Preface
At the 1965 meeting of the British Association for the Advancement
of Science Sir Peter Medawer said, in talking about the state of embryology: “There is no theory of development . . . there has therefore
been little sense of progression or timeliness about embryological research. Of many papers delivered at embryology meetings . . . one too
often feels that they might have been delivered five years before or
deferred for five years without making anyone conscious of great loss.”
Replace the word “embryology” by “ecology” and that statement
expresses what many regard as a major problem in ecological science;
how much of modern and riot so modern ecological literature helps to
advance the subject. It is our hope that the special topics selected for
review in this series will make a positive contribution to the development of ecology. As far as possible subjects and authors are selected
to highlight important problems or fields of research, or to bring to
bear on ecology the methods and outlooks of other sciences.
Whilst it is important that ecologists strive to develop an adequate
theoretical basis for their subject, the need for reliable quantitative
information collected with a view to testing hypotheses or theories cannot be overstressed. In this number, the contributions of Dr. Reynoldson and Dr. Klomp demonstrate the type of painstaking and long-term
studies which are necessary to provide the solid basis for a proper
understanding of population ecology. The two other contributions are
concerned with production studies which are of special significance in
view of the emphasis which is being given to productivity investigations
in the International Biological Programme. Dr. Engelmann has produced a stimulating review of certain aspects of ecosystem dynamics
‘in which he particularly stresses the need for constructing models which
can be used as a basis for logical predictions. Professor Raymont has
brought together an abundant amount of information on production
studies of marine plankton. Much of what he has to say has a bearing
on possible developments in other branches of ecology, because the
subtle chemical factors which influence the grow-th and succession of
plankton will have their counterparts in the interactions of microflora
and fauna in terrestrial systems.
vii
At the 1965 meeting of the British Association for the Advancement
of Science Sir Peter Medawer said, in talking about the state of embryology: “There is no theory of development . . . there has therefore
been little sense of progression or timeliness about embryological research. Of many papers delivered at embryology meetings . . . one too
often feels that they might have been delivered five years before or
deferred for five years without making anyone conscious of great loss.”
Replace the word “embryology” by “ecology” and that statement
expresses what many regard as a major problem in ecological science;
how much of modern and riot so modern ecological literature helps to
advance the subject. It is our hope that the special topics selected for
review in this series will make a positive contribution to the development of ecology. As far as possible subjects and authors are selected
to highlight important problems or fields of research, or to bring to
bear on ecology the methods and outlooks of other sciences.
Whilst it is important that ecologists strive to develop an adequate
theoretical basis for their subject, the need for reliable quantitative
information collected with a view to testing hypotheses or theories cannot be overstressed. In this number, the contributions of Dr. Reynoldson and Dr. Klomp demonstrate the type of painstaking and long-term
studies which are necessary to provide the solid basis for a proper
understanding of population ecology. The two other contributions are
concerned with production studies which are of special significance in
view of the emphasis which is being given to productivity investigations
in the International Biological Programme. Dr. Engelmann has produced a stimulating review of certain aspects of ecosystem dynamics
‘in which he particularly stresses the need for constructing models which
can be used as a basis for logical predictions. Professor Raymont has
brought together an abundant amount of information on production
studies of marine plankton. Much of what he has to say has a bearing
on possible developments in other branches of ecology, because the
subtle chemical factors which influence the grow-th and succession of
plankton will have their counterparts in the interactions of microflora
and fauna in terrestrial systems.
vii