Biology constantly changes, as do the facts that biologists have been able to amass over recent years. By that I mean the number of species that have been classified are always being updated as newer forms of life are discovered. I am also referring to way that we have been observing animals so that their behaviour is known.

There has been a greater tendency for classifiers to go out into the wild and by that I mean different regions and bring back information regarding the range that animals are living in today. This is of current interest because of global warming and the fact that specie ranges have become more restricted causing animal behaviour to change. One example is the grizzly in Yellowstone that often appears along the road while motorist move through perhaps because they are aware of food scraps that they can pick up along the way.

One biologist has been innovative enough to build a system where he can move through the trees of a South American jungle to examine the species that live there. There are species that live in the forest canopy that never descend to the ground and those had never been catalogued until this biologist took the initiative. If they had been observed they were never as formally observed because the means to move around the treetops with cables and pulleys wasn’t apparent.

There have been recent discoveries around the Great Barrier Reef in North Western Australia as far as ocean fish is concerned and that is because much of the reef was inaccessible, difficult to explore or just so vast. This lead to the discover of soft coral which unlike the coral that is responsible for the calcareous deposits forming reefs live at the bottom of the ocean floor. Hundreds have been discovered that are vital for the marine environment and food chain.

Knowledge of ocean and rain forest diversity may reveal species that could be alternative sources for medical treatments but we must learn to live in harmony with these new forms, as we must learn to live in harmony with the ones we have brought to extinction. Understanding the interaction of wild animals an man can help us learn how we can reduce the risk of their decimation.