In 2007 I traveled to Spain to lecture in both Madrid and Granada. In this relaxed 45-minute presentation, I cover topics such as threats to biodiversity, the role of models in ecology, the value of pragmatism as a philosophy of science, six pragmatic models for predicating biodiversity, and some challenges for Spanish conservation. I concluded by challenging the audience to think about the importance of serving wild creatures. Meet the famed Iberian lynx along the way. And see one of Goya’s paintings, now hanging in the Prado.
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This talk addresses three audiences simultaneously:
1. It is a general introduction to the science of biodiversity.
2. It is also a gentle introduction to conservation in Spain.
3. Finally, for those who are specialists in ecology, it is a pointed lecture on the degree to which self promotion and physics envy threatens the profession of ecology. I suggest the antidote is to focus on pragmatic models, and to have a motivation to serve other living creatures rather than oneself.
Paul Keddy, Ph.D. 