A blueprint for ecology

Scheiner (and Willig's) general theory of ecology
 Scheiner 2012, QRB; Scheiner and Willig 2011 monograph

Domain

The spatial and temporal patterns of the distribution and abundance or organisms, including causes and consequences.

Principles

1. Organisms are distributed unevenly in space and time.
2. Organisms interact with their abiotic and biotic environments.
3. Variation in the characteristics of organisms results in heterogeneity of ecological patterns and processes.
4. The distributions of organisms and their interactions depend on contingencies.
5. Environmental conditions are heterogeneous in space and time.
6. Resources are finite and heterogeneous in space and time.
7. Birth rates and death rates are a consequence of interactions with the abiotic and biotic environment.
8. The ecological properties of species are the result of evolution. 

 

Stevens' general theory of ecology

Domain  

Life: its constituent entities, causes, and consequences.

Principles

1. All entities are systems, with some internal complexity.
2. All entities change.
3. Some entities may have inputs and outputs.
4. All rates of change, including inputs and outputs, are influenced directly by physical factors.
5. Some entities interact.
6. All observers must choose specific temporal and spatial scales at which to make observations.