The origins of this book lie in a phrase familiar to all : the balance of nature . What is this balance of nature that ecologists talk about ? If ecologists now speak more of ecological stability , perhaps we are just substituting one ...

Author: Stuart L. Pimm

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

ISBN: 0226668304

Category: Nature

Page: 452

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Why "the balance of nature"? Resilience. Temporal variability and the individual species. The effects of food-web structure. The variability of the environment. Nonlinear dynamics, strange attractors, and chaos. Extinctions. Species differences and community structure as explanations of why introductions fail. Patterns in species composition. Food-web structure and community persistence. Community assembly; or why are there so many kinds of communities? Small-scale experimental removals of species. Food webs and resistance. Changes in total density and species composition. The consequences of introductions and extinctions. Multispecies models and their limitations. Conclusions and caveats.

there or wasn't there a balance of nature? On page 68 of the Origin, Darwin made an observation that was representative of what was at issue in the population regulation debate. Darwin noted that the birds inhabiting the grounds around ...

Author: John C. Kricher

Publisher: Princeton University Press

ISBN: 9781400830268

Category: Nature

Page: 251

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The idea of a balance of nature has been a dominant part of Western philosophy since before Aristotle, and it persists in the public imagination and even among some ecologists today. In this lively and thought-provoking book, John Kricher demonstrates that nature in fact is not in balance, nor has it ever been at any stage in Earth's history. He explains how and why this notion of a natural world in balance has endured for so long, and he shows why, in these times of extraordinary human influence on the planet's ecosystems, it is critical that we accept and understand that evolution is a fact of life, and that ecology is far more dynamic than we ever imagined. The Balance of Nature traces the fascinating history of the science of ecology and evolutionary biology, from the discipline's early innovators to the advent of Darwin and evolution, to the brilliant and inquisitive scientific minds of today. Blending insights and entertaining stories from his own remarkable life in science, Kricher reveals how evolution is a powerful engine that drives ecological change, how nature is constantly in flux and, in effect, quite naturally out of balance--and how notions to the contrary are misguided and ultimately hazardous to us all. The Balance of Nature forcefully argues that an understanding of the dynamic nature of ecology and evolution is essential to formulating policies of environmental ethics to guide humanity toward a more responsible stewardship of our planet's ecosystems.

balance. of. nature. —. ecological. laws. and. human-induced. invasions. G. H. Walter Introduction Autecology and its place in ecological interpretation is only poorly understood. It has consequently been edged out of consideration as a ...

Author: Klaus Rohde

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

ISBN: 9781107310940

Category: Nature

Page:

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It is clear that nature is undergoing rapid changes as a result of human activities such as industry, agriculture, travel, fisheries and urbanisation. What effects do these activities have? Are they disturbing equilibria in ecological populations and communities, thus upsetting the balance of nature, or are they enhancing naturally occurring disequilibria, perhaps with even worse consequences? It is often argued that large-scale fluctuations in climate and sea-levels have occurred over and over again in the geological past, long before human activities could possibly have had any impact, and that human effects are very small compared to those that occur naturally. Should we conclude that human activity cannot significantly affect the environment, or are these naturally occurring fluctuations actually being dangerously enhanced by humans? This book examines these questions, first by providing evidence for equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions in relatively undisturbed ecosystems, and second by examining human-induced effects.

... the myth of an objective science has been replaced by an epistemic science which takes into account the participation of consciousness in observing and describing natural phenomena; the building-block metaphor has been supplanted by ...

Author: Dirk Dunbar

Publisher: Peter Lang Pub Incorporated

ISBN: IND:30000042843486

Category: Philosophy

Page: 165

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Composed of scholars such as Joseph Campbell, Alan Watts, Fritjof Capra, Theodore Roszak, and Sam Keen, the New-Paradigm movement purports that Western culture is reintegrating an ecological, feminine impulse into its dominantly masculine, rational value system. By surveying the scholarship and focusing its message, this study shows how the West's valorization of reason, control, and progress forced the awareness of nature's balance as exhibited in Earth wisdom, underground for over two millenia, until the spiritual revolution of the 1960s initiated an extensive attempt to reintegrate it.

against the sufficiency of the provision of Nature for all man- kind . I proceed , therefore , to shew , that when a necessary part of the universal supply is thus distributed through the channels of kindness and mercy , there is still ...

