Posted by john on April 16, 2002 at 19:07:59:
In Reply to: Re: a word from your local environmental scientist posted by kat on April 15, 2002 at 18:38:02:
: You didn't identify the bird!
you're going to laugh, this was because I don't know what it is! I was going to post a scrub jay, which I do know, but in the process of finding a scrub jay picture I found this bird that looks more colorful, but there was no name, and our bird guy was out sick. so I am an environmental scientist, but not an ornitholigist, or even a biologist. Sticky but important definitions in the sciences... ha ha ha. I'll find the name for you though.
: Hmm- So how long does it take to consider a domestic cat an officail part of the ecosystem?
Currently the only way is for it to have been a part of the ecosystem before human record, or to have migrated there with no help from humans (e.g. armadillos). Personally, i think this definition needs revision, but then I'm not exactly a prominant authority in the field. My problems are that it assumes that humans are not natural factors, and second, eventually we'll HAVE to redefine it because we keep better records than they did long ago.