期刊
ACTA BIOTHEORETICA
卷 60, 期 3, 页码 257-271出版社
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s10441-012-9144-6
关键词
Dispersal-assembly; Niche-assembly
资金
- Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)
- EPSRC [EP/F043112/1]
- EPSRC [EP/F043112/1] Funding Source: UKRI
- NERC [NE/I021179/1] Funding Source: UKRI
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [EP/F043112/1] Funding Source: researchfish
- Natural Environment Research Council [NE/I021179/1] Funding Source: researchfish
Ecological communities around the world are under threat while a consensus theory of community structure remains elusive. In the last decade ecologists have struggled with two seemingly opposing theories: niche-based theory that explains diversity with species' differences and the neutral theory of biodiversity that claims that much of the diversity we observe can be explained without explicitly invoking species' differences. Although ecologists are increasingly attempting to reconcile these two theories, there is still much resistance against the neutral theory of biodiversity. Here we argue that the dispute between the two theories is a classic example of the dichotomy between philosophical perspectives, realism and instrumentalism. Realism is associated with specific, small-scale and detailed explanations, whereas instrumentalism is linked to general, large-scale, but less precise accounts. Recognizing this will help ecologists get both niche-based and neutral theories in perspective as useful tools for understanding biodiversity patterns.
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