AIBS Publishes Darwin Articles Open Access

To celebrate the 150th anniversary this month of the publication of On the Origin of Species, the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) is publishing open access two peer-reviewed articles about Charles Darwin and his historic insights into evolution.

The two articles are by Kevin Padian of the University of California, Berkeley, and James T. Costa of Western Carolina University. Padian's article, "Ten Myths About Charles Darwin," appeared in the October issue of the AIBS journal BioScience and can be read at caliber.ucpress.net/doi/full/10.1525/bio.2009.59.9.10. Costa's article, "The Darwinian Revelation: Tracing the Origin and Evolution of an Idea" is published in the November issue of BioScience and can be read at caliber.ucpress.net/doi/full/10.1525/bio.2009.59.10.10.

Padian explores some common inaccuracies and untruths about Darwin and his life's work, painting in the process a clear portrait of the man and his struggles to develop a theory to explain the diversity of nature. Costa draws on Darwin's letters and notebooks and other sources to trace the origins of Darwin's key insights, which came to him over many years. Costa suggests that biology teachers can use Darwin's reasoning as a superb example of creative scientific thinking.

Data Point to Some Improvements in China's Environment

The rapid growth of China's forests over the past 20 years makes them the fastest growing forest resources in the world, according to an assessment published in the November issue of BioScience.

The study, by Haigen Xu of the Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences and nine colleagues, examined an array of indicators of biodiversity in China as part of an effort to assess China's progress toward the goals of the Convention of Biological Diversity. Parties to the convention agreed in 2002 to reduce biodiversity loss significantly by 2010.
China is a megadiverse country that has been undergoing rapid development, so the finding of growing forest stocks is surprising, although some of the growth may have consisted of monoculture plantations, which do not increase biodiversity.

The increase in forest cover was not the only bright spot that Xu and colleagues discovered. The amount of desertified land in China decreased between 1999 and 2004, emissions of many industrial pollutants have fallen, and a measure of marine ecosystem health shows that Chinese waters have started to improve--probably because of fishing restrictions--after reaching a low in 1997.

The favorable indicators do not conceal some bleak realities and worsening trends. Pollution in Chinese marine ecosystems is "still very severe;" mammal, fish, and bird species across the country are under increasing threat; and the use of fertilizers and pesticides that pollute rivers and lakes is increasing. Grasslands are declining, and the number of newly discovered invasive alien species shows "a tremendous upward trend," Xu and his colleagues write. The area devoted to nature reserves is large and has grown, although many of the reserves are poorly marked and maintained.

All in all, the authors say, despite major efforts by the Chinese government, "China still faces grave challenges in pollution control and biodiversity conservation." They note that "the next decade is a critical period for China to engage all stakeholders in protecting its rich and unique biodiversity."

The complete list of peer-reviewed articles in the November 2009 issue of BioScience is as follows:

Molecular Markers, Natural History, and Conservation of Marine Animals
Ronald S. Burton

China's Progress toward the Significant Reduction of the Rate of Biodiversity Loss
Haigen Xu and colleagues

Effects of Timber Harvest on Amphibian Populations: Understanding Mechanisms from Forest Experiments
Raymond D. Semlitsch and colleagues

Neotropical Forest Conservation, Agricultural Intensification, and Rural Out-migration: The Mexican Experience
Luis García-Barrios and colleagues

Plant Biosecurity in the United States: Roles, Responsibilities, and Information Needs
Roger D. Magarey, Manuel Colunga-Garcia, and Daniel A. Fieselmann

The Darwinian Revelation: Tracing the Origin and Evolution of an Idea
James T. Costa

BIOTAP: A Systematic Approach to Teaching Scientific Writing and Evaluating Undergraduate Theses
Julie Reynolds, Robin Smith, Cary Moskovitz, and Amy Sayle

BioScience Press Releases

AIBS Publishes Darwin Articles Open Access

Data Point to Some Improvements in China's Environment