The Devaluing of Natural History

When the international journal, Science, made the gaff of describing a crab as a mollusc, it stirred uneasy memories of a lack of knowledge of natural history where once it could have been assumed correctly. For example, this year half my first year tutorial group thought a snail was an insect.

In schools, the core of the Advanced Biology syllabus is based on biochemistry, cellular processes, and the physiology of the mammal and the flowering plant; storage, use and transmission of genetic information in cells and natural selection and evolution. Ecology was almost entirely omitted from the proposed new syllabus, and hastily reinserted. Invertebrates are used only where a live animal is required.

For much of the undergraduate syllabus, the massive strides in biological research have squeezed out many areas close to natural history. Biodiversity must be taught as a mathematical abstraction. Many students want to learn about natural history, as shown by the speakers they invite to their Society lectures, and TV Natural History programmes are popular. But has Natural History any place in Biological Sciences? Can it be taught as an academic subject - should it be? Some academics say no. The truth is that both natural history and integrative biology are needed. A balanced understanding of ethology and evolution cannot take place divorced from the natural environment, and a knowledge of the natural history of a species is essential to rearing experimental animals successfully. And some jobs require naturalists rather than biologists. But perhaps the most persuasive justification is an emotional, sometimes spiritual, regard for Nature. It's fun!

Most natural history is taught first on field courses (alongside most taxonomy and systematics), but it is hard to then continue unaided - there are many excellent identification guides, but, apart from ornithology, few books go further than identifying. Has anyone any thoughts for a systematic approach to Natural History, or even a list of useful reference books?

 I am grateful to everyone who has contributed items or helped in compiling material for the Bulletin.

Please send items for the next half-yearly Bulletin (Number 30, February 1998) to reach me by mid-January. Keep articles simple and succinct, and, if appropriate, include a reference and an illustration.


Dr S E R Bailey