ECOL 505 Foundations of Ecology (Fall 2010) 

Alan Knapp, A/Z 210, 491-7010aknapp@colostate.edu

Tuesday – Thursday, 1100-1150 AM, E203 Engineering Bldg.Web Site: http://lamar.colostate.edu/~aknapp/ey505/

Text: None…but

Philosophy of Ecology: From Science to Synthesis (Keller and Golley, eds.) 2000, Univ. Georgia Press.

The Princeton Guide to Ecology. S. Levin, ed., 2009, Princeton University Press

Goals of the Course:

Understand & appreciate the context and diversity of Ecology

Understand where, how and why Ecology came to be

Appreciate how and why ecologists ask questions – past and present

Appreciate what is unique about Ecology

Develop abilities to both critique and value ecological ideas past and present

Consider where Ecology might be headed in the future

Course Format:

• Lecture (Me, guests…)

• Readings (on web site)

• Weekly feedback (email)

• Discussion

Tentative scheduleWeek Topic Readings Aug 24, 26 Expectations, overview, class assignments

 Aug 31, S. 2 Science & context - Biology and Ecology Mayr 1996 Elliott & Brook 2007 Sept. 07, 9 The why and how of ecology Graham & Dayton 2002

(past and present) Kingsland 2004

Syllabus – on line version will be updated frequently

Expectations:

• Come to class prepared (read the readings!)

• Participate in discussions

• If your background is deficient, (re)read an Intro. Ecology Text…

• This is a graduate level course…

Evaluation:

Participation is key (you must be here…)

• Discussion questions/points from readings (email)

• Brief overviews of papers/clarification of comments

• Discussion

• A (hopefully) fun and insightful group project

• Final exam – a short paper - TBD

• See syllabus for exact details

Two other goals:

As an entering cohort of graduate students into GDPE and CSU…

Learn about each other…

1st assignment

Class Introductions:

Name

Educational background

Background in ecology

Advisor at CSU?

Taxonomy, habitat, and/or field of interest (i.e., Avian ecology in the tropics, remote sensing of marine systems, ecology of infectious disease)

What can we learn from the biographies of successful Ecologists?

Group projects…4 students per group – 1 presenter

Goal – From the Web or other sources (Web of Science, Home pages, Google Scholar), trace the career paths of our most successful current ecologists

Each report should include:An academic biography (degrees from where and when)Positions held (when and where and what)Graphs of: Publications/year By journal + Changes through time By authorship (order) + Changes through time Most cited papers (3-5) and citations/yearMajor topics of research + Changes through timeSuccessful students?Did they have a “famous” advisor?Any other interesting facts or graphs you can provide.

Prepare a short (10 min max!) powerpoint presentation to be presented to the class and turned in to me.

What can we learn from the biographies of successful Ecologists?

Group projects…4 students per group – 1 presenter

Goal – From the Web or other sources (Web of Science, Home pages, Google Scholar), trace the career paths of our most successful current ecologists

Each report should include:An academic biography (degrees from where and when)Positions held (when and where and what)Graphs of: Publications/year By journal + Changes through time By authorship (order) + Changes through time Most cited papers (3-5) and citations/yearMajor topics of research + Changes through timeSuccessful students?Did they have a “famous” advisor?Any other interesting facts or graphs you can provide.

Prepare a short (10 min max!) powerpoint presentation to be presented to the class and turned in to me.

Select from:

ISI most highly cited scientists in Ecology and Environmental Scienceshttp://hcr3.isiknowledge.com/home.cgi

Or – if you want to choose someone not on this list, please check with me first. Do NOT select CSU ecologists (even though many are worthy).

For class periods on Oct 7, 14, 21 and 28, we will need a biography ready for class presentation in the Organismal, Population, Community and Ecosystems weeks.

Remainder will present week of Nov. 9.

Select from:

ISI most highly cited scientists in Ecology and Environmental Scienceshttp://hcr3.isiknowledge.com/home.cgi

Or – if you want to choose someone not on this list, please check with me first. Do NOT select CSU ecologists (even though many are worthy).

For class periods on Oct 7, 14, 21 and 28, we will need a biography ready for class presentation in the Organismal, Population, Community and Ecosystems weeks.

Remainder will present week of Nov. 9.

• Notes posted on-line

• Email comments start on Week 2

• Please don’t send as attachments

Learn a bit about your instructor…

Background, biases, perspective, strengths & weaknesses

Ecophysiology, Succession, STOMATES!, Fire ecology, Ecosystem ecology, Herbivory, Communities, Global and Climate Change, Comparative global grassland ecology…

My bias, perspective & weakness?

Plants…Grasslands…ANPP…Global change…Experiments…

Class Demography:

MSc – 8PhD – 25

WCNR 2:1 over all other colleges combined…

Most of you have “real world” experience – rather than on the rapid BS, MSc, PhD track.

Class Poll:

What ecological issue should a “Czar of Global Ecological Crises” first deal with?  

Climate change - 6Reducing fossil fuel use and greenhouse gasses- 3Pollution, aquatic systems, air quality - 2Ecosystem services valuation - 2Invasive species - 2Human population control - 2C sequestration, soil ecology and Carbon cycling - 2Salvaging the waste and by-products of IndustryManagement of natural resourcesCrisis facing the world's oceans, including overfishing, marine debris, acidification,Global wetland and grassland restoration BP oil spill Biodiversity loss

Introductory Material: a very quick review

EcologyThe past –

• What are its roots?• Why was it done?• How was it done?

