ARE humans merely one evolutionary step away from other animals or are we something special? The answer tends to depend on your perspective. Neuroscientist , whose is reviewed on page 45, thinks the evolution of humans constitutes a “phase shift” that sets us apart. Conversely, the discovery that the so-called “language gene” is not the uniquely human phenomenon that many believed underlines the growing realisation among biologists that much of what appears to make us different is shared by other species (see “One gene speaks volumes about evolution”).
There is one attribute, however, that indisputably distinguishes us from the pack: our capacity to alter the rest of nature. The damage done by logging and mining to rainforests and other ecosystems has been well documented and in many areas appears to be getting worse (“Comment: Gold fever”). Now it seems that even low-key ecotourism can be harmful. A shows that in areas open to hikers there are dramatically fewer wild carnivores than in restricted areas (“Even the quietest ecotourists can scare away wildlife”).
Though this does not mean that all species are affected, nor that all ecotourism is harmful, the findings are worrying. Nature tourism has been embraced by conservationists as the best way to give local communities an incentive to preserve wildlife, and it is growing by around 10 per cent a year worldwide. No one is suggesting that such activities should now be banned, but it is clear that the oft-repeated aspiration to leave “nothing but footprints” is unachievable. Just being human, it seems, brings with it the capacity for causing damage on a wide scale.
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