Howard Thomas Odum (1924,
Chapel Hill, North CarolinaChapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , the oldest state-supported university in the U.S...
–2002
Gainesville, FloridaGainesville is a city in Alachua County, Florida, United States. It is the the county seat and the largest city in Alachua County. Gainesville is also home to the University of Florida, which is the largest university in the State University System of Florida and the third-largest university in...
) (also known as
Tom or just
H.T.) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
ecologistEcology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the interactions of these organisms with their environment....
. He is known for his pioneering work on
ecosystem ecologyEcosystem ecology is the integrated study of biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems and their interactions within an ecosystem framework. This science examines how ecosystems work and relates this to their components such as chemicals, bedrock, soil, plants, and animals.Ecosystem ecology...
, and for his provocative proposals for additional laws of thermodynamics, informed by his work on
general systems theorySystems theory is an interdisciplinary theory about the nature of complex systems in nature, society, and science, and is a framework by which one can investigate and/or describe any group of objects that work together to produce some result. This could be a single organism, any organization or...
.
Biography
Odum was the third child of the American sociologist
Howard W. OdumHoward Washington Odum was an American sociologist. He graduated from Emory University and received his first doctorate, in psychology, at Clark University. He received his second doctorate, in sociology, at Columbia University...
, and the brother of
Eugene OdumEugene Pleasants Odum was an American scientist known for his pioneering work on ecosystem ecology.The average schoolchild of today knows that humans depend on adequate conditions of food, water, and shelter from inclement elements and also that weather, geological, and biological factors are...
. The father encouraged his sons to go into science and to develop new techniques to contribute to
social progressSocial progress is defined as the changing of society toward the ideal. The concept of social progress was introduced in the early, 19th century social theories, especially those of social evolutionists like August Comte and Herbert Spencer...
. Howard learned his early scientific lessons about birds from his brother, about fish and the
philosophy of biologyThe philosophy of biology is a subfield of philosophy of science, which deals with epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical issues in the biological and biomedical sciences...
while working after school for the marine zoologist Robert Coker, and about electrical circuits from "The Boy Electrician. .
Howard Thomas studied
zoologyZoology, also spelled zoölogy, is the branch of biology that focuses on the structure, function, behavior, and evolution of animals. The zoologist's pronunciation of "zoology" is , though a common spelling pronunciation is .-Systems of classification:...
at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel HillThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. The university is the oldest in, and flagship of, the University of North Carolina system...
, where he published his first paper while still an undergraduate. His education was interrupted for three years by his
wartimeWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
service with the
Army Air ForceThe United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II. It was a component of the United States Army, divided functionally by executive order in 1942 into three autonomous forces: the Army Ground Forces, the...
in
Puerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands...
and the
PanamaPanama, officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of both Central America and, in turn, North America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the...
Canal ZoneThe Panama Canal Zone was a 553 square mile territory inside of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have fallen in part within the limits of the Canal Zone...
where he worked as a tropical meteorologist. After the war, he returned to the University of North Carolina and completed his
B.S.A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years ....
in zoology (Phi Beta Kappa) in 1947.
In 1947, Odum married Virginia Wood; they had two children. After her 1973 death, he married Elizabeth C. Odum in 1974; she had four children from her previous marriage. Odum's advice on how to manage a blended family was to be sure to keep talking; Elizabeth's was to hold back on discipline and new rules.
In 1950 Howard earned his Ph.D. in zoology at
Yale UniversityYale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Yale has produced many notable alumni, including five...
, 1950 under the guidance of
G. Evelyn HutchinsonGeorge Evelyn Hutchinson was an Anglo-American zoologist known for his studies of freshwater lakes and considered the father of American limnology....
. His dissertation was titled
The Biogeochemistry of Strontium: With Discussion on the Ecological Integration of Elements. This step took him from his early interest in ornithology and brought him into the emerging field of
systems ecologySystems ecology is an interdisciplinary field of ecology, taking a holistic approach to the study of ecological systems, especially ecosystems. Systems ecology can be seen as an application of general systems theory to ecology. Central to the systems ecology approach is the idea that an ecosystem...
. Through this analysis of the global circulation of strontium, anticipated in the late 1940s the now-accepted view of the earth as one great
ecosystemAn ecosystem is a system of interdependent organisms which share the same habitat, in an area functioning together with all of the physical factors of the environment. Ecosystems can be permanent or temporary. Ecosystems usually form a number of food webs...
.
