Randomness reigns in ecology > The environment is not the only key factor in determining which species will populate a given habitat -- random, stochastic processes may also play a significant role, according to a study published online today (May 27) on the Science Express website. Study author Jonathan Chase, a community ecologist at Washington University in Saint Louis, said: > There are environmental factors that create [variations in diversity] -- higher productivity, lower productivity, or disturbed environments and undisturbed environments. Those "deterministic" reasons why species compositions shift from one place to the other [are] kind of what the worldview of much of ecology is about -- > But there's an alternative perspective that's really been emerging lately is that randomness can really play a really strong role on occasion in determining which species live where, and that sort of flies in the face of our want to create these rules in ecology. *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm