Ecology Texts Research Articles

W. S. Cooper As I Knew Him: Teacher, Mentor and Friend

W. S. Cooper As I Knew Him: Teacher, Mentor and Friend

Construcción de Hipótesis de Progresión para el Estudio de las Concepciones de “Vida Silvestre”

The partial results of an investigation into conceptions of wildlife using hypothesis progression for the implementation of contents and subcategories are presented. At the same time a new model, called “conceptual route” is proposed to describe the conceptions The hypothesis of progression was prepared based on information obtained from literature, revision of ecology texts, interviews with researchers and the curriculum of course “perception and appreciation of wildlife” of the National University of Colombia. The “conceptual route” starts from the categories proposed in the hypothesis progression but takes into account, both the establishment of subcategories as for formulating levels of progression, interpretations of college students’ responses to a questionnaire that explores concepts wildlife.

Disrupting neoliberal discourse in critical sustainability education: a qualitative analysis of intentional language framing

While education for sustainability is a critical task that is gaining ground in a plethora of educational contexts, it is frequently rendered ineffective in the face of neoliberal practice and discourse. Here we examine the pervasive impacts of neoliberalism on education for sustainability, looking specifically at discursive formations that shape our understandings of humans in and as nature. Throughout ecological texts, root metaphors carry forward specific cultural histories that serve neoliberal agendas by positioning nature as commodity and humans as consumers. We sought to systematically understand how manipulating a root metaphor in the creation of instructional texts might disrupt neoliberal discourse and foster critical sustainability. Using a thought-listing technique to explore student response patterns qualitatively allowed for insights into the power of discourse in educational contexts. Data support the notion that intentional framing may be a powerful tool in education for sustainability. We argue that language and discourse are necessary and effective grounds for change if sustainability is to take root.

An Investigation into the Impact of Children’s Literature through a Review of Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax

This article is a brief overview of The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss, the story of a repentant ex-industrialist who tells a tale of environmental degradation in the name of industrialism, progress, and profit, heedless of warnings from the Lorax—who speaks on behalf of nature. The book imparts lessons on finding a balance between ecology and industrial progress, and taking the first steps to righting the environmental errors of the past. The Lorax, positioned as an important ecological text, has resonated with generations. It is the generations that follow who inherit the earth, making it paramount humankind upholds a sense of responsibility and imparts an understanding of equilibrate approaches to both nature and industry. In addition, this book review examines the importance of engaging, environmental children’s literature as a tool for instilling a lifelong awareness within the formative years, as a strategy for introducing the significance of ecological cognizance.

Buzz Holling and the Functional Response

Beginning in the late 1950s, C. S. (Buzz) Holling conducted experiments to investigate how a predator’s rate of prey capture is related to prey density, a relationship that had previously been dubbed the functional response (Solomon 1949). In the resulting series of seminal articles (Holling 1959a, b, 1965), Holling identified three general categories of functional response that he called Types 1, 2, and 3 (Fig. 1). Type 1 is the simplest: capture rate increases in direct proportion to prey density until it abruptly saturates. Type 2 is similar in that the rate of capture increases with increasing prey density, but in contrast to the linear increase of Type 1, Type 2 approaches saturation gradually. Type 3 is similar to Type 2 except at low prey density, where the rate of prey capture accelerates. Holling’s work struck a deep chord among ecologists. Over the 55 years since it was proposed, his classification of functional responses has been woven into the fabric of ecology, where it has acquired the aura of received knowledge. Now designated by roman numerals, Holling’s functional responses appear in every introductory ecology text, usually with illustrative examples (e.g., filter feeders are Type I; insects and parasitoids, Type II; vertebrates, Type III), and his classification is commonly employed by theoretical ecologists when incorporating predation into models of population and community dynamics. Holling’s classic papers have been cited nearly 4000 times, 222 times in 2012 alone. However, as with any well-established scientific dogma, it is useful to revisit its roots, and it was with great interest that I dug out my copies of Holling’s work. Three messages emerged from this trip into ecological history: 1. Holling’s categories serve as a reminder of the utility of mechanistic approaches in ecology. The complexity of ecological interactions can be overwhelming, at times leading ecologists to wonder whether they will ever be able to delineate general laws (e.g., Lawton 1999). In a field where contingency is king, many ecologists doubt the viability of a reductionist approach in which community dynamics can be explained by quantifying the physical environment and understanding the physiology and behavior of individuals. It is therefore worth remembering that Holling’s classification of functional responses—so

The stories rocks can tell: Marie Stopes' evolutionary narratives of plant sex in New Brunswick's Fern Ledges

This article discusses British pioneer in birth control and palaeobotanist Marie Stopes' visit to Saint John New Brunswick's ‘Fern Ledges’ as an important historical episode for feminist geography. By considering the relationship between Stopes' inquiries into plant sex and human sex, this article explores feminist and queer studies' constructions of ‘natural’ bodies alongside environmental constructions of ‘natural’ environments. Stopes' work is useful in showing how early twentieth century plant-breeding and human sexual politics intersected through understanding sex as a perfectible technique for producing better bodies across plant, animal and human boundaries. This argument is developed along three significant sites that show how dynamic relationships between bodies and places are mutually constituted. The first site focuses on early twentieth century evolutionary thought which made it possible to conceive of linkages between plants and humans in their sexual lives. The second site is Stopes' experience of place in the ‘Fern Ledges’ through a palaeobotanical investigation of plants, which were read ‘backwards’ through human social categories of kinship, family, race and nation. The final site is an examination of Stopes' popular sex manuals as ecological texts that give specific attention to plant agency in shaping narratives of human sexual politics.

