2021-09-15
An Empiricist’s Guide to Using Ecological Theory
2021-09-15 • Tess Nahanni Grainger, Athmanathan Senthilnathan, Po‐Ju Ke, Matthew A. Barbour, Natalie T. Jones, John P. DeLong, Sarah P. Otto, Mary I. O’Connor,...
AbstractA scientific understanding of the biological world arises when ideas about how nature works are formalized, tested, refined, and then tested again. Although the benefits of feedback between theoretical and empirical research are widely acknowledged by ecologists, this link is still not as strong as it could be in ecological research. This is in part because theory, particularly when expressed mathematically, can feel inaccessible to empiricists who may have little formal training in advanced math. To addre…