The Anti-Krogh principle: all organisms are worthy of study

Clark, Chris; Hutchinson, John R; Garland, Theodore

Abstract

Krogh's principle states: "for such a large number of problems there will be some animal of choice, or a few such animals, on which it can be most conveniently studied." A pitfall of this approach is it implies the question: if organisms are models for questions, then why ever study a non-model organism? Strict adherence to the Krogh principle would leave the vast majority of species un-studied. Here, we promote the anti-Krogh principle: all organisms are worthy of study. All organisms have research questions that can be asked of them, even of the hardest-to-study species, such as: Where does it fall within the tree of life? What resources does it need to survive and reproduce? How does it differ from close relatives? Does it have unique adaptations? Anti-Krogh and Krogh are not opposites. Rather, the anti-Krogh principle emphasizes a different starting point for research: start with a biological unit, such as an organism or even a trait of a particular organism, then seek tractable questions. Moreover, what does it mean for an organism to be a 'model' of or for something? The Krogh principle can steer researchers away from unique, organism-specific traits, such as spider webs or feathers or the long necks of giraffe, which are precisely the traits the anti-Krogh principle suggests to study. The anti-Krogh principle also has pitfalls; for example, having picked the organism first, question second, the research question may not really suit the organism because, for example, some organisms are intrinsically harder to study than others. As knowledge continues to accumulate, some organisms-models-will inevitably have more known about them than others. The anti-Krogh principle does not call for all organisms to receive the same amount of research attention. Rather, under the anti-Krogh principle, we may eventually hope to know something about the biology of all organisms.

Citation

Clark, C., Hutchinson, J. R., & Garland, T. (2022). The Anti-Krogh principle: all organisms are worthy of study. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, https://doi.org/10.1086/721620

• Journal Article Type: Commentary
• Acceptance Date: Jul 14, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Aug 1, 2022
• Publication Date: Nov 1, 2022
• Deposit Date: Oct 18, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 20, 2022
• Print ISSN: 1522-2152
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/721620
• Additional Information: Available free on publishers website