 |
 |
| Highlights |
| |
|
| Highlights |
|
 Information
about the Research Training Program:
go directly to the current RTP on-line application forms
Smithsonian
Center for Education and Museum Studies Smithsonian Office of Fellowships - internships
Smithsonian Office of Fellowships - fellowships POST GRADUATES
CONTACT US
- OR -
Research
& Collections
|
26 May 2001 - 4 August 2001 A total of 18 students were selected to participate in the 2001 session of the Research Training Program including 3 international students representing Brazil, Canada, and Yugoslavia. Schedule
of Events |
Poster |
Program
Summary Smithsonian
Institution
Professor
of Botany ___________________________________________ 26
May 2001 - 4 August 2001
THE
ETHICS Lynn
G. Clark
PART I: SPECIES X: A CASE STUDY The Atlantic forests of coastal Bahia, Brazil, harbor some of the greatest diversity of plant life on the planet. Within the last few decades, however, these formerly extensive forests have been reduced to approximately 3% of their original cover due to the cultivation of cacao and other crops. An extremely rare but evolutionarily significant species of an angiosperm family, referred to here as Species X, occurs in these forests. This species is known from only three populations along a 6 km stretch of road in the cacao-growing region of Bahia; at last count in 1994, a total of about 80-100 plants was found in the three populations, although a more recent count found even fewer plants. One of the populations grows at the edge of a cacao grove, and none occurs within a protected area. It is possible that additional populations of the species occur in the area although botanists have looked for it without success. Recent studies have shown that Species X is one of the few existing representatives of the earliest lineage of its family. These ancient forest plants (or plants very much like them) may have evolved in the late Cretaceous and coexisted with the dinosaurs, but the clade of which Species X is a member certainly had evolved by 55 million years ago. Several botanists have visited the natural populations of Species X over the last 20 years, and a few live plants were removed for cultivation in Brazil and the United States during that time. The plants were collected and taken out of Brazil with the proper authorization, although it is not clear if documentation is available. Regulations in force today (including principles agreed upon at the Rio summit) would probably permit the collection of such plants for research purposes but would not allow for their commercial distribution without some form of compensation to the Brazilian government (assuming the plants have any commercial value, which does not seem likely in this case). Exact Geographic Positioning System (GPS) coordinates for the three populations of this species have been obtained, but have not been released to the general public or scientific community. Species X is currently in cultivation in two places in Brazil, but a dozen or so plants are cultivated at various universities and botanical gardens in the United States. Although the species has some attractive qualities, it grows slowly and probably has little potential for development as an ornamental. It would be of interest to collectors mainly due to its rarity. Species X is very rare and extremely significant evolutionarily (effectively it is a living fossil, showing us what the earliest members of its family may have looked like), a combination which would give it the highest priority according to some conservation biologists. By any criteria, Species X is a rare, endangered species, but it has not yet been listed formally as such. Discussion
Questions 1. Field Collecting: - - - Outline the
steps that would be needed to undertake an expedition to Bahia, Brazil
to study Species X in the field. - - -Based on what
is currently known about Species X, should museum collections be made
at all? - - - Who will determine the collecting limits and distribution of specimens?
- - - Should the GPS
coordinates for Species X be published? - - - Or should the
decision be made jointly between Brazilian authorities and the researchers
involved? - - - What are the potential problems that might result from release of this information?
- - - Should a coordinated
attempt to preserve one or all of the natural populations be undertaken,
even if the effort creates local hostility? - - -Is it sufficient
to leave well enough alone, given that the species has survived this long,
and hope that additional, but as yet undiscovered, populations are out
there somewhere? - - - Should (or can) international or national scientific interests supersede local politics and concerns (that is, what if the Brazilian government has an interest in protecting Species X but local residents don't support this)?
PART II:
GROUP DISCUSSION OF GENERAL 1. CITES: The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES; http://www.cites.org/) is an international treaty that "was drawn up in 1973 to protect wildlife against such over-exploitation and to prevent international trade from threatening species with extinction." - - - Would it be
a good idea to list Species X formally under CITES protection even though
it does not appear to have much commercial value? - - - Would your answer
change if you knew that official CITES listing would most likely make
it impossible to rescue these plants and move them elsewhere legally (by
Brazilians or anyone else) even if the natural populations were threatened
with immediate destruction (e.g., from logging or road building)? - - - What would your
reaction be if the apparent lack of documentation regarding the original
collection of live plants of Species X (even though done prior to enactment
of this provision of the treaty) meant that these plants were subject
to confiscation? - - - What if the existence of this treaty resulted in improved protection for some species (e.g., pandas, tigers) but resulted in the loss of others (e.g., cacti, orchids)?
- - - What about the
idea that basal branches within major clades deserve special conservation
status (as opposed to representatives of more recently evolved and more
speciose clades)? - - - How many rare,
more recently evolved species, is one Species X worth? - - - In the animal kingdom, what about coelocanths vs. cichlids or horseshoe crabs vs. various groups of beetles?
- - - How are these issues relevant to your project this summer? PART III: DEBATE You will be divided into four teams (two will have four members each, and two will have five members each). One set of teams will debate Proposition A, and the other set will debate Proposition B. The Proposition B teams will be the audience for the Proposition A teams, and vice versa. You will be given these assignments in the late morning following the first two parts of the workshop, so that you will have some time to prepare your positions before the debate in the afternoon. Your team will be responsible for defending either the pro (in favor) or con (against) side of one proposition. Your team will have a full five minutes to present your side of the question, and then the other team will have the same opportunity. After the opposing positions are explained, each side will be allowed a two-minute rebuttal in the same order. At this point the moderator will ask the first team a question (submitted by a member of the audience) about this topic, followed by a rebuttal; then another question (again, submitted by the audience) will be asked of the second team, again followed by a rebuttal. Depending upon the issues raised and time available, another set of questions may be asked.
Who owns specimens and data? Consider the case of an expedition to collect in Thailand funded by the National Science Foundation. Duplicates of plant specimens will be divided with half staying in Thailand and half being deposited as the appropriate herbaria in the U.S. It is often much more difficult to get duplicates of collections of animals, and unicates typically are required to stay in the country where they are collected. Does a U.S. researcher who retrieves data (measurements, images, etc.) from a unicate deposited in Thailand own the data? What if the Thai government did not want those data released? |
Key Links to RTP Web Pages
Research
Training Program
Information |
Highlights
|
Alumni
Pages
Application
Process
|
Requirements |
Application
Status
Application
Form |
Cover
Letter Form |
Recommendation Form | Advisor
List
| NMNH Home | What's New ? | Calendar of Events | Information Desk | Search |
You are HERE. To continue select the next option.