48 



THE HISTORY OF ECOLOGY 



be noted, with a corresponding decrease in 

 another; and this proportion may continue to 

 change until the intruder becomes dominant 

 and the rival form may disappear entirely. The 

 process of change, as a rule, is not limited to 

 a single species, but usually involves several or 

 all of the members of the association, as when 

 a dune invades a swamp and tlie swamp birds 

 are completely replaced by those frequenting 

 the sand dunes." 



Later we shall have more to say of the im- 

 pact of succession on the rise of ecology. 



The term "synecology" apparently was 

 coined by the botanists Scliroter and Kirch- 

 ner in 1902 from the Greek prefix syn, 

 meaning "together." Since that time ecolo- 

 gists have used synecology in a general 

 sense to imply the association of individuals 

 in contradistinction to the ecology of an iso- 

 lated organism ("autecology").* There 

 have been attempts to define the term with 

 more precision. Thus there is the definition 

 of Turesson "the ecology of communities;" 

 of Riibel, "the relation between the commu- 

 nity and its habitat;" of Braun-Blanquet, 

 "the study of the dependence of commimi- 

 ties upon one another and upon the environ- 

 ment," and of the Third International Bo- 

 tanical Congress, "the study of conditions 

 of the environment and adaptation of spe- 

 cies taken in association." For our present 

 purposes we shall use synecology in a broad 

 fashion only and select several early twen- 

 tieth century studies that depict the state 

 of the science at that time. Obviously, many 

 of the papers aheady reviewed are syne- 

 cological in part, but a few cases per se are 

 in order. 



In 1903 Davenport published a paper on 

 the ecology of a Cold Spring Harbor (New 

 York) sand spit. This was a sofid study that 

 stressed the local distribution of animals 

 with respect to local habitat zones. The spit 

 was divided into two areas, the periodically 

 submerged zone and the beach zone, and 

 the fauna of these two was studied. Daven- 

 port stressed those adaptations of the fauna 

 particularly adjusted to these two niches. 

 Another representative study was that of 

 Ruthven (1906) on an ecological survey of 

 the Porcupine Mountains in Michigan. This 

 was interesting in that the author placed 

 the faunas in a framework of biotic associa- 

 tions and, as Adams puts it, "treated them 



• Autecology is frequently used to mean the 

 environmental relations of a single species in- 

 stead of a single individual. It is not so used in 

 this book. 



from the dynamic and genetic standpoint." 

 The monograph of Eigenmann (1909) on 

 "Cave Vertebrates of America" deserves 

 mention here. Although this work has not 

 stood the test of time so far as its interpre- 

 tations are concerned, it did serve a real 

 function in placing on record many data 

 on the adjustment between cave forms and 

 their habitats and the phylogenetic regres- 

 sion associated with that adjustment. 



Under the heading of quantitative syn- 

 ecology the 1907 note of McAfee deserves 

 mention primarily because it illustrates the 

 use of the quadrat method for sampling 

 surface fiora and fauna. McAfee presented 

 in some detail census data of four square 

 feet of forest and meadow floor at several 

 times of the year. The data are then enu- 

 merated relative to species, and an attempt 

 is made to show how the nutritional re- 

 sources of the floor are utihzed by the bird 

 population. The latter is important because 

 it stresses the community as a whole rather 

 than isolated habitat niches. 



The ingenious Forbes in 1909 had a 

 novel idea and approach. He studied the 

 Indian corn plant in relation to its insect 

 infestation. Using as his biological focus the 

 fact that corn is both introduced and under 

 "the constant supervision of a guardian and 

 the services of a nurse," he develops the 

 argument that this species is ecologically 

 maladjusted and vulnerable to a dispropor- 

 tionate amount of insect competition. His 

 analysis of this corn-insect nexus is an inter- 

 esting study in synecology. 



This concludes our treatment of the 1900 

 to 1910 period. We shall return briefly to 

 this decade later when we try to draw some 

 generalizations. 



One other point must be raised. The 

 reader may ask with justification : Why have 

 there not been reviewed works on evolution 

 as they contribute to ecological growth?" 



• One book that appeared during the decade 

 and focussed attention on evolutionary pro- 

 cesses was Darwin and Modern Science, edited 

 by A. C. Seward (1909). This volume con- 

 tained twenty-nine essays written by eminent 

 contributors in commemoration of the fiftieth 

 anniversary of the publication of The Origin of 

 Species. Certain of these essays were distinctly 

 ecological and should be mentioned: "The Se- 

 lection Theory," by August Weismann; "Geo- 

 graphical Distribution of Animals," by Hans 

 Gadow; "Experimental Study of the Influence 

 of Environment on Animals," by Jacques Loeb; 

 and "The Value of Colour in the Struggle foi 

 Life," by E. B. Poulton. 



