Communities and Ecosystems

2025 · doi:10.32942/x2bw5k
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This paper is a non–peer-reviewed preprint that addresses longstanding philosophical questions about two related ecological concepts: communities and ecosystems. Using broad conceptual discussion rather than empirical methods, it focuses on what these entities are (given multiple competing definitions), how they can be individuated or bounded, and whether they correspond to mind-independent real objects or “useful fictions.” The paper notes that, despite unresolved questions, ecologists have still made progress in studying these concepts, and it argues that clearer answers could help inform applied management and conservation. The paper does not explicitly discuss endometriosis or adenomyosis; it was included in the corpus via a keyword match in the upstream search index.

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Abstract

Communities and ecosystems are two related and contested concepts in ecology. Despite their longevity, three unanswered philosophical questions apply to both concepts. First, "what are they?" Both concepts have multiple definitions and little agreement among ecologists about which is correct or which is most useful. Second, "how are they individuated?" Working from any particular definition, how can ecologists delineate the boundaries of the entity described in the definition? And third, "what is their ontological status?" Are the communities and ecosystems that we define and delineate real objects that exist mind- independently, or are they merely "useful fictions?" Despite the fact that these questions are unanswered, ecologists have been able to make a good deal of progress in the study of these concepts. Nevertheless, answers to these questions would be useful for many applied questions in management and conservation.
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This is a Preprint and has not been peer reviewed. This is version 1 of this Preprint. You must log in to post a comment. There are no comments or no comments have been made public for this article. This is a Preprint and has not been peer reviewed. This is version 1 of this Preprint. Add a Comment You must log in to post a comment. Comments There are no comments or no comments have been made public for this article. Communities and ecosystems are two related and contested concepts in ecology. Despite their longevity, three unanswered philosophical questions apply to both concepts. First, "what are they?" Both concepts have multiple definitions and little agreement among ecologists about which is correct or which is most useful. Second, "how are they individuated?" Working from any particular definition, how can ecologists delineate the boundaries of the entity described in the definition? And third, "what is their ontological status?" Are the communities and ecosystems that we define and delineate real objects that exist mind- independently, or are they merely "useful fictions?" Despite the fact that these questions are unanswered, ecologists have been able to make a good deal of progress in the study of these concepts. Nevertheless, answers to these questions would be useful for many applied questions in management and conservation. https://doi.org/10.32942/X2BW5K Life Sciences communities, Ecosystems, philosophy of ecology Published: 2025-01-03 16:50 Last Updated: 2025-01-03 16:50 CC-BY Attribution-No Derivatives 4.0 International Conflict of interest statement: None Data and Code Availability Statement: No data were used Language: English

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