December 11, 2010
by peter.taylor
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The previous post presented a case of apparent predator-prey interactions among ciliate species one might have expected to be competitors. There are many references to apparent interactions or indirect effects in the ecological literature (e.g., Levine 1976; Holt 1977; Lawlor … Continue reading
December 9, 2010
by peter.taylor
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Ecology is the study of complex interactions. But what, exactly, is an ecological interaction? This and the following posts will indicate that our intuition can be misleading. When I see the Great Blue Heron standing still near the edge of … Continue reading
December 4, 2010
by peter.taylor
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Constructionist and landscape views (Taylor 2005, Chapter 1, Part A) reinforce other currents that have undermined the aspirations of earlier decades for identifying general principles about systems and communities (Kingsland 1995, 213-251; Taylor and Haila 2001). Since the 1980s ecologists … Continue reading
November 20, 2010
by peter.taylor
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According to the perspective of heterogeneous construction, scientists mobilize a diversity of resources and, in so doing, engage with a range of social agents. Similarly, when interpreters of science delimit the relevant resources and agents, they also mobilize resources and … Continue reading
September 30, 2010
by peter.taylor
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When Darwin, in the third chapter of On the Origin of Species, explored evolution’s ecological context he was not simply laying out a program of research for a future science now called ecology (see previous post). He was responding to … Continue reading
September 26, 2010
by peter.taylor
3 Comments
The last post identified special conditions that increase the chances of natural selection (carefully construed) serving as an explanation of the historical change in the frequency of one character. From a knowledge of biology, we should agree that these special … Continue reading
September 22, 2010
by peter.taylor
2 Comments
In the third chapter of On the Origin of Species, Darwin introduced his concept of natural selection by noting that, given the struggle for existence, “any variation, however slight and from whatever cause proceeding, if it is in any degree … Continue reading