Biotic Regulation of the Environment: Key Issues of Global ChangeIt is not possible to understand the apparent stability of the Earth's climate and environment unless we can fully understand how the best possible environmental conditions may be maintained for life to exist. Human colonization of areas with natural biota, for industrial or agricultural activities, will lead to degradation of those natural communities and violation of the BRE (biotic regulation of the environment) principle. Thus to maintain an environment on Earth that is suitable for life it is necessary to preserve and allow the natural recovery of natural biotic communities, both in the oceans and on land. This book is devoted to a quantitative version of the BRE concept, and is built on a foundation of modern scientific knowledge accumulated in the fields of physics and biology. |
Contents
General overview | 1 |
12 ADAPTATION TO OR REGULATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT? | 3 |
13 MAJOR INCONSISTENCIES IN THE GENETIC ADAPTATION PARADIGM | 5 |
15 GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FORMED BY THE NATURAL BIOTA | 8 |
16 BIOTIC REGULATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT | 9 |
17 CONCEPTS OF GENETIC ADAPTATION AND BIOTIC REGULATION ARE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE | 11 |
18 EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FOR THE BIOTIC REGULATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT | 13 |
19 STABILITY OF LIFE ORGANISATION | 15 |
63 GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE CHANGE | 154 |
64 HISTORICAL DYNAMICS OF THE GLOBAL CHANGE | 162 |
65 STOPPING THE GLOBAL CARBON CHANGE | 166 |
66 THE WATER CYCLE | 169 |
RECOVERY OF FOREST COMMUNITIES AFTER PERTURBATIONS | 175 |
ANALYSIS OF EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE | 180 |
682 Recovery Dynamics | 186 |
Natural Periodicity | 191 |
110 MECHANISM OF BIOTIC REGULATION | 17 |
111 NATURAL DISTRIBUTION OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION OVER INDIVIDUALS OF DIFFERENT BODY SIZE | 19 |
112 CONSERVING BIODIVERSITY OR BIOTIC REGULATION? | 23 |
113 BIOTIC REGULATION CANNOT BE REPLACED BY TECHNOLOGY | 24 |
115 DEMOGRAPHY | 28 |
What is Life? | 33 |
22 PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL STABILITY | 35 |
23 SEXUAL DIMORPHISM | 39 |
24 COMPETITIVENESS AND ORGANISATION OF LIFE | 41 |
25 ALTRUISTIC INTERACTION OF INDIVIDUALS | 43 |
26 NOTORIOUS GROUP SELECTION | 47 |
27 THE BASIC PRINCIPLE OF BIOLOGY | 49 |
28 IMPOSSIBILITY OF GLOBALLYCORRELATED LIVING OBJECTS | 50 |
29 NORM AND DEFECT | 51 |
210 THE QUANTUM NATURE OF LIFE | 53 |
211 THE ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITY AS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF BIOLOGICAL ORGANISATION | 57 |
Ecology of Organisms with Different Body Sizes | 60 |
32 BODY SIZE LIMITS | 63 |
33 ENERGETICS AND BODY SIZE OF PHOTOSYNTHESISING PLANTS | 67 |
34 SENSITIVITY OF THE BIOTA | 70 |
35 FLUCTUATIONS OF SYNTHESIS AND DESTRUCTION OF ORGANIC MATTER | 71 |
36 IMMOBILE AND LOCOMOTIVE ORGANISMS | 74 |
37 DISTRIBUTION OF CONSUMPTION BY HETEROTROPHS WITH RESPECT TO THEIR BODY SIZE | 78 |
38 DISTRIBUTION OF BIOMASS OF HETEROTROPHS WITH RESPECT TO THEIR BODY SIZE | 82 |
Ecology of Locomotive Animals | 86 |
42 THE MAXIMUM SPEED OF MOVEMENT FOR ANIMALS | 88 |
43 MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE SHARE OF BIOMASS CONSUMPTION BY LOCOMOTIVE ANIMALS | 93 |
44 SETTLED AND NOMADIC LIFESTYLE OF LOCOMOTIVE ANIMALS | 94 |
45 CARNIVORES | 97 |
46 DIFFUSION OF EXCRETA | 100 |
47 CONCLUSIONS | 102 |
Ecological Principles of Biotic Regulation | 109 |
52 BIOTIC AND INORGANIC FLUXES OF MATTER IN THE BIOSPHERE | 110 |
53 EVOLUTIONARY PROGRESS AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION | 111 |
54 MATTER CYCLES IN THE BIOSPHERE | 116 |
55 ENVIRONMENTAL HOMEOSTASIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE BIOTIC LE CHATELIER PRINCIPLE | 119 |
