From Formation to Ecosystem: Tansley’s Response to Clements’ Climax

Arthur G. Tansley never accepted Frederic E. Clements’ view that succession is a developmental process whose final stage, the climax formation, is determined primarily by regional climate and that all other types of vegetation are some kind of successional stage or arrested successional stage. Tansley was convinced that in a given region a variety of environmental factors could produce different kinds of climax formations. At the heart of their dispute was Clements’ organicist view of succession, i.e., the formation was a complex organism with an ontogeny and phylogeny. As early as 1905, Tansley offered an alternative to Clements’ complex organism, the quasi-organism, but Clements in private and public rejected this compromise. Tansley and other plant ecologists continued to criticize Clements’ theories for the next 20 years, but with no impact on Clements. John Phillips, a South African plant ecologist who was a follower of Clements, published a series of papers in 1934 and 1935 defending Clementsian ecology. These papers were triggered by the publication of a letter by another ecologist working in Africa who claimed that there was a strong correlation between soils and various kinds of climax vegetation, which was contrary to what was predicted by Phillips and Clements. In 1935, Tansley published an attack on Phillips and Clements and their developmental theory of succession. In it, he proposed the concept of the ecosystem as a way to get around Clements’ monoclimax theory by making the physical environment (e.g., soil chemistry, soil texture, soil moisture) as important a factor as climate, plants and other organisms in determining the composition and characteristics of ecological entities, i.e., ecosystems. Tansley’s ecosystem concept quickly replaced Clements’ monoclimax theory as a dominant paradigm in ecology.     

海岸生态学——探究海岸生物与环境相互作用的生态学分支

海岸是现代海洋与大陆相互作用的两栖地带,是一个复杂的生态系统,近年来,随着人们对海岸功能和地位的深入认识,海岸生态学问题成为了当今的研究热点之一。论文在简要分析海岸生态学问题的基础上,提出了海岸生态学学科的概念,阐述了海岸生态学的研究对象、内容和方法,并重点对LOICZ研究项目、海岸生物圈系统、环境系统及海岸的开发应用等研究成果进行了综述。海岸生态学以海岸生态系统为研究对象,是研究其生态过程和演化机制以及海岸生物与环境之间相互关系的分支学科。海岸生态学作为一门新兴的学科,有较强的发展潜力和应用前景。     

现代生态学的若干方法论问题

当代科学迅速发展的同时,不断提出大量的科学方法论问题。随着人口、食物、能源、环境污染与自然资源保护等重大社会问题的出现,现代生态学的发展显得特别令人注目。为了认识生命自然界之间及其与人类社会之间存在的复杂生态关系,现代生态学正不断地向数学、物理、化学、地学,其它生物学分支(特别是遗传学)……以至有关社会科学的各个学科中吸取先进的方法和手段。随着自身抽象化程度的提     

Translocal Ecologies: The Norfolk Broads,the “Natural,” and the International Phytogeographical Excursion, 1911

What we consider “nature” is always historical and relational, shaped in contingent configurations of representational and social practices. In the early twentieth century, the English ecologist A.G. Tansley lamented the pervasive problem of international misunderstandings concerning the nature of “nature.” In order to create some consensus on the concepts and language of ecological plant geography, Tansley founded the International Phytogeographical Excursion, which brought together leading plant geographers and botanists from North America and Europe. The first IPE in August 1911 started with the Norfolk Broads. It was led by Marietta Pallis, Tansley’s former student at Cambridge. This trip and the work of Pallis, neglected in other accounts of this early period of the history of ecology, influenced the relations between Tansley and important American ecologists H.C. Cowles and F.E. Clements. Understanding “place” as a network of relations, our regional focus shows how taking international dialogue, travel and interchange into account enriches understanding of ecological practice.     