While at Yale, Howard began his life-long collaborations with his brother Eugene. In 1953, they published the first English-language textbook on systems ecology,
Fundamentals of Ecology. Howard wrote the chapter on
energeticsEnergetics is the scientific study of energy flows and storages under transformation. Because energy flows at all scales, from the quantum level, to the biosphere and cosmos, energetics is therefore a very broad discipline, encompassing for example thermodynamics, chemistry, biological energetics,...
which introduced his
energy circuit languageThe Energy Systems Language , also referred to as jack mahof, Energy Circuit Language and Generic Systems Symbols, was developed by the ecologist Howard T. Odum and colleagues in the 1950s during studies of the tropical forests funded by the United States Atomic Energy Commission...
. They continued to collaborate, in research as well as writing, for the rest of their lives. For Howard, his energy systems language (which he called "energese") was itself a collaborative tool.
From 1956 to 1963, Odum worked as Director of the Marine Institute of the University of Texas. During this time, he became aware of the interplay of ecological-energetic and economic forces. He then taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was in the Department of Zoology, and one of the professors in the new Curriculum of Marine Sciences until his move to the University of Florida in 1970. He then taught at the Environmental Engineering Sciences Department for 26 years until his retirement in 1996, He also started and directed the Center for Environmental Policy at the University of Florida and founded the University's Center for Wetlands in 1973, the first of its kind in the world that is still in operation today. In the 1960s-1970s Odum was also chairman of the
International Biological ProgramThe International Biological Program was an effort between 1964 and 1974 to coordinate large-scale ecological and environmental studies...
's Tropical Biome planning committee and was supported by large contracts with the United States Atomic Energy Commission with nearly 100 scientists, which involved radiation studies of a tropical rainforest His featured project at University of Florida in the 1970s was on recycling treated sewage into cypress swamps, one of the first projects that began the now widespread approach of using wetlands as water quality improvement ecosystems. This is one of his most important contributions to the beginnings of the field of ecological engineering.
In his last years, Odum was Graduate Research Professor Emeritus and Director of the Center for Environmental Policy. He was an avid birdwatcher in both his professional and personal life.
The Ecological Society awarded Odum its Mercer Award to recognize his contributions to the study of the coral reef on Eniwetok Atoll . Odum also received the French Prix de Vie, and the
Crafoord PrizeThe Crafoord Prize is an annual science prize established in 1980 by Holger Crafoord, a Swedish industrialist, and his wife Anna-Greta Crafoord...
of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science considered the Nobel equivalent for bioscience not originally honored by Nobel himself.
Charles A S HallC.A.S Hall is ESF Foundation Distinguished Professor at State University of New York in the College of Environmental Science & Forestry. Hall describes himself primarily as a systems ecologist with strong interests in biophysical economics, and the relation of energy to society.-External links:*...
has called Odum one of the most innovative and important thinkers of our time, noting that Howard Odum, either alone or with his brother Eugene, received essentially all of international prizes awarded to ecologists. The only higher education institute to award both Odum brothers honorary degrees was The Ohio State University which honored H.T. in 1995 and Gene in 1999.
Odum's contributions to this field have been recognised by the
Mars SocietyThe Mars Society is an international space advocacy non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging the exploration and settlement of Mars. Founded by Robert Zubrin and others in mid-1998 and attracting the support of notable science fiction writers and filmmakers , the organization is dedicated...
who named their experimental station the "H.T.Odum greenhouse", at the suggestion of his former student Patrick Kangas. Kangas and his student, David Blersch, made significant contributions to the design of the waste water recycling system.
Odum's students have carried on his work at institutions around the world, most notably Mark Brown at the
University of FloridaThe University of Florida is a public land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant major research university located on a campus located in Gainesville, Florida, in the United States. The university traces its origins to 1853, and has continuously operated on its present Gainesville campus since the fall...
, David Tilley and Patrick Kangas at the
University of MarylandThe University of Maryland, College Park is a public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. Founded in 1856, the University of Maryland is the flagship institution of the University System of Maryland...
, Daniel Campbell at the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Enrique Ortega at the UNICAMP in
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
, and Sergio Ulgiati at the
University of SienaThe University of Siena in Siena, Tuscany is one of the oldest and first publicly funded universities in Italy. Originally called Studium Senese, the University of Siena was founded in 1240. The University has around 20,000 students, nearly half of Siena's total population of around 54,000...
. Work done at these institutions continues to evolve and propagate the Odum's concept of emergy. His former students
Bill MitschWilliam Mitsch, born March 29 1947 in Wheeling, West Virginia USA, is an ecosystem ecologist and ecological engineer who was co-laureate of the 2004 Stockholm Water Prize in August 2004 as a result of a career in wetland ecology and restoration, ecological engineering, and ecological...
