The Ideals and Aims of the Ecological Society of America

The development of modern ecology has received its greatest impetus in a few localities where there are physiographic con ditions giving diversity of habitats in which environmental dynamics are apparent. While primarily concerned with the physiological relations of organisms to environment, and while tending to become to a marked degree an experimental science, the workers in the field have thus far derived, and probably always will derive, their inspiration from the dynamic relations of organisms to their environment?; from the diurnal, seasonal and secular changes in the environments of single species or of communities of species. Still, many investigators with interest in ecology and some actually working in the field, have not had an opportunity to see some of the most significant localities in which ecological field study has been conducted and thus are much handicapped in their understanding of the published ac counts, and in relating them to their less diagrammatic situations. The facts, the methods and terms of the different investigators in the field of this new science are accordingly not clearly ap preciated in a comparative and comprehensive way by the in vestigators themselves. It is not possible to carry demonstrations of these difficult natural phenomena to the places of meeting of the national societies, as many other materials are carried and dispLrped as demonstrations. Thus the Ecological Society of America has grown out of an attempt to accomplish what may be termed a display of the localities which have served to inspire workers in ecological lines. The various ecological investigators have developed methods for the study of environment and for the study of response to environment. These workers fall into two groups?botanists and zoologists?separated by the present-day organization of science but with much common ground which demands fusion. Methods and terois are not standardized, indeed nature does not bear close standardization, but much is to be gained by a thorough under standing. The diversity of interest in climatological work is illustrated by the topics of the various members of the Society's committee dealing with this one phase of modern ecological in terest. In all the meetings, correspondence and conversations with members of the executive committee and the organizing com 1