Summary
Although the science of ecology emerged only recently, it has a long ancestry. It begins in the 18th century with the story of Gilbert White, an English clergyman whose correspondence describing and commenting on the plants, animals, and events in his rural parish has become a classic. White was an observer, but already there was a long tradition of forest conservation, because trees have always been a major economic resource.
Ecology traces the origin of ecology and explains what it is and how it has developed over the years. Outlining the progress made so far in improving environmental quality, this new book describes the many contributions made by various scientists to this field, including English naturalist John Ray and Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus. It also discusses significant events that have shaped ecology, including the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. The final chapter of this full-color book documents the rise of the modern environmental movement.
Chapters include:
- Gilbert White and His Letters to Naturalists
- The Beginning of Conservation
- The Chain of Being
- Geography of Living Things
- Charles Darwin and His "Entangled Bank"
- The Growth of Ecology
- Social Organization of Plants
- American Ecology
- British Ecology
- The Rise of Sociobiology
- Ecology and Environmentalism.