is matched only by the complexity of interactions between organisms, which maintain functioning ecosystems and biological processes.
The importance of preserving this vital network can be rationalized through many lenses. One could argue that humans inherently enjoy being surrounded by diverse forms of life — the “biophilia” hypothesis coined by renowned ecologist Edward O. Wilson.
It could also be said that non-human life has inherent value, a more spiritual view advanced by 19th century writers Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and John Muir.
Today, one oft-cited metaphor for the importance of biodiversity conservation is that of the fine Swiss watch — an illustration crafted by Aldo Leopold, founder of the “land ethic” that guides much of conservation thought today.
According to Leopold, the Lorquin’s Admiral would be a miniscule, unseen spring or washer in the back of a biodiversity watch, one of thousands of components whose unique functions and relationships create a functioning whole.
In the biodiversity watch, interdependence and complexity reign. It is by peering behind the overt, ticking hands that we glimpse what is essential, what is extraneous and the loss of which element will cause the unraveling of it all.
Today, the fight to discover, understand and preserve the Earth’s living machinery is being waged on many fronts. In academia, experts train to read the physical and historical clues of taxonomic separation and convergence; in management, conservation planners apply research to best conserve key species and populations. Nonprofits secure funding and drive policy, while educators imbue curiosity and interest in the natural world in our young people.
One method for biodiversity discovery is the rapid species inventory, which links the academic and public spheres by offering hands-on research events. After choosing a natural area, participants comb the grasses and plants for insects, sieve streams for amphibians and invertebrates and press plants for herbarium sheets. Their success can be remarkable; in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which hosts the longest-running All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI), 922 species new to science and 7,391 new records for the park have been found in little over 15 years.
The ATBI model has spread to other protected areas throughout the country and world. California’s Tomales Bay, Massachusetts’ Nantucket Island, Texas’ Big Thicket Preserve and the Mercantour/Maritime territory of the French-Italian Alps are just a few of the regions being surveyed in this comprehensive, outreach-promoting methodology.
This summer, the Vashon Nature Center will organize the Island’s first “bioblitz” — a 24-hour inventory that can be repeated over time and used to track changes in the flora and fauna of our community.
Across the world, biodiversity inventories tap into the joy of discovery, train a new generation of naturalists and taxonomists and produce much-needed data in the form of species lists and monitoring over time.
I grew up on Vashon and learned how to identify insects and plants through my forays in our community’s green spaces. Later, I interned with Discover Life in America (DLIA), the organization that coordinates the Great Smoky Mountains ATBI. I continue to work with the organization as a board member and have seen the power of these efforts to inspire individuals and promote informed conservation.
As interest in the natural world and living biota competes with the technological diversity we create, projects such as these constitute a powerful tool to invigorate our role as part of a living system.
— Moria Robinson, a 2007 graduate of Vashon High School, is a board member of DLIA.
DLIA will hold its annual conference in Gatlinburg, Tenn., March 22 to 24. Contact Moria Robinson at moria.robinson@gmail.com for more information about the conference, sponsorship opportunities and conference auction donations of local art and/or regional products. Details can be found at www.dlia.org.
