3. PROPER BASELINES: THE EXAMPLE OF ENGLISH BUTTERFLIES

Eric L. Jones

Chapter 3 in Revealed Biodiversity:An Economic History of the Human Impact, 2014, pp 27-39 from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.

Abstract: A study of English butterflies will enable us to dig into historical fluctuations in the natural world and test the thesis of sequential decline. It will also permit us to take a critical look at the way recorded history is treated in the biological literature. Butterflies have long been an object of interest to enthusiastic amateurs, so there is a large literature based on extensive field observations to examine. As a former Director of the Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology said with respect to bird-watchers, amateurs may be amateur but they do gather information beyond the resources of professionals to collect. We can plunge into the specialised reaches of butterfly collecting and regional natural history to see if every period really was entomologically poorer than the one before.

Keywords: Biodiversity; Economic History; Birds; Landscape; Environmental History; Nature Conservation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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