Natural selection: See Epilogue. For Margulis’s slightly unusual definition, see Mazur 2010 [2009]:265–67 [dachshunds, human reproductive potential]); Margulis and Sagan 2003 (2002):9–10.
Zebra mussels: Author’s visits, Hudson Valley; Strayer et al. 2014, 2011 (“1%,” 1066); Carlsson et al. 2011. Zebra mussels hit the Great Lakes in 1986–87 (Carlton 2008); their populations exploded and then collapsed (Karatayev et al. 2014).
Same laws as the rest: Margulis and Dobb 1990:49.
Lice: Toups et al. 2011; Kittler et al. 2003; Travis 2003. Toups et al.’s date is somewhat earlier than that of Kittler et al., though they view the two teams’ work as “largely consistent” (30).
Becoming human: Pettit 2012:59–72 (burials); Henshilwood et al. 2011 (ochre); Henshilwood and d’Errico 2011 (ostrich eggs); Bouzouggar et al. 2007 (beads); Yellen et al. 1996 (harpoons).
Human uniformity compared to bacteria: 1000 Genomes Project Consortium 2015; Li et al. 2008. Li and Sadler 1991 is a classic study. For E. coli single-base diversity, see Jaureguy et al. 1981; Caugant et al. 1981.
Comparisons to mammals, apes: Prado-Martinez et al. 2013; Leffler et al. 2012 (lynxes and wolverines); Salisbury et al. 2003; Kaessman et al. 2001 (primates). My thanks to Carl Zimmer for generously correcting errors in an earlier version of this section and suggesting references.
Breeding population: Henn et al. 2012; Fagundes et al. 2007.
Blue eyes: Eiberg et al. 2008; Frost 2006.
Fire ants: Author’s interview, Wilson; Ascunce et al. 2011; Mlot et al. 2011; Yang et al. 2010; King and Tschinkel 2008; Wilson 1995 (1994):71.
Super-colonies: Goodisman et al. 2007; Holway et al. 2002:195–97; Tsutsui and Suarez 2002; Suarez et al. 1999. Super-colonies are rare in the ant’s native range.
L. humile super-colony: Van Wilgenburg et al. 2010; Sunamura et al. 2009; Kabashima et al. 2007. See also Moffett 2012; Pedersen et al. 2006; Suarez et al. 1999.
Early human history: Richter et al. 2017 (possible early human emergence); Kuhlwilm et al. 2016 (humans 100,000 years ago in Siberia); Liu et al. 2015 (humans 80,000–120,000 years ago in Asia).
Population 10,000 years ago: Haub 1995 (a standard estimate). See also “Historical Estimates of World Population,” available at www.census.gov.
105,000-year-old sorghum: Mercader 2009.
Trajectory of agriculture: Heun et al. 1997; Lev-Yadun et al. 2000; Tanno and Willcox 2006; Willcox 2007. See also Scott 2017: Chap. 1; Mann 2011b; Burger et al. 2008. For fertilizer, see chapter 4.
Human share of Earth’s production: Smil 2016:48 (25 percent), 2013:183-97; Vitousek et al. 1997 (“terrestrial productivity,” 495); Vitousek et al. 1986 (“39 to 50%,” 372).
Anthropocene: Crutzen and Stoermer 2000. See also Biello 2016; Steffen et al. 2011; Crutzen 2002.
Chapter Two: The Prophet
Guano background: Gregory Cushman’s work (2014, 2006) helped form this chapter. I have also benefitted from discussions with Ted Melillo, Daniel Botkin, and Susanna Hecht.
Uric acid in guano: Cushman 2014:23–27; Ñúnez and Petersen 2002:71–84, 170–72. Guano deposits in Peru were first noted by von Humboldt, who sent samples to chemists in Paris (von Humboldt and Berghaus 1863:228–47; Fourcroy and Vauquelin 1806). A fine Humboldt biography is Wolf 2015.
Early fertilizers: Pomeranz 2000:583–84 (bean cakes); Wines 1986; Roberts and Barrett 1984 (poudrette); Braudel 1981 (1979): 116–17, 155–58 (nightsoil).
Peruvian chemist: Cochet 1841. Andean peoples had used guano as fertilizer for centuries, but their conquerors didn’t learn about guano until its value was rediscovered by European scientists. An indigenous term for bird excrement, wanu, is the origin of the word “guano” (Whitaker 1960; Murphy 1936:1:286–95).
