History of ecology

Ecology is a new science and considered as an important branch of biological science, having only become prominent during the second half of the 20th century.[1] Ecological thought is derivative of established currents in philosophy, particularly from ethics and politics.[2]

Its history stems all the way back to the 4th century. One of the first ecologists whose writings survive may have been Aristotle or perhaps his student, Theophrastus, both of whom had interest in many species of animals and plants. Theophrastus described interrelationships between animals and their environment as early as the 4th century BC.[3] Ecology developed substantially in the 18th and 19th century. It began with Carl Linnaeus and his work with the economy of nature.[4] Soon after came Alexander von Humboldt and his work with botanical geography.[5] Alexander von Humboldt and Karl Möbius then contributed with the notion of biocoenosis. Eugenius Warming's work with ecological plant geography led to the founding of ecology as a discipline.[6] Charles Darwin's work also contributed to the science of ecology, and Darwin is often attributed with progressing the discipline more than anyone else in its young history. Ecological thought expanded even more in the early 20th century.[7] Major contributions included: Eduard Suess’ and Vladimir Vernadsky's work with the biosphere, Arthur Tansley's ecosystem, Charles Elton's Animal Ecology, and Henry Cowles ecological succession.[8]

Ecology influenced the social sciences and humanities. Human ecology began in the early 20th century and it recognized humans as an ecological factor. Later James Lovelock advanced views on earth as a macro-organism with the Gaia hypothesis.[9][10] Conservation stemmed from the science of ecology. Important figures and movements include Shelford and the ESA, National Environmental Policy act, George Perkins Marsh, Theodore Roosevelt, Stephen A. Forbes, and post-Dust Bowl conservation. Later in the 20th century world governments collaborated on man’s effects on the biosphere and Earth’s environment.

The history of ecology is intertwined with the history of conservation and restoration efforts.[11][12]

  1. ^ McIntosh, R. P. (1985). The Background of Ecology: Concept and Theory. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521270878.
  2. ^ Eric Laferrière; Peter J. Stoett (2 September 2003). International Relations Theory and Ecological Thought: Towards a Synthesis. Routledge. pp. 25–. ISBN 978-1-134-71068-3.
  3. ^ Ramalay, F. (1940). "The growth of a science". University of Colorado Studies. 26: 3–14.
  4. ^ Reid, Gordon Mcgregor (February 2009). "Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778): His Life, Philosophy and Science and Its Relationship to Modern Biology and Medicine". Taxon. 58 (1): 18–31. doi:10.1002/tax.581005.
  5. ^ Silvertown, J.; Poulton, P.; Johnston, E.; Edwards, G.; Heard, M.; Biss, P. M. (2006). "The Park Grass Experiment 1856–2006: its contribution to ecology". Journal of Ecology. 94 (4): 801–814. Bibcode:2006JEcol..94..801S. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2745.2006.01145.x.
  6. ^ Coleman, W. (1986). "Evolution into ecology? The strategy of Warming's ecological plant geography". Journal of the History of Biology. 19 (2): 181–196. doi:10.1007/BF00138875. PMID 11611989. S2CID 36359864.
  7. ^ Acot, P. (1997). "The Lamarckian Cradle of Scientific Ecology". Acta Biotheoretica. 45 (3/4): 185–193. doi:10.1023/A:1000631103244. S2CID 83288244.
  8. ^ Cowles, H. C. (1911). "The causes of vegetational cycles". Annals of the Association of American Geographers. 1 (1): 3–20. JSTOR 2560843.
  9. ^ Egerton, F. N. (1973). "Changing Concepts of the Balance of Nature". Quarterly Review of Biology. 48 (2): 322–50. doi:10.1086/407594. S2CID 85279189.
  10. ^ Egerton, F. N. (2001). "A History of the Ecological Sciences, Part 1: Early Greek Origins" (PDF). Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. 82: 93–97.
  11. ^ Smith, S. HI; Mark, S. (2009). "The Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation". The South Shore Journal. 3: 1–10. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016.
  12. ^ Martin, Laura J. (2022). Wild by Design: The Rise of Ecological Restoration. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-97942-0.