What is a species? Essences and generation

Arguments against essentialism in biology rely strongly on a claim that modern biology abandoned Aristotle’s notion of a species as a class of necessary and sufficient properties. However, neither his theory of essentialism, nor his logical definition of species and genus (eidos and genos) play much of a role in biological research and taxonomy, including his own. The objections to natural kinds thinking by early twentieth century biologists wrestling with the new genetics overlooked the fact that species have typical developmental cycles and most have a large shared genetic component. These are the “what-it-is-to-be” members of that species. An intrinsic biological essentialism does not commit us to Aristotelian notions, nor even modern notions, of essence. There is a long-standing definition of “species” and its precursor notions that goes back to the Greeks, and which Darwin and pretty well all biologists since him share, that I call the Generative Conception of Species. It relies on there being a shared generative power that makes progeny resemble parents. The “what-it-is-to-be” a member of that species is that developmental type, mistakes in development notwithstanding. Moreover, such “essences” have always been understood to include deviations from the type. Finally, I shall examine some implications of the collapse of the narrative about essences in biology.     

《生态学基础》：对生态学从传统向现代的推进——纪念E.P.奥德姆诞辰100周年

2013年是“现代生态学之父”美国生态学家奥德姆诞辰100周年。奥德姆的《生态学基础》一书对生态学从传统向现代转换具有积极的推进作用,主要表现在：提升了生态科学的量化水平,促成了生态系统生态学体系的诞生;倡导了生态学与经济学等社会科学的融合,丰富了生态经济学与生态系统服务功能研究;延展了生态学的应用尺度,为社会的生产变革和绿色运动提供了指导。奥德姆的生态学理论中诸如以能量分析为主导的生态系统分析方法还有待完善、生态系统方面较少考虑进化维度,衡量能量质量高低的能值方法的科学性有改善的空间等,但这都无碍他成为世界上最杰出的生态学家之一。     

生态系统生态学研究的关键问题及趋势——从“整体论与还原论的争论”看

在生态学领域中,存在着生态系统整体论与还原论的争论。Tansley A.G.提出,生态系统是"准有机体"。Odum兄弟提出的"生态系统能量说"被广泛接受,但也受到质疑,称其为"还原论者的整体论"。基于对上述质疑的回应以及对生态系统整体论的追求,Patten B.C.等提出"生态网络理论",运用"网络‘环境子’分析"方法,试图从物理层面分析解决生物层面的"涌现性"问题。不过,这一理论也受到批判,认为其在探究符号化的现象对生态系统的动态影响时,陷入了还原论困境。Jrgensen S.E.等更进一步,提出"系统论"的生态系统生态学,试图从系统科学的角度研究生态系统的"物质-能量-信息-网络"系统。这一理论受到生态学界高度重视,但是也存在着在具体研究过程中如何平衡能量视角和生物地球化学视角的问题。由上述争论可见,生态系统生态学研究的趋势是从"物质实体"到"能量流动",再到"网络信息",最后到"开放系统"层层递进。目前面临的关键问题是:如何在更好地定义生态系统整体性的基础上,采取相应的能够体现生态系统整体性的方法,去获得更多、更好的生态系统整体性的认识。     

城市生态学学科定义、研究内容、研究方法的分析与探索

从生态学的学科定义、生态学的发展现状、城市生态学的发展历史与现状、城市生态学未来发展趋势的出发,认为将城市生态学定义为“研究城市及其群体的发生、发展与自然、资源、环境之间相互作用的过程和规律的科学”,既能涵盖城市生态学已有的内容,也能指导城市生态学未来的发展。城市生态学的研究中,城市与自然、资源、环境相互作用的具体机制应全面深入地展开,城市生态系统的研究应更为精确,城市生态学应参与可持续生态系统、生物多样性保护、全球变化的研究。结合城市生态学的发展经验和目前面对的挑战,案例研究与理论研究相结合、现场观测资料与统计资料相结合、对比研究与定位研究相结合、自然科学和社会科学相结合、并充分利用现代新技术和数理模型分析方法应该是城市生态学研究的主要方法。     

