Biological variation is commonly measured at two basic levels: variation within individual communities, and the distribution of variation over communities or within a metacommunity. We develop a classification for the measurement of biological variation on both levels: Within communities into the categories of dispersion and diversity, and within metacommunities into the categories of compositi...

Khuzestan coastal waters have high fisheries potential and ecological importance. Since different sources of stress exist in this area, the present study was conducted to evaluate ecological quality and to determine health status in Khuzestan coastal sediments based on benthic communities and their biological parameters. Seasonal sampling was done from 20 creeks of Khur-e-Mussa area in Khuzesta...

In 2 experiments, the authors examined the evolution of folkbiological reasoning in children (4 to 10 years of age) and adults from 4 distinct communities (rural Native American, rural majority culture, and suburban and urban North American communities). Using an adoption paradigm, they examined participants' intuitions regarding the inheritance of properties and the mechanisms underlying the t...

Scientists widely agree that species extinction has heavily accelerated in the last decades. A grave problem for the conservation of diversity is the still very fragmentary knowledge of the ecology of most species. Attempts of sustainable management and conservation must integrate local communities and their traditional knowledge. Management decisions need to include the high importance of natu...