[Ohio State University] and Bob Costanza [University of Vermont] are among a cadre of former students who have been recognized internationally for their contributions to ecological engineering, ecological economics, ecosystem science, wetland ecology, estuarine ecology, ecological modeling, and related fields.
Work: An overview
Odum left a large legacy in many fields associated with ecology, systems, and energetics. He studied ecosystems all over the world, and pioneered the study of several areas, some of which are now distinct fields of research. According to Hall (1995, p.ix), Odum published one of the first significant papers in each of the following areas:
- Ecological modeling (Odum 1960a);
- Ecological engineering
Ecological engineering is an emerging of study integrating ecology and engineering, concerned with the design, monitoring and construction of ecosystems...
(Odum et al. 1963);
- Ecological economics
Image:Sustainable development.svg|right|The three pillars of sustainability. Clickable.|275px|thumbpoly 138 194 148 219 164 240 182 257 219 277 263 291 261 311 264 331 272 351 283 366 300 383 316 394 287 408 261 417 224 424 182 426 154 423 119 415 87 403 58 385 40 368 24 347 17 328 13 309...
(Odum 1971);
- Estuarine ecology
An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries are thus subject to both marine influences, such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water; and riverine influences, such as flows of...
(Odum and Hoskins 1958);
- Tropical ecosystems ecology
Tropical ecology is the relationship between plants and animals in a tropical environment , these mean the area between tropic of Cancer and tropic of Capricorn. Day and night last here approximately 12 hours. Characteristic for tropical zone is at least one day of right angle sun shining. High...
(Odum and Pidgeon 1970);
- General systems theory.
Odum's contributions to these and other areas are summarized below.
Odum also wrote on radiation ecology,
systems ecologySystems ecology is an interdisciplinary field of ecology, taking a holistic approach to the study of ecological systems, especially ecosystems. Systems ecology can be seen as an application of general systems theory to ecology. Central to the systems ecology approach is the idea that an ecosystem...
, unified science, and the
microcosmMicrocosms are artificial, simplified ecosystems that are used to simulate and predict the behaviour of natural ecosystems under controlled conditions. Open or closed microcosms provide an experimental area for ecologists to study natural ecological processes. Microcosm studies can be very useful...
. He was one of the first to discuss the use of ecosystems for life-support function in space travel. Some have suggested that Odum was technocratic in orientation, while others believe that he sided with those calling for "new values."
A new integrative approach in ecology
In his 1950 Ph.D. thesis, H.T.Odum gave a novel definition of ecology as the study of large entities (ecosystems) at the "natural level of integration" . Hence, in the traditional role of an ecologist, one of Odum's doctoral aims was to recognise and classify large cyclic entities (ecosystems). However another of his aims was to make predictive generalizations about ecosystems, such as the whole world for example. For Odum, as a large entity, the world constituted a revolving cycle with high
stabilityEcological Stability can refer to types of stability in a continuum ranging from resilience to constancy to persistence Ecological Stability can refer to types of stability in a continuum ranging from resilience (returning quickly to a previous state) to constancy to persistence Ecological...
. It was the presence of stability which, Odum believed, enabled him to talk about the
teleologyTeleology is the philosophical study of design and purpose. A teleological school of thought is one that holds all things to be designed for or directed toward a final result, that there is an inherent purpose or final cause for all that exists.As a school of thought it can be contrasted with...
of such
systemSystem is a set of interacting or interdependent entities forming an integrated whole....
s. Moreover, at the time of writing his thesis, Odum felt that the principle of
natural selectionNatural selection is the process by which heritable traits that make it more likely for an organism to survive and successfully reproduce become more common in a population over successive generations...
was more than
empiricalThe word empirical denotes information gained by means of observation, experience, or experiment. A central concept in science and the scientific method is that all evidence must be empirical, or empirically based, that is, dependent on evidence or consequences that are observable by the senses...
, because it had a teleological, that is a "stability over time" component. And as an ecologist interested in the behaviour and function of large entities over time, Odum therefore sought to give a more general statement of natural selection so that it was equally applicable to large entities as it was to small entities traditionally studied in biology:
Hence Odum also had the aim of extending the scope and generality of natural selection, to include large entities such as the world. This extension relied on the definition of an
entityAn entity is something that has a distinct, separate existence, though it need not be a material existence. In particular, abstractions and legal fictions are usually regarded as entities. In general, there is also no presumption that an entity is animate...
as a combination of properties that have some stability with time . Odum's approach was motivated by Lotka's idea's on the energetics of evolution.
