Functional ecology

For the journal, see Functional Ecology (journal).
Bees serve the ecological function of pollinating flowers, maintaining flora reproduction and density in the ecosystem.

Functional ecology is a branch of ecology that focuses on the roles, or functions, that species play in the community or ecosystem in which they occur. In this approach, physiological, anatomical, and life history characteristics of the species are emphasized. The term "function" is used to emphasize certain physiological processes rather than discrete properties, describe an organism's role in a trophic system, or illustrate the effects of natural selective processes on an organism.[1] This sub-discipline of ecology represents the crossroads between ecological patterns and the processes and mechanisms that underlie them.

Researchers use two different tools in functional ecology: screening, which involves measuring a trait across a number of species, and empiricism, which provides quantitative relationships for the traits measured in screening.[2] Functional ecology often emphasizes an integrative approach, using organism traits and activities to understand community dynamics and ecosystem processes, particularly in response to the rapid global changes occurring in Earth's environment.

Functional ecology sits at the nexus of several disparate disciplines and serves as the unifying principle between evolutionary ecology, evolutionary biology, genetics and genomics, and traditional ecological studies. It explores such areas as "[species'] competitive abilities, patterns of species co-occurrence, community assembly, and the role of different traits on ecosystem functioning".[3]

  1. ^ Calow, P. (1987). "Towards a Definition of Functional Ecology". Functional Ecology. 1 (1): 57–61. Bibcode:1987FuEco...1...57C. doi:10.2307/2389358. JSTOR 2389358.
  2. ^ Keddy, P. A. (1992). "A Pragmatic Approach to Functional Ecology". Functional Ecology. 6 (6): 621–626. Bibcode:1992FuEco...6..621K. doi:10.2307/2389954. JSTOR 2389954.
  3. ^ Laureto, Livia Maira Orlandi; Cianciaruso, Marcus Vinicius; Samia, Diogo Soares Menezes (July 2015). "Functional diversity: an overview of its history and applicability". Natureza & Conservação. 13 (2): 112–116. doi:10.1016/j.ncon.2015.11.001.