What are the concepts of the Gaia theory?
- The emergence of Gaian self-regulation through the course of evolution is allegedly extremely improbable.
- Nevertheless, the long-term survival of life on a planet without Gaian self-regulation may well be even more improbable.
- Therefore, intelligent observers are most likely to find themselves on a planet with Gaian self-regulation.
What is the evidence of Gaia theory?
The evidence of fossils Lovelock's understanding of this was that even with extreme changes in weather in the past, Life in some form had always survived He saw this as.. Evidence of organisation and intelligence in the Gaia system Rather than the randomness that lovelock believed., Darwin has proposed through his 'survival of the fittest'
Who is James Lovelock and what is the Gaia hypothesis?
The scientific investigation of the Gaia hypothesis focuses on observing how the biosphere and the evolution of life forms contribute to the stability of global temperature, ocean salinity, oxygen in the atmosphere and other factors of habitability in a preferred homeostasis. The Gaia hypothesis was formulated by the chemist James Lovelock and co-developed by the microbiologist Lynn Margulis in the 1970s.
What is the highest Gaia zOMG level?
The rings that drop from chests are always CL 1.0. However, the rings that drop from monsters vary in CL relative to the difficulty of the area you're in. For example, rings dropped at Bass'ken Lake are usually around CL2~3ish. However, the rings dropped at Shallow Sea are between CL 7~8ish.
Who came up with the Gaia hypothesis?
James E. LovelockGaia hypothesis, model of the Earth in which its living and nonliving parts are viewed as a complex interacting system that can be thought of as a single organism. Developed c. 1972 largely by British chemist James E. Lovelock and U.S. biologist Lynn Margulis, the Gaia hypothesis is named for the Greek Earth goddess.
What is the Gaia hypothesis based on?
Gaia hypothesis. 1. Gaia hypothesis. The study of planetary habitability is partly based upon extrapolation from knowledge of the Earth's conditions, as the Earth is the only planet currently known to harbour life.
Why is the Gaia theory important?
The Gaia theory also predicted the causal link between increased biodiversity and increasing stability of populations. The Gaian influence on the development of Evolutionary theory can be found in the idea that life on earth works with the abiotic environment as a self-regulatory system.
What is Daisyworld Gaia theory?
Daisyworld is a hypothetical planet inhabited only by two species of daisies -- black and white. It's flat, cloudless, and easy to model. Daisyworld's sun is a variable star which experiences sudden shifts in solar output, which effects the temperature of Daisyworld.
When was the planet named Earth?
fifteenth centuryEarth was first used as the name of the sphere of the Earth in the early fifteenth century. The planet's name in Latin, used academically and scientifically in the West during the Renaissance, is the same as that of Terra Mater, the Roman goddess, which translates to English as Mother Earth.
What is the Gaia hypothesis for kids?
From Academic Kids He hypothesized that the living matter of the planet functioned like a single organism and named this self-regulating living system after the Greek goddess, Gaia. Gaia theories have non-technical predecessors in the ideas of several cultures.
What is the weakness of the Gaia hypothesis?
5. The Many Gaian Hypotheses. Jim Kirchner (see "suggested readings") argues that there are really many Gaian hypotheses. Influential Gaia, the weakest of the hypotheses, asserts that biota have a substantial influence over certain aspects of the abiotic world, such as temperature and the composition of the atmosphere.
What does the word Gaia mean?
Greek goddess of EarthGaia was the Greek goddess of Earth, mother of all life, similar to the Roman Terra Mater (mother Earth) reclining with a cornucopia, or the Andean Pachamama, the Hindu, Prithvi, “the Vast One,” or the Hopi Kokyangwuti, Spider Grandmother, who with Sun god Tawa created Earth and its creatures.
Is the Earth a living entity?
Contrary to the common belief that the Earth is simply a dense planet whose only function is a resource for its inhabitants, our planet is in fact a breathing, living organism. When we think of the Earth holistically, as one living entity of its own, instead of the sum of its parts, it takes on a new meaning.
When was Daisyworld created?
1983The Daisyworld model created by Andrew Watson and James Lovelock (1983, Tellus, v. 35B, p. 284-289) is a wonderful example of a self-regulating system incorporating positive and negative feedbacks. The model consists of a planet on which black and white daisies are growing.
Why was Daisyworld created?
Some people joked about there being an annual meeting of representatives from the various ecosystems where they reviewed the past years progress and set goals for the coming year. In response, Lovelock teamed up with Andrew Watson to create a model of an imaginary planet called Daisyworld (see figure below).
Do black daisies exist?
The black daisies become extinct first, leaving the white daisies as the only species alive on the planet. Eventually, the planet becomes too hot for the white daisies as well, and they also disappear [9, 10, 12].
Who developed the Gaia hypothesis?
