Ecolog: I have been "corrected" off-line, implying that I am out of line in referring to ecosystem engineers as humans who "engineer" ecosystems. Maybe so. However, aside from tradition, apparently initiated, at the latest at least by "Jones CG, Lawton JH and Shachak M 1994. Organisms as ecosystem engineers. Oikos 69: 373-386," I would suggest that such a moniker should be relegated to popular literature rather than scientific tracts. For that matter, I suggest that the use of such a term should be used in "quotes," even in the popular literature. That is, a reconsideration of the term apparently coined via the published literature in Jones, et al, is in order. I do not believe that mere tradition is sufficient to retain terminology that is confusing and fundamentally inaccurate, as well as misleading.
I have long heard of beavers referred to as "engineers" because they build dams "like human engineers," but I have dismissed the reference as a joke of sorts, even though I fully understand what is intended--I hope. I fear that others may not, and the difficulty in communicating issues concerning ecology will be compromised. I do not contest that this familiar label holds some water (pi), but it does fail to distinguish the concept of "engineering" ecosystems from the work of humans who arrogantly suggest that their engineering can "create" ecosystems. It is fundamental that ecosystems are critically different from the works of human cultures, and distinguishing, rather than blurring that distinction, is crucial. Ecology terminology should not reinforce the confusion that already plagues the job of communicating ecology to cultural beings worldwide. A very quick review of the literature turns up no objections to the terminology, so my protestations will likely fall on unreceptive ears. Some of the literature seems to regard wormholes as "trivial," however, implying that, say, beaver dams are not, hence significant. Drawing lines between "trivial" and "significant" has longed seemed to me to be in itself problematical. If this is seen as a trivial matter, I will understand, but I would like to hear or know of any discussion on the merits. It is not my intention to trivialize the studies done under this banner. WT PS: I did a little searching for similar terms and found definitions for "ecological engineering" and "bioengineering," both of which make me uneasy for similar reasons. ----- Original Message ----- From: "George Wang" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2011 11:42 AM Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ecosystem engineers response to biogeography/habitat complexity --reference help? Hi Brittany, Here are a few that can get you started: Badano, et al. (2010) Predicting effects of ecosystem engineering on species richness along primary productivity gradients. Acta Oecologica 36:46-54 Badano & Cavieres (2006) Ecosystem engineering across ecosystems: do engineer species sharing common features have generalized or idiosyncratic effects on species diversity? Journal of Biogeography 33:304-313 Marquis & Lill (2010) Impact of plant architecture versus leaf quality on attack by leaf-tying caterpillars on five oak species. Oecologia 163:203- 213 Rosell et al. (2005) Ecological impact of beavers Castor fiber and Castor canadensis and their ability to modify ecosystems. Mammal Review 35:248-276 Wright et al. (2003) Local vs. landscape controls on plant species richness in beaver meadows. Ecology 84:3162-3173 In addition, I think some of the original work of Jones and Lawton also cover this issue conceptually. Hope this helps. George On Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:38:16 -0400, Brittany Huntington <[email protected]> wrote: >Ecologgers: > >I am stumped with my literature searches to unearth papers on the >response of ecosystem engineers (richness and abundance) to metrics of >habitat heterogeneity. In particular, I am interested in defining habitat >heterogeneity with regards to spatial landscape metrics of habitat >composition and configuration, and structural complexity. > >I realize that by their very definition, ecosystem engineers create and >maintain the complex habitats that other species depend upon. However, I >am interested in references that investigate how important habitat >heterogeneity is to the foundation species themselves? > >I work in coral communities myself but am interested in analogous >multi-species assemblages from the terrestrial world of habitat >engineers/foundation species (i.e. forest tree communities; grassland >communities). > >Any leads to work assessing the influence of configuration or composition >of habitat patches on foundation species/engineers would be appreciated! > >Thank you, >Brittany > > > > >Brittany Huntington >Division of Marine Biology and Fisheries >Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science >University of Miami >4600 Rickenbacker Causeway >Miami, FL 33149 >========================================================================= ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1410 / Virus Database: 1520/3912 - Release Date: 09/22/11
