Geoscience Reference
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dangered species that is declining. Because by definition density-dependent
processes are alleviated at low density (figure 1.1), you should not have to do
anything to save your endangered species. No ecologist would make such a
poor recommendation because environmental changes in terms of habitat
destruction have changed the framework of the problem. Much patchwork has
been applied to camouflage the inherent bankruptcy of this approach to pop-
ulation problems.
Ecologists find it very difficult to discuss paradigms because they are value-
laden and are part of a much broader problem of methodological value judg-
ments (Shrader-Frechette and McCoy 1993). Scientists are unlikely to admit
to value judgments, but applied areas such as conservation biology have
brought this issue to a head for ecologists (Noss 1996). All scientists make
value judgments as they observe nature. For example, population ecologists
estimate densities of organisms, partly because they value such data more than
Figure 1.1
Classic illustration of the density-dependent paradigm of population regulation. In this
hypothetical example, populations above density 8 will decline and those below density 8 will
increase to reach an equilibrium at density 8 (arrow). If an endangered species falls in density below
8, density-dependent processes will ensure that it recovers, without any management intervention.
Of course, this is nonsense.