Guano industry, war: Cushman 2014 (2013): chap. 2; Melillo 2012; Mann 2011a:212–20; Inarejos Muñoz 2010 (war); Vizcarra 2009:370 (revising Hunt); Hollett 2008; Miller 2007:147–55; Miller and Greenhill 2006; Hunt 1973:70 (guano income).
Guanay cormorants: King 2013: chap. 10; Murphy 1954, 1936, 2:899–909 (“into guano,” 901); 1925:71–125 (“given point,” rafts, 74–75); Hutchinson 1950:18 (35 lbs.). Vogt’s measure was 34.8 lbs./bird/yr (Letter, W. Vogt to A. Leopold, 11 Jun 1941, ALP). “Gregarious beyond imagining” draws on language quoted by King (200).
Formation of Compañía: Cushman 2014: 148–52, 168–90 (seeking Murphy, 190); Duffy 1994:70 (sustainable-management programs); Coker 1908a, b, c (U.S. scientist).
Vogt’s arrival: Travel journal, Ser. 3, Box 5, FF36, VDPL.
“Environmental thought”: Cushman 2014:190.
Vogt’s idyllic childhood: Vogt, W. W. 1943? Background Information about Dr. William Voght [sic]. Ser. 2, Box 5, FF21, VDPL; Some Notes, 1–5 (“hot dog joints,” 2); BestR, chap. 1 (“Nebraska,” 1). My thanks to Roger Joslyn for helping me find the marriage certificate and much else about the Vogt family.
Vogt’s father: Application for Headstone, Pension C2326861, 11 March 1944 (discharge from navy); Hempstead, Floral Park, Nassau, NY, 1940 U.S. Census, entry for Frances B. Brown (leaving school); “Garden City,” HS, 7 Nov 1901 (attendees at wedding); Certificate and Record of Marriage No. 21813, William Walter Vogt and Frances Bell Doughty, Hempstead, Nassau, NY, 31 Oct 1901, Registered No. 4216; “Engagement Announced,” BDE, 7 Dec 1900; “Three Jolly Rovers,” NYT, 5 Aug 1900 (arrest); Magisterial District No. 1, Indian Hill Precinct, Jefferson, KY, 1900 U.S. census, entry for William F. Vogt; Enumeration District 151, Louisville, Jefferson, KY, 1880 U.S. Census, entry for Fred. Wm. Voght [sic]. Vogt Sr.’s siblings: “John H. L. Vogt” (obituary), Vista Press (San Diego, CA), 25 Apr 1970; “Former Soloist with Orchestra Here Dies,” Louisville Courier-Journal, 4 Apr 1952; Certificate of Death, Commonwealth of Kentucky, Registration District 755 (Jefferson County), File 116527724. Thanks to Anne H. Lee for Kentucky genealogical research.
Vogt’s birth: Certificate and Record of Birth, William Walter Vogt, Mineola, N. Hempstead, Nassau, State of New York Bureau of Vital Statistics, No. 18569 (Registered No. 4192). At birth, he was Frederick William Vogt; he became William Walter Vogt in 1904.
Saga of Vogt Sr., Schenck: Letter, Vogt to Robert Cushman Murphy, 6 Feb 1964, Ser. 1, Box 2, FF4, VDPL (World’s Fair grounds); “Garden City,” HS, 10 Aug 1911 (postmistress, vacation); Action for Absolute Divorce, Affidavit of Clara Doughty, 2 May 1907, VvV; Parker 1906 (Doughty family); “Wanderers Heard From,” BDE, 9 Oct 1902; “Drugs Under the Hammer,” BDE, 7 Jun 1901; “Wife and Babe Deserted by Vogt for Married Woman,” Duluth Evening Herald, 5 Jun 1902; “Vogt’s Stock to Be Sold,” BDE, 4 Jun 1902; “Sheriff in Possession of Voght’s [sic] Drug Store,” BDE, 30 May 1902; Enumeration District 0713, North Hempstead, Nassau, NY, 1900 U.S. Census, entry for Geo. W. Schenck (Schenck family). Died as baby: Some Notes, 1.
Vogt and Schenck divorces: Testimony of Mary J. Schenck, 21 March 1908, VvV; “Garden City,” HS, 26 March 1908; “Schoolgirl Wife Sues.” NYT, 22 March 1908; “Decree for Mrs. Vogt,” BDE, 22 March 1908. See also: legal notices, Frances Bell Vogt, Plaintiff, against William Walter Vogt, defendant, Sea Cliff (NY) News and Glen Cove News, 8 Jun 1907, 22 Jun 1907. The divorce was not finalized until 15 Jan 1909 (Order, VvV). New York divorce law: DiFonzo and Stern 2007, esp. 567–69; O’Neill 1969:140–45. Schenck divorce: “Schenck Wants Divorce,” Philadelphia Inquirer, 19 Jul 1908; “Co-respondent Sued Now,” BDE, 20 May 1908; “Schenck Divorce Case Up,” BDE, 19 Jul 1908; “East Williston,” HS, 23 Jul 1908; “Final Decree Granted,” BDE, 11 Dec 1908.
