LIST OF ECOLOGISTS [ with year & major contribution/s ] > Ellen Swallow Richards 1887-1897 - conducted a pioneering survey of drinking water quality in Massachusetts that led to the establishment of water quality standards and modern sewage treatment plants; introduced principles that focused on the interactions of plants and animals and how those interactions sustained the health and survival of species > Arthur George Tansley 1935- introduced the term “ecosystem” which contributed in the understanding of organisms and their communities are greatly influenced by many non-living environmental factors, and vice versa. > Charles Darwin 1859 - formulated the theory of evolution by natural selection and discovered the concepts of variation and adaptation > Charles Sutherland Elton 1921- one of the inventors of the concepts of the food chain, food web, and the ecological niche; conducted ecological survey of arctic islands in which he concluded that animal communities could be best described in terms of the food relations between species 1932- Father of animal ecology 1930s- developed Bureau of Animal Population as he insisted that populations constantly varied as a result of disease, migration, or environmental change. > Alexander von Humboldt 1799-1804 - studied geography while incorporating biological aspects which became founding principles in the study of Earth science and ecology principles in the study of Earth science and ecology; observed the world’s vegetation which systematically varies in relation to climate > Eugene Odum 1953 - introduced a new perspective in studying ecosystems which brought a holistic understanding of the environment as a system; led the way toward the study of nature in terms of ecosystems as a system that comprises both living and nonliving parts that exchange materials in cycles. > George Evelyn Hutchinson 1961- clarified the term ecological niche and described it as the position of a species within an ecosystem and how it responds to the distribution of resources and competitors. > James Lovelock 1972 - proposed the Gaia Hypothesis which states that living organisms on the planet interact with their surrounding inorganic environment to form a synergetic and selfregulating system that created, and now maintains, the climate and biochemical conditions that make life on Earth possible > Emma Lucy Braun 1950- published Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America which became a reference for the region’s plant communities. > Thomas Malthus 1798 - Principle of Population as it affects the Future Improvement of Society. > Stephen Forbes 1907- analyzed different species of fish and birds and formulated the mathematical expressions for the preference of different species for different types of fields. > Rachel Louise Carson 1962 - wrote the book Silent Spring that challenged the practices of agricultural scientists and revealed the long-term effects of pesticide misuse; initiated the contemporary environmental movement > Robert MacArthur 1957-1958 - wrote papers related to the field of ecology such as the Broken Stick Model and the Warbler Paper 1967 - co-formulated the theory of island biogeography > Johannes Eugenius Bülow Warming 1895- stated that plant communities should be studied in relation to their surroundings and developed a basis for their classification > Charles Christopher Adams 1902-1905 - published several papers on centers of distribution 1913 - introduced the concept of ecological energetics, the study of the flow of energy within an ecological system from the time the energy enters the living system until it is ultimately degraded to heat and irretrievably lost from the system > John Harper 1977- revolutionized plant ecology; distinguished especially for his research on autecology of selected species and on the establishment, interaction, and competition of closely related species > Joseph Grinnell 1921- Developed and implemented a detailed protocol for recording field observations > Alfred Lotka 1925 - developed a general study of predator–prey (or host–parasite) interactions Lotka–Volterra equations (also known as the predator–prey equations) - the basis of many models used in the analysis of population dynamics in ecology. proposed that natural selection was, at its root, a struggle among organisms for available energy; Lotka's principle states that organisms that survive and prosper are those that capture and use energy more efficiently than its competitors. > Henry Chandler Cowles (1899 - 1901) observed that topography and type of soil influence the type of plants that grew there; findings introduced ecologists to plant succession and climax formation >Victor Ernest Shelford 1911 - Shelford’s Law of Tolerance, with the concept that populations have optimal survival conditions within critical, minimal, and maximal thresholds. Therefore, as a population is exposed to the extremes of a particular limiting factor, the rates of survival begin to drop. > Ernst Haekel 1866 - Haekel coined the word ecology; the “relation of the animal both to its organic as well as its inorganic environment.” proposed the biogenetic law so that researchers could use the stages of embryological development to help construct evolutionary (phylogenetic) trees. TIMELINE Thomas Malthus 1798 Principle of Population as it affects the Future Improvement of Society. ⬇ Alexander von 1799 studied geography while incorporating biological aspects which Humboldt became founding principles in the study of Earth science and ecology. ⬇ Charles Darwin 1859 formulated the theory of evolution by natural selection and discovered the concepts of variation and adaptation. ⬇ Ernst Haekel 1866 proposed the biogenetic law so that researchers could use the stages of embryological development to help construct evolutionary (phylogenetic) trees. ⬇ Ellen Swallow 1887 conducted a pioneering survey of drinking water quality in Richards Massachusetts that led to the establishment of water quality standards and modern sewage treatment plants. ⬇ Johannes Eugenius Bülow 1895 stated that plant communities should be studied in relation to their surroundings and developed a basis for their classification. Warming ⬇ Henry Chandler Cowles 1899 observed that topography and type of soil influence the type of plants that grew there; findings introduced ecologists to plant succession and climax formation. ⬇ Stephen Forbes 1907 analyzed different species of fish and birds and formulated the mathematical expressions for the preference of different species for different types of fields. ⬇ Victor Ernest 1911 Shelford’s Law of Tolerance, with the concept that populations have Shelford optimal survival conditions within critical, minimal, and maximal thresholds. ⬇ Charles Christopher Adams introduced the concept of ecological energetics, the study of the flow 1913 of energy within an ecological system from the time the energy enters the living system until it is ultimately degraded to heat and irretrievably lost from the system. ⬇ Joseph Grinnell 1921 Developed and implemented a detailed protocol for recording field observations. ⬇ Alfred Lotka 1925 developed a general study of predator–prey (or host–parasite) interactions in his book, Elements of Physical Biology. ⬇ Charles Sutherland Elton 1930 developed Bureau of Animal Population as he insisted that populations constantly varied as a result of disease, migration, or environmental change. ⬇ Arthur George 1935 introduced the term “ecosystem” which contributed in the Tansley understanding of organisms and their communities are greatly influenced by many non-living environmental factors, and vice versa. ⬇ Emma Braun Lucy 1950 published Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America which became a reference for the region’s plant communities. ⬇ Eugene Odum 1953 led the way toward the study of nature in terms of ecosystems as a system that comprises both living and nonliving parts that exchange materials in cycles through his book, Fundamentals of Ecology. ⬇ George Evelyn Hutchinson 1961 clarified the term ‘ecological niche’ and described it as the position of a species within an ecosystem and how it responds to the distribution of resources and competitors. ⬇ Robert MacArthur 1967 co-formulated the theory of island biogeography, which explains the uneven distribution of species among islands. ⬇ James Lovelock 1972 proposed the Gaia Hypothesis which states that living organisms on the planet interact with their surrounding inorganic environment to form a synergetic and self-regulating system that created, and now maintains, the climate and biochemical conditions that make life on Earth possible. ⬇ John Harper 1977 revolutionized plant ecology; distinguished especially for his research on autecology of selected species and on the establishment, interaction, and competition of closely related species. Philosopher Rachel Louise Carson wrote the book Silent Spring that challenged the practices of agricultural 1962 scientists and revealed the long-term effects of pesticide misuse; initiated the contemporary environmental movement.