Author: Michael Thomas Sadler

Publisher:

ISBN: OSU:32435015564222

Category: Great Britain

Page: 88

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There is one species pivotal to the thrust of Balance on Nature's Commons. That species is H. sapiens. We are the culmination of a phase of natural evolution that saw single organic cells evolve into complex, multi-celled organisms ...

Author: Mansel Keith Presnell

Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers

ISBN: 9781398475069

Category: Nature

Page: 161

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Balance on Nature’s Commons is a ‘must read’ for anyone aspiring to be an environmental activist, anyone concerned about anthropogenic altercation of environmental balance, and anyone involved in decision-making relevant to those issues. The narrative is written in an easy-to-follow non-academic style that calls the cards as the author sees them. It is intended to be thought-provoking and is well studded with ‘curved balls’. The author clearly explains the concept of ‘Natural Commons’ and their importance for maintaining the integrity of the ‘Web of Life’, which coincidently includes humanity. Unlike much that is written about environmental priorities, the text also includes a substantive section suggesting how the priorities might be addressed. Have we the will? The multi-disciplinary approach may bemuse the specialist, but it provides material that everyone can empathise with.

Eons of natural selection had given the Yellows their steady, methodical ways. From time to time, she'd heard stories of Yellows that had abandoned their larvae instead of finding a nursery, or those who'd up and left the township to ...

Author: Heather Jarman

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

ISBN: 9780743475938

Category: Fiction

Page: 288

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In the wake of the catastrophic events of Wildfire, P8 Blue returns to her homeworld, only to find herself caught up in a web of intrigue. Strange disappearances among her fellow Nasats and odd happenings throughout her homeland have stymied local authorities. Due to her experiences with Starfleet in general and the S.C.E. in particular, Blue is asked to aid in the investigation. What they turn up will lead to a terrible secret from the Nasat's past, and it will take all of Blue's ingenuity to save her people -- and an entire world....

maintain the balance of nature ' . He discovered the statistical regularity of both the sex ratio in human beings and most of the causes of mortality ( apart from epidemics ) in human populations . Sir Matthew Hale in 1667 added yet ...

Author: Charles Birch

Publisher: CUP Archive

ISBN: 052131514X

Category: Science

Page: 372

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This book is about the liberation of the concept of life from the bondage fashioned by the interpreters of life ever since biology began, and about the liberation of the life of humans and non-humans alike from the bondage of social structures and behaviour, which now threatens the fullness of life's possibilities if not survival itself. It falls into a tradition of writings about human problems from a perspective informed by biology. It rejects the mechanistic model of life dominant in the Western world and develops an alternative 'ecological model' which is applicable to the life of the cell and the life of the human community. For the first time it brings together in one work the insights of modern biology with those of a modern holistic philosophy and a liberal theology in a way which challenges conventional approaches to science, agriculture, sociology, politics, economics, development and liberation movements.

... the need for changes in deer management. As a result, misunderstandings and exaggerations transformed the situation into an infamous textbook case of how humans disrupted the balance of nature through their shortsighted actions.

Author: Christian C. Young

Publisher: ABC-CLIO

ISBN: 9781576079638

Category: Science

Page: 299

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Describes the relationship between the environmental sciences and society.

THE TEETERING BALANCE OF NATURE The balance of nature, then, is an adjustment between the potential rate of reproduction and the environmental resistance. How steady the balance appears depends on how closely we look at it.

Author: Marston Bates

Publisher: Princeton University Press

ISBN: 9781400861545

Category: Nature

Page: 332

View: 99

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This classic work is an exploration of what natural history is, and a sustained effort to see how it relates to other areas of biology. Marston Bates did not attempt to overwhelm his audience with facts or overinterpret those he did use, and, perhaps for this reason, The Nature of Natural History is a timeless work. The author's genuine interest in the tropics has a very current feeling, and the first ten or fifteen chapters of the work have a style that is parallel to that of David Attenborough's verbal presentations of nature. From the book: "I have already made several remarks about the connection between parasitism and degeneracy. I suspect this is a matter of point of view. We are predatory animals ourselves, and consequently admire the characteristics of predationagility, speed, cunning, self-reliance. We feel a certain kinship with the lion, and regard the liver fluke with horror. If a sheep were given the choice, though, it might prefer to be debilitated by liver flukes rather than killed by a lion." Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.