Taximum? Taximum!

Howdy folks.
I was meditating on the the Path of Taximization yesterday, and realized that I have gone astray. Why would I only give you one taxon per week? That's doesn't sound very taximized! So, from now on, Taxon of the Day. Yes, that's right: new day, new taxon.

Assuming high estimates of global biodiversity, it'll take me about 300 years to cover them all. So there's no time to waste!

In other biodiversity news, I have been pondering the ecological and aesthetic significance of all the fascinating yard and garden and otherwise- urban plants in Santa Cruz. There is already a  branch of ecology dealing with classical ecological problems in these settings...

...but dealing with stochasticity of populations and resource availability is hard enough without having to account for people digging up their yards, importing exotic plants and bugs, forgetting to water, fertilizing, etc. etc... So the challenges are exciting. Obviously traditional topics and methods of plant ecology can't all be pursued in urban environments. To me, the most interesting implications are for local populations of insects, other inverts, and birds. Shaping the urban veg-scape influences the forage resources and habitat availability for these "collateral" taxa.

Tomorrow morning (perhaps), I'll be doing a survey of the number of plant species (by the RTU method) visible from the sidewalk for a 1-2 block area around King, Mission, and Van Ness. If anyone feels like coming out, lemme know.