Peter O'Byrne, perhaps wrongly, appeared to disagree with a study (possibly by Koopowitz but definitely by Victoria Sosa and Teodoro Platas) by saying that while new species are discovered in an area he's familiar with *old* species are depopulated. I wonder if he read the cite. Its an interesting notion and if anyone has the article in full I'd be interested in reading it. Victoria Sosa and Teodoro Platas 1998. "Extinction and Persistence of Rare Orchids in Veracruz, Mexico," in: Conservation Biology 12(2): 451-455. http://www.jstor.org/pss/2387515 The first sentence.
My first question was if the area isn't well studied how does anyone know what was there in the first place in order to know what's gone missing? K Barrett N Calif, USA > > In OGD V10 #287, K Barrett (perhaps wrongly) cited a study (possibly by > Koopowitz) that says "the more a place is studied the more species > disappear". > > Kathy, I cannot agree with this comment. In Peninsular Malaysia the > most-studied locality is a tourist-hotspot called the Cameron Highlands. > Every year new records (and occasionally new species) are reported from the > same old area; in some cases these discoveries are made on trees right in > the middle of town. In April this year we found an undescribed Acriopsis > species growing on the tall trees along the fence between the Forestry Dept > compound and the town campsite; only 2 years ago we found Microtatorchis > javanica (a new record for the area) on ornamental trees in a park less than > 50 metres away from the same spot. > > I've been visiting the Cameron Highlands intermittently for 15 years, during > which time I've noted a dramatic decline in the numbers of orchids along the > hiking-trails. This is almost certainly due to tourists (both local and > foreign) ripping plants off the trees next to the paths. You know the sort > of thing ... "I'll take that home with me ... no-one will miss it", or the > other "conservationist" favorite: "look, an orchid growing by the path, that > is in danger of getting stolen by someone, so I'll conserve it by taking it > home with me." Luckily, these people seldom seem to venture far off the > paths. > > Cheers, > > Peter O'Byrne _________________________________________________________________ Stay up to date on your PC, the Web, and your mobile phone with Windows Live. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/msnnkwxp1020093185mrt/direct/01/ _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
