The Dynamic and Process Relations of the Environment
“Of all the truths relating to phenomena, the most valuable to us are those which relate to the order of succession. On a knowledge of these is founded every reasonable anticipation of future facts, and whatever power we possess of influencing those facts to our advantage.”—John Stuart Mill.
“To study life we must consider three things: first, the orderly sequence of external nature; second, the living organism and the changes which take place in it; and, third, the continuous adjustment between the two sets of phenomena which constitutes life.”—W. K. Brooks.
“The truth, indeed, is, that in physical inquiries, the work of theory and observation must go hand in hand, and ought to be carried on at the same time, more especially if the matter is very complicated, for there the clue of theory is necessary to direct the observer. Though a man may begin to observe without any hypothesis, he cannot continue long without seeing some general conclusion arise; and to this nascent theory it is his business to attend, because, by seeking either to verify or to disprove it, he is led to new experiments, or new observations. He is led also to the very experiments and observations that are of the greatest importance, namely to those instantiæ crucis, which are the criteria that naturally present themselves for the trial of every hypothesis. He is conducted to the places where the transitions of nature are most perceptible, and where the absence of former, or the presence of new circumstances, excludes the action of imaginary causes. By this correction of his first opinion, a new approximation is made to the truth; and by the repetition of the same process, certainty is finally obtained. Thus theory and observation mutually assist one another; and the spirit of system, against which there are so many and such just complaints, appears, nevertheless, as the animating principle of inductive investigation. The business of sound philosophy is not to extinguish this spirit, but to restrain and direct its efforts.”
—J. Playfair, “Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth,” Edinburgh, 1802, pp. 524-525.
The facts and ideas with which the animal ecologist needs to become acquainted are so widely scattered that a large amount of selective reading is necessary. The ecologist must read, select, and become an organizing center of things ecological. All of the facts and conceptions which he needs are not even confined to zoölogical or biological literature. In seeking an understanding of any problem, conventional groupings of the sciences and their arbitrary boundaries must not bar one from fertile fields. Many of the conceptions of the physical sciences, due to their more advanced stage of development, anticipate the future development of biology. This is particularly true of their dynamic conceptions. For this reason we should not hesitate to utilize and deliberately strive to secure development along similar lines in animal ecology. Elsewhere I have stated (An Ecological Survey in Northern Michigan, 1906, pp. 11, 12) that: “It is thus very apparent that as soon as ecological phenomena are investigated dynamically and expressed in terms of processes, this science will of necessity become more closely correlated with those allied sciences which have already availed themselves of such methods.... It seems a very simple matter to give assent to the idea of the law of change, yet in its practical application this simplicity often vanishes at once when it is seen that it involves the relation of cause and effect.... As this method of thinking is not generally understood, it is occasionally applied in such a crude and general sense that its bearing cannot be grasped when applied to special or concrete problems. There can be no question as to the general validity of this method, but what is now needed is to know how these processes are combined and related to produce particular environmental conditions or situations. That these difficulties are not confined to the ecologist alone, but are obstacles which arise in any attempt at scientific interpretation, is worthy of special notice. We are thus able to see why certain naturalists, apparently not recognizing or understanding the developmental processes which scientific ideas undergo, nor being acquainted with the tendencies of interpretation, dynamically considered, now making such rapid headway in ecological botany, geography, physiography, geology, and psychology, are inclined to look upon such attempts in biology as merely a fad or personal peculiarity of the student, and not of any particular consequence. Such ideas confuse the incidental with the essential and suggest a complete failure to grasp the situation or to realize the fundamental importance of stating explanations in terms of processes. Furthermore, in several of the allied sciences, the methods of dynamical interpretation have already made considerable advance. Here, then, is a resource, at present largely unworked by many biologists, where a wealth of ideas and explanations lies strewn over the surface and only need to be picked up in order to be utilized by those acquainted with this method of interpretation.... If the signs of the times are now read correctly, the most striking advance in scientific methods of thinking during the present century will be in the direction of interpretation from the standpoint of processes—dynamically.”