城市生态学学科定义、研究内容、研究方法和分析与探索

从生态学的学科定义、生态学的发展现状、城市生态学的发展历史与现状、城市生态学来发展趋势的出发,认为将城市生态学定义为“研究城市及其群体的发生、发展与自然、资源、环境之间相互作用的过程和规律的科学”,既能涵盖城市生态学已有的内容,也能指导城市生态学未来的局长。城市生态学的研究中,城市与自然、资源、环境相互作用的具体机制应全面深入地展开,城市生态系统的研究应更为精确,城市生态学应参与可持续生态系统、生物多样性保护、全球变化的研究。结合城市生态学的发展的经验和目前面对的挑战,案例研究和理论研究相结合、现场观测资料与统计资料相结合、对比研究与定位研究相结合、自然科学和社会科学相结合、并充分利用现代新技术和数理模型分析方法应该是城市生态学研究的主要方法。     

Modelling,abstraction, and computation in systems biology: A view from computer science

Systems biology is centrally engaged with computational modelling across multiple scales and at many levels of abstraction. Formal modelling, precise and formalised abstraction relationships, and computation also lie at the heart of computer science—and over the past decade a growing number of computer scientists have been bringing their discipline's core intellectual and computational tools to bear on biology in fascinating new ways. This paper explores some of the apparent points of contact between the two fields, in the context of a multi-disciplinary discussion on conceptual foundations of systems biology.     

Valéry et l’automatisme psychologique

While the name of Paul Valery is usually associated with that of Leonardo da Vinci or the character, Monsieur Teste, most people are unaware of Valery’s posthumous work, which he considered the most significant of his writings: Cahiers/Notebooks, a voluminous and dense work, in its dimensions (around 30,000 pages) as well as in what it discloses about the daily ponderings of a man who considered himself — in spite of himself — a philosopher. It is a multifaceted work, touching on all fields of thought: history, politics, and the sciences, in all their diversity, from mathematics to physics, and biology to the theory of evolution. Neither philosophy, nor theology, nor linguistics is left in the dark. But he clearly expressed a preference for psychology and, more specifically, the question of mental function: What is it to think? How does the mind link ideas? What is abstraction? What role do feelings play? What is the relationship between the mind and the machine? Must we concede the existence of the unconscious mind. These are some of the questions we address in elucidating the concept of automatism through what makes it work as well as its failings.     

奥德姆的生态思想是整体论吗?

奥德姆的生态思想是妥协的整体论,有还原论的一面。把生态系统看作是功能性整体、承认生态系统各层次的涌现属性属于整体论,把生态关系简化为能量关系、把生态系统看作是物理系统的分析方法则是还原论的。这种矛盾的生态思想决定了其方法论的先天不足:生态模型的内在逻辑关系没有理顺;较少考虑生态系统的进化;生态研究方法的排它性等。但是,它并不妨碍奥德姆的生态思想在夯实生态学的本体论基础、促进理论生态学和生态工程学的形成、协调生态整体论与还原论分歧、奠定生态系统服务功能研究基础等方面发挥重要作用。要超越生态整体论与还原论,繁荣发展生态复杂性理论也许是最好的选择。     

Performing abstraction: two ways of modelling<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Arabidopsis thaliana</Emphasis>

What is the best way to analyse abstraction in scientific modelling? I propose to focus on abstracting as an epistemic activity, which is achieved in different ways and for different purposes depending on the actual circumstances of modelling and the features of the models in question. This is in contrast to a more conventional use of the term ‘abstract’ as an attribute of models, which I characterise as black-boxing the ways in which abstraction is performed and to which epistemological advantage. I exemplify my claims through a detailed reconstruction of the practices involved in creating two types of models of the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana, currently the best-known model organism in plant biology. This leads me to distinguish between two types of abstraction processes: the ‘material abstracting’ required in the production of Arabidopsis specimens and the ‘intellectual abstracting’ characterising the elaboration of visual models of Arabidopsis genomics. Reflecting on the differences between these types of abstracting helps to pin down the epistemic skills and research commitments used by researchers to produce each model, thus clarifying how models are handled by researchers and with which epistemological implications.     