Since the 1970s James Lovelock developed the Gaia hypothesis, named after the ancient Greek goddess of the Earth (See GAIA ). As originally conceived the ‘Gaia’ concept envisages the Earth as a super-organism that operates to regulate its own environment, principally temperature, to keep it habitable for the biosphere.
What is the Gaia hypothesis?
Introduction#N#The Gaia hypothesis, named after the ancient Greek goddess of Earth, posits that Earth and its biological systems behave as a huge single entity. This entity has closely controlled self-regulatory negative feedback loops that keep the conditions on the planet within boundaries that are favorable to life. Introduced in the early 1970s, the idea was conceived by chemist and inventor James E. Lovelock and biologist Lynn Margulis. This new way of looking at global ecology and evolution differs from the classical picture of ecology as a biological response to a menu of physical conditions. The idea of co-evolution of biology and the physical environment where each influences the other was suggested as early as the mid-1700s, but never as strongly as Gaia, which claims the power of biology to control the nonliving environment. More recently, the terms Gaian science or Gaian theory have become more common than the original Gaia hypothesis because of modifications in response to criticisms and expansion of our scientific understanding.
What is Lovelock's hypothesis?
Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis conceptualized biodiversity and mutualism in their most advanced and elegant integration. In mycorrhizae, diversity and mutualistic functioning unite successive systems into networks and complex systems. In order to show that complexity has increased overall, it is sufficient to show, that – all other things being equal – connections have increased in at least one dimension. What is lacking is the ability to make predictions about how complexity in mycorrhizal communities will change their function as the systems and/or their environment is altered by human impacts and global change. Combining metagenomics, transcriptomics, molecular, metabolic, and biochemical data with nonlinear mathematical models might provide the foundations and rules for understanding mycorrhizal complexity. The limitations and utility of any data, however, remain in developing data-mining and complexity-modeling tools and techniques to utilize effectively the information from a local and global perspective, because data are gathered on scales from molecules to genomes, organelles, cells, tissues, and organs. Bioinformatics is the acquisition of knowledge by means of computational tools for the organization, management, and mining of genetic biological data. These analytical tools are being increasingly applied to the oceans of data collected by metagenomics studies. A more appropriate term for mycorrhizal systems may be ‘ecoinformatics’ or the accumulation of ecologically based data sets appropriate to mycorrhizae in situ, followed by data integration. In doing so, it will then be appropriate to say that diversity and mutualism provide ecosystem function and what that functioning may be.
What is the cartoon about a geophysiological discovery made by tracking and modelling stable water isotopes?
A Cathy Wilcox cartoon (first published on 4 March 2005 on the front page of The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia) illustrating a geophysiological discovery made by tracking and modelling stable water isotopes. (Source: Reproduced by permission of Cathy Wilcox, SMH.)
Why is the atmosphere 21% oxygen?
The 21% oxygen content of the atmosphere is an obvious consequence of living organisms, and the levels of other gases, NH 3 and CH 4, are higher than would be expected for an oxygen-rich atmosphere. Biological activity also explains why the atmosphere is not mainly CO 2 and why the oceans are not more saline.
Which hypothesis advanced understanding that a planet with abundant life will have an atmosphere with ‘thermodynamic disequilib
Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis advanced understanding that a planet with abundant life will have an atmosphere with ‘thermodynamic disequilibrium’ and that “Earth is habitable because of complex linkages and feedbacks between the atmosphere, oceans, land, and biosphere”, which helped shape ESS (Lawton, 2001, p. 1965).
Who invented the theory of evolution?
Introduced in the early 1970s, the idea was conceived by chemist and inventor James E. Lovelock and biologist Lynn Margulis. This new way of looking at global ecology and evolution differs from the classical picture of ecology as a biological response to a menu of physical conditions.
Why was Gaia named Gaia?
Telling Golding of his new theory, he then asked his advice about choosing a suitable name for it, and the result of this meeting was that the term "Gaia" was chosen because of its real connection to the Greek goddess who pulled the living world together out of chaos or complete disorder.
Who is Gaia in the book?
Gaia is the name of the Greek goddess of Earth and mother of the Titans.
How did Lovelock explain the difference between Earth's atmosphere and the atmosphere of its neighboring planets?
Suggesting that chemistry and physics seemed to argue that these barren and hostile planets should have an atmosphere just like that of Earth, Lovelock stated that Earth's atmosphere is different because it has life on it. Both Mars and Venus have an atmosphere with about 95 percent carbon dioxide, while Earth's is about 79 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen. He explained this dramatic difference by saying that Earth's atmosphere was probably very much like that of its neighbors at first, and that it was a world with hardly any life on it. The only form that did exist was what many consider to be the first forms of life — anaerobic (pronounced ANN-ay-roe-bik) bacteria that lived in the ocean. This type of bacteria cannot live in an oxygen environment, and its only job is to convert nitrates to nitrogen gas. This accounts for the beginnings of a nitrogen build-up in Earth's atmosphere.
