宏生态学(Macroecology)及其研究

Macroecology:concept and progresses

宏生态学是生态学与其他宏观学科不断交叉和融合后的产物。它以个体、种群和物种的生态特征在大时空尺度上的格局和变化规律为主要研究内容 ,它比其他生态学更强调归纳和推论 ,也更依赖数据的积累。近年来 ,宏生态学在对物种 -面积关系进行探讨的基础上 ,对生物类群间的物种数量的协同变化以及物种和高级分类单元间的关系等进行了新的研究 ;宏生态学试图将有机论和个体论结合来探讨和总结群落结构中的物种组成规律 ;并对物种多度和分布格局间的关系从生态位和异质种群角度进行新的解释 ;个体大小频次分布规律是宏生态学一重要内容 ,对其深入研究和探讨已与物种多度、能量、分布面积、历史起源等多方面特征相结合 ,并得到一些普遍性规律 ;最后 ,宏生态学还探讨物种在地理区域上的普遍性的分布模式 ,并对其假说进行检验和探讨。宏生态学在中国还处于刚起步阶段 ,但中国具有资源的优势 ,并具有一定的数据积累 。

With the advances in biogeography, paleobiology, systematics and the earth sciences, a new branch of ecology, Macroecology, is formed. Macroecology focuses on the study of larger scale spatial and temporal patterns and dynamics of ecological characters of species. It differs from most of other ecological branches in its emphasis on statistical pattern analysis rather than experimental manipulation. Some important concepts such as species\|area curve, taxonomic covariance, and relationship between species and higher taxa are studied in Macroecology. Macroecologists are trying to explore and to explain the patterns of species assemblage in communities, combing Gleasonian individualism with Clementian holism, to explain the relationships between species abundance and spatial patterns with the niche theory and metapopulation theory. The theory of frequency distribution of body size, which is expanded with ecological characters of abundance, bioenergetics, distribution ranges and evolutionary history, is also an important part of Macroecology. Some patterns of species in geographic range were reported in field of Macroecology in recent years.