autecology

Autecology is an approach in ecology that seeks to explain the distribution and abundance of species by studying interactions of individual organisms with their environments. An autecological approach differs from ecosystem ecology, community ecology (synecology) and population ecology (demecology) by greater recognition of the species-specific adaptations of individual animals, plants or other organisms, and of environmental over density-dependent influences on species distributions. Autecological theory relates the species-specific requirements and environmental tolerances of individuals to the geographic distribution of the species, with individuals tracking suitable conditions, having the capacity for migration at least at one stage in their life cycles. Autecology has a strong grounding in evolutionary theory, including the theory of punctuated equilibrium and the recognition concept of species.

== History == Autecology was pioneered by German field botanists in the late 19th century. During the 20th century, autecology continued to exist mainly as a descriptive science rather than one with supporting theory and the most notable proponents of an autecological approach, Herbert Andrewartha and Charles Birch, avoided the term autecology when referring to species-focused ecological investigation with emphasis on density-independent processes. Part of the problem with deriving a theoretical structure for autecology is that individual species are unique in their life history and behaviour, making it difficult to draw broad generalisations across them without losing the crucial information that is gained by studying biology at a species level. Progress has been made in more recent times with Paterson's recognition concept of species and the concept of habitat tracking by organisms. The most recent attempt at deriving a theoretical structure for autecology was published in 2014 by ecologists Gimme Walter and Rob Hengeveld.