Molecular and Cellular Mechanism of Action of Hormones such as Growth Hormone...
Brest 2014
1. Comment les changements des modèles taxonomiques
affectent-ils la syntaxonomie? Quelques exemples en
Macaronésie
Fundo da Caldeira do Faial (Faial, Açores)
2. Consilience refers to the principle that evidence from independent,
unrelated sources can "converge" to strong conclusions. That is, when
multiple sources of evidence are in agreement, the conclusion can be very
strong even when none of the individual sources of evidence are very strong
on their own. (E. O. Wilson)
#1 Corolary of Consilience: a given organization level seeks its causal
principles in the previous level, i.e. there should be cause-effect consistency in
explaining one level as a function of the previous
#2 Corolary of Consilience: emergent properties are alone what defines
each level.
3. GEOBOTANY is an scientific integrative practice across organization
levels in the description of NATURE that are ever more complex and
of larger scale.
Object:
species
Discipline
:
taxonomy
Object: plant
community
Discipline:
phytosociology
Object: sucessional
unit (v.s.)
Discipline:
synphytosociology
Object: topographicv
sequence (g.s.)
Discipline:
geosynphytosociology
Object:
synchoria
Discipline:
biogeography
QUESTION: should information from the models of high-levels
contribute to reshape the low-level ones?
4. QUESTION paraphrase: can Geobotany be a fully consilient scientific
practice, approaching a global consistent model across levels?
CRITICISM: “explanation must be found on each level itself”:
“you shouldn´t use synecology or biogeography as taxonomical characters”
“you shouldn´t use synchoria to do biogeography” & etc.
“What YOU do is confirmation bias”.
Object:
species
Discipline
:
taxonomy
Object: plant
community
Discipline:
phytosociology
Object: sucessional
unit (v.s.)
Discipline:
synphytosociology
Object: topographicv
sequence (g.s.)
Discipline:
geosynphytosociology
Object:
synchoria
Discipline:
biogeography
GEOBOTANY is a case of scientific CONSILIENCE
[#1 A strange loop arises when, by moving only upwards or downwards through a hierarchical system, one finds
oneself back where one started. (D. Hofstadter)]
[#2 Iteration is the act of repeating a process with the aim of approaching a desired goal, target or result .]
5. An example: Madeira and Azores:
• BIOCLIMATOLOGY
– AZORES
• Temperate
submediterranean
humid to ultra-hiper-
humid
– MADEIRA
• Temperate
submediterranean and
Mediterranean
semiarid to
ultrahiperhúmido
– CANARIES
• Mediterranean arid to
hiperhumid
– CAPE VERDE
• Tropical semiarid to
semidesertic
Euphorbia canariensis, Tenerife
Ilex azorica, Laurus azorica, S. Miguel (Açores)
6. What are the vegetation types predominant in the landscape?
What are the syntaxa most characteristic and diverse in each archipelago?
Azores: perennial grasslands (+), forest vegetation (-)
TOLPIDO AZORICAE-HOLCETEA RIGIDI (2012)
LAURO AZORICAE-JUNIPERETEA BREVIFOLIAE (2002)
Madeira: forest vegetation (+), grasslands (-):
PRUNO HIXAE-LAURETEA NOVOCANARIENSIS (2002)
PARAFESTUCETALIA ALBIDAE(2002)
10. first models, talks:
THUS, ARE MADEIRA AND THE AZORES SIMILAR OR DISSIMILAR??...
Concrete & paramount questions /doubts (1999 – 2002… 2012):
Is there a forest vegetation class spanning from the Canaries to the Azores?
I.e. is the azorean forest/scrub a subclass of Pruno-Lauretea azoricae? Or a
class of its own?
Are the grasslands in the summit of Madeira similar to those we find in Azores?
Etc…
Carlos Aguiar (with geographer Albano Figueiredo, Madeira)
M. Costa, S. Rivas-Martínez, myself
11. Vaccinium padifolium , Madeira Vacccinium cylindraceum, Azores
There are vicariant elements… dominant taxa in forest and grassland are
common (1999), what are we to do?...
Festucetalia jubatae (Azores & Madeira grasslands, published 1999)
Pruno hixae-Lauretea azoricae, with subclass Juniperenea brevifolii in Azores
(never written down: just a peripatetic syntaxon…)
16. As a consequence…
AZORES :Tolpido azoricae-Holcetalia rigidi , Festucion francoi
Lauro azoricae-Juniperetea brevifoliae
MADEIRA: Parafestucetalia albidae , Deschampsio maderensis-Parafestucion
albidae
Pruno hixae-Lauretea novocanariensis
[Recall #2: Iteration is the act of repeating a process with the aim of approaching a desired
goal, target or result .]
17. QUESTION paraphrase: can Geobotany be a
fully consilient scientific practice, approaching a
global consistent model across levels?...
Thank you.
Oratio ad honorem causam J.-M. Géhu, 2014