Vogt family finances: Rasky 1949:6 (Fannie); Bureau of the Census, Official Register, Persons in the Civil, Military, and Naval Service of the United States, and List of Vessels. Vol. 2: The Postal Service (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1909), 323 (Clara).
“of my life”: BestR, chap. 1, 1–2.
Brooklyn: Some Notes, 2 (“27 cents”); Brooklyn Assembly District 9, Kings County, N.Y., 1920 U.S. Census, Enumeration District 478, Page 9B, entry for Lewis Brown.
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Vogt and books: Some Notes, 2 (“my generation”); Nabokov 1991:213 (“glutton for books”); Burroughs 1903 (scientists’ dismay); Seton 1898:18 (“among wolves”).
Scouting: Some Notes, 2–5 (“ever since,” 2); Wadland 1978:419–45 (Seton and Scouting).
Vogt and polio: Some Notes, 3 (“until morning”); “1 Death, 1 New Case in Epidemic Here,” BDE, 26 Sept 1916; “94,000 Absences as Schools Open,” NYT, 26 Sept 1916; “Lowest Friday Epidemic Record,” BDE, Sep 1 1916. According to Peterson, Vogt’s mother, “scanning the hospital bulletin in the morning, read that her son had succumbed during the night” (1989:1254).
Vogt recuperates: Some Notes, 4 (“worth it”), 6 (“rather badly,” courage); BestR, chap. 1, 3 (“in my life”); Peterson 1989:1254; McGrory 1948; letter, R.V. Mattingly to Secretary, Guggenheim Foundation, 3 Apr 1943, GFA (weak legs, spine, lungs).
Vogt’s college career: McCormick 2005:24; Some Notes, 6 (scholarship); letter, W. Vogt to A. Leopold, 29 Jul 1939, ALP; Anon., ed., 1921, The Manual Anvil, NY: Manual Training High School (high school literary club, 151).
Vogt’s jobs: Some Notes, 8–10 (“Executive Secretary”); McCormick 2005:25; Delacorte 1929; “The Funnies,” The Writer, Jan 1929; “Literary Market Tips,” The Author & Journalist, Dec 1928. My thanks to Will Murray and John Locke for these sources.
Mary Allraum, marriage: Marriage License and Affidavit for License to Marry No. 16999, County of New York, 7 Jul 1928; Certificate and Record of Marriage No. 18002, State of New York, 7 Jul 1928; Florida Passenger Lists, 1898–1964, National Archives, Washington, DC, Roll Number 7, Immigration record, S.S. Gov. Cobb, 3 Oct 1923; “Women Students of the University of California Will Present Annual Partheneia Faculty Glade Masque and Pageant in April,” San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Feb 1922 (p. 1); “Campus Pageant of Youths Tempting,” San Francisco Chronicle, 12 March 1922 (p. 1); “L.A. Girl Picked for Stellar Role in Partheneia at U. of C.,” Oakland Tribune, 20 March 1922; list of junior college sophomores, The Southern School (UCLA) yearbook 1921, 158; Index to Marriage Licenses and Certificates, Alameda County, Vol. 10, 1902–1904, California State Archives, Sacramento, CA, Dec. 13, 1903 (Allraum marriage).
Ornithology embraces amateurs: Weidensaul 2007:127–85 passim; McCormick 2005:25; Barrow 1998:178–79, 193–94; Ainley 1979; Vogt 1961 (“odd-ball”).
Vogt’s duties: Anonymous, 1943?, Background Information About Dr. William Voght [sic]. Series 2, Box 5, FF 19, VDPL; Biographical Note, Vogt Papers website, idem; McCormick 2005:31n51; Some Notes, 8 (college birding).
Peterson’s life: Carlson 2007; Graham and Buchheister 1990:130–35; Devlin and Naismith 1977.
Publication of Field Guide: Carlson 2007:46–70; Weidensaul 2007:200–10 (copies sold, 209); McCormick 2005:26–28; Peterson 1989; Vogt 1961 (“would not sell”).
Juana Broadway debut: Pollock 1929; “The Channel Road,” Playbill, 21 Oct 1929.
