[posted on behalf of Josh Tewksbury; his address is below]
This is a great thread. Here is a different perspective on the original question about the differences between ecology and natural history: if we think of natural history as a practice more than a field, and use broad definitions such as the focused attention to the non-human world or the patient interrogation of the landscape(Barry Lopez), we end up including all the work inscribed by the more focused definitions put forth by Greene and Losos, Wilcove and Eisner, Bartholomew etc., pointing to natural history as a fundamental part of ecology and natural sciences (alongside theory and experiment), but we also provide for its resonance outside of the sciences, where it has a long history. This creates a bigger, and I think more appropriate tent. In this context, the relationship between natural history and ecology is not difficult Natural history is the act, the observation, the careful, honest recording of what we see, hear, or otherwise detect. When I am doing a field experiment, virtually all the work of collecting the data is natural history for me. Coming up with the experiment in the first place also involves a lot of natural history. If its a good experiment, it tells us something about the world. Because a lot of us want to answer general questions, we often use theory as a the primary tool to maximize the generality of the knowledge we are getting from our observations and experiments, and to figure out what to do next, but the use of theory in no way detracts from the importance of natural history they compliment each other, and many of the most influential people in ecology were and are exceptional naturalists and strong theorists as well. For a lot of us, it is the relative lack of support for the practice of natural history that is troubling, and the lack of incentive structures to promote the practice. For those interested in exploring the role of Natural History in Ecology, and promoting its importance, we just started a natural history section at ESA last year, and we are actively looking for new members and folks who want to help chart a course for the section. Beyond ESA, a growing group of us has also started an NGO called the Natural History Network, which pulls from a number of disciplines to examine the role and importance of natural history across disciplines, and has a general aim of supporting the practice of natural history. If anyone wants more information, the Network is on the Web (www.naturalhistorynetwork.org) and the ESA section will have a booth and mixer at the Ecological Society Meeting this year, so folks interested can come find out more about what we are up to. Thanks all for this great conversation. -- Joshua J. Tewksbury Walker Professor of Natural History, Department of Biology, University of Washington and NCEAS Sabbatical Fellow 106 Kincaid Hall, Box 351800 Seattle WA 98195-1800 my lab and office are in 528 Kincaid Hall cell phone 206/331-1893, office phone: 206/616-2129 lab phone: 206/616-2132, fax: 206/616-2011 website: http://faculty.washington.edu/tewksjj/index.html