The ecology of stress: a marriage of disciplines

The ecology of stress: a marriage of disciplines

Lyrics of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell as Ecological Texts

Lyrics of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell as Ecological Texts

The Issue of Ecological Poetry Education and Text Constitution

The Issue of Ecological Poetry Education and Text Constitution

Secondary production as part of bioenergetic theory—contributions from freshwater benthic science

AbstractBioenergetics and energy flow studies have played a prominent role in ecology since the time of Raymond Lindeman's classic paper. Several early seminal studies, including Lindeman's, were on freshwater ecosystems, all of which included benthic secondary production as an important element. Independently of these energy flow studies, benthic ecologists have played a major role in developing the methods of population‐based secondary production, and produced the majority of all secondary production studies in ecology. These studies have not only contributed to our understanding of the importance of animals in ecosystem energy flow, but production is now used to address a wide variety of ecological questions from the construction of quantitative food webs, to examining predator‐prey relationships, to experimental studies of food resource use, to assessing the effects of nonnative species, pollution and catchment land‐use change. Unfortunately, appreciation of the utility of secondary production is largely restricted to aquatic ecologists, particularly those working in freshwater and marine benthic habitats. Further, treatment of secondary production is very limited in most general ecology texts. Continued use of secondary production to address a diversity of ecological questions should result in a greater appreciation of its advantages and cause it to become better known in the broader ecological community. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Roethke's Poetry as an Ecological Text: Fearful Small's Nudging

Roethke's Poetry as an Ecological Text: Fearful Small's Nudging

The Allure of the Few

The Allure of the Few

P. A. Thomas and J. Packham: Ecology of Woodlands and Forests: Description, Dynamics, and Diversity

Thomas and Packham’s Ecology of Woodlands and Forests is a welcome addition to the current selection of general forest ecology texts. This wide-ranging book provides an account of forest structure worldwide, surveys the evolution of forest communities, discusses important ecological relationships among forest organisms, and describes a range of positive and negative human impacts on forests. The authors accomplish this daunting task by providing examples throughout the narrative of variations in life-history strategies and ecosystem properties, and compare these features across ecosystems and throughout geologic time. This approach serves the book well, particularly in its aim to be an introductory text.

“Seduced by a title - an environmental scientist reviews an ecology text”: The Ecological World View. Charles Krebs. Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO, 01 2008, 592 pp. ISBN: 978 064309 3805

Review(s) of: The Ecological World View, by Charles Krebs, 'Seduced by a title - an environmental scientist reviews an ecology text', Victoria: CSIRO, January 2008, 592 pp. ISBN: 978 064309 3805. Includes acknowledgements. Includes endnotes.

Southeastern Chapter Newsletter

Southeastern Chapter Newsletter

Ecological Theory Origin from Natural to Social Science of Vice Versa? A Brief Conceptual History for Social Work

The origin of holistic social work and ecological theory was investigated. Emphasis was placed on Howard W. Odum, founding dean of the University of North Carolina School of Public Welfare, and subsequent scholarship by his sons, collaborators on the first American ecology text. Eugene and Howard Thomas Odum, internationally recognized ecological scholars, identified holism as a universal concept originating in social sciences, crediting their father’s earlier sociological work,which later bridged to ecosystems ecology. A historical review of the influential sociologists, social workers, and ecologists is presented to build the case for ecological theory transfer across the three disciplines, beginning with sociology. Critique of the current use of the ecological perspective is discussed, specifically social work’s tendency to target social systems and behavior while largely ignoring the natural environment.

A Review of Concentration, Diversity or Entropy Metrics in Economics, Finance, Ecology and Communication Science

A Review of Concentration, Diversity or Entropy Metrics in Economics, Finance, Ecology and Communication Science

Determining What's Important about Landscapes

Determining What's Important about Landscapes

Biodiversity of Antarctic echinoids: a comprehensive and interactive database

Eighty-one echinoid species are present south of the Antarctic Convergence, and they represent an important component of the benthic fauna. “Antarctic echinoids” is an interactive database synthesising the results of more than 100 years of Antarctic expeditions, and comprising information about all echinoid species. It includes illustrated keys for determination of the species, and information about their morphology and ecology (text, illustrations and glossary) and their distribution (maps and histograms of bathymetrical distribution); the sources of the information (bibliography, collections and expeditions) are also provided. All these data (taxonomic, morphologic, geographic, bathymetric…) can be interactively queried in two main ways: (1) display of listings that can be browsed, sorted according to various criteria, or printed; and (2) interactive requests crossing the different kinds of data. Many other possibilities are offered, and an on-line help file is also available.

Regarder à perte de vue et écrire quand même : quelques propositions sur la littérature écologique américaine

This paper draws from the works of Aldo Leopold, Annie Dillard, Rick Bass and Barry Lopez to outline what an ecological text is. It suggests that what matters is not so much what the text conveys in terms of message, but the way it conveys it-its self-conscious choices of narrative and rhetorical strategies appropriate to a non anthropocentric textual handling of the natural world. It pays close attention to the way in which ecological texts question their own politics of representation through a consistent staging of a crisis in seeing, suggesting how inadequate the human gaze is when seeking to picture nature. It also investigates how ecological texts draw attention to their own language, particularly through their systematic use of incongruous comparisons, not only to point to their own inadequacy in rendering the language of nature, but also to brightly flaunt their rhetorical ethic, displaying an authentic artificiality which keeps the otherness of the non-human world at a respectful distance.