Ecology has entered into an exciting period driven by both the urgency of large scale ecological problems and startling new ecological findings that are being shared broadly beyond the scientific community.  Both of these factors are well represented by observational approaches to ecology that are reemerging after a long period of deference to manipulative experimental approaches. We reviewed recent literature to expose the range of methodologies and applications of observational ecology. 

Results/Conclusions

Observational ecology examines ecological patterns and processes using data gathered in situations where nature has not been purposefully manipulated. Observational ecology reflects on the work of early naturalists, but is greatly enhanced by technological advances in remote sensing, microscopy, genetics, animal-borne sensors and computing.  Once dismissed as merely “exploratory”, observational ecology has demonstrated capability in scientifically testing hypotheses by correlating variables, comparing observed patterns to existing models, exploiting natural experiments, and simulating experiments within large data sets. It can often be used where experimental manipulations are not possible due to logistical or ethical constraints.  Observational ecology can be used in a standalone fashion, but is strengthened when reconciled with experimental manipulations to isolate fine-scale ecological processes and modeling approaches to help define key hypotheses.