MA: Of course James, we are not above the biological forces that regulate all life.
J: MA I have a bit of a faux pas to admit to you.
MA: And what would that be?
J; In my first article, where I was trying to summarize your views on this subject, I used the term “the thinning of the herd” - and was severely castigated on several of the sites that were posting my thread. It almost crashed my project.
MA: It is a very loaded expression James. Many very ugly ideologies are associated with this phrase. It implies human intervention and some sort of selection process - like in animal husbandry. Bottlenecks in species are not like that at all. Often it is just a function of geography or climate.
There are, of course, dominate trends in these occurrences. I had a brilliant colleague who put it this way: "Among the classical markers of a species in crisis are sexual dysfunction and disease." Now there are occasions where this is not the case but it is true in the large part.
James - I read a lot of the MA threads in the beginning. Could you add me to your ping list (I guess you have one)? If MA says more stuff I’d like to read it, thank you.