What Do Ecological Paradigms Offer to Conservation?

Autor: Som B. Ale, Henry F. Howe
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2010
Předmět:
Zdroj: International Journal of Ecology, Vol 2010 (2010)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1687-9708
1687-9716
DOI: 10.1155/2010/250754
Popis: Ecological theory provides applications to biodiversity management—but often falls short of expectations. One possibility is that heuristic theories of a young science are too immature. Logistic growth predicts a carrying capacity, but fisheries managed with the Lotka-Volterra paradigm continue to collapse. A second issue is that general predictions may not be useful. The theory of island biogeography predicts species richness but does not predict community composition. A third possibility is that the theory itself may not have much to do with nature, or that empirical parameterization is too difficult to know. The metapopulation paradigm is relevant to conservation, but metapopulations might not be common in nature. For instance, empirical parameterization within the metapopulation paradigm is usually infeasible. A challenge is to determine why ecology fails to match needs of managers sometimes but helps at other. Managers may expect too much of paradigmatic blueprints, while ecologists believe them too much. Those who implement biodiversity conservation plans need simple, pragmatic guidelines based on science. Is this possible? What is possible? An eclectic review of theory and practice demonstrate the power and weaknesses of the ideas that guide conservation and attempt to identify reasons for prevailing disappointment.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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