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Ecological Niches: Linking Classical and Contemporary Approaches
Jonathan M. Chase,Mathew A. Leibold +1 more
- 01 Jul 2003
1.3K
TL;DR: Jonathan M. Chase and Mathew A. Leibold argue that the niche is an ideal tool with which to unify disparate research and theoretical approaches in contemporary ecology and develop a framework for understanding niches that is flexible enough to include a variety of small- and large-scale processes.
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Abstract: Why do species live where they live? What determines the abundance and diversity of species in a given area? What role do species play in the functioning of entire ecosystems? All of these questions share a single core concept - the ecological niche. Although the niche concept has fallen into disfavour among ecologists in recent years, Jonathan M. Chase and Mathew A. Leibold argue that the niche is an ideal tool with which to unify disparate research and theoretical approaches in contemporary ecology. Chase and Leibold define the niche as including both what an organism needs from its environment and how that organism's activities shape its environment. Drawing on the theory of consumer-resource interactions, as well as its graphical analysis, they develop a framework for understanding niches that is flexible enough to include a variety of small- and large-scale processes, from resource competition, predation and stress to community structure, biodiversity and ecosystem function. Chase and Leibold's synthetic approach should interest ecologists from a wide range of subdisciplines.
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Citations
Coccinellids in diverse communities: which niche fits?
TL;DR: The best niche fit for coccinellids may be that of a complement to other species, contributing to improved biological control with greater predator biodiversity.
67
Biogeography, changing climates, and niche evolution: Biogeography, changing climates, and niche evolution.
TL;DR: This paper serves as an introduction to the Arthur M. Sackler Colloquium of the National Academy of Sciences, “Biogeography, Changing Climates, and Niche Evolution” held December 11–13, 2008, at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center of theNational Academies of Sciences and Engineering in Irvine, CA.
67
The effects of resource enrichment, dispersal, and predation on local and metacommunity structure.
Marc W. Cadotte,Allison M. Fortner,Allison M. Fortner,Tadashi Fukami,Tadashi Fukami,Tadashi Fukami +5 more
TL;DR: The results show that effects of resource enrichment, dispersal, and predation were mostly additive rather than interactive, indicating that it may be sometimes easier to understand their effects than generally thought due to complex interactive effects.
66
Biotic interactions limit species richness in an alpine plant community, especially under experimental warming
Siri Lie Olsen,Kari Klanderud +1 more
TL;DR: The relative importance of dispersal and environmental fi ltering during seedling recruitment and plant establishment in an alpine plant community subjected to seed addition and long-term experimental warming was examined, suggesting that environmental factors limit local species richness in the long term.
66
Plant richness pattern in an elevation gradient in the Eastern Himalaya
TL;DR: The ecotone effect of different forest types explained the mid-elevation peaks in plant richness more prominently than the geographic area availability, and inclusion of disturbance and biotic interactions may improve ecological understandings on the plant richness pattern along the elevation gradient.
66
References
•Book
Resource competition and community structure
David Tilman
- 01 Jan 1982
TL;DR: This book builds a mechanistic, resource-based explanation of the structure and functioning of ecological communities and explores such problems as the evolution of "super species," the differences between plant and animal community diversity patterns, and the cause of plant succession.
5.9K
Falsification and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes
Imre Lakatos
- 01 Jan 1976
TL;DR: For centuries knowledge meant proven knowledge, proven either by the power of the intellect or by the evidence of the senses as discussed by the authors. But the notion of proven knowledge was questioned by the sceptics more than two thousand years ago; but they were browbeaten into confusion by the glory of Newtonian physics.
5.8K
Are there general laws in ecology
TL;DR: It is argued that ecology has numerous laws in this sense of the word, in the form of widespread, repeatable patterns in nature, but hardly any laws that are universally true.
The Niche Concept Revisited: Mechanistic Models and Community Context
TL;DR: The niche concept is reviewed using “mechanistic” models of community theory to identify two distinct components; the “impact” niche describing instantaneous per—capita effects of species on the environment and the "requirement" niche describing the responses of species to the environment.
697
Who rules in science? : an opinionated guide to the wars
James Robert Brown
- 01 Jan 2001
TL;DR: In this article, the role of reason in science has been discussed and discussed in the context of science with a social agenda, and the role role of science in the Democratization of science is discussed.
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