Ecosystem simulation
In writing a history of the ecosystem concept, Golley noted that Odum tended to think in the form of analogies, and gave the example, "if the world is a heat engine, then..." In this vein, Odum can be understood as extending the
dynamical analogiesAnalogical models are a method of representing a phenomenon of the world, often called the ‘target system’ by another, more understandable or analysable system. They are also called dynamical analogies.- Explanation :...
which establish the analogies between electrical, mechanical, acoustical, magnetic and electronic systems, to include ecological systems.
Odum used an analog of electrical energy networks to model the energy flow pathways of ecosystems. Odum's analog electrical models had a significant role in the development of his approach to systems and have been recognized as one of the earliest instances of systems ecology.
Electron flow in the electrical network represented the flow of material (e.g. carbon) in the ecosystem, charge in a capacitor was analogous to storage of a material, and the model was scaled to the ecosystem of interest by adjusting the size of electrical component.
Ecological analog of Ohm's Law
In the 1950s Odum introduced his electrical circuit diagrams of ecosystems to the
Ecological Society of AmericaThe Ecological Society of America is a learned society for ecologists located in the United States. It has over 10,000 members.The society was formed at a meeting at Columbus Ohio, on December 28,1915 with the aims being to:...
. He claimed that energy was driven through ecological systems by an "ecoforce" analogous to the role of voltage in electrical circuits.
Odum developed an analogue of Ohm's Law which aimed to be a representation of energy flows through ecosystems. In terms of steady state thermodynamics, Ohm's Law can be considered a special case of a more general flux law, where the flux "is proportional to the driving thermodynamic force with conductivity . That is: .
Kangas states that Odum then also concluded that as thermodynamic systems, ecosystems should also obey the force-flux law . Hence Ohm's law and passive electrical analog circuits can be used to simulate ecosystems (
Ibid.). In this simulation, Odum attempted to derive an ecological analog for electrical voltage. Voltage, or driving force, is related to something we have measured for years, the
biomassBiomass, a renewable energy source, is biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms, such as wood, waste, and alcohol fuels. Biomass is commonly plant matter grown to generate electricity or produce heat. For example, forest residues , yard clippings and wood chips may be...
, in pounds per acre. The analogous concept required is the biomass activity, that is, the thermodynamic thrust, which may be linear. Exactly what this is in nature is still uncertain, as it is a new concept.
Such a consideration led Odum to ask two important methodological questions: 1) What is the electrical significance of a function observed in nature? 2) Given an electrical unit in a circuit, what is it in the ecological system? For example, what is a diode in nature? One needs a diode to allow biomass to accumulate after the voltage of the sun has gone down. Otherwise the circuit reverses. Higher organisms like fish are diodes.
The Silver Spring study
Silver SpringSilver Springs is a U.S. populated place and spring in Marion County, Florida, just to the east of the city of Ocala. It is part of the Ocala Metropolitan Statistical Area....
is a common type of spring-fed stream in
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
, with a constant temperature and chemical composition. The study Howard Odum conducted here was the first complete analysis of a natural
ecosystemAn ecosystem is a system of interdependent organisms which share the same habitat, in an area functioning together with all of the physical factors of the environment. Ecosystems can be permanent or temporary. Ecosystems usually form a number of food webs...
.
Odum started with an overall model and in his early work used a diagramming methodology very similar to the
Sankey diagramSankey diagrams are a specific type of flow diagram, in which the width of the arrows is shown proportionally to the flow quantity. They are typically used to visualize energy or material or cost transfers between processes.-Application:...
s used in chemical process engineering. In this model energy and matter flows through an ecosystem: H are herbivores, C are carnivores, TC are top carnivores, and D are decomposers. Squares represent biotic pools and ovals are fluxes or energy or nutrients from the system.
Odum mapped in detail all the flow routes to and from the stream. He measured the energy input of sun and rain, and of all organic matter - even those of the bread the tourists threw to the ducks and fish - and then measured the energy that gradually left the spring. In this way he was able to establish the stream's energy budget.
Ecological and biological energetics
Around 1955 Odum directed studies into
radioecologyRadioecology is a branch of ecology, which studies how radioactive substances interact with nature; how different mechanisms affect the substances’ migration and uptake in food chain and ecosystems...
which included the effects of radiation on the tropical rainforest at El Verde, Puerto Rico (Odum and Pidgeon), and the coral reefs and ocean ecology at Eniwetok atoll. The Odum brothers were approached by the Atomic Energy Commission to undertake a detailed study of the atoll after nuclear testing. Apparently the atoll was sufficiently radioactive that upon their arrival the Odums were able to produce an autoradiographic image of a coral head by placing it on photographic paper. These studies were early applications of energy concepts to ecological systems. They were exploring the implications of the laws of thermodynamics when used in these new settings.
