Professors teaching ecology SHOULD NOT be caught up teaching policy issues. Its not part of ecology, its part of a broader field-environmental science which in of itself relies on ecology but IS NOT a synonym for ecology.
If someone is interested in interdisciplinary problems, they need to enroll in multidisciplinary programs, and ecology is not one. Almost every major university, and most mid-major universities have these alternate programs. On Sun, Mar 13, 2011 at 5:35 PM, Nathan Brouwer <[email protected]> wrote: > Many of the policy/ecology programs that have been posted are for > Masters-level degrees. It seems one problem folks have highlighted is that > the professors that teach ecology don't have policy-related issues on their > radar. In addition to promoting interdisciplinary programs in policy, > management, wildlife, conservation, etc., it seems like steps should be > taken to educate the next generation of professors who are currently in Phd > programs to be exposed ot policy, management and regulation. I'm in a Phd > ecology program that focuses on basic ecology and testing ecological theory. > While most students are very concerned about conservation and environmental > issues, we are not in an environment that fosters opportunities to delve > into these issues in a rigorous way. > > Perhaps one way of getting phd students in ecology to develop > interdisciplinary skills would be to encourage them to take classes in other > fields that could provide both theoretical insights and exposure to > economics, policy, etc. Ecologists have often pilfered economic theory for > models, especially in plant ecology. Path models and structural equation > modeling are hot methods in ecology and evolutionary biology and were > developed by social scientists; fuzzy set theory is big in decision science > and to some extent environmental management and could perhaps be a useful > tool for defining "fuzzy" concepts like a niche or traits. Courses or > seminars on topics like these could provide modeling, statistical, > analytical, or conceptual tools that could be directly useful to basic > ecology research while also exposing us to the tools used in the social > sciences and management. > -- Malcolm L. McCallum Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - Allan Nation 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
