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Complexity in Ecological Systems
Ecology, the Ascendent Perspective
Ecology, Ulanowicz argues, needs a more robust central paradigm, and this book presents one derived from current work in information theory, ecosystem energetics, and complexity theory; the result is a theoretical and empirical tool kit better able to measure the developmental status of any living community.
Ranging widely to explore critical issues in the history of science―order, causality, progress, laws―Ulanowicz sets forth a coherent theoretical framework for ecology. He demonstrates that mechanical models can capture behavior of relatively simple, isolated populations, but fail to explain the rich, complex, and sometimes unpredictable mix of order and disorder that characterizes larger systems.
A challenge to existing Newtonian and Darwinian paradigms, this book suggests ways to bring ecology from the fringes to the center of science.
Ranging widely to explore critical issues in the history of science―order, causality, progress, laws―Ulanowicz sets forth a coherent theoretical framework for ecology. He demonstrates that mechanical models can capture behavior of relatively simple, isolated populations, but fail to explain the rich, complex, and sometimes unpredictable mix of order and disorder that characterizes larger systems.
A challenge to existing Newtonian and Darwinian paradigms, this book suggests ways to bring ecology from the fringes to the center of science.
222 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 1997
3 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
Robert E. Ulanowicz
12 books3 followersRobert Edward Ulanowicz is an American theoretical ecologist and philosopher of Polish descent who is best known for his search for a unified theory of ecology.
He was born September 17, 1943 in Baltimore, Maryland.
He served as Professor of Theoretical Ecology at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons, Maryland until his retirement in 2008. Ulanowicz received both his BS and PhD in chemical engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1964 and 68, respectively.
Dr. Ulanowicz currently resides in Gainesville, Florida.
Ulanowicz uses techniques from information theory and thermodynamics to study the organization of flows of energy and nutrients within ecosystems. Although his ideas have been primarily applied in ecology, many of his concepts are abstract and have been applied to other areas in which flow networks arise, such as economics.
Though Ulanowicz began his career with substantial successes in modeling of ecological systems using differential equations, he soon reached the limits of this approach[citation needed]. Realizing that any ecosystem is a complex system, he decided to move away from what he saw as the inappropriate use of a reductionist approach, and instead began to work towards development of theoretical measures of the ecosystem as a whole, such as ascendency.
Ulanowicz has authored or co-authored over a hundred articles in theoretical ecology and related areas of philosophy, especially those dealing with autocatalysis and causality. He has authored three books to date.
* A Third Window: Natural Life Beyond Newton and Darwin, Templeton Foundation Press (2009) (ISBN 159947154X)
* Ecology: The Ascendant Perspective, Columbia University Press (1997) (ISBN 0231108281) - Written for a more general audience
* Growth and Development - Ecosystems phenomenology, Springer (1986) (ISBN 0387962654) - A more technical exposition of Ulanowicz's ideas
While living in Maryland, Ulanowicz took up a hobby of cultivating and casually breeding cold-hardy palm trees; he drew attention for a Windmill palm on Solomons Island that grew taller than the one-story building it was planted outside.
Ulanowicz was named the recipient of the 2007 Ilya Prigogine Medal for outstanding research in ecological systems.[4] He participated in the Stock Exchange of Visions project in 2007.
Ulanowicz was a featured speaker at the 2009 Ill STOQ International Conference entitled "Biological Evolution: Facts and Theories," which discussed the impacts and effects of the publication of On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_...
He was born September 17, 1943 in Baltimore, Maryland.
He served as Professor of Theoretical Ecology at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons, Maryland until his retirement in 2008. Ulanowicz received both his BS and PhD in chemical engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1964 and 68, respectively.
Dr. Ulanowicz currently resides in Gainesville, Florida.
Ulanowicz uses techniques from information theory and thermodynamics to study the organization of flows of energy and nutrients within ecosystems. Although his ideas have been primarily applied in ecology, many of his concepts are abstract and have been applied to other areas in which flow networks arise, such as economics.
Though Ulanowicz began his career with substantial successes in modeling of ecological systems using differential equations, he soon reached the limits of this approach[citation needed]. Realizing that any ecosystem is a complex system, he decided to move away from what he saw as the inappropriate use of a reductionist approach, and instead began to work towards development of theoretical measures of the ecosystem as a whole, such as ascendency.
Ulanowicz has authored or co-authored over a hundred articles in theoretical ecology and related areas of philosophy, especially those dealing with autocatalysis and causality. He has authored three books to date.
* A Third Window: Natural Life Beyond Newton and Darwin, Templeton Foundation Press (2009) (ISBN 159947154X)
* Ecology: The Ascendant Perspective, Columbia University Press (1997) (ISBN 0231108281) - Written for a more general audience
* Growth and Development - Ecosystems phenomenology, Springer (1986) (ISBN 0387962654) - A more technical exposition of Ulanowicz's ideas
While living in Maryland, Ulanowicz took up a hobby of cultivating and casually breeding cold-hardy palm trees; he drew attention for a Windmill palm on Solomons Island that grew taller than the one-story building it was planted outside.
Ulanowicz was named the recipient of the 2007 Ilya Prigogine Medal for outstanding research in ecological systems.[4] He participated in the Stock Exchange of Visions project in 2007.
Ulanowicz was a featured speaker at the 2009 Ill STOQ International Conference entitled "Biological Evolution: Facts and Theories," which discussed the impacts and effects of the publication of On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_...
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