166
See also: Classification of living things 82–83 ■ Animal ecology 106–113
■ Biodiversity and ecosystem function 156–157T
he notion of a naturalist—
someone who studies
organisms in the natural
world—dates back to ancient
Greece. Aristotle made copious
observations of wildlife, and his
work laid the foundations for later
naturalists. It was not until the
19th century, however, that the
potential of such surveys was
really understood.The new study of ecology
As naturalists undertook longer
field trips, the global distribution
of species became more apparent,
and the concept of ecology as a
science gained traction.
One of the first scientists to
employ ecological methods was
American biologist Stephen A.
Forbes. In the 1880s, while
studying fish in a Wisconsin lake,
he realized that survey data could
be interpreted to give a picture of
interactions between different
species—not just their abundance.
Forbes extended the scope of the
conventional survey, combining
practical fieldwork with theoreticalanalysis and experiments. These
rounded ecological surveys created
a picture of the natural order within
an environment. By shedding light
on the interrelated effects of its
plant and animal life, they could
also help explain the distribution of
species and variations over time. ■THE FIRST REQUISITE
IS A THOROUGH
KNOWLEDGE OF
THE NATURAL ORDER
ORGANISMS AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT
IN CONTEXT
KEY FIGURE
Stephen A. Forbes
(184 4 –1930)BEFORE
1799 –1804 Alexander von
Humboldt pioneers the field
of biogeography in his travels
in Latin America.1866 German naturalist
Ernst Haeckel coins the term
“ecology” to describe the study
of organisms in relation to
their environments.1876 After traveling
extensively, British naturalist
Alfred Russel Wallace
publishes The Geographical
Distribution of Animals.AFTER
1890s Frederic Clements
proposes the notion of
ecological communities.1895 In Ecology of Plants
Johannes Warming describes
the impact of the environment
on the distribution of plants.Satellite images enable ecologists to
observe large-scale changes easily. The
green areas in this image of the Caspian
Sea are evidence of algal growth—the
product of nutrient enrichment.US_166-167_Organisms_and_environment-Plant_ecology.indd 166 12/11/18 6:25 PM