The laws of ecology are a group of general principles regarding the relationship between organisms and their environment. Although they have not been fully codified, these principles are commonly referred to as ‘laws’. These general rules about the ecosphere are organized into informal sets of laws. David Suzuki has described four of these laws, which complement Garett Hardin’s Three Filters.
Commoner’s four “laws of ecology”
The fourth of Commoner’s four “laws of Ecology” focuses on the need for sustainability and the proper use of natural resources. The environment is a global system that cannot be improved without the use of energy and natural resources. The use of energy and natural resources to increase yields requires fertilizer and energy, which is taken from the ecosystem. In addition, the health and welfare of humans is at stake.
The fourth of Commoner’s four “laws of Ecology” focuses on the fact that humans are consumers, not producers, of natural resources. Since we are more consumers than producers, our activities consume more energy than we produce. The second law of thermodynamics states that when we consume energy, we “use up” energy and transform it into unworkable forms.
Commoner’s four “laws of Ecology” largely depend on the assumption that everything in the natural world is interconnected. By breaking any one of the four laws, we make our approach unsustainable. For example, if we break law number three, we would be prohibited from using fossil fuels and the fossil fuel industry would cease to exist.
Malthus’s law
Thomas Malthus was a noted statistician and proponent of political economy who helped found the Statistical Society of London. At the time, philosophers thought that humanity would continue to increase in size, but Malthus countered this utopian view by arguing that human populations would plateau and then slow. Ultimately, his predictions would bring the world closer to a stable ecological balance. In 1838, Pierre Francois Verhulst formulated a model that took population density into account, naming it the logistic function.
While Malthus’s theory has been widely criticized, economists have pointed out that technological advances have allowed human beings to keep up with population growth. For example, advances in seed breeding and soil nutrient replenishment have helped people stay ahead of the population curve. This in turn has allowed the food supply to rise faster than population growth.
Another popular theory is overpopulation, which refers to the idea that the earth does not have enough resources to sustain a human population of any size. This idea was widely studied in the late nineteenth century, but was only recently resurrected by Paul Ehrlich. In his landmark book, The Population Bomb, Ehrlich revisited Malthus’s predictions, and the idea of finite resources became popular again.
Tilman’s law
Tilman’s law in ecology combines the scientific study of biological systems with mathematical theory. The complexity of an ecosystem affects its ability to resist stress. Most ecosystems are not simple circular paths but are made up of many interconnected branches. This type of system can withstand stress better than a simple circle of threads.
Tilman’s theory is a good example of hypothesis testing in scientific research. He showed that the competition among plants depends on their capacity to compete for nutrients in a specific habitat. Thus, plants with low N are not as well-competitive as those with high N. His theory was developed from his studies on diatoms. As a result, he was able to link the successional sequence of plants to their respective nutrient and light supply. The results of this research helped him develop a more accurate theory of competition among plants in different habitats.
In addition to his work on ecology, Tilman used his Pew Fellowship to educate government personnel, policymakers, and the public about the importance of biodiversity. He also collaborated with the Ecological Society of America on the issue of “Issues in Ecology,” a series of reports that details environmental and scientific issues related to the subject. Tilman’s work informed the environmental policy debate and was a useful tool for policy makers.
Law of com- petitive dominance
The law of competitive dominance in ecology states that the dominant species will exclude an inferior competitor from its ecosystem. It is also known as the “R* rule.” It states that species competing for the same resource will outcompete the lower level. The basic principle behind the theory is that species with higher abundances and lower numbers will be favored over the lower levels.
The study of forest communities in the French Alps suggests that species’ trait hierarchies can drive competitive dominance. It shows that the number of species that share the same trait decreases with decreasing temperature in the coldest month of the year. The species differ from one another in other ways, such as their functional abilities and response to environmental stress, which suggests that trait clustering is more likely to occur where environmental conditions are less restrictive.
The Law of competitive dominance in ecosystems was originally formulated by Hardin and defended by mainstream economics. In a competitive market, individuals maximize utility and profit. However, Hardin also developed the idea that weaker competitors restrict competition, which he claimed explains labor unions.