The Ecology of Ecologists

“How do we do the science of ecology—and how should we? The Ecology of Ecologists argues forcefully that there’s no one way to do ecology, and that what might look like chaos in our ranks—so many methods, systems, even philosophical stances—actually makes our science stronger. In this deeply researched, clearly written, and fascinating book, Fox has a lot to say about what makes ecology a vital field, and about how we could make it even better.” – Stephen B. Heard, University of New Brunswick, author of “The Scientist’s Guide to Writing” and coauthor of “Teaching and Mentoring Writers in the Sciences”“Any ecologist would do well to read this book—it’s an honest yet hopeful reckoning with the field as a whole, and it would behoove practitioners to engage with it.” – Ambika Kamath, coauthor of “Feminism in the Wild”“Fox provides a long overdue audit of ecology, asking ‘How are we doing, and could we be doing better?’ If you care about ecology as a discipline with a collective purpose, whether as a student or practitioner, you should read this book. Packed with thought-provoking insights into the diversity of ways ecologists go about their work, and how those have changed over time, Fox’s book provides a guide to how we can reap strength from that diversity.” – Mark Vellend, Département de biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, author of “Everything Evolves: Why Evolution Explains More than We Think, From Proteins to Politics”“An evidence-based, deeply thoughtful dissection of how ecologists really do ecology versus the stories we tell ourselves about how we do it. This is why students entering the field should read it. This is also why established ecologists should read it!” – Brian J. McGill, School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, coauthor of “Community Ecology,” second edition, and coeditor of “Biological Diversity”

Jeremy Fox is professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Calgary. He studies population and community ecology and writes the Dynamic Ecology blog.