Ecological Paradigms Lost

Routes of Theory Change

1st Edition, Volume 2 - July 26, 2005
Author: Beatrix Beisner
Editor: Kim Cuddington
Language: English
Paperback ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 0 8 8 4 5 9 - 9
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 0 8 - 0 4 5 7 8 6 - 4

This edited volume in the Theoretical Ecology series addresses the historical development and evolution of theoretical ideas in the field of ecology. Not only does Ecolog… Read more

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This edited volume in the Theoretical Ecology series addresses the historical development and evolution of theoretical ideas in the field of ecology. Not only does Ecological Paradigms Lost recount the history of the discipline by practitioners of the science of ecology, it includes commentary on these historical reflections by philosophers of science. Even though the theories discussed are, in many cases, are at the forefront of research, the language and approach make this material accessible to non-theoreticians. The book is structured in 5 major sections including population ecology, epidemiology, community ecology, evolutionary biology and ecosystem ecology. In each section a chapter by an eminent, experienced ecologist is complemented by analysis from a newer, cutting-edge researcher.

Foreword
PREFACE
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
Chapter 1: WHY A HISTORY OF ECOLOGY? AN INTRODUCTION
Part I: Population ecology
- Chapter 2: UNSTRUCTURED MODELS IN ECOLOGY: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
  - 2.1 INTRODUCTION
  - 2.2 THE BASIC (DETERMINISTIC) UNSTRUCTURED MODELS
  - 2.3 SINGLE SPECIES
  - 2.4 TWO SPECIES
  - 2.5 MORE THAN TWO SPECIES
  - 2.6 TIME SERIES AND MODEL FITTING
  - 2.7 THE FUTURE OF UNSTRUCTURED MODELS
  - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- Chapter 3: UNSTRUCTURED POPULATION MODELS: DO POPULATION-LEVEL ASSUMPTIONS YIELD GENERAL THEORY?
  - 3.1 INTRODUCTION
  - 3.2 CORE THEORY OR LIMITING CASE?
  - 3.3 DERIVING GENERAL POPULATION MODELS: STARTING WITH THE INDIVIDUAL
  - 3.4 THREE CASE STUDIES
  - 3.5 AN APPROPRIATE MODELLING FRAMEWORK: PHYSIOLOGICALLY STRUCTURED POPULATION MODELS
  - 3.6 ON TESTABILITY
  - 3.7 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUDING REMARKS
  - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- Chapter 4: THE “STRUCTURE” OF POPULATION ECOLOGY: PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTIONS ON UNSTRUCTURED AND STRUCTURED MODELS
  - 4.1 INTRODUCTION
  - 4.2 MODELS, MODELS, AND MORE MODELS
  - 4.3 REVISITING MODELLING TRADE-OFFS
  - 4.4 GENERALITY?
  - 4.5 REDUCTIONISM REDUX
  - 4.6 STRUCTURAL PLURALISM
  - 4.7 CONCLUSION
  - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Part II: Epidemiological ecology
- Chapter 5: THE LAW OF MASS-ACTION IN EPIDEMIOLOGY: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
  - 5.1 INTRODUCTION
  - 5.2 CATO MAXIMILIAN GULDBERG AND PETER WAAGE
  - 5.3 WILLIAM HEATON HAMER
  - 5.4 RONALD ROSS AND ANDERSON McKENDRICK
  - 5.5 HERBERT EDWARD SOPER
  - 5.6 A SCIENCE TAKING FLIGHT
  - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- Chapter 6: EXTENSIONS TO MASS-ACTION MIXING
  - 6.1 INTRODUCTION
  - 6.2 FUNCTIONAL FORMS
  - 6.3 METAPOPULATION MODELS
  - 6.4 CELLULAR AUTOMATA
  - 6.5 NETWORK MODELS
  - 6.6 ANALYTICAL APPROXIMATIONS: POWER-LAW EXPONENTS
  - 6.7 ANALYTICAL APPROXIMATIONS: PAIR-WISE MODELS
  - 6.8 ANALYTICAL APPROXIMATIONS: MOMENT CLOSURE
  - 6.9 CONCLUSIONS
- Chapter 7: MASS-ACTION AND SYSTEM ANALYSIS OF INFECTION TRANSMISSION
  - 7.1 INTRODUCTION
  - 7.2 MODEL FORMS AS PARADIGMS FOR THEORY CHANGE
  - 7.3 ROBUSTNESS ASSESSMENT
  - 7.4 ADVANCING A SCIENCE OF INFECTION TRANSMISSION SYSTEM ANALYSIS
Part III: Community ecology
- Chapter 8: COMMUNITY DIVERSITY AND STABILITY: CHANGING PERSPECTIVES AND CHANGING DEFINITIONS
  - 8.1 INTRODUCTION
