Mother nature kicks back: review of Sean B. Carroll’s 2016 The Serengeti Rules

Lachlan Douglas Walmsley*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Sean B. Carroll’s new book, The Serengeti Rules: The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why it Matters, is a well-written mix of history of science and philosophy of biology. In his book, Carroll articulates a set of ecological generalisations, the Serengeti Rules, which are supposed to make salient the structures in ecosystems that ensure the persistence of those ecosystems. In this essay review, I evaluate Carroll’s use of the controversial concept of regulation and his thesis that ecosystems have a natural balance comparable to that of human bodies. My conclusion is optimistic. Carroll’s generalisations provide a tool-kit for building relatively simple models that are accurate enough to be widely applied in experimental ecology and conservation science, guiding interventions upon unhealthy ecosystems.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)133-146
    Number of pages14
    JournalBiology and Philosophy
    Volume32
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2017

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