Dear Colleagues,
Our e-conference draws near the end. Below there are a few general remarks/conclusions referring to some plots of discussion on “Newly Associated States and Marine Biodiversity Research.”
[1] “All men by nature desire to know.” (Aristotle, Metaphysics, Book I, Part 1)
The man desires to understand the biotic and abiotic nature, i.e. not just to know “how it is” but also “why it is”. He desires to know it not necessary for some utilitarian ends or any other advantages. The man wants to know truth.
[2] In order to develop properly (in the biological, psychological, intellectual, and spiritual sense) we - human beings - need “diversity”:
the different living forms in our surroundings,
the differentiated landscapes,
the starry sky,
.....
We need the Baltic Sea with its lower number of species and biota, and the Mediterranean Sea with its higher number of species and biota.
[3] We cannot judge a priori or arbitrarily on the importance of a given living form for biocenosis (i.e. for community of organisms) or ecosystem.
Before we undertake decision “to protect” or “leave unprotected”, “to introduce” or “reintroduce” a given species, “to change” or “not to change” its habitat, we must learn this living form – its niche, its adaptive potential, its relation to other organisms, etc.
[4] We are trying to know and to protect concrete living forms and their habitats. Actually we do not observe, monitor and protect the so called “functional groups” – but we do observe living forms. The so called “primary producers”, “consumers”, “decomposers”, “semi terrestrial detriphagous”, etc. are just mental abstracts, i.e. a kind of intellectual “tools”. They are quite useful in conceptualization and arrangement of our knowledge. But the primary object of our study is life - in its various, fascinating forms.
[5] We have to study biodiversity, i.e. diversity of living forms, inhabiting different environments. In our research we should not ignore the developmental and adaptive potential of a particular living forms.
In our work we should not become discouraged because our publications, our papers are not always impressive in terms of impact factor or because our investigations are not “fitting” to the currently trendy topics.
I repeat - we are pursuing science in order to know, and not necessary for any utilitarian end. We do not seek knowledge only for the sake of any other advantage, but the joy of knowing the truth, the beauty and the goodness of nature.
Jolanta Koszteyn
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