Wayne Law | Lynn University (original) (raw)

Papers by Wayne Law

"Biocultural collections cross the boundary between nature and culture, documenting the rema... more "Biocultural collections cross the boundary between nature and culture, documenting the remarkable richness and diversity of human engagement with the natural world. With materials ranging from blocks of wood to DNA, and from ancient books to new websites, they play a diverse role in research and relaying valuable information about our world. Curating Biocultural Collections is the first book that both recognizes this role and provides wide-ranging advice for successfully managing these resources. Written and edited by experts from around the world, Curating Biocultural Collections draws on real-world experiences, providing examples from ethnobiology, anthropology, agriculture, botany, zoology, and museum curation. The book places a strong emphasis on meeting the needs of collection users and encourages ethical and equitable engagement with source communities. With one hundred photographs, including objects from little-known collections, alongside case studies and a carefully c...

Human Ecology, 2010

Tibetans in five villages in the Mount Khawa Karpo area of the Menri (Meili Xueshan in Chinese) r... more Tibetans in five villages in the Mount Khawa Karpo area of the Menri (Meili Xueshan in Chinese) range, Northwest Yunnan, People’s Republic of China, were interviewed about their knowledge of a number of medicinal plants and their uses. There was large variation in people’s knowledge with significant differences among the villages and between men and women. Most of the reported knowledge focused on a small number of commercial plants and their uses. In comparison with Tibetan doctors, villagers generally knew fewer applications and focused on general health remedies. Many people collected medicinal plants for their own use as well as for sale, but also obtained medicinal plant remedies from markets and Tibetan doctors, and often used traditional Tibetan healthcare in conjunction with biomedical treatment.

Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences, 2005

Because evolutionary processes such as genetic drift and natural selection play a crucial role in... more Because evolutionary processes such as genetic drift and natural selection play a crucial role in determining the response that species will have to human-induced disturbances, there is increasing interest in the evolutionary aspects of conservation biology. Harvesting select individuals in natural plant populations can bring about unforeseen impacts that may negatively affect fitness. We analyzed how human harvesting affects two congeners known as snow lotus. Over a period of 100 years, there was a negative trend in plant height (r 2 ‫؍‬ 0.4361, P < 0.001) for the intensely collected and rare species, Saussurea laniceps, but not in the less intensely collected species, Saussurea medusa. Additionally, S. laniceps were significantly smaller in areas of high harvest than in areas with low harvest (Z ‫؍‬ 4.91, P < 0.0001), but this was not so for S. medusa. Humans can unconsciously drive evolution and must be considered when managing threatened species.

Economic Botany, 2006

Tibetan medicine historically has had multiple medical lineages, despite ancient, shared literary... more Tibetan medicine historically has had multiple medical lineages, despite ancient, shared literary medical canons. However, since the second half of the 20th century in Tibet, increasing state control and commoditization has lead to centralization and standardization of Tibetan medicine. Here we investigate how much variation in the use of medicinal plants remains in contemporary Tibetan medicine. Medicinal plants used and/or sold by fifteen Tibetan medical institutions, markets, and doctors, as well as two additional non-Tibetan markets, are inventoried and vouchered (where allowed). The data are ordered by Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling. Four distinct groups are defined: (1) government recognized Tibetan medical institutions and their disciples both in Lhasa and elsewhere, (2) local herbal doctors near Mt. Khawa Karpo, eastern Himalayas, (3) Tibetan medicinal markets in Lhasa and near Mt. Khawa Karpo, and (4) non-Tibetan medicinal markets near Dali and Kunming, Yunnan. This clearly documents the plurality of Tibetan medical traditions—official, local, and market—while differentiating these from non-Tibetan markets.

Plant Ecology, 2010

Pollen limitation reduces seed production and may reduce plant population growth rate. Plants may... more Pollen limitation reduces seed production and may reduce plant population growth rate. Plants may be particularly prone to pollen limitation if they require pollinators, occur at high elevation, and have human-mediated reductions in plant density due to harvesting. We found that two rare monocarpic Tibetan plant species, known as the Himalayan Snow Lotus, both require pollinators and that seed production in Saussurea medusa (Asteraceae) but not S. laniceps is limited by pollen receipt. We created deterministic and stochastic stage-structured matrix models for S. medusa, and found that pollen supplementation significantly increases population growth rate. However, even when pollen is not limiting, S. medusa is likely at risk for extinction in the next 50 years. Our results for this monocarpic plant differ from other population studies on pollen limitation in polycarpic plant species since the magnitude of pollen limitation for seed production was relatively low, and yet the sensitivity of population growth to changes in seed production was relatively high.

