Year: 2018
Type: reference-entry
Abstract: An ecological model relates interactions within and between people and other life forms in an ecosystem context. Anthropologists use ecological modeling to address issues such as sustainability of cultural practices, how population structures are likely to respond to policies, and the ecological impacts of human activities. In anthropology, ecological modeling initially arose in response to cultural ecology as developed by Julian Steward and Leslie White, but it eventually positioned agency and cultural processes as the principal drivers in ecosystems. Ecological models tend toward explanatory rather than descriptive accounts, with detail often specified at the level of individual interactions. Ecological modeling makes possible research that might otherwise be unethical or impractical.
Author: Michael D. Fischer
Institution: University of Kent
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4252366634