How the diversity of human concepts of nature affects conservation of biodiversity.

Protecting nature has become a global concern. However, the very idea of nature is problematic. We examined the etymological and semantic diversity of the word used to translate nature in a conservation context in 76 of the primary languages of the world to identify the different relationships between humankind and nature. Surprisingly, the number of morphemes (distinct etymological roots) used by 7 billion people was low. Different linguistic superfamilies shared the same etymon across large cultural areas that correlate with the distribution of major religions. However, we found large differences in etymological meanings among these words, echoing the semantic differences and historical ambiguity of the contemporary European concept of nature. The principal current Western meaning of nature in environmental public policy, conservation science, and environmental ethics-that which is not a human artifact-appears to be relatively rare and recent and to contradict the vision of nature in most other cultures, including those of pre-Christian Europe. To avoid implicit cultural bias and hegemony-and thus to be globally intelligible and effective-it behooves nature conservationists to take into account this semantic diversity when proposing conservation policies and implementing conservation practices.

Cómo Afecta la Diversidad de los Conceptos Humanos de la Naturaleza a la Conservación de la Biodiversidad Resumen La protección de la naturaleza se ha vuelto una preocupación a nivel mundial; sin embargo, la misma idea de naturaleza es problemática. Examinamos la diversidad etimológica y semántica de la palabra que se utiliza para traducir la palabra nature en un contexto de conservación en los 76 lenguajes primarios del mundo y así identificar las diferentes relaciones entre la humanidad y la naturaleza. Sorprendentemente, el número de morfemas (raíces etimológicas distintas) usado por siete mil millones de personas fue bajo. Las diferentes superfamilias lingüísticas compartieron etimologías a lo largo de grandes áreas culturales que se correlacionan con la distribución de las religiones más importantes. Sin embargo, encontramos diferencias importantes en los significados etimológicos entre estas palabras, reflejando las diferencias semánticas y la ambigüedad histórica del concepto europeo contemporáneo de naturaleza. El principal significado occidental actual de nature dentro de la política ambiental pública, las ciencias de la conservación y la ética ambiental - aquello que no es un artefacto humano - parece ser relativamente raro y reciente, además de que contradice la visión de la naturaleza que tienen la mayoría de las demás culturas, incluyendo a aquellas de la Europa precristiana. Para evitar el sesgo y la hegemonía cultural que vienen implícitos - y así ser mundialmente entendibles y efectivos - le conviene a los conservacionistas de la naturaleza que consideren esta diversidad semántica cuando propongan políticas de conservación e implementen las prácticas de conservación.

Fixism and conservation science.

The field of biodiversity conservation has recently been criticized as relying on a fixist view of the living world in which existing species constitute at the same time targets of conservation efforts and static states of reference, which is in apparent disagreement with evolutionary dynamics. We reviewed the prominent role of species as conservation units and the common benchmark approach to conservation that aims to use past biodiversity as a reference to conserve current biodiversity. We found that the species approach is justified by the discrepancy between the time scales of macroevolution and human influence and that biodiversity benchmarks are based on reference processes rather than fixed reference states. Overall, we argue that the ethical and theoretical frameworks underlying conservation research are based on macroevolutionary processes, such as extinction dynamics. Current species, phylogenetic, community, and functional conservation approaches constitute short-term responses to short-term human effects on these reference processes, and these approaches are consistent with evolutionary principles.

Spread of stinging ants to oceanic islands, and the need to raise awareness of prevention and treatment of ant stings.

OBJECTIVE: Venomous invasive ants are rapidly dispersing throughout oceanic islands. Medics unfamiliar with envenomation or venom-induced anaphylaxis may be unprepared for the range of possible reactions and corresponding treatments. We detail the suboptimal treatment of a patient suffering anaphylaxis from an ant sting on a remote island and describe what treatment should have been provided. METHODS: The patient experienced stings on his feet from an ant later identified as tropical fire ant, Solenopsis geminata. Clinical examination revealed throat swelling without obstruction of the airway or pharynx. RESULTS: The patient was provided the following suboptimal treatment: intravenously-administered antihistamine and saline perfusion. Injected epinephrine should be the standard first line of treatment for anaphylaxis, even when not all symptoms are present. CONCLUSION: A rise in invasive hymenopteran stings on oceanic islands is inevitable, and proactively improving public awareness and medical training could save lives.