Broadway decline: Broadway fell from 233 productions in the 1929–30 season to 187 in the 1930–31 season. In 1938–39, it hosted 96 (Matelski 1991:148).
Jones Beach sanctuary: Vogt 1938a, b; 1933. For background, see Caro 1974:145–56, 182–225 (developing Long Island parks), 233, 310 (sanctuary).
Vogt projects: Vogt 1938b; Cushman 2013:191 (Mayr’s advice); McCormick 2005:31–32 (Mayr’s advice); Anonymous. 1940:80 (prize); W. Vogt, n.d., “A Preliminary List of the Birds of Jones Beach, Long Island, N.Y.,” Ser. 2, Box 4, FF19, VDPL.
Dovekie research: Murphy and Vogt 1933 (“herd psychosis,” 348). Vogt had previously published two brief, un-peer-reviewed reports in The Auk (48:593, 606).
Long Island ducks: Different authorities provide different counts. See, e.g., the websites of the Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island (11 species), the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (10), and the National Wildlife Reserve complex (15).
Duck decline: Greenfield 1934 (“dangerously low”).
Long Island development: C. W. Leavitt, Garden City (map), 2 Apr 1914, available at Garden City Historical Society; Some Notes, 2 (“Robert Moses”). Vogt had worried about the decline of marshes as early as 1931 (Vogt 1931).
Oyster Bay closes sanctuary, Vogt loses job: Confoundingly, Oyster Bay is the name for both a township that runs from north to south across the middle of Long Island and an upscale hamlet within the township, on the North Shore; the township, not the hamlet, owned the property. Embarrassed by the news coverage, the township turned about and presented the land to the U.S. Biological Survey. The survey had no experience with parks and no money for them. Oyster Bay was griping again by fall (“L.I. Bird Sanctuary’s Needs,” BDE, 27 Oct 1935; “Bird Sanctuary Leased to U.S.,” BDE, 3 Jul 1935; “See Sanctuary Action Mistake,” BDE, 5 Jun 1935; “Deplores Fate of Bird Haven,” BDE, 31 May 1935; “Bird Reserve Dispute Looms,” BDE, 30 May 1935; “Bird Refuge Is Facing Abandonment Saturday,” NYT, 21 May 1935; “Deplore Bird Sanctuary End,” BDE, 20 May 1935; Pilat 1935 [“Vogt has done a great job”]).
Baker becomes NAAS director, hires Vogt: Carlson 2007:74–75; Graham and Buchheister 1990:117–19, 128–29, 140–41 (buys Bird-Lore); Anon. 1938. “Bird is ‘Boid’ in the South, but in a Genteel Way.” BDE, 8 Apr (Juana teaching).
New contributors like Leopold: Leopold 1938. Leopold’s first Bird-Lore essay became a major chapter in his famed Sand County Almanac (Leopold 1949). Murphy wrote a monthly column from 1937 to 1940.
Vogt’s Audubon activities: Carlson 2007:75–77; Cushman 2006:238; Duffy 1989; Vogt et al. 1939; Moffett 1937.
U.S. malaria problem: Webb 2009:146–50 (scope, Map 5.3); Cottam et al. 1938:93 (5 million cases). It was partly due to increased damming (Patterson 2009:127; Shah 2010:185–89).
Mosquito control: A thorough overview is Patterson 2009: esp. chap. 6 (effects of Depression, 120–29); Cottam et al. 1938; [Vogt] 1935. Reiley 1936 and Peterson 1936 give examples of the transition to federal money. See also Webb 2009:153–54.
Long Island: Butchard 1936 (Suffolk); Froeb 1936:128 (Nassau); Cottam et al. 1938 (artificial ponds, 95).
“Thirst on the Land”: Vogt 1937a (“rackets,” 15; “erysipelas,” 7).
Ecosystem services: People have known for millennia that nature was useful, but Marsh (1864) was the first to discuss its uses systematically, noting, for instance, that deforestation led to soil and water degradation (254–64) and that birds and insects helped with pest control and fertilization (87–103). The concept then lay largely dormant until Vogt picked it up. It did not become popular until the 1970s (Gómez-Baggethun et al. 2010). The term was coined by Ehrlich and Ehrlich (1981:102).
Loss of services: Vogt claimed in addition that the benefits were overstated. Many drainage projects occurred in areas with no malaria. Even those in actual malaria zones were usually ineffective, because the ditches weren’t maintained and thus quickly turned into stagnant pools. As a result, malaria rates were rising, despite all the ditches. This was true but misleading; Vogt had not understood that draining programs needed years to exert their full impact.