What is the name of the process that allows the Earth to maintain its homeostasis?
Like any living thing, it always strives to maintain constant or stable conditions for itself, called homeostasis (pronounced hoe-mee-o-STAY-sis). In the Gaia hypothe sis, it is the presence and activities of life that keep Earth in homeostasis and allow it to regulate its systems and maintain steady-state conditions.
Why is the atmosphere regulated at a state that is comfortable for life?
He says that the atmosphere, the oceans, the climate, and even the crust of Earth are regulated at a state that is comfortable for life because of the behavior of living organisms. This is the revolutionary lesson that the Gaia hypothesis wants to teach.
How did prokaryotes change?
The simple prokaryotes did this by getting together and forming symbiotic groups or systems that increased their chances of survival. According to Margulis then, symbiosis, or the way different organisms adapt to living together to the benefit of each, was the major mechanism for change on Earth.
Who supported Lovelock's theory?
Lovelock was supported in his hypothesis by American microbiologist Lynn Margulis (1918 – ) who became his principal collaborator. Margulis not only provided support, but she brought her own scientific ability and achievements to the Gaia hypothesis. In her 1981 book, Symbiosis in Cell Evolution, Margulis had put forth the then-unheard of theory that life as we know it today evolved more from cooperation than from competition. She argued that the cellular ancestors of today's plants and animals were groups of primitive, formless bacteria cells called prokaryotes (pronounced pro-KAR-ee-oats). She stated that these simplest of bacteria formed symbiotic relationships — relationships that benefitted both organisms — which eventually led to the evolution of new lifeforms. Her theory is called endosymbiosis (pronounced en-doe-sim-bye-O-sis) and is based on the fact that bacteria routinely take and transfer bits of genetic material from each other.
What is the Gaia hypothesis?
The Gaia hypothesis. The notion that the biosphere exerts important controls on the atmosphere and other parts of the Earth system has increasingly gained acceptance among earth and ecosystem scientists.
How did life begin on Earth?
It was during this interval that life first began to exercise certain controls on the atmosphere. The atmosphere’s prebiological state is often characterized as being rich in water vapour and carbon dioxide. Though some nitrogen was also present, little if any oxygen was available. Chemical reactions with hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen, and reduced compounds of nitrogen and sulfur precluded any but the shortest lifetime for free oxygen in the atmosphere. As a result, life evolved in an atmosphere that was reducing (high hydrogen content) rather than oxidizing (high oxygen content). In addition to their chemically reducing character, the predominant gases of this prebiotic atmosphere, with the exception of nitrogen, were largely transparent to incoming sunlight but opaque to outgoing terrestrial infrared radiation. As a result, these gases are called, perhaps improperly, greenhouse gases ( see greenhouse effect) because they are able to slow the release of outgoing radiation back into space.
What was the atmosphere made of before life began?
Before life began on the planet, Earth's atmosphere was largely made up of nitrogen and carbon dioxide gases. After photosynthesizing organisms multiplied on Earth's surface and in the oceans, much of the carbon dioxide was replaced with oxygen. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. In the Archean Eon, the Sun produced as much as 25 percent less light ...
Who proposed the Gaia hypothesis?
In 1981, W. Ford Doolittle, in the CoEvolution Quarterly article "Is Nature Motherly" argued that nothing in the genome of individual organisms could provide the feedback mechanisms Gaia theory proposed, and therefore the Gaia hypothesis was an unscientific theory of a maternal type without any explanatory mechanism.
What is the Gaia hypothesis?
Gaia hypothesis. The study of planetary habitability is partly based upon extrapolation from knowledge of the Earth's conditions, as the Earth is the only planet currently known to harbour life. The Gaia hypothesis, also known as Gaia theory or Gaia principle, proposes that all organisms and their inorganic surroundings on Earth ...
What is the originality of Gaia theory?
The originality of the Gaia theory relies on the assessment that such homeostatic balance is actively pursued with the goal of keeping the optimal conditions for life, even when terrestrial or external events menace them. [3] Gaia hypothesis 2. Regulation of the salinity in the oceans.
What is the Gaia theory?
The Gaia theory states that the Earth's atmospheric composition is kept at a dynamically steady state by the presence of life.
What is the most memorable quote in the book "Gaia is just symbiosis as
The book's most memorable "slogan" was actually quipped by a student of Margulis': "Gaia is just symbiosis as seen from space". This neatly connects Gaia theory to Margulis' own theory of endosymbiosis. First Gaia conference.
When was the second Gaia conference?
Second Gaia conference. In 1988, to draw attention to the Gaia hypothesis, the climatologist Stephen Schneider organised a conference of the American Geophysical Union's first Chapman Conference on Gaia,[27] held at San Diego in 1989, solely to discuss Gaia.
