Published June 2003
| public
Journal Article
Galilean turn in population ecology
- Creators
- Colyvan, Mark
- Ginzburg, Lev R.
Abstract
The standard mathematical models in population ecology assume that a population's growth rate is a function of its environment. In this paper we investigate an alternative proposal according to which the rate of change of the growth rate is a function of the environment and of environmental change. We focus on the philosophical issues involved in such a fundamental shift in theoretical assumptions, as well as on the explanations the two theories offer for some of the key data such as cyclic populations. We also discuss the relationship between this move in population ecology and a similar move from first-order to second-order differential equations championed by Galileo and Newton in celestial mechanics.
Additional Information
© 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Received 24 August 2001; accepted in revised form 22 May 2002.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 102082
- DOI
- 10.1023/a:1024121002194
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20200324-105123855
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2020-03-24Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-16Created from EPrint's last_modified field