[wisb] Re: Everyone's favorite bird - Starling news
- From: "William Mueller" <iltlawas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Karl H. David" <david@xxxxxxxx>, "wisbirdn" <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2009 08:39:38 -0500
Karl,
I don't think starlings are likely to be "in balance" in North America -
but that poses a different sort of question. The idea of a so-called
"balance of nature" has been replaced in the thinking of most ecologists.
Here's a review of a recent book by John Kricher, "The Balance of Nature:
Ecology's Enduring Myth" (2009, Princeton University Press). Kricher is
Meneely Professor of Biology at Wheaton College in Norton, MA. The review
is by yet another accomplished ornithologist/ecologist, Robert Askins, of
Connecticut College:
"John Kricher masterfully describes the ancient origins of the concept of a
balance of nature and its unquestioned incorporation into the thinking of
many ecologists and conservationists. This concept implies an overarching
purpose or design in the natural world, making it inconsistent with our
understanding of how evolution works. Kricher shows that we can understand
and protect natural ecosystems better by rejecting the assumption that
nature is a well-designed machine and accepting the true complexity created
by numerous interacting species."
Bill
William P. Mueller
Conservation Chair - Wisconsin Society for Ornithology (WSO)
Project Coordinator - Milwaukee County Avian Migration Monitoring
Partnership (MCAMMP)
(414) 698-9108
E-mail: iltlawas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
On the web: http://home.earthlink.net/~iltlawas/index.html
Blog: http://bluebirdslaugh.blogspot.com/
> [Original Message]
> From: David, Karl H. <david@xxxxxxxx>
> To: <rawshooter@xxxxxxxxx>; <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: 9/8/2009 7:31:30 AM
> Subject: [wisb] Re: Everyone's favorite bird - Starling news
>
> What I never seem to be able to glean from articles like this is: just
> how big a "nuisance" are they in their native habitat? I assume they
> fill similar niches, but somehow there's more balance. Could such a
> balance eventually be expected here? They can't expand forever.
>
> Karl David
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: wisbirdn-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:wisbirdn-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Brian Hansen
> Sent: Monday, September 07, 2009 2:02 PM
> To: wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [wisb] Everyone's favorite bird - Starling news
>
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090906/ap_on_re_us/us_most_hated_bird
> Brian Hansen
> Milwaukee - east side
>
>
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