For these reasons I have begun the list of literature with certain references which deal with the dynamic relations of the environment. These publications are particularly valuable not only for this method of treatment, but also for their content. These papers clearly emphasize the “orderly sequence of external nature,” a conception which must be grasped much more than superficially, if one is to interpret the development or evolution of environments. Although this is an essential part of our problem, as has been so well expressed by Brooks, yet this phase is probably one of the least understood by zoölogists. And as long as zoölogical students lack the proper training this condition will continue. To neglect this aspect in the training of an ecologist is like neglect of chemical training in a physiologist or of a physiological training in a psychologist. For one who is ignorant of the principles of “orderly sequence,” or successions of changes occurring in the physical, vegetational, and animal environments, it is manifestly impossible to realize their development; and the application of such principles to the interpretation of practical problems is utterly beyond his grasp. We are thus able to see that although the phrase “orderly sequence of external nature” is fundamentally a simple conception, it is not grasped without effort, training, and careful investigation.
Obviously it is impossible to arrange the series of references with perfect satisfaction. The arrangement which will serve one purpose will not another, and for this reason it has been necessary to arrange the lists in more than one order. Certain general references, or some intended to facilitate the acquirement of the general point of view, are given first, and others are arranged alphabetically. For example, the papers listed on the processes of change in the physical and vegetational environment are approximately in an order in which they may profitably be studied to make the view as concrete as possible. It is primarily not the abstract idea of the principle of change, which is relatively easy to grasp, but to be able to apply it to any condition or location and to make it a guiding principle is very difficult. And judging from my own observation upon others and my own experience this method is very rarely mastered, if at all, unless it is actually worked out in some concrete case, and later expanded to its logical consequences.
Only a few references are given on general physiology, metabolism, and allied subjects, but those given furnish a valuable index to further literature. Only the most arbitrary line can be drawn between papers dealing with habits, behavior, and individual ecology, and for this reason most of the references selected are arranged alphabetically.
Particular attention should be called to the fact that it is not to be assumed that the various authors strive to make the points to which attention is here called; they may or may not do so. My aim is to call attention to the utility of the publications from the standpoint advocated throughout the book.
From this point onward in this book the references form its main feature. For this reason it is important that one should not get an exaggerated idea of the value of the literature. It is perhaps true that a large part of the best ecological work has been done with little knowledge of other ecological writings. This was of course particularly true of the early workers, and the best work of to-day does not come from the largest library centers. A student looking over these lists, and finding that he has access to relatively few papers, may conclude that all effort is of no avail. The greatest need is not all or even a majority of the publications on the general field, but the relatively limited number which bear directly upon the problem at hand and enough of the general papers to aid him in a general orientation. It may be of some comfort to the isolated student, with his small shelf of books, to realize that there are perhaps not a half-dozen libraries in America which contain all the references given in this book. The nearer one reaches the boundaries of our knowledge, the smaller the amount, and often the smaller the value of the literature, and the greater the value of a proper orientation, which comes only with a grasp of general principles.
(The laws of physical and vegetational changes and their influence upon animals. The dynamic or process relation of the environment.)
Bancroft, W. D.
1911. A Universal Law. Science, N. S., Vol. XXX, pp. 159-179.
The law of adjustment or response to strain. A very important paper viewed from the dynamic and process standpoint.
Henderson, L. J.
1913. The Fitness of the Environment. An Enquiry into the Biological Significance of the Properties of Matter, pp. 317. New York. The Macmillan Company.
Valuable ecologically because of its exposition of the orderly sequence and regulatory character of physico-chemical and physiological processes, and the application of chemical equilibria and the Phase Rule to metabolic changes. He says, “Now there can be no doubt that, when feasible, the ideal method—from the physico-chemical point of view—to describe a material system is in terms of the phase rule.” p. 260.
Chamberlin, T. C., and Salisbury, R. D.
1904. Geology. Geologic Processes and their Results, Vol. I. pp. 654. New York.
To be considered from the standpoint of the agents and processes which change animal habitats and result in their “orderly sequence.”
Van Hise, C. R.
1904. A Treatise on Metamorphism. U. S. Geol. Survey, Monog., Vol. XLVII, pp. 1-1286.
A formidable-looking volume on account of its size, but one which will abundantly repay a careful study of its method, aside from the value of the content, for problems related to animals of the soils, etc. Particular attention should be given to the formulation of dynamic principles, and the application of the process method.
Davis, W. M.
