Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Measuring Delay Discounting in Humans Using an Adjusting Amount Task
07:47

Measuring Delay Discounting in Humans Using an Adjusting Amount Task

Published on: January 9, 2016

16.1K

Ecology, thermodynamics and H.T. Odum's conjectures.

B Å Månsson1, J M McGlade2

  • 1Applied Landscape Ecology, UFZ-Environmental Research Center, Permoserstrasse 15, O-7050, Leipzig, Germany.

Oecologia
|March 18, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Dynamics and evolution: evolutionarily stable attractors, invasion exponents and phenotype dynamics.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·1994
Same author

The stability of ecosystems.

Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·1989
See all related articles

Thermodynamics in ecology faces challenges. This study questions the maximum power principle in ecosystem evolution, finding it contradicts empirical data and models.

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Thermodynamics
  • Systems Ecology

Background:

  • Energy's central role in life drives ecological theories.
  • Thermodynamic principles are increasingly applied to ecological processes.
  • H.T. Odum's maximum power principle is a widely cited concept in ecosystem evolution.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the theoretical and empirical support for thermodynamic conjectures in ecology.
  • To critically assess Odum's maximum power principle and its application.
  • To explore alternative frameworks for an energy-centered ecological theory.

Main Methods:

  • Review of theoretical and empirical literature on thermodynamics in ecology.
  • Analysis of the conceptual underpinnings of Odum's maximum power principle.
Keywords:
CritiqueEnergy numeraireExergySystems ecology

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Measuring Delay Discounting in Humans Using an Adjusting Amount Task
07:47

Measuring Delay Discounting in Humans Using an Adjusting Amount Task

Published on: January 9, 2016

16.1K
  • Examination of energy stocks, flows, and material accessibility in food web theories.
  • Comparison of ecological models and empirical data with the maximum power principle.

    • Main Results:

    • Many ecological studies apply Odum's ideas without addressing underlying theoretical problems.
    • Defining a general, aggregated available-work concept for ecosystems is operationally difficult.
    • The maximum power principle is contradicted by empirical data and models across various scales.
    • A one-dimensional currency framework poses fundamental problems for describing complex ecosystems.

    Conclusions:

    • The maximum power principle is not a valid general principle for ecological evolution.
    • Current thermodynamic approaches to ecology face significant conceptual and operational hurdles.
    • Alternative, more flexible frameworks are needed for energy-centered ecological theory.