流域生态学的发展困境——来自河流景观的启示

随着中国生态环境问题越来越多地呈现出流域特性,流域生态研究的重要性和紧迫性也日渐凸显。整合流域生态研究,形成一个有效的研究体系,流域生态学迄今未能予以实现。通过对"流域生态学"和"河流景观"这两个相近概念提出过程的比较研究,探讨流域生态学发展困境产生的原因,为流域生态研究体系的构建提供思路。分析结果显示流域生态学目前主要存在两个不足:1)因为提出流域生态学概念的关键现实需求不明确,导致难以确定其核心科学问题;2)因为没有相应的流域生态系统概念模型,进而也就难以带动相关研究落实跟进。要推进流域生态学的发展,第一步要做的就是明确流域生态研究体系构建的核心现实需求,并对流域生态系统进行一个概念模型上的相应设计。     

The evolutionary ecology of myco-heterotrophy

Nonphotosynthetic mycorrhizal plants have long attracted the curiosity of botanists and mycologists, and they have been a target for unabated controversy and speculation. In fact, these puzzling plants dominated the very beginnings of the field of mycorrhizal biology. However, only recently has the mycorrhizal biology of this diverse group of plants begun to be systematically unravelled, largely following a landmark Tansley review a decade ago and crucial developments in the field of molecular ecology. Here I explore our knowledge of these evolutionarily and ecologically diverse plant-fungal symbioses, highlighting areas where there has been significant progress. The focus is on what is arguably the best understood example, the monotropoid mycorrhizal symbiosis, and the overarching goal is to lay out the questions that remain to be answered about the biology of myco-heterotrophy and epiparasitism.     

Function in ecology: an organizational approach

Functional language is ubiquitous in ecology, mainly in the researches about biodiversity and ecosystem function. However, it has not been adequately investigated by ecologists or philosophers of ecology. In the contemporary philosophy of ecology we can recognize a kind of implicit consensus about this issue: while the etiological approaches cannot offer a good concept of function in ecology, Cummins’ systemic approach can. Here we propose to go beyond this implicit consensus, because we think these approaches are not adequate for ecology. We argue that a sound epistemological framework to function in ecology is to be found in organizational approaches. In this line, we define function in ecology as a precise effect of a given constraint on the ecosystem flow of matter and energy performed by a given item of biodiversity, within a closure of constraints. We elaborate on this definition by developing a case study of a bromeliad ecosystem.     

Postcolonial Ecologies of Parasite and Host: Making Parasitism Cosmopolitan

The interest of F. Macfarlane Burnet in host–parasite interactions grew through the 1920s and 1930s, culminating in his book, Biological Aspects of Infectious Disease (1940), often regarded as the founding text of disease ecology. Our knowledge of the influences on Burnet’s ecological thinking is still incomplete. Burnet later attributed much of his conceptual development to his reading of British theoretical biology, especially the work of Julian Huxley and Charles Elton, and regretted he did not study Theobald Smith’s Parasitism and Disease (1934) until after he had formulated his ideas. Scholars also have adduced Burnet’s fascination with natural history and the clinical and public health demands on his research effort, among other influences. I want to consider here additional contributions to Burnet’s ecological thinking, focusing on his intellectual milieu, placing his research in a settler society with exceptional expertise in environmental studies and pest management. In part, an ‘‘ecological turn’’ in Australian science in the 1930s, derived to a degree from British colonial scientific investments, shaped Burnet’s conceptual development. This raises the question of whether we might characterize, in postcolonial fashion, disease ecology, and other studies of parasitism, as successful settler colonial or dominion science.     

生态化学计量学研究进展

生态化学计量学结合生物学、化学和物理学等基本原理,研究能量和碳、氮、磷等化学元素在生态系统中,特别是各种生态系统过程(如竞争、捕食、寄生、共生等)参与者中的变化,以及它们之间的动态平衡,并分析这种平衡对生态系统的影响。目前,C∶N∶P化学计量学研究已深入到生态学的各个层次(细胞、个体、种群、群落、生态系统)及区域等不同尺度。近年来,由于认识到化学计量学研究可以把生态实体的各个层次在元素水平上统一起来,因此生态化学计量学已成为许多生态系统的新兴研究工具。其中,C∶N∶P化学计量学是各种生态过程研究中的核心内容。论述了生态化学计量学在物种、群落、生态系统等各层次的应用现状,并指出了C∶N∶P化学计量学研究的应用前景和发展趋势,以期引起同行的重视并推动该领域的进一步发展。