The Silwood circle : a history of ecology and the making of scientific careers in late twentieth-century Britain / Hannah Gay, Imperial College London.

London : Imperial College Press, [2013]

Singapore : Distributed by World Scientific Publishing Co., Pte, Ltd.

ix, 430 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 24 cm

Some ecological ideas that anticipated those of the Silwood circle -- From Linnaeus to Lotka and Volterra -- Alfred Lotka and the source of his ideas -- What should we make of this? A philosophical aside -- Entomology and ecology at Imperial College, 1907-1965 -- Entomology at Imperial College prior to the acquisition of Silwood Park -- The purchase of Silwood Park -- Early work at Silwood -- T.R.E. Southwood and the early years of the Silwood circle -- Southwood's youth and his arrival at Silwood -- Environmentalism : some cultural and political events of the 1960s and 1970s -- The early years of the Silwood Circle -- Southwood's later years at Silwood -- Some important antecedents to the Silwood circle : ecology at Oxford and at some North American centres -- Ecology at Oxford University : from the 1920s to the 1960s -- Ecology in North America : G.E. Hutchinson and his students -- Hard work and the making of reputations : Robert May and Richard Southwood, 1971-1979 -- Robert May and stability and complexity in model ecosystems (1973, 1974 and 2001) -- T.R.E. Southwood, Robert May, and the Silwood circle -- The reception of new mathematical modelling by the ecological community -- T.R.E. Southwood in the wider world -- The growth of careers, 1970-1995 : part one -- Gordon Conway -- Michael Crawley -- Michael Hassell -- Roy Anderson -- Richard Southwood : public service and his move to Oxford -- The growth of careers, 1970-1995 : part two -- John Lawton -- John Krebs -- David Rogers -- John Beddington -- Coda -- Voices in the larger world : responsibilities, awards and rewards -- Interlude: My philosophical lens -- Conclusion -- Intellectual history : tradition and novelty -- Institutional history and tradition -- Biography and psychology -- The Silwood circle and sociality -- The socio-political and cultural context -- Concluding comments -- Appendix One: Verhulst, Volterra and Lotka -- Appendix Two: C.S. Holling : functional response and resilience; Robert M. May : stability, complexity, and chaos -- List of Acronyms.

Includes bibliographical references and index.