From this view, biogeochemical cycles are driven by radiant energy. Odum expressed the balance between energy input and output as the ratio of production (
P) to
respirationThe respiration rate is a parameter which is used in ecological and agronomical modeling.In theoretical production ecology and aquaculture, it typically refers to respiration per unit of time , also referred to as relative respiration rate...
(
R):
P-R. He classified water bodies based on their
P-R ratios, this separated autotrophic from heterotrophic ecosystems: "his measurements of flowing water metabolism were measurements of whole systems. Odum was measuring the community as a system, not adding up the metabolism of the components as Lindeman and many others had done". This reasoning appears to have followed that of Odum's doctoral supervisor, G.E.Hutchinson who expressed the view that if a community were an organism then it must have a form of metabolism . However Golley notes that H.T.Odum attempted to go beyond the reporting of mere ratios, a move which resulted in the first serious disagreement in systems energetics.
Maximum power theory and the proposal for additional laws of thermodynamics/energetics
In a controversial move, Odum, together with Richard Pinkerton (at the time physicist at the University of Florida), was motivated by
Alfred J. LotkaAlfred James Lotka was a US mathematician, physical chemist, and statistician, famous for his work in population dynamics and energetics. An American biophysicist best known for his proposal of the predator-prey model, developed simultaneously but independently of Vita Volterra...
's articles on the energetics of evolution, and subsequently proposed the theory that natural systems tend to operate at an efficiency that produces the
maximum powerThe maximum power principle has been proposed as the fourth principle of energetics in open system thermodynamics, where an example of an open system is a biological cell.-History:...
output, not the maximum efficiency. This theory in turn motivated Odum to propose maximum power as a fundamental thermodynamic law. Further to this Odum also mooted two more additional thermodynamic laws (see
EnergeticsEnergetics is the scientific study of energy flows and storages under transformation. Because energy flows at all scales, from the quantum level, to the biosphere and cosmos, energetics is therefore a very broad discipline, encompassing for example thermodynamics, chemistry, biological energetics,...
), but there is far from consensus in the scientific community about these proposals, and many scientists have never heard of H.T.Odum or his views.
Energese: Energy Systems Language
By the end of the 1960s Odum's electronic circuit ecological simulation models were replaced by a more general set of energy symbols. When combined to form systems diagrams, these symbols were considered by Odum and others to be the language of the macroscope which could portray generalized patterns of energy flow: "Describing such patterns and reducing ecosystem complexities to flows of energy, Odum believed, would permit discovery of general ecosystem principles". Some have attempted to link it with the
universal scientific languageThe Latin term characteristica universalis, commonly interpreted as universal characteristic, or universal character in English, is a universal and formal language imagined by the German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz able to express mathematical, scientific, and metaphysical concepts...
projects which have appeared throughout the history of natural philosophy
Kitching claimed that the language was a direct result of working with analogue computers, and reflected an electrical engineer's approach to the problem of system representation: "Because of its electrical analogy, the Odum system is relatively easy to turn into mathematical equations ... If one is building a model of energy flow then certainly the Odum system should be given serious consideration... "
Due to the focus on systems thinking, Odum's language appears to be similar in approach to the
Systems Modeling LanguageThe Systems Modeling Language is a general-purpose modeling language for systems engineering applications. It supports the specification, analysis, design, verification and validation of a broad range of systems and systems-of-systems. SysML was originally developed by an open source specification...
recently developed by INCOSE an international
Systems EngineeringSystems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering that focuses on how complex engineering projects should be designed and managed. Issues such as logistics, the coordination of different teams, and automatic control of machinery become more difficult when dealing with large, complex...
body.
Energy quality
In taking an energy-based view of hierarchical organization Odum also developed further the systems ecology understanding of
energy qualityEnergy quality is the contrast between different forms of energy, the different trophic levels in ecological systems and the propensity of energy to convert from one form to another. The concept refers to the empirical experience of the characteristics, or qualia, of different energy forms as they...
.