1909. Geographical Essays, pp. 777. New York.
Essays on the orderly sequence of changing land forms, or to the ecologist, the development of inland habitats, in so far as they are dependent upon the physiographic conditions.
Woodworth, J. B.
1894. The Relation between Baseleveling and Organic Evolution. Amer. Geol., Vol. XIV, pp. 209-235.
The influence of baseleveling factors in the development of the gross environment and upon evolution.
Adams, Chas. C.
1901. Baseleveling and its Faunal Significance, with Illustrations from Southeastern United States. Amer. Nat., Vol. XXXV, pp. 839-852.
The influence of baseleveling upon the sequence of changes in fresh-water and land habitats. (See [Figures 4] and [5].)
Fig. 4.—A small stream as an animal environment, with the preponderance of rapidly flowing water. Tumwater Cañon, Near Wenatchee Washington. Photo. by W. B. McCallum.
Fig. 5.—A small river as an animal environment. The rapid water conditions of a stream in an early stage of topographic development, such as is shown in Fig. 4, is here replaced by long pools of relatively quietly flowing water, connected by narrow stretches of more rapidly flowing water. Wabash River, Bluffton Indiana. Photo. by N. Miller and E. B. Williamson.
Brandt, K.
1899. Ueber den Stoffwechsel im Meere. Wissen. Meeruntersuchungen, heraus. v. d. Komm. zur wissen. Unters. deutschen Meere in Kiel. N. F. Abth. Kiel, Bd. IV, pp. 213-230.
1901. Life in the Ocean. Smithsonian Report for 1900, pp. 493-506.
A translation of the preceding paper on the transformation of substance or “cycle of matter” in the sea. The extensive footnotes are omitted.
1902. Ueber den Stoffwechsel im Meere. 2 Abhand. Wiss. Meeresunt. heraus. v. d. Komm. zur wissen. Unters. deutschen Meere in Kiel, N. F. Bd. VI, Abth. Kiel, pp. 23-79.
1905. On the Production and Conditions of Production in the Sea. Rapports et Procés-Verbaux, Inter. Council for the Exploration of the Sea, Vol. III, Appendix D. Copenhagen.
Not seen by the writer. Johnstone states that it is a summary of the papers of 1899 and 1902.
Johnstone, J.
1908. Metabolism in the Sea. pp. 206-298. In “Conditions of Life in the Sea.” Cambridge, England.
Birge, E. A.
1907. The Respiration of an Inland Lake. Trans. Amer. Fisheries Soc., Vol. XXXVI, pp. 223-241.
1904. The Thermocline and its Biological Significance. Trans. Amer. Micros. Soc., Vol. XXV, pp. 5-33. Two studies in the sequential changes in the lake habitat.
Birge, E. A., and Juday, C.
1911. The Inland Lakes of Wisconsin. The Dissolved Gases of the Water and their Biological Significance. Wis. Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey, Bull. No. 22. pp. 259.
Peters, A. W.
1907. Chemical Studies on the Cell and its Medium. Part II, Some Chemico-Biological Relations in Liquid Culture Media. Amer. Jour. Physiol., Vol. XVIII, pp. 321-346.
A study of changes in media and their biotic succession.
Cowles, H. C.
1911. The Causes of Vegetative Cycles. Bot. Gaz., Vol. LI, pp. 161-183. Also Ann. Associa. Amer. Geogr., Vol. I, pp. 1-20. 1912.
An important statement of the general principles and causes of vegetational changes. Includes a history of the subject.
1901. The Physiographic Ecology of Chicago and Vicinity; A Study of the Origin, Development, and Classification of Plant Societies. Bot. Gaz., Vol. XXXI, pp. 73-108, 145-182.
A study of changes in the vegetation from the process and genetic standpoint.
Clements, F. E.
1904. The Development and Structure of Vegetation. Bot. Surv. Nebraska, VII. pp. 175. Lincoln.
Deals with vegetative changes from the process standpoint.
1905. Research Methods in Ecology, pp. 334. Lincoln, Neb.
Crampton, C. B.
1911. The Vegetation of Caithness Considered in Relation to the Geology. pp. 132. Comm. for the Survey and Study of British Vegetation.
1912. The Geological Relations of Stable and Migratory Plant Formations. Scottish Bot. Rev., Vol. I, pp. 1-61.
Good examples of the process standpoint as applied to the vegetation.
