[Taxacom] Tortoise self-rafting sea voyage

[Michael A. Ivie]

Why has no one mentioned that the obvious mechanism for barnacles 
becoming so widespread is that they are carried from place to place on 
floating tortises? :-)

releech at telusplanet.net wrote:

>Gentlemen! Enough! Enough!  We need levity.
>
>John, your first sentence below almost defies English Grammar.
>
>Actually, the tortoises were taken to the Indian Ocean Island locations about 
>30,000 years ago, about the same time, and by the same people, who peopled 
>Australia.  The tortoises were released, allowed to breed, and meant to be food 
>for later visits to the islands.  
>
>Robin Leech
>
>
>
>Quoting John Grehan <jgrehan at sciencebuff.org>:
>
>  
>
>>Peter et al,
>>
>> 
>>
>>No, I could not explain how I did not mean that because that was what I
>>was trying to say about how the observation was being interpreted. It
>>seemed that the observation of the tortoise arrival was seen by the
>>authors to be biogeographically significant because it confirmed an
>>assumption that they had already made - the assumption being that this
>>was how the tortoises arrived at their Indian Ocean island locations. If
>>one does not make the assumption, the floatation of the tortoise has no
>>necessary biogeographic meaning. And by "no necessary biogeographic
>>meaning" I am not saying that it has no biogeographic meaning at all.
>>
>> 
>>
>>John
>>
>> 
>>
>>________________________________
>>
>>From: Hovenkamp, P. (Peter) [mailto:Hovenkamp at nhn.leidenuniv.nl] 
>>Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2007 4:09 AM
>>To: John Grehan; g.read at niwa.co.nz; TAXACOM
>>Subject: RE: [Taxacom] Tortoise self-rafting sea voyage
>>
>> 
>>
>>To all empirical scientists on this list: 
>>
>> 
>>
>>I can't help drawing your attention to the apparent equivalence of these
>>two statements:
>>
>> 
>>
>>"Of course without the assumption the floatation is no more
>>biogeographically singificant than  (...)" 
>>
>> 
>>
>>and
>>
>> 
>>
>>"An observation is only biogeographically significant if it confirms an
>>assumption already made"
>>
>> 
>>
>>John, could you please explain how you did not mean this?
>>
>> 
>>
>>Peter Hovenkamp
>>
>>
>> 
>>
>>________________________________
>>
>>Van: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu namens John Grehan
>>Verzonden: di 10-4-2007 14:31
>>Aan: g.read at niwa.co.nz; TAXACOM
>>Onderwerp: Re: [Taxacom] Tortoise self-rafting sea voyage
>>
>>I noticed the nice propaganda statement in the link as follows:
>>
>>"trans-oceanic dispersal is assumed to be the mechanism by which
>>tortoises and many other animals became established on islands
>>throughout the world"
>>
>>It's propadanda because it implies that everyone makes this assumption.
>>Of course without the assumption the floatation is no more
>>biogeographically singificant than the thousands of bugs that fly to New
>>Zealand every year.
>>
>>This all comes down to the dichotomy between the belief that individual
>>cases of mobility are the test of biogeography, or whether spatial
>>analysis is the test of the biogeographic signficance of individual
>>mobility.
>>
>>John Grehan
>>
>>
>>    
>>
>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu [mailto:taxacom-
>>>bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Geoff Read
>>>Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2007 5:25 PM
>>>To: TAXACOM
>>>Subject: [Taxacom] Tortoise self-rafting sea voyage
>>>
>>>Interesting report on a large tortoise which walked out of the sea on
>>>      
>>>
>>a
>>    
>>
>>>Tanzania beach, reckoned to have drifted from Aldabra atoll (740km).
>>>      
>>>
>>It
>>    
>>
>>>had a lovely crop of barnacles.
>>>
>>>Gerlach, J., Muir, C. & Richmond, M.D. (2006) The first substantiated
>>>case of trans-oceanic tortoise dispersal. Journal of Natural History,
>>>40, 2403 - 2408.
>>>
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>http://www.informaworld.com/openurl?genre=article&title=Journal%20of%20N
>>at
>>    
>>
>>ural%20History&issn=0022%2d2933&volume=40&issue=41&spage=2403&epage=2408
>>&d
>>    
>>
>>oi=10%2e1080%2f00222930601058290&date=2006&atitle=The%20first%20substant
>>ia
>>    
>>
>>ted%20case%20of%20trans%2doceanic%20tortoise%20dispersal&aulast=Gerlach&
>>au
>>    
>>
>>>first=Justin&auinit=D%2e&sid=informa%3ainformaworld
>>>
>>>
>>>Geoff
>>>--
>>>   Geoff Read <g.read at niwa.co.nz>
>>>    http://www.annelida.net/
>>>    http://www.niwascience.co.nz/ncabb/
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>Taxacom mailing list
>>>Taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
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>>>      
>>>
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>>
>>    
>>
>
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>  
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Michael A. Ivie, Ph.D., F.R.E.S.

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