Emergy
In the 1990s in the latter part of his career H.T. Odum together with
David M. SciencemanDr David M. Scienceman is an Australian scientist; he changed his name from David Slade by deed poll in 1972.Dr Scienceman has a mathematics and physics degree and gained his PhD from the chemical engineering department at Sydney University on a scholarship from the Australian Atomic Energy...
developed the ideas of emergy, as a specific use of the term
Embodied energyEmbodied energy is defined as the available energy that was used in the work of making a product. Embodied energy is an accounting methodology which aims to find the sum total of the energy necessary for an entire product lifecycle...
. Some consider the concept of "emergy", sometimes briefly defined as "energy memory", as one of Odum's more significant contributions. However the concept is neither free from controversy, and not without its critics. Odum looked at natural systems as having been formed by the use of various forms of energy in the past: "emergy is a measure of energy used in the past and thus is different from a measure of energy now. The unit of emergy (past available energy use) is the emjoule to distinguish it from joules used for available energy remaining now." This was then conceived as a principle of maximum empower which might explain the
evolutionIn biology, evolution is change in the genetic material of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. Though changes produced in any one generation are normally small, differences accumulate with each generation and can, over time, cause substantial changes in the population, a...
of self-organising open systems. However such a principle has not been empirically demonstrated nor verified by the scientific community.
Ecosystem ecology and systems ecology
- Main articles: Ecosystem ecology
Ecosystem ecology is the integrated study of biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems and their interactions within an ecosystem framework. This science examines how ecosystems work and relates this to their components such as chemicals, bedrock, soil, plants, and animals.Ecosystem ecology...
and systems ecologySystems ecology is an interdisciplinary field of ecology, taking a holistic approach to the study of ecological systems, especially ecosystems. Systems ecology can be seen as an application of general systems theory to ecology. Central to the systems ecology approach is the idea that an ecosystem...
For J.B. Hagen, the maximum power principle, and the stability principle could be easily translated into the language of
homeostasisHomeostasis is the property of a system, either open or closed, that regulates its internal environment and tends to maintain a stable, constant condition...
and
cyberneticsCybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems. Cybernetics is closely related to control theory and systems theory...
systems . Hagen claims that the feedback loops in ecosystems, were, for Odum, analogous to the kinds of feedback loops diagrammed in electronic circuits and cybernetic systems (
Ibid.). This approach represented the migration of cybernetic ideas into ecology and led to the formulation of systems ecology. In Odum's work these concepts form part of what Hagen called an, "ambitious and idiosyncratic attempt to create a universal science of systems" (
Ibid).
Macroscope
Hagen has identified the systems thinking of Odum as a form of holistic thinking. Odum contrasted the holistic thinking of systems science with reductionistic microscopic thinking, and used the term "macroscope" to refer to the holistic view, which was a kind of "detail eliminator" allowing a simple diagram to be created.
Microcosms
H.T.Odum was a pioneer in his use of small closed and open ecosystems in classroom teaching. These small ecosystems were often constructed from fish tanks or bottles and have been called
microcosmsMicrocosms are artificial, simplified ecosystems that are used to simulate and predict the behaviour of natural ecosystems under controlled conditions. Open or closed microcosms provide an experimental area for ecologists to study natural ecological processes. Microcosm studies can be very useful...
. Odum's microcosm studies influenced the design of
Biosphere 2Biosphere 2 is a structure originally built to be a man-made, materially-closed ecological system in Oracle, Arizona by Space Biosphere Ventures, a joint venture whose principal officers were John P. Allen, inventor and Executive Director, and Margret Augustine, CEO...
.
Hierarchical organization
In observing the way higher order trophic levels have a control function in ecosystems H.T.Odum arrived at the concept he termed hierarchical organization.
Ecological economics
Ecological economics is now an active field between
economicsEconomics is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and ecology with annual conferences, international societies and an international journal. From 1956 to 1963 H.T.Odum worked as Director of the Marine Institute of the University of Texas. During this time Odum became aware of the interplay of ecological-energetic and economic forces. He therefore funded the research into the use of conventional economic approaches to quantify dollar values of ecological resources for recreational, treatment and other uses. This research calculated the potential value of primary production per bay surface area .
For Hall the importance of Odum's work came through his integration of systems, ecology, and energy with economics, together with Odum's view that economics can be evaluated on objective terms such as energy rather than on a subjective, willingness to pay basis.
