This will be a summary talk that reviews the themes and engages panel participants in a discussion with the audience concerning the Ecology of Place. I will review the main themes that emerge from the previous talks, including the use of case studies in the search for general understanding. Specifically I will discuss the importance sustained and collaborative study in building a comprehensive understanding of a single location and the manner in which that comprehensive understanding is used to generate insight into other ecosystems.
Results/Conclusions
I argue that a place-based approach is important not only to testing and modification of theory, but place-based research is often critical in defining the domain of a theory, or in identifying where and under what circumstances a theory will be relevant. Furthermore, I suggest that place-based research is often critical in helping build conceptual frameworks of general applicability. Given the importance of place-based research, I argue that the way we invest in field research and education should take into the account the value of sustained and collaborative work. Students need training that allows them to integrate theoretical skills with the natural history skills needed to perceive and document the myriad of details about an ecosystem. Place-based research requires a sustained accumulation of knowledge about a system and students with strong natural history skills are needed to develop descriptions of ecological systems that do justice to their complexity. On the other hand, strong theoretical skills are needed to prioritize the collection of data and organize the information into a conceptual framework that is of general interest. In terms of research, funding decisions should be made in part on the importance of model ecosystems in the way that model organisms are currently taken into account. Only be encouraging sustained, collaborative research, including cross-generational collaboration, will we build an understanding of ecological and evolutionary processes that does justice to the richness of the world within which we live.