Mosquito control debate: Cottam et al. 1938: 81 (“misdirected”); 94 (“control,” emphasis in original). Patterson (2009:138–43) has a fine account. For Cottam, see Bolen 1975.
Audubon and early conservation movement (footnote): Holdgate 2013 (1999):17–21, 2001; [Vogt] 1936 (proposing movement).
Bird-Lore becomes depressing: Cushman 2006:238–39; Peterson 1973:49 (“destruction”); Graham and Buchheister 1990:143–44. Examples of Vogt’s editorials are [Vogt] 1935, 1937b (“dinner table”).
Vogt alienates contributors: See, e.g., Letter, T. S. Roberts to W. Vogt, 30 Oct 1936, Bell Museum of Natural History Records, University of Minnesota Libraries, University Archives, uarc00876-box37-fdr322; W. Vogt to T. S. Roberts, 3 Nov 1936, ibid., uarc00876-box25-fdr234; letter, T. S. Roberts to W. Vogt, 11 Nov 1936, ibid., uarc00876-box37-fdr322.
Vogt’s failed coup: letter, Margaret Nice to Vogt, 9 Dec 1937, Ser. 1, Box 2, FF5, VDPL (“exhaustion”)
; Devlin and Naismith 1977:71–72; Fox 1981:197–8; Peterson 1989:1255; 1973:50 (“petrel that he was”). Graham and Buchheister (1990:117–18, 142–44) provide a somewhat different version.
Vogt at North Chincha: Author’s visit; VFN; BestR, chap. 4 (“measure it,” lack of hat, 2); Cushman 2013:191–95; Rasky 1949 (“of science”, 7); J. A. Vogt 1941:23–24 (loss of tools); Letter, W. Vogt to A. Leopold, 11 Feb 1940, ALP (tools); Murphy 1925b:103–4 (shoveling roof).
Vogt’s enjoyment: BestR, chap 5 (coffee, 8; “scallop bed,” 9); J. A. Vogt 1940:268 (“Doctor Pajaro”). To his pleasure, the coffee was carocolillo, an Andean variant that rather than having two seeds—coffee beans—in each fruit has a single, oddly wrinkled bean, with an especially concentrated taste. Don Guano: Duffy 1989:1257.
Vogt’s fascination at profusion of life: VFN, e.g., 17 March 1939 [FF38]; 13 Feb 1939, 6 Feb 1939 (“entirely appreciate”), 4 Feb 1939, 31 Jan 1939 (doesn’t mind smell) [FF36]; Vogt 1942:310; BestR, chap. 4 (“on the island,” 5–6).
Research questions: Rasty 1949:7 (“11,000,000 guano birds”); Vogt 1939; BestR, chap. 4, 7 (“increment of excrement”).
Juana graduates, comes to Peru: Diary, J. A. Vogt, 3 Jul 1939 (“pick their teeth,”), 4 Jul 1939, 13 Jul 1939, Ser. 4, Box 8, FF12, VDPL; J. A. Vogt 1940 (“pure good luck,” 265; “family feuds,” 267; “such a spot,” 273); “Audience of 20,000 Attends Annual Outdoor Ceremony at Columbia University,” NYT, 7 Jun 1939; Columbia University in the City of New York, Catalogue Number for the Sessions of 1939–1940 (NY: Columbia University, 1940).
Discovery of El Niño, Murphy’s visit: Fagan 2009:31–44; Cushman 2004, 2003; Hisard 1992; Hutchinson 1950:49–58; Vogt 1942a (“Peruvian coast”); Murphy 1926 (“guano birds,” 32), 1925a (“Current,” 433); Lavalle y García 1917. The three original articles were Eguiguren Escudero 1894; Carrillo 1893; and Carranza 1892. The realization that El Niño was an oscillating system of Pacific-spanning currents did not come till decades later.
Vogt’s El Niño: VFN, FF40, 43, 46, 49, 51; Vogt 1960:124–25 (“China and India”); 1942a (77°F, 509; “no indication,” 511; bird counts, 510); 1942b (surface temperature, Fig. 10); 1942c:9–10, 86–88 (birds go north and south); letter, W. Vogt to A. Leopold, 29 Jul 1939, ALP (“all gone”); Murphy 1936 1:96 (around 60°F). See also Cushman 2006:240–55; McCormick 2005:71–79; Hutchinson 1950:54. At the time, the three islands probably still held about 10 million birds (Jordán and Fuentes 1966:Fig. 1).