The Ecology Book

108

T

he concept of food chains—

the idea that all living

things are linked through

their dependence on other species

for their food—dates back many

centuries, but it was not until the

early 20th century that scientists

developed the concept of food

chains forming a food web.

The pioneer of this thinking was

British zoologist Charles Elton,

whose book Animal Ecology (1927)

describes what he called the “food

cycle”. He later went on to develop

theories that encompassed more

complex interactions between

animals and the environment—

insights that underpin modern

animal ecology. He likened our

knowledge of individual plant and

animal species to the cells in a

beehive—each “cell” of knowledge

is important in its own right, but

by putting them all together

something much more than the

sum of the parts is created—

the “beehive” of ecology.

Nowadays, the study of animal

ecology focuses on how animals

interact with their environment,

the roles played by different

species, why populations rise

and fall, why animal behaviour

sometimes changes, and the

impact of environmental change on

animals. The principle underlying

the work of animal ecologists is

that there is generally a balance

ANIMAL ECOLOGY

IN CONTEXT

KEY FIGURES

Charles Elton (1900–91),

George Evelyn Hutchinson

(1903–91)

BEFORE

Ninth century Arab writer

Al-Jaziz introduces the

concept of the food chain

in Kitab al-Hayawan (Book

of Animals), concluding that

“every weak animal devours

those weaker than itself”.

1917 American biologist

Joseph Grinnell first describes

an ecological niche in his

paper, “The niche relationships

of the California Thrasher.”

AFTER

1960 American ecologist and

philosopher Garrett Hardin

publishes an essay in the

magazine Science in which

he states that “every instance

of apparent coexistence must

be accounted for.”

1973 Australian ecologist

Robert May publishes Stability

and Complexity in Model

Ecosystems, in which he uses

mathematical modeling to

demonstrate that complex

ecosystems do not necessarily

lead to stability.

Food web

A food web is a graphic depiction

of the feeding connections between

different species within an ecological

community. This example illustrates

the relationships within a marine

ecosystem, in which killer whales are

the apex predators and phytoplankton

are the primary producers.

Arrow worm

Schooling fish

Whale

Seaweed

Squid

Radiolarians

Penguin

Dolphin

Killer whale

Copepod

Bottom-feeding

fish

Phytoplankton

Marine worm

Krill

Blue-green

bacteria

Albatross

Leopard

seal

US_106-113_Animal_Ecology.indd 108 12/11/2018 17:34