[Taxacom] Woodpeckers: If any got to Madagascar, they were probably too late

[Richard Jensen]

On 5/19/2011 10:00 AM, Kenneth Kinman wrote:
>        (3)  And as for macaques in New Guinea, they had the advantage of
> exploiting human food supplies and crops.  Nothing very natural about
> that.  Zebra mussels are spreading like weeds all over the place, but
> that too is due to modern human activity.  Not much chance they would
> have dispersed at all under natural conditions, unless they evolved the
> ability to hitch a ride on marine mammals.
>           -----------Ken
Unless one views what humans do as natural.  I think this is an 
interesting question - are human influences natural or unnatural?  One 
could argue that what we humans do is a natural consequence of our 
innate abilities and qualities.  If so, then the spread of "weeds" is a 
natural process linked to the natural spread and activities of a 
particular species of primate.

Dick J

-- 
Richard J. Jensen, Professor
Department of Biology
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Tel: 574-284-4674