ABSTRACT
Ecologists frequently describe mechanisms for purposes of explanation and prediction. However, philosophers of science have not examined ecological mechanisms, even though they might be different from the biological mechanisms that have so far received philosophical scrutiny. This chapter considers the case of the invasive shrub Lonicera maackii (Amur honeysuckle) to examine ecological mechanisms at the level of individual organisms. Individual-level ecological mechanisms satisfy most, but not all features of the minimal account of mechanisms and their particularities contribute toward the general examination of mechanisms. Experimental techniques in ecology exemplify a variety of experimental designs that have been identified by New Mechanists as strategies of mechanism discovery. The chapter then explores the case of mechanisms involving groups of organisms. An example of group-level mechanisms is what Palmer call the hypothetical mechanism by which diverse terrestrial and aquatic plant communities may increase biodiversity in aquatic sediments.