  - 8.2 HISTORY
  - 8.3 MULTIPLE TYPES OF STABILITY IN A MODEL ECOSYSTEM
  - 8.4 TESTING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DIVERSITY AND STABILITY
  - 8.5 SUGGESTIONS FOR SPECIFIC “TESTS”
  - 8.6 SUMMARY
  - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- Chapter 9: PERSPECTIVES ON DIVERSITY, STRUCTURE, AND STABILITY
  - 9.1 INTRODUCTION
  - 9.2 A BRIEF HISTORY OF DIVERSITY AND STABILITY
- Chapter 10: DIVERSITY AND STABILITY: THEORIES, MODELS, AND DATA
  - 10.1 INTRODUCTION
  - 10.2 WHY CARE ABOUT THEORY CHANGE?
  - 10.3 KNOWLEDGE IN ECOLOGY
  - 10.4 THEORY CHANGE IN COMMUNITY ECOLOGY
  - 10.5 THEORY CHANGE, ABATED
Part IV: Historical reflection
- Chapter 11: ECOLOGY’S LEGACY FROM ROBERT MARTHUR
  - 11.1 INTRODUCTION
  - 11.2 THE LEGACY
  - 11.3 “POPULATION BIOLOGY” OF MacARTHUR CITATIONS
  - 11.4 ERIC’S REFLECTIONS
  - 11.5 HENRY’S REVERIE
  - 11.6 CONCLUDING REMARKS
  - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Part V: Evolutionary ecology
- Chapter 12: ON THE INTEGRATION OF COMMUNITY ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES AND CURRENT PROSPECTS
  - 12.1 INTRODUCTION
  - 12.2 BACKGROUND REFLECTIONS
  - 12.3 A CAPSULE HISTORY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EVOLUTION AND COMMUNITY ECOLOGY
  - 12.4 WHAT DERAILED THE FUSION OF EVOLUTION AND COMMUNITY ECOLOGY?
  - 12.5 POINTERS TO THE FUTURE
  - 12.6 CONCLUSIONS
  - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- Chapter 13: MODELLING THE ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT OF EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE: DÉJÀ VU OR SOMETHING NEW?
  - 13.1 INTRODUCTION
  - 13.2 THEORETICAL ECOLOGY
  - 13.3 THEORETICAL EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
  - 13.4 THEORETICAL EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY
  - 13.5 WHERE DO WE STAND? WHERE DO WE GO? IS ANYTHING NEW?
- Chapter 14: THE ELUSIVE SYNTHESIS
  - 14.1 SOURCE AND CONSEQUENCE LAWS
  - 14.2 THE LIMITS OF EQUILIBRIUM
  - 14.3 THE GRAIN PROBLEM AND ITS MACROECOLOGICAL SOLUTION
  - 14.4 NICHE CONSTRUCTION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
  - 14.5 THE EMERGENT PROPERTY HYPOTHESIS
Part VI: Ecosystem ecology
- Chapter 15: THE LOSS OF NARRATIVE
  - 15.1 INTRODUCTION
  - 15.2 THE PARADIGM OF NARRATIVE
  - 15.3 HIGHER DIMENSIONALITY IN NARRATIVES
  - 15.4 THE COMPLEMENTARITY OF NARRATIVES
  - 15.5 WHY IT MATTERS IN APPLIED SYSTEMS
  - 15.6 THE POSTMODERN PARADIGM IN ECOLOGY
  - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- Chapter 16: ECOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT: CONTROL, UNCERTAINTY, AND UNDERSTANDING
  - 16.1 INTRODUCTION
  - 16.2 A HISTORY OF ECOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT
  - 16.3 A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR ECOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT
  - 16.4 CURRENT APPROACHES TO ECOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT
  - 16.5 FRONTIERS OF ECOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT
  - 16.6 CONCLUSIONS
  - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- Chapter 17: IS ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT A POSTMODERN SCIENCE?
  - 17.1 INTRODUCTION
  - 17.2 ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGY: CONCEPTUAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
  - 17.3 POST-NORMAL SCIENCE
  - 17.4 THE “PARADIGM OF NARRATIVE”: DEFENDING THE HOLLING FIGURE-EIGHT
  - 17.5 THEORY CHANGE IN ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGY: GRADUAL DEVELOPMENT OR PARADIGM SHIFT?
  - 17.6 CONCLUSION
  - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Part VII: Conclusion
- Chapter 18: KUHNIAN PARADIGMS LOST: EMBRACING THE PLURALISM OF ECOLOGICAL THEORY
  - 18.1 KUHN AND BEYOND
  - 18.2 PARADIGM SHIFTS IN ECOLOGICAL THEORY?
  - 18.3 CONCLUDING REMARKS
INDEX

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