What is the strongest hypothesis about the evolution of the Earth?
Another strong hypothesis is the one called "Omega Gaia". [39] Teilhard de Chardin claimed that the Earth is evolving through stages of cosmogenesis, affecting the geosphere, biogenesis of the biosphere, and noogenesis of the noosphere, culminating in the Omega Point.
What is the Gaia hypothesis?
The Gaia Hypothesis proposed that life on Earth is a self-regulating system involving the biosphere, the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and the pedosphere (skin of soil and living organisms), all of which are intimately integrated as an evolving complex system.
When did the Gaia theory become widely accepted?
Acceptance of the Gaia Theory has become so widespread that, in 2001, a thousand scientists at the European Geophysical Union meeting signed the Declaration of Amsterdam, starting with the statement “The Earth System behaves as a single, self-regulating system with physical, chemical, biological, and human components.”.
What is the Gaia theory?
However, the hypothesis has been modified and elaborated enough and there have been enough predictions made and confirmed that the Gaia Hypothesis has become the Gaia Theory, which now holds that the Earth system as a whole seeks a physical and chemical environment optimal for contemporary life.
The Gaia Hypothesis: The Scientific Evidence
Over millions of years, ocean salinity has scarcely changed. Is this an argument for the Gaia hypothesis? (CC0 Public Domain / Unsplash – Leio McLaren)
Welcome to Daisyworld
Daisyworld is a computer model designed to help prove the Gaia hypothesis. (CC0 Public Domain / Unsplash – Micheile Henderson)
How Our Biosphere Influences the Climate
Plants regulate CO 2 levels in the atmosphere through photosynthesis. (CC0 Public Domain / Unsplash – veteerzy)
The Gaia Hypothesis: Criticism and Consensus
A bee colony is a kind of superorganism which keeps a constant temperature. (CC0 Public Domain / Unsplash – Afiq Nashiron)
The Gaia Theory Is Not an Excuse for Climate Change Denial
Humans constantly intervene in the planet’s ecological processes – deforestation is just one example. (CC0 Public Domain / Unsplash – Jamie Morris)
What is the Gaia hypothesis?
The Gaia hypothesis, also known as the Gaia theory, proposes that living organisms interact with their inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a synergistic and self-regulating, complex system that helps to maintain and perpetuate the conditions for life on the planet.
Where was the Gaia hypothesis conference held?
A fourth international conference on the Gaia hypothesis, sponsored by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority and others, was held in October 2006 at the Arlington, VA campus of George Mason University.
What is the theory of global biological feedback?
Lovelock has suggested that global biological feedback mechanisms could evolve by natural selection, stating that organisms that improve their environment for their survival do better than those that damage their environment.
When did Lovelock start defining the idea of self-regulating Earth?
Lovelock started defining the idea of a self-regulating Earth controlled by the community of living organisms in September 1965, while working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California on methods of detecting life on Mars.
Was Lovelock's theory based on observation?
Lovelock states that the initial formulation was based on observation, but still lacked a scientific explanation. The Gaia hypothesis has since been supported by a number of scientific experiments and provided a number of useful predictions.
Who developed the Gaia hypothesis?
The first scientifically rigorous theory was the Gaia hypothesis by James Lovelock, a UK chemist. A variant of this hypothesis was developed by Lynn Margulis, a microbiologist, in 1979. Her version is sometimes called the "Gaia Theory" (note uppercase-T).
What is the Gaia hypothesis?
The Gaia hypothesis deals with the concept of biological homeostasis, and claims the resident life forms of a host planet coupled with their environment have acted and act like a single, self-regulating system. This system includes the near-surface rocks, the soil, and the atmosphere.
What is the spectrum of Gaia hypotheses?
Range of views. According to James Kirchner there is a spectrum of Gaia hypotheses, ranging from the undeniable to radical. At one end is the undeniable statement that the organisms on the Earth have radically altered its composition.
What is the Gaia concept?
Gaia concept draws a connection between the survivability of a species (hence its evolutionary course) and its usefulness to the survival of other species.
What is the Gaia philosophy?
Gaia philosophy (named after Gaia, Greek goddess of the Earth) is a broadly inclusive term for related concepts that living organisms on a planet will affect the nature of their environment in order to make the environment more suitable for life.
What do Gaians ask?
Gaians do not passively ask "what is going on", but rather, "what to do next", e.g. in terraforming or climate engineering or even on a small scale, such as gardening. Changes can be planned, agreed upon by many people, being very deliberate, as in urban ecology and especially industrial ecology.
What is the most extreme form of Gaia?
The most extreme form of Gaia theory is that the entire Earth is a single unified organism with a highly intelligent mind that arose as an emergent property of the whole biosphere. In this view, the Earth's biosphere is consciously manipulating the climate in order to make conditions more conducive to life.