Ecological engineering
Ecological Engineering is an emerging field of study between ecology and
engineeringEngineering is the discipline, art and profession of acquiring and applying technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes that safely realize a desired objective or inventions.The American Engineers' Council...
concerned with the designing, monitoring and constructing of
ecosystemAn ecosystem is a system of interdependent organisms which share the same habitat, in an area functioning together with all of the physical factors of the environment. Ecosystems can be permanent or temporary. Ecosystems usually form a number of food webs...
s. The term ecological engineering was first coined by the Howard T. Odum in 1962 well before he worked at the University of Florida. Ecological engineering, he wrote, is "those cases where the energy supplied by man is small relative to the natural sources but sufficient to produce large effects in the resulting patterns and processes." Ecological engineering, as a practical field, was then developed by his former graduate student
Bill MitschWilliam Mitsch, born March 29 1947 in Wheeling, West Virginia USA, is an ecosystem ecologist and ecological engineer who was co-laureate of the 2004 Stockholm Water Prize in August 2004 as a result of a career in wetland ecology and restoration, ecological engineering, and ecological...
who started and continues to edit the standard journal in the field and helped to start both international and U.S. societies devoted to ecological engineering, and has written two textbooks on the subject One of H.T. Odum's last papers was his assessment of ecological engineering that was published in the journal Ecological Engineering in 2003, a year after Odum died.
General systems theory
Odum has been described as a "technocratic optimist". His approach was significantly influenced by his father who was also an advocate of viewing the social world through the various lenses of physical science. Within the processes on earth, H.T.Odum (1989) viewed humans as playing a central role: He said that the "human is the biosphere's programmatic and pragmatic information processor for maximum performance".
Literature
H.T. Odum wrote some 15 books and 300 papers, and a
Festschrift volume (
Maximum Power: The Ideas and Applications of H.T.Odum 1995) was published in honour of his work.
Odum was also honored by the journal Ecological Engineering for his contributions to the field of ecological engineering and ecology in general in recognition of his 70th birthday. This publication included over 25 letters from distinguished scientists from all over the world including
Bill MitschWilliam Mitsch, born March 29 1947 in Wheeling, West Virginia USA, is an ecosystem ecologist and ecological engineer who was co-laureate of the 2004 Stockholm Water Prize in August 2004 as a result of a career in wetland ecology and restoration, ecological engineering, and ecological...
(lead editorial), John Allen, Robert Ulanowitcz, Robert Beyers, Ariel Lugo, Marth Gilliland, Sandra Brown, Ramon Margalef, Paul Risser, Gene Odum, Kathy Ewel, Kenneth Watt, Pat Kangas, Sven Jørgensen, Bob Knight, Rusong Wang, John Teal, Frank Golley, AnnMari and Bengt-Owe Jansson, Joan Browder, Carl Folke, Richard Wiegert, Scott Nixon, Gene Turner, John Todd, and James Zuchetto. This list of letters is a must for any H.T. Odum admirer.
Books
- 2001, A Prosperous Way Down: Principles and Policies, with Elisabeth C. Odum, University Press of Colorado.
- 2000, with E.C. Odum, Modeling for all Scales: An introduction to System Simulation, Academic Press.
- 1999, Heavy Metals in the Environment: Using Wetlands for Their Removal.
- 1999, Biosphere 2 : Research, Past and Present, with Bruno D. V. Marino.
- 1996, Environmental Accounting: EMERGY and environmental decision making.
- 1993, Ecological Microcosms, with Michael J. Beyers.
- 1984, Cypress Swamps with Katherine C. Ewel.
- 1983, Systems Ecology : an Introduction.
- 1981, Energy Basis for Man and Nature, with Elisabeth C. Odum.
- 1970, with Robert F. Pigeon (eds), A Tropical Rain Forest; a Study of Irradiation and Ecology at El Verde, Puerto Rico, United States Atomic Energy Commission, National Technical information service.
- 1971, Environment, Power and Society, 1971
- 1967, (ed.) Work Circuits and System Stress, in Young, Symposium on Primary Productivity and Mineral Cycling, Universit of Maine Press.
- 1953, Fundamentals of Ecology, with Eugene P. Odum, (first edition).
Articles (selection)
- 1998, eMergy Evaluation, paper presented at the International Workshop on Advances in Energy Studies: Energy flows in ecology and economy, Porto Venere, Italy, May 27.
- 1989, Comments and thanks to Students and Associates, Handout on the Occasion of the Celebration in Chapel Hill, N.C, in: "Advances in Understanding Ecological Systems", August 31-September, 2.
- 1977, The ecosystem, energy, and human values, in: Zygon, Volume 12 Issue 2 Page 109-133.
- 1973, Energy, ecology and economics, Royal Swedish Academy of Science. in: AMBIO, 2 (6), 220-227.