Today –

Why is it done?

• How is it done?

Is Ecology like other sciences?

How does Ecology fit in with other sciences?

What is unique about Ecology?

The Historical Development of Ecology as a Science 

Modern ecological thinking has its roots in the 18th and early 19th century:

• Natural history (back to the time of the Greek philosophers) • Classification schemes (Greeks, Linnaeus)

• Laboratory biology (physiology (function) and structure)

• Evolution (natural selection) concepts

  These gave rise to three somewhat distinct pathways of development in the mid-19th century:

1. A physiological perspective – the need to get out of the lab and study organisms in their natural environment - Ernst Haeckel, animal physiologist (coined the term ecology in 1866)

2. A community perspective began with plant geography as developed by Germans (e.g. von Humboldt) - focus on mapping associations and vegetation formations (Classification/taxonomy)

3. An underlying evolutionary theme thanks to Darwin…

(the organism and its environment)

Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919) – 85 years!

Best known for the famous statement "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny", he also coined many words commonly used by biologists today, such as phylum, phylogeny, and ecology.

Also trained as a physician, Haeckel abandoned his practice in 1859 after reading Darwin's Origin of Species. Always suspicious of teleological and mystical explanation, Haeckel used the Origin as ammunition both to attack entrenched religious dogma and to build his own unique world view.

Why did Haeckel feel the need to “invent” Ecology?

Needed to distinguish the study of complex interrelations that organisms face in nature (Darwin’s “struggle for existence”) from the standard type of Biology of the day – describing the structure of organisms and classifying them… (comparative anatomy).

“Ecology” as a concept or discipline did not exactly catch on quickly…

1866 – term coined

1885 – Ecology used in a book title (19 yrs later)

1913 – British Ecological Society founded (47 yrs later!)

1915 – Ecological Society of America

1938 – An eminent philosopher of science claims that there is no name in common use for the field of science in which the behaviors of organisms and groups of organisms are studied within their natural environment (72 yrs later!)

What were ecological studies like in the first half of the 20th century?

Ecology was originally a “descriptive and qualitative discipline”

Pattern was observed and a linkage to process was postulated…(Pines in the Prairie, Gates 1926 Ecology)

“The ecologist, more than any other worker in biology, continues the tradition of the naturalist as exemplified by Charles Darwin” – Paul Sears (1944)

This “naturalist” tradition may be one reason why Ecology was slow to be offered to students as a formal part of their curriculum.

Paul Sears (1960)

“A quick examination of catalogs shows that 5 out of 12 leading colleges offer no ecology whatsoever, while the same thing is true of 3 of 11 universities.”

Post 1960’s – Environmental Movement or “Romantic (nature as awe inspiring) and Political Ecology (environmental ethics)” become widespread and popular views…

This was good with respect to increasing public awareness of the importance of ecological interactions

But….led to well-documented confusion between Environmental Philosophy and Ecological Science (at least for the public)

Ecologist = tree hugger, save the whales, recycle, live off the land, reject the establishment, be “organic”…

At CSU and elsewhere = BE GREEN

Misuse (misappropriation) of the term still exists today:

“Ecology in the Twentieth Century: A History” by A. Bramwell (1989) about a political movement in Europe…

EcoQuest convention prior to Ecological Society of America meetings in Memphis…Selling home air and water purifiers…

EcoPest – pest eradication – environmentally friendly use of pesticides…

Public and media’s confusion over name

Does any other science have this problem of misuse of its name or such close association with a philosophy!?!?

Ecology = Environmentalism

Czar of Global Ecological Crises Nominees:

The scientists

Locals:Dr. Thomas Stohlgren, USGS/CSUDr. Joyce Berry, Dean WCNRDr. Sam Foster, USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station

Other Ecologists:

Dr. E.O. Wilson, Harvard - 3Dr. Paul Ehrlich, Stanford - 3Dr. Jane Lubchenco, (Oregon, now NOAA) Dr. Gretchen Daily, StanfordDr. Jeff Lockwood, U. Wyoming Dr. Jennifer Jenkins, EPADr. Bill Gaines, wildlife biologist for the U.S. Forest ServiceDr. Reinhold A. Rasmussen of Oregon Health and Science University 

Other Scientists:Dr. James Lovelock (PhD medicine, scientist, futurologist!)Dr. James Hansen, NASA (PhD Atmospheric Physics)

Politicians, Celebrities and the very rich:Al GoreBill ClintonSir David AttenboroughBill Gates

Hard to categorize:Alternately, I'd choose Lady GaGa (with strong/constant coaching from the Leopold Foundation) because the masses of unconcerned citizens would flock to support her cause. 

Even harder to categorize:Ghandi/E.O.Wilson hybrid- “Who's gonna talk crap about this guy?...no one” 

Disagree with President – should appoint a panel instead

Can think of no one… - 2

Several described desired qualities, but named no actual person…

Unique class – 15 PhD ecologists + 2 other Scientists

vs. 6 “others”…(including a half dead guy)

So 50% of you named a “real ecologist”…

Past classes:

43% Ecologists, defined as likely ESA members30% Other Scientists (Climatologists, Economists, etc…)

17% Politicians10% Environmentalists

If you were asked to nominate a Surgeon General, what do you think would be the % of non-M.D.’s suggested?

What does this tell us about Ecology as a discipline? And the nature of Ecological Crises?