Biodiversity and Conservation, 2007

Perspectives of diverse constituencies need to be incorporated when developing conservation strat... more Perspectives of diverse constituencies need to be incorporated when developing conservation strategies. In Menri (Medicine Mountains) of the Eastern Himalayas, Tibetan doctors and professional botanists were interviewed about conservation of useful plants. We compare these two perspectives and find they differ significantly in conservation priorities (Wilcoxon Signed Ranks P < 0.05), both in how they prioritized, as well as the priorities themselves. Tibetan doctors first consider which plants are most important to their medical practice and, then secondarily, the conservation status of these plants. Additionally, perceptions of threatened medicinal plants differ among Tibetan doctors who received medical training in Lhasa, who were local trained, and who were self-taught. In contrast, professional botanists came to a consensus among themselves by first considering the conservation status of plants and then considering use. We conclude that, in order to effect community based conservation, opinions from both Tibetan doctors and professional botanists should be considered in establishing conservation priorities and sustainable conservation programs. Furthermore, we set our own research agenda based on combined perspectives.

Perspectives of diverse constituencies need to be incorporated when developing conservation strat... more Perspectives of diverse constituencies need to be incorporated when developing conservation strategies. In Menri (Medicine Mountains) of the Eastern Himalayas, Tibetan doctors and professional botanists were interviewed about conservation of useful plants. We compare these two perspectives and find they differ significantly in conservation priorities (Wilcoxon Signed Ranks P < 0.05), both in how they prioritized, as well as the priorities themselves. Tibetan doctors first consider which plants are most important to their medical practice and, then secondarily, the conservation status of these plants. Additionally, perceptions of threatened medicinal plants differ among Tibetan doctors who received medical training in Lhasa, who were local trained, and who were self-taught. In contrast, professional botanists came to a consensus among themselves by first considering the conservation status of plants and then considering use. We conclude that, in order to effect community based conservation, opinions from both Tibetan doctors and professional botanists should be considered in establishing conservation priorities and sustainable conservation programs. Furthermore, we set our own research agenda based on combined perspectives.

Pollen limitation reduces seed production and may reduce plant population growth rate. Plants may... more Pollen limitation reduces seed production and may reduce plant population growth rate. Plants may be particularly prone to pollen limitation if they require pollinators, occur at high elevation, and have human-mediated reductions in plant density due to harvesting. We found that two rare monocarpic Tibetan plant species, known as the Himalayan Snow Lotus, both require pollinators and that seed production in Saussurea medusa (Asteraceae) but not S. laniceps is limited by pollen receipt. We created deterministic and stochastic stage-structured matrix models for S. medusa, and found that pollen supplementation significantly increases population growth rate. However, even when pollen is not limiting, S. medusa is likely at risk for extinction in the next 50 years. Our results for this monocarpic plant differ from other population studies on pollen limitation in polycarpic plant species since the magnitude of pollen limitation for seed production was relatively low, and yet the sensitivity of population growth to changes in seed production was relatively high.

"Biocultural collections cross the boundary between nature and culture, documenting the rema... more "Biocultural collections cross the boundary between nature and culture, documenting the remarkable richness and diversity of human engagement with the natural world. With materials ranging from blocks of wood to DNA, and from ancient books to new websites, they play a diverse role in research and relaying valuable information about our world. Curating Biocultural Collections is the first book that both recognizes this role and provides wide-ranging advice for successfully managing these resources. Written and edited by experts from around the world, Curating Biocultural Collections draws on real-world experiences, providing examples from ethnobiology, anthropology, agriculture, botany, zoology, and museum curation. The book places a strong emphasis on meeting the needs of collection users and encourages ethical and equitable engagement with source communities. With one hundred photographs, including objects from little-known collections, alongside case studies and a carefully c...

Human Ecology, 2010

Tibetans in five villages in the Mount Khawa Karpo area of the Menri (Meili Xueshan in Chinese) r... more Tibetans in five villages in the Mount Khawa Karpo area of the Menri (Meili Xueshan in Chinese) range, Northwest Yunnan, People’s Republic of China, were interviewed about their knowledge of a number of medicinal plants and their uses. There was large variation in people’s knowledge with significant differences among the villages and between men and women. Most of the reported knowledge focused on a small number of commercial plants and their uses. In comparison with Tibetan doctors, villagers generally knew fewer applications and focused on general health remedies. Many people collected medicinal plants for their own use as well as for sale, but also obtained medicinal plant remedies from markets and Tibetan doctors, and often used traditional Tibetan healthcare in conjunction with biomedical treatment.

Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences, 2005

Because evolutionary processes such as genetic drift and natural selection play a crucial role in... more Because evolutionary processes such as genetic drift and natural selection play a crucial role in determining the response that species will have to human-induced disturbances, there is increasing interest in the evolutionary aspects of conservation biology. Harvesting select individuals in natural plant populations can bring about unforeseen impacts that may negatively affect fitness. We analyzed how human harvesting affects two congeners known as snow lotus. Over a period of 100 years, there was a negative trend in plant height (r 2 ‫؍‬ 0.4361, P < 0.001) for the intensely collected and rare species, Saussurea laniceps, but not in the less intensely collected species, Saussurea medusa. Additionally, S. laniceps were significantly smaller in areas of high harvest than in areas with low harvest (Z ‫؍‬ 4.91, P < 0.0001), but this was not so for S. medusa. Humans can unconsciously drive evolution and must be considered when managing threatened species.

