On the Epistemic Roles of the Individualized Niche Concept in Ecology, Behavioral and Evolutionary Biology
Year: 2024
Type: preprint
Abstract: We characterize four fruitful and underappreciated epistemic roles played by the concept of an individualized niche in contemporary biology, utilizing results of a qualitative empirical study conducted within an interdisciplinary biological research center. We argue that the individualized niche concept (1) shapes the research agenda of the center, (2) facilitates explaining core phenomena related to inter-individual differences, (3) helps with managing individual-level causal complexity, and (4) promotes integrating local knowledge from ecology, evolutionary biology, behavioral biology and other biological fields. We thereby also challenge arguments that the niche concept is superfluous in ecology.
Authors: Kaiser, Marie I., Morrow, Katie H.
Institution: Bielefeld University
Language: English
Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7009628785
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