PARENT SESSION
Symposium #17: Science in national parks: Basic research and application.
Sponsored by ESA Sustainable Biosphere Initiative
Organized by: S.T.A. Pickett and W. Robertson.
Wednesday, August 8, 2001. 1:00 PM to 4:25 PM. Madison Ballroom A
Curiosity driven research in national parks: a basic necessity.
BOND, WILLIAM1, 1
ABSTRACT- The role of basic research in national parks is often problematic. The parks are often the most pristine landscapes left in which to observe ecological and evolutionary processes and therefore a preferred laboratory for many research questions. In South Africa, as in many other parts of the world, ecosystems are strongly influenced by disturbances such as fire, large mammal herbivory and extreme climatic events such as drought and floods. Managing disturbance is a central, often controversial, concern in national parks. Naturally managers prefer researchers to work on applied problems, such as appropriate disturbance regimes, perceived most relevant to their objectives. However what is "relevant" depends, very frequently, on ideas generated by theoretical ecology. Basic research is also fundamental to national parks in raising public interest and awareness by discovering the "stories" that are presented in film and the printed word. These are often by-products of apparently esoteric research, especially in questions of evolutionary ecology. I discuss the interplay between basic and applied research, mostly with African examples, and suggest some possibilities for crossing the management/research divide more effectively.
KEY WORDS: protected areas, Africa, plant-animal interactions