Laws, models and analogies in ecology

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This project aims to explore whether there are laws in ecology and, if so, what role they play in ecological theory. If there were no ecological laws, ecologists would merely supply suites of models which would be assessed for their empirical adequacy but not for their ability to capture truths. If ecology does have laws, what are these laws and why do the best candidates for ecological laws not have exceptions? This project could influence understanding of ecological theory from a philosophical and an ecological perspective. This may have implications for the methodology of ecology and ecological modelling.