Unity in ecology? [Elektronische Ressource] : an investigation of patterns, problems, and unifying concepts of population ecology, systems ecology and evolutionary ecology / vorgelegt von Arend Mittwollen

Sujets

• Biologie

Informations

• Publié par: universitat_bremen
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2002
• Nombre de lectures: 16
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

UNITY IN ECOLOGY?
AN INVESTIGATION OF PATTERNS, PROBLEMS, AND
UNIFYING CONCEPTS OF POPULATION ECOLOGY,
SYSTEMS ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY






Dissertation zur Erlangung des Dr. phil.
am Studiengang Philosophie der Universität Bremen

vorgelegt von Dipl. Biol. Arend Mittwollen, M.A.

Bremen, April 2002







CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 4
1.1 CONCEPTS OF UNIFICATION IN SCIENCE...................................................................................... 5
1.2 CONCEPTS OF UNIFICATION IN BIOLOGY................................................................................... 11
1.2.1 Scientific Particularities of Biology..................................................................................... 11
1.2.2 Philosophical Approach to Biology ..................................................................................... 13
1.2.3 Unity and Reductionism in Biology...................................................................................... 15
1.3 UNIFYING CONCEPTS IN ECOLOGY............................................................................................ 18
2 PATTERNS AND PROBLEMS OF CONTEMPORARY ECOLOGY..................................... 23
HE IELD OF NVESTIGATION IN COLOGY XAMPLES AND XPLICATION2.1 T F I E : E E ............................. 23
2.2 APPROACHES IN ECOLOGY – HISTORICAL TRAITS AND CONTEMPORARY DIFFERENCES........... 33
2.2.1 Historical Traits of Ecology................................................................................................. 33
2.2.2 Population Ecology.............................................................................................................. 41
2.2.3 Systems Ecology................................................................................................................... 44
2.2.4 Evolutionary Ecology........................................................................................................... 48
ETHODICAL ROBLEMS OF COLOGY2.3 M P E ..................................................................................... 52
2.3.1 Terminology of Ecological Objects...................................................................................... 52
2.3.2 Experiments in Ecology ....................................................................................................... 54
HEORETICAL TRUCTURES OF ONTEMPORARY COLOGY 2.4 T S C E ..................................................... 56
2.4.1 Theory and Prediction ......................................................................................................... 56
2.4.2 Laws and Other Forms of Generalization............................................................................ 59
2.4.2.1 The Evolutionary Contingency Thesis........................................................................................60
2.4.2.2 Fundamental and Structural Laws ..............................................................................................62
2.4.2.3 Candidates for Ecological Laws .................................................................................................65
2.4.3 Models.................................................................................................................................. 69
2.4.3.1 General Aspects of Scientific Models.........................................................................................70
2.4.3.2 Models in Ecology......................................................................................................................73
2.4.3.2.1 Various Forms of Approach...................................................................................................75
2.4.3.2.2 Problems of Application ........................................................................................................76
2.4.3.2.3 The Lotka-Volterra Equations ...............................................................................................78
2.4.3.2.4 Functions of Ecological Models.............................................................................................81
2.4.4 Simulations........................................................................................................................... 82
ONCLUSIONS2.5 C ........................................................................................................................... 87
3 CONCEPTIONS OF COMPLEX ECOLOGICAL UNITS........................................................ 88
3.1 ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS ............................................................................................................. 88
3.1.1 The Ecosystem...................................................................................................................... 91
3.1.1.1 Short Historical Account ............................................................................................................91
3.1.1.2 Characterizations and Applications ............................................................................................95
3.1.1.3 Properties and Background Assumptions ...................................................................................99
3.1.1.4 Implications ..............................................................................................................................102




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3.1.2 Ecosystems and Holism...................................................................................................... 103
3.1.3 Unifying Power of the Ecosystem Concept ........................................................................ 107
COLOGICAL EVELS3.2 E L .............................................................................................................. 108
3.2.1 The Community .................................................................................................................. 110
3.2.1.1 The Community as an Ecological Level ...................................................................................111
3.2.1.2 Holistic and Reductionistic Characterizations ..........................................................................117
3.2.1.3 Plant Communities: Syntaxonomy as a Tool for Unification ...................................................120
3.2.2 Typological versus Populational Thinking ........................................................................ 124
3.3 CONCLUSIONS......................................................................................................................... 126
4 UNIFYING CONCEPTS IN ECOLOGY ................................................................................... 128
4.1 POPULATION ECOLOGY........................................................................................................... 129
4.1.1 Holism and Reductionism in Population Ecology.............................................................. 129
4.1.2 The Lotka-Volterra Equations ........................................................................................... 133
4.1.3 The Theory of Island Biogeography................................................................................... 136
4.2 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY................................................................................................................. 143
4.2.1 Unification by Analogies.................................................................................................... 145
4.2.2 Hierarchy Theory – A New Form of Unification? ............................................................. 146
4.3 EVOLUTIONARY THEORY AND ECOLOGY................................................................................ 152
4.3.1 The Role of Historical Thinking in Ecology....................................................................... 153
4.3.2 Ecological and Evolutionary Hierarchies.......................................................................... 156
4.3.3 Evolution and History of Complex Systems ....................................................................... 160
4.3.4 The Role of Co-Evolution................................................................................................... 162
4.3.5 Evolutionary Ecology as a Tool for Unification ................................................................ 166
4.3.5.1 Unification by Evolutionary Ecology .......................................................................................166
4.3.5.2 Philosophical Status of the Unity in Ecology ...........................................................................171
4.4 CONCLUSIONS......................................................................................................................... 172
5 EPILOGUE – ECOLOGY AS A PARADIGMATIC SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINE................ 174
6 REFERENCES.............................................................................................................................. 178

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1 Introduction
The problem of the unity of science has always been an important topic among
philosophers and scientists. Philosophers wanted to arrive at a