here s one I had to read years ago
Amazon.com: The Balance of Nature?: Ecological Issues in the Conservation of Species and Communities: 9780226561059: Pimm, Stuart L.: Books
www.amazon.com
Then there are two famous ecological perspectives somewhat named after the proponents
that’s what I’m not remembering
I’ll find it and post
basically, selection is largely at the individual/species level and the ecosystem we see is largely how those species that could live there worked it out (in other words, ecosystems do not move into an area as integrous wholes)
imagine 3 different trades starting a village and working out a little economy
Sure, that little economy might be tuned to them but it isn’t the only productive one that could form
you could interchange a few and voila another seemingly finely tuned economy works itself out or another
this is not to say there are not key relationships and keystone species and the like, it’s that the idea has been over blown hugely…the tick might be a linchpin but I’m not seeing it
the idea of this extreme interconnectedness is kind of a religious impulse that is somewhat common among ecologists and is partly why I no longer consider myself one…they are the most political and least reasonable among the science community and I can’t stand being around them anymore….mostly smug highly educated hippies….I went to one of the most famous ecology programs in the US…half of the perspectives you hear are chosen because they get attention
I’ve lost several friends simply by not engaging in their group think
they need to consider an inversion of their thinking…they remind me of a lottery winner looking at the long odds of winning and assuming they were divinely chosen while not realizing that given how many people play that someone had to win (and perhaps similarly feel that it could not be just happenstance laying out what has occurred)
further evidence for ecological resilience is the natural reclamation of devastated habitats and that almost all species that have ever lived have become extinct