- 1963, with W.L. Slier, R.J. Beyers & N. Armstrong, Experiments with engineering of marine ecosystems, in: Publ. Inst. Marine Sci. Univ. Tex. 9:374-403.
- 1963, Limits of remote ecosystems containing man, in: The American Biology Teacher. 25 (6): 429-443.
- 1960a, Ecological potential and analog circuits for the ecosystem, in: Amer. Sci. 48:1-8.
- 1960b, Ten classroom sessions in ecology in: The American Biology Teacher. 22 (2): 71-78.
- 1958, with C.M. Hoskin, Comparative studies of the metabolism of Texas bays, in: Publ. Inst. Mar. Sci., Univ. tex., 5:16-46.
- 1955, with E.P. Odum, Trophic structure and productivity of a winward coral reef community on Eniwetok Atoll, in: Ecological Monographs. 35, 291-320.
- 1950, The Biogeochemistry of Strontium: With Discussion on the Ecological Integration of Elements, A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Yale University in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
About Howard T. Odum
- Beyers, R.J. 1964. The Microcosm Approach to Ecosystem Biology. The American Biology Teacher. 26 (7): 491-498.
- Bocking, S. 1997. Ecologists and environmental politics: a history of contemporary ecology, Yale University.
- Cevolatti, D., and Maud, S., 2004, " Realising the Enlightenment: H. T. Odum's Energy Systems Language qua G. W. v. Leibniz's Characteristica Universalis," Ecological Modelling 178: 279-92.
- Costanza, R. 1997. An Introduction to Ecological Economics, CRC Press.
- Ewel, John J. 2003. Resolution of Respect: Howard Thomas Odum Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. January 2003: 12-15 (PDF)
- Gilliland, M.W. ed. (1978) Energy Analysis: A New Public Policy Tool, AAA Selected Symposia Series, Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado.
- Golley, F. 1993. A History of the Ecosystem Concept in Ecology: More than the sum of the parts, Yale University Press.
- Hagen, J.B. 1992. An Entangled Bank: The Origins of Ecosystem Ecology. Rutgers University Press.
- Hall, C.A.S. (ed.) 1995. Maximum Power: The Ideas and applications of H.T.Odum. Colorado University Press.
- Debora Hammond
Debora Hammond is an American historian of science, Provost and Professor Interdisciplinary Studies of the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies at the Sonoma State University...
, 1997. Ecology and Ideology in the General Systems Community, Environment and History, Volume 3, Number 2, pp. 197–207(11)
- Hammond, G. 2007. Energy and sustainability in a complex world: Reflections on the ideas of Howard T. Odum, Int. J. Energy Res. (in press).
- Kangas, P. 1995. Contributions of H.T.Odum to Ecosystem Simulation Modelling, in Hall (ed.) Maximum Power: the Ideas and Applications of H.T.Odum, Colorado University Press, Colorado.
- Kangas P. 2004. The role of passive electrical analogs in H.T. Odum's systems thinking, Ecological Modelling, v 178 (1-2), 101-106.
- Kangas P. 2004b. Ecological economics began on the Texas bays during the 1950s, Ecological Modelling, v 178 (1-2), 179-181.
- Kitching R.L. 1983. Systems Ecology: An Introduction to Ecological Modelling, University of Queensland Press.
- Lugo, A. E. 1995. A review of Dr. Howard T. Odum's early publications: From bird migration studies to Scott Nixon's turtle crass model. In Hall (ed.) Maximum Power: The Ideas and applications of H.T.Odum. Colorado University Press.
- Madison, M.G. 1997. 'Potatoes Made of Oil': Eugene and Howard Odum and the Origins and Limits of American Agroecology, Environment and History, Volume 3, Number 2, June 1997, pp. 209–238 (30
- Mitsch. W.J. 2003. Ecology, ecological engineering, and the Odum brothers. Ecological Engineering v. 20, 331-338.
- Mitsch, W.J. 1994. Energy flow in a pulsing system: Howard T. Odum. Ecological Engineering, v.3, 77-83.
- Mitsch, W.J. and J.W. Day, Jr. 2004. Thinking big with whole ecosystem studies and ecosystem restoration—A legacy of H.T. Odum. Ecological Modelling, v 178, 133-155.
- Odum, E.C. 1995. H.T. Odum as a Husband and Colleague, in Hall (ed.), Maximum Power: The Ideas and applications of H.T. Odum. Colorado University Press, pp. 360–361.
- Taylor, Peter J. 1988. Technocratic optimism, H.T. Odum and the partial transformation of ecological metaphor after World War 2. Journal of the History of Biology 21:213-244.
External links
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