Warming, E. (Trans. by P. Groom and I. B. Balfour.)
1909. Œcology of Plants. pp. 422. Oxford.
A treatise on the general principles of plant ecology, and an index to the literature.
Zon, Raphael.
1906. Principles Involved in Determining Forest Types. Proc. Soc. Amer. Foresters, Vol. I, pp. 179-189.
Discusses the sequence of change in the forest.
Ostenfeld, C. H.
1908. On the Ecology and Distribution of the Grass-Wrack (Zostera marina) in Danish Waters. Rep. Danish Biol. Sta. to Board of Agriculture, Vol. XVI, 1908. Trans. from the Fiskeri-Beretning for 1907, pp. 1-62.
An important paper showing the controlling relation of marine vegetation upon animal associations and particularly the fish of the coast. References to related zoölogical papers.
Moore, J. E. S.
1903. The Tanganyika Problem. pp. 371. London.
On pp. 107-119 Moore describes the invasion and succession of vegetation upon alluvial flats, recently drained. A graphic account of forest invasion. Apparently a little known study.
Ernst, A. (Trans. by A. C. Seward.)
1908. The New Flora of the Volcanic Island of Krakatau. pp. 74. Cambridge.
A study of the invasion of vegetation upon a new land surface formed by volcanic activity. Such studies as this aid one in breaking away from the older static view of vegetation and in seeing its more vital aspect.
Vaughan, T. W.
1911. The Geological Work of Mangroves in Southern Florida. Smithsonian Miscell. Coll. (Quart. Issue), Vol. LII, pp. 461-464.
Plants as agents in the formation of animal habitats.
Weiss, F. E.
1909. A Preliminary Account of the Submerged Vegetation of Lake Windermere as Affecting the Feeding Ground of Fish. Mem. and Pro. Manchester Lit. and Phil. Soc., Manchester Memoirs, 1908-1909, Vol. LIII, Mem. 11, pp. 1-9.
Transeau, E. N.
1908. The Relation of Plant Societies to Evaporation. Bot. Gaz., Vol. XLV, pp. 217-231.
Shows vegetational control upon the relative humidity of the air.
Fuller, G. D.
1911. Evaporation and Plant Succession. Bot. Gaz., Vol. LII, pp. 193-208.
Further studies of the vegetational control of the relative evaporating power of the air.
Shelford, V. E.
1907. Preliminary Note on the Distribution of the Tiger Beetles (Cicindela) and its Relation to Plant Succession. Biol. Bull., Vol. XIV, pp. 9-14.
The sequence of vegetational changes which determine the habitats of a predaceous insect.
1912. Ecological Succession. IV. Vegetation and the Control of Land Animal Communities. Biol. Bull., Vol. XXIII, pp. 59-99.
An important paper correlating the development of the vegetation and the changing animal associations.
Cook, O. F.
1909. Vegetation Affected by Agriculture in Central America. U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Plant Industry, Bull. No. 145. pp. 30.
Vegetational change in the tropics as affected by man and its relation to plant succession.
Fernow, B. E., and Harrington, M. W., and others.
1893. Forest Influences. U. S. Dept. Agr., Forestry Div., Bull. No. 7. pp. 197.
Very valuable discussion of the atmospheric conditions in and about woodlands; temperature, evaporation, etc., in open and wooded areas. Not written from the process standpoint, but capable of such an interpretation. (See [Figures 6] and [7].)
Adams, Chas. C.
1905. The Postglacial Dispersal of the North American Biota. Biol. Bull., Vol. IX, pp. 53-71.
Climatic sequences applied to inland habitats and the succession of their associations.
1909. Isle Royale as a Biotic Environment. Ann. Rep. Mich. Geol. Surv. for 1908, pp. 1-56.
An attempt is made to treat the environment and biota from both the dynamic or process standpoint—so far as the present processes are concerned—and genetically with regard to the development of the present conditions.
Ruthven, A. G.
1906. An Ecological Survey in the Porcupine Mountains and Isle Royale, Michigan. Ann. Rep. Mich. Geol. Surv. for 1905, pp. 17-55.
The environment and biotic associations are treated from the dynamic and genetic standpoint.