Chapter 19 - Novelty and Synthesis in the Development of Population Dynamics

Abstract

This chapter discusses novelty and synthesis in the development of population dynamics. Although population dynamics is a centerpiece in ecology, there is less emphasis in the field than should be expected. Although, it has deep roots in the agricultural and forestry literature, the study of plant–herbivore interactions has blossomed since the 1970s into a major research discipline. The mechanistic understanding of plant–herbivore interactions could not have advanced so rapidly without a phytochemical perspective. Coupled with the emergence of chemical ecology and three-trophic-level interactions was an interest in the effects of plants on the pathogens of herbivores. As a part of evolutionary biology, the adaptive nature of life histories emerged as a major theme, probably founded in the clutch size debate initiated by Lack. Behavior was rarely discussed in studies of population dynamics in the 1960s except in terms of emigration or dispersal and then, it was usually evaluated indirectly as loss of individuals or reproductive shortfall. Single species were studied often over long periods of time in a largely idiosyncratic manner, with idiosyncratic results. Studies in population dynamics were generally descriptive and not experimental. A major flaw in the development of population dynamics as a discipline in ecology is the virtual absence of an evolutionary perspective. Recognition of the several scales involved in a synthesis on population dynamics, and the evolutionary-ecological pathways involved, might be highlighted as an avenue for clarification. In observational and experimental approaches, a greater emphasis will be placed on discovering the mechanism of an interaction or process, not just its existence and strength.