ABSTRACT

Models used in applied aspects of ecology, such as dealing with specific questions of conservation, assessment, and restoration, are usually far different from models used to elucidate theoretical issues. The former tend to include details that may be important to the particular applied question, while the latter are kept as simple as possible to reveal theoretical insights. However, theory should and can play a more prominent role in influencing the way that ecosystems are managed. The concept of trophic cascades from food web theory and metapopulation theory from spatial ecology are examples where theoretical models are beginning to make inputs to management plans.

As ecological theory is extended to more and more complex phenomena in which spatial heterogeneity and temporal fluctuations play a role, its potential application to real ecosystems and to specific applied issues is increasing. Practical models, even though necessarily more detailed and specific than those of theoretical ecology, may contain kernels of simpler theoretical concepts and models. Here we consider such a case of application of theory to a key component of the Everglades ecosystem.