Economic Botany, 2006

Tibetan medicine historically has had multiple medical lineages, despite ancient, shared literary... more Tibetan medicine historically has had multiple medical lineages, despite ancient, shared literary medical canons. However, since the second half of the 20th century in Tibet, increasing state control and commoditization has lead to centralization and standardization of Tibetan medicine. Here we investigate how much variation in the use of medicinal plants remains in contemporary Tibetan medicine. Medicinal plants used and/or sold by fifteen Tibetan medical institutions, markets, and doctors, as well as two additional non-Tibetan markets, are inventoried and vouchered (where allowed). The data are ordered by Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling. Four distinct groups are defined: (1) government recognized Tibetan medical institutions and their disciples both in Lhasa and elsewhere, (2) local herbal doctors near Mt. Khawa Karpo, eastern Himalayas, (3) Tibetan medicinal markets in Lhasa and near Mt. Khawa Karpo, and (4) non-Tibetan medicinal markets near Dali and Kunming, Yunnan. This clearly documents the plurality of Tibetan medical traditions—official, local, and market—while differentiating these from non-Tibetan markets.

Plant Ecology, 2010

Pollen limitation reduces seed production and may reduce plant population growth rate. Plants may... more Pollen limitation reduces seed production and may reduce plant population growth rate. Plants may be particularly prone to pollen limitation if they require pollinators, occur at high elevation, and have human-mediated reductions in plant density due to harvesting. We found that two rare monocarpic Tibetan plant species, known as the Himalayan Snow Lotus, both require pollinators and that seed production in Saussurea medusa (Asteraceae) but not S. laniceps is limited by pollen receipt. We created deterministic and stochastic stage-structured matrix models for S. medusa, and found that pollen supplementation significantly increases population growth rate. However, even when pollen is not limiting, S. medusa is likely at risk for extinction in the next 50 years. Our results for this monocarpic plant differ from other population studies on pollen limitation in polycarpic plant species since the magnitude of pollen limitation for seed production was relatively low, and yet the sensitivity of population growth to changes in seed production was relatively high.

Biodiversity and Conservation, 2007

Perspectives of diverse constituencies need to be incorporated when developing conservation strat... more Perspectives of diverse constituencies need to be incorporated when developing conservation strategies. In Menri (Medicine Mountains) of the Eastern Himalayas, Tibetan doctors and professional botanists were interviewed about conservation of useful plants. We compare these two perspectives and find they differ significantly in conservation priorities (Wilcoxon Signed Ranks P < 0.05), both in how they prioritized, as well as the priorities themselves. Tibetan doctors first consider which plants are most important to their medical practice and, then secondarily, the conservation status of these plants. Additionally, perceptions of threatened medicinal plants differ among Tibetan doctors who received medical training in Lhasa, who were local trained, and who were self-taught. In contrast, professional botanists came to a consensus among themselves by first considering the conservation status of plants and then considering use. We conclude that, in order to effect community based conservation, opinions from both Tibetan doctors and professional botanists should be considered in establishing conservation priorities and sustainable conservation programs. Furthermore, we set our own research agenda based on combined perspectives.

Perspectives of diverse constituencies need to be incorporated when developing conservation strat... more Perspectives of diverse constituencies need to be incorporated when developing conservation strategies. In Menri (Medicine Mountains) of the Eastern Himalayas, Tibetan doctors and professional botanists were interviewed about conservation of useful plants. We compare these two perspectives and find they differ significantly in conservation priorities (Wilcoxon Signed Ranks P < 0.05), both in how they prioritized, as well as the priorities themselves. Tibetan doctors first consider which plants are most important to their medical practice and, then secondarily, the conservation status of these plants. Additionally, perceptions of threatened medicinal plants differ among Tibetan doctors who received medical training in Lhasa, who were local trained, and who were self-taught. In contrast, professional botanists came to a consensus among themselves by first considering the conservation status of plants and then considering use. We conclude that, in order to effect community based conservation, opinions from both Tibetan doctors and professional botanists should be considered in establishing conservation priorities and sustainable conservation programs. Furthermore, we set our own research agenda based on combined perspectives.

Pollen limitation reduces seed production and may reduce plant population growth rate. Plants may... more Pollen limitation reduces seed production and may reduce plant population growth rate. Plants may be particularly prone to pollen limitation if they require pollinators, occur at high elevation, and have human-mediated reductions in plant density due to harvesting. We found that two rare monocarpic Tibetan plant species, known as the Himalayan Snow Lotus, both require pollinators and that seed production in Saussurea medusa (Asteraceae) but not S. laniceps is limited by pollen receipt. We created deterministic and stochastic stage-structured matrix models for S. medusa, and found that pollen supplementation significantly increases population growth rate. However, even when pollen is not limiting, S. medusa is likely at risk for extinction in the next 50 years. Our results for this monocarpic plant differ from other population studies on pollen limitation in polycarpic plant species since the magnitude of pollen limitation for seed production was relatively low, and yet the sensitivity of population growth to changes in seed production was relatively high.