Changing Concepts of the Balance of Nature

The balance of nature has been a background assumption in natural history since antiquity, but even to the present it has seldom been closely studied. The idea of a balance of nature emerged, but only implicity, in antiquity. During the 17th century, with an increased knowledge of natural history, the idea became a functional assumption, but within a theological rather than ecological context. In the 18th century Linnaeus defined the concept and attempted to make it the foundation of an ecological science. However, it remained tied to theology and was elaborated without critical examination. The existence of agricultural pests, the occasional occurrence of plagues of animals, and the possibility of species having become extinct were kinds of evidence which would have been difficult to reconcile with contemporary concepts. Lamarck was one of the few who perceived some anomaly, and he attempted to save the old concept by arguing that fossils represented early forms of existing species rather than extinct species. His ideas were not widely accepted. Wallace found fault with the Linnaean concept, but it was only a passing thought which he never published. Darwin attempted to assimilate the balanced-of-nature concept into his description of natural selection, but without exploring the inconsistencies between the Linnacean concept and his theory. As other naturalists shifted their interpretations of nature from static to evolving, few of them appreciated the need to change their understanding of the balance of nature accordingly. Some naturalists and ecologists who have thought seriously about balance of nature have postulated somewhat mystical supraorganismic concepts. These, like the general concepts, arose in antiquity, but unlike the general concepts they have won only limited acceptance. Balance-of-nature concepts apparently have receded in importance with the rise of ecological specialization, probably because ecologists have developed more precise concepts of productivity and ecosystem can serve about the same explanatory functions.