Elton, Charles
Charles Elton (1900-1991), a British ecologist who was among the first to use a scientific method to study animals in their natural habitats and their interrelationships with their surroundings. Elton is considered one of the founders of ecology, and his work, Animal Ecology (1927), was one of the seminal works that defined the field. In Animal Ecology, Elton introduced and described many principles still central to ecology today, including succession, niches, food webs, and the links between communities and ecosystems. The roots of ecological energetics can be found in his 'pyramid of numbers', a method of representing the structure of an ecosystem in terms of feeding relationships.
Further Reading
- Western Kentucky University. Charles Sutherland Elton - Chrono-Biographical Sketch.
Citation
Cleveland, Cutler (Lead Author); Tom Lawrence (Topic Editor). 2009. "Elton, Charles." In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth November 30, 2006; Last revised January 6, 2009; Retrieved November 7, 2009]. <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Elton,_Charles>