Ecological integrity of supraspecific taxa and the arctic biota
2008
Chernov, Yu. I.
Some specific features of the development of concepts about integrity (systemic organization) of supraspecific taxa are considered. Several forms of integrity can be distinguished: taxonomic, or genealogical; evolutionary (considering a taxon as a developing system); ecological, or eco-adaptive (manifestation of the properties of a united system in the course of exploring the various conditions and types of environment by the phyletically specified biota). Taxa of different level “behave” as whole units or blocks, forming structural parts of the cenotic and biotic forms of life. The properties of integrity, systemic organization of supraspecific taxa can be displayed by analysis of changes in the structural parameters of the biota related to latitudinal gradients of climatic factors, in phenomena of individualistic distribution, ecological substitution (vicariance) of taxa, and preservation of their ecological functions (adaptive zone) despite the reduced species diversity. The variants of adaptive exploration of high-latitude landscape-zonal conditions are considered using examples from the Arctic flora and fauna.
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