Size Doesn't Matter: Towards a More Inclusive Philosophy of Biology

notes: As the primary author, O’Malley drafted the paper, and gathered and analysed data (scientific papers and talks). Conceptual analysis was conducted by both authors.publication-status: Publishedtypes: ArticlePhilosophers of biology, along with everyone else, generally perceive life to fall into two broad categories, the microbes and macrobes, and then pay most of their attention to the latter. ‘Macrobe’ is the word we propose for larger life forms, and we use it as part of an argument for microbial equality. We suggest that taking more notice of microbes – the dominant life form on the planet, both now and throughout evolutionary history – will transform some of the philosophy of biology’s standard ideas on ontology, evolution, taxonomy and biodiversity. We set out a number of recent developments in microbiology – including biofilm formation, chemotaxis, quorum sensing and gene transfer – that highlight microbial capacities for cooperation and communication and break down conventional thinking that microbes are solely or primarily single-celled organisms. These insights also bring new perspectives to the levels of selection debate, as well as to discussions of the evolution and nature of multicellularity, and to neo-Darwinian understandings of evolutionary mechanisms. We show how these revisions lead to further complications for microbial classification and the philosophies of systematics and biodiversity. Incorporating microbial insights into the philosophy of biology will challenge many of its assumptions, but also give greater scope and depth to its investigations

Communication and mutual resource exchange in north Florida hermit crabs

The patterns of shell exchange in three species of hermit crabs which overlap in distribution and shell use were observed in the laboratory. Crabs showed no tendency to initiate more exchanges with conspecifics as compared with nonconspecific individuals and there were no specific size dominance effects. Lack of common communicatory patterns between Clibararius vittatus and Pagurus pollicaris was correlated with minimal actual exchange, while Pagurus impressus exchanged with both species and executed patterns in common with both. The pattern of shell exchanges and preferences indicated that, in some cases, both individuals may gain in interspecific exchanges.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46904/1/265_2004_Article_BF00569198.pd

Anurofauna da Floresta Estacional Semidecidual da Estação Ecológica dos Caetetus, Sudeste do Brasil

A Floresta Estacional Semidecidual é considerada uma das formações florestais mais ameaçadas e suprimidas pela expansão agrícola do início do século passado, com sua cobertura vegetal reduzida a menos de 8% da original. Estudos sobre taxocenoses de anfíbios anuros nessa formação florestal ainda são escassos, mesmo quando consideramos as poucas áreas de floresta primária que restaram. Apresentamos neste estudo os resultados de um levantamento de espécies de anfíbios anuros da Estação Ecológica dos Caetetus, uma unidade de conservação que abriga importante remanescente de Floresta Estacional Semidecidual na região Centro-oeste do estado de São Paulo, região considerada prioritária para conservação no estado. Foram registradas 34 espécies distribuídas em nove famílias, dentre as quais Hylidae e Leptodactylidae foram as que apresentaram as maiores riquezas, com 14 e oito espécies, respectivamente. A elevada riqueza de espécies da área, principalmente da família Hylidae, provavelmente está associada tanto à grande heterogeneidade ambiental dessa formação florestal como à sua localização em área de transição entre áreas de Cerrado e de Floresta Ombrófila. A alta riqueza de espécies, quando comparada à de outras áreas de mesma formação florestal, bem como a presença de representantes das famílias Centrolenidae, Craugastoridae e Hylodidae, que são dependentes de habitats florestais, atestam o bom estado de conservação e a importância regional desse remanescente florestal.Semi-deciduous Forest is one of the most threatened and deforested vegetation types of Brazil due to its land conversion to agriculture in the beginning of the 20th Century; its distribution is now reduced to less than 8% of its original extent. Studies about anuran taxocenosis associated to these forests are scarce, even when we consider the remaining areas of pristine forest. We present herein results from an amphibian survey at the Estação Ecológica dos Caetetus, a conservation unit with a singular preserved Semi-deciduous Forest from the Middle-West region of the State of São Paulo, located inside the priority areas for conservation on São Paulo State. We provided here data on species richness, composition, geographical distribution, and natural history notes for each taxa found in the area. We recorded 34 anuran species belonging to nine families, of which Hylidae and Leptodactylidae are the two most speciose families, with 14 and eight species respectively. The high species richness in the area, mainly in the family Hylidae, can be explained by both the high environmental heterogeneity of this remnant and its geographic location between Cerrado savannas and Atlantic rain forest areas. Its high species richness when compared with other localities of the same vegetation type, as well as the presence of forest dependent species in the families Centrolenidae, Hylodidae and Craugastoridae, indicate both the good conservation status and the regional importance of this forest remnant.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Universidade de São Paulo Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz Departamento de Ciências BiológicasUniv Estadual Paulista UNESP, Dept Zool & Bot, Inst Biociencias Letras & Ciencias Exatas, BR-15054000 Sao Jose do Rio Preto, SP, BrazilUniv Estadual Paulista UNESP, Dept Zool & Bot, Inst Biociencias Letras & Ciencias Exatas, BR-15054000 Sao Jose do Rio Preto, SP, BrazilFAPESP: 04/15938-5FAPESP: 99/09635-