56 BIOTIC REGULATION OF MATTER CYCLES | 125 |
RENEWABLE AND NONRENEWABLE | 133 |
58 IMMIGRATION IN THE ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITY | 138 |
Biotic Regulation in Action | 145 |
62 CHANGING PRODUCTION OF DISSOLVED ORGANIC MATTER IN THE OCEAN | 153 |
684 The Climate Issue | 196 |
685 Current State of Forest Communities | 197 |
Energy and Information | 199 |
72 SOLAR ENERGY | 201 |
73 STORES AND FLUXES OF INFORMATION IN NATURAL BIOTA AND CIVILISATION | 203 |
74 ECOLOGICAL INFORMATION OF LARGE ANIMALS | 213 |
Unique Nature of Climate Stability on Earth | 215 |
82 SPECTRAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THERMAL RADIATION | 220 |
83 TRADITIONAL ESTIMATES OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS FROM DIFFERENT GREENHOUSE GASES TO THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT | 222 |
84 DEPENDENCE OF THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT ON CONCENTRATIONS OF THE GREENHOUSE GASES | 224 |
85 POSSIBLE CLIMATES ON EARTH AND THEIR STABILITY | 229 |
86 PHYSICAL STABILITY OF THE EARTHS CLIMATE | 231 |
87 BIOTIC STABILITY OF THE MODERN CLIMATE OF EARTH | 234 |
Genetic Bases of Biotic Regulation and Life Stability Theoretical Consideration | 240 |
92 POPULATION IN THE ABSENCE OF STABILISING SELECTION | 243 |
93 STABILISATION OF GENETIC INFORMATION OF SPECIES | 248 |
94 SENSITIVITY OF COMPETITIVE INTERACTION | 252 |
95 NORMAL GENOTYPES AND THE NORMAL GENOME | 253 |
96 NORMAL DECAY AND ADAPTIVE POLYMORPHISM IN A POPULATION | 260 |
97 STABILITY OF BIOLOGICAL SPECIES UNDER NATURAL CONDITIONS | 263 |
98 STABILITY OF BIOLOGICAL SPECIES UNDER UNNATURAL CONDITIONS | 266 |
DEFINITION | 272 |
Genetic Bases of Biotic Regulation and Life Stability Analysis of Empirical Evidence | 276 |
102 SEXUAL DIMORPHISM AND REGULATION OF BIRTH RATE OF DECAY INDIVIDUALS | 279 |
103 HAPLOIDY AND DIPLOIDY | 282 |
AUTOSOMAL HETEROZYGOSITY AND SEX HEMIZYGOSITY | 285 |
105 THRESHOLD HETEROZYGOSITY VALUES AND HALDANES RULE | 288 |
106 ESTIMATES OF LETHAL AND HYBRID HETEROZYGOSITIES | 291 |
107 BRIEF ACCOUNT OF DIFFERENT VIEWS ON THE NATURE OF INTRASPECIFIC VARIABILITY | 293 |
108 POISSON DISTRIBUTION OF THE NUMBER OF POLYMORPHIC LOCI | 297 |
109 NATURAL LEVEL OF HETEROZYGOSITY IN MAMMALS | 304 |
1010 HETEROZYGOSITY DEPENDENCE OF BODY MASS AND GENOME SIZE | 305 |
Evolution | 313 |
112 ORIGIN OF NEW SPECIES | 314 |
113 EVOLUTION OF PROKARYOTES AND EUKARYOTES | 318 |
114 UNIFORMITY OF EVOLUTIONARY TEMPO IN DIFFERENT BIOLOGICAL TAXA | 324 |
115 CONCLUSIONS | 326 |
Conclusions Can the Biosphere Be Treated as a Resource? | 327 |
References | 338 |
| 363 | |
Common terms and phrases
anthropogenic atmospheric CO2 average bacteria biogens biological species biomass biosphere body cells changes characterised civilisation climate climax communities coefficient competitive interaction concentration consumption correlated corresponds decay individuals decay substitutions diploid dissolved inorganic carbon distribution Earth's surface ecological communities ecological niche ecosystem environmental conditions equal evolutionary exceed existence external Figure flux forest communities function genetic adaptation genetic information genetic programme genotypes Gorshkov greenhouse effect haploid heterotrophs heterozygosity humans increase inorganic large animals level of organisation living mammals metabolic power modern molecules mutations natural biota net primary production non-perturbed normal genome normal individuals number of decay nutrients observed oceanic biota offspring optimal order of magnitude organic carbon organic matter oxygen perturbations phytoplankton plants Poisson distribution polymorphic loci population density population number primary production ratio relative result Section solar radiation somatic species-repairers stabilising selection stability stationary synthesis temperature terrestrial biota territory thermal radiation total number