Preface
Man, not for the first time in his existence, must come to terms with
his environment. In the past it has been relatively small groups who
have wasted the habitat around them and have either managed to move
on to fresh areas or have died from hunger and thirst. Mankind, through
the population and technological explosions, is now faced with major
problems of adaptation on a global scale. No longer are the soils, waters
and atmosphere of the world capable of sustaining indefinitely the
products which he thrusts into them. Yet, in spite of his vast knowledge
and notwithstanding the biological advances surrounding the letters
D.N.A., man is woefully ignorant of how complex natural systems of
organisms work. It is on the working of these systems that the capacity
of the biosphere to deal with man’s food problems, and not least the
waste materials of his industrial civilization, depends. Ecology must
play a central role in rescuing man from some of his errors. Its importance has been recognized by at least one member of a major government. Mr. Stewart L. Udall, U.S.A. Secretary of the Interior, has said
“Our time has already been labelled the Atomic Age and the Space Age.
To my way of thinking it will more likely be known as the Era of
Ecology. As history moves on our time will be known as the age in
which man learned to admit that he is part of the balance of nature.”
In Advances in Ecological Research an attempt is being made to see
that a wide range of ecological viewpoints are expressed and that whilst
advances are recorded, the blank areas where more attention is needed
are also exposed.
In this volume, four very different themes are presented. Dr. Richard
S. Miller of the University of Saskatchewan, who has a wealth of
experience of ecological thinking on both sides of the Atlantic, presents
a refreshing analysis of the meaning of competition: “Why should
several species share a common energy source if one species could take
all the energy?’’ is one of the questions which he poses. Professor J . A.
Kitching and Dr. Ebling have, for many years, led parties of students
to a delightful marine area on the coast of Ireland-Lough Ine. Here,
for the first time, is a comprehensive review of their work. It demonstrates the extent to which student parties can be utilized to gather
basic ecological information and it shows the knitting together of
community analysis and experimental studies to explain why particular
vii
Man, not for the first time in his existence, must come to terms with
his environment. In the past it has been relatively small groups who
have wasted the habitat around them and have either managed to move
on to fresh areas or have died from hunger and thirst. Mankind, through
the population and technological explosions, is now faced with major
problems of adaptation on a global scale. No longer are the soils, waters
and atmosphere of the world capable of sustaining indefinitely the
products which he thrusts into them. Yet, in spite of his vast knowledge
and notwithstanding the biological advances surrounding the letters
D.N.A., man is woefully ignorant of how complex natural systems of
organisms work. It is on the working of these systems that the capacity
of the biosphere to deal with man’s food problems, and not least the
waste materials of his industrial civilization, depends. Ecology must
play a central role in rescuing man from some of his errors. Its importance has been recognized by at least one member of a major government. Mr. Stewart L. Udall, U.S.A. Secretary of the Interior, has said
“Our time has already been labelled the Atomic Age and the Space Age.
To my way of thinking it will more likely be known as the Era of
Ecology. As history moves on our time will be known as the age in
which man learned to admit that he is part of the balance of nature.”
In Advances in Ecological Research an attempt is being made to see
that a wide range of ecological viewpoints are expressed and that whilst
advances are recorded, the blank areas where more attention is needed
are also exposed.
In this volume, four very different themes are presented. Dr. Richard
S. Miller of the University of Saskatchewan, who has a wealth of
experience of ecological thinking on both sides of the Atlantic, presents
a refreshing analysis of the meaning of competition: “Why should
several species share a common energy source if one species could take
all the energy?’’ is one of the questions which he poses. Professor J . A.
Kitching and Dr. Ebling have, for many years, led parties of students
to a delightful marine area on the coast of Ireland-Lough Ine. Here,
for the first time, is a comprehensive review of their work. It demonstrates the extent to which student parties can be utilized to gather
basic ecological information and it shows the knitting together of
community analysis and experimental studies to explain why particular
vii