Trends in ecological research for the 1980s
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Trends in ecological research for the 1980s
(NATO conference series, I,
Plenum Press : Published in cooperation with NATO Scientific Affairs Division, c1984
Available at 9 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
"Proceedings of a NATO ARW and INTECOL Workshop on the Future and Use of Ecology after the Decade of the Environment, held April 7-9, 1983, at Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium"--T.p. verso
Includes bibliographies and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Is ecology at a crossroad? After three decades of rapid, though somewhat anarchic development, many ecologists now are beginning to ask this question. They have the feeling of no longer belonging to a unified and mature scientific discipline. Many of them claim to be mere empiricists, whereas others are proud to be considered theoreticians. Each side has its own journals and holds its own specialists' meetings, tending to disregard the achievements of the other. The communication gap between the two schools is quickly widening, to the detriment of both. To make things worse, the word "ecology" now has a different meaning for the professional biologists and the general public. Ecology is still considered as a creditable (though rather "soft") scientific discipline by the former, whereas it is perceived as a new, non-conformist political philosophy by the latter. Empirical ecologists are fundamentally naturalists who enjoy the immense complexity of the natural world and devote their lifetimes to the description of the many adaptive characteristics--morpholog- ical, biological, or behavioral--of the hundreds of thousands of species sharing the earth with us.
They generally are ignorant of, if not allergic to, the use of any mathematical representation of living phenomena. They' feel that ecological theory is rapidly becoming a mathematical game that has lost any contact with the "realities of life.
Table of Contents
Progress and Promise in Plant Physiological Ecology.- Interaction and Integration--The Role of Microbiology in Ecological Research.- Aquatic Microbial Ecology--Research Questions and Opportunities.- Some Growth Points in Investigative Plant Ecology.- Research Questions in Ecology Relating to Community Ecology, Plant-Herbivore Interactions, and Insect Ecology in General.- Vegetation Science in the 1980s.- Ecological Research on Arthropods in Central Amazonian Forest Ecosystems with Recommendations for Study Procedures.- Considerations on Some Ecological Principles.- Towards a Landscape Ecology of River Valleys.- And Now? Ecosystem Research!.- Nutrient Immobilization in Decaying Litter: An Example of Carbon-Nutrient Interactions.- Stability and Destabilization of Central European Forest Ecosystems--A Theoretical, Data Based Approach.- Why Mathematical Models in Evolutionary Ecology?.- A Guideline for Ecological Research.- Simple Facts About Life and the Environment Not to Forget in Preparing Schoolbooks for Our Grandchildren.- Summary.- Acknowledgements.- Workshop Participants.
by "Nielsen BookData"