The British Ecological Society is a

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an discipline (academia), academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and s ...

in the field of

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

that was founded in 1913. It is the oldest ecological society in the world. The Society's original objective was "to promote and foster the study of Ecology in its widest sense" and this remains the central theme guiding its activities today. The Society had, circa 2013 around 4,000 members of which 14% are students. Of its members, 42% are outside the United Kingdom, in a total of 92 countries. The head office is located in London.

History

The Society evolved out of the British Vegetation Committee, which was founded in 1904 to promote the survey and study of vegetation in the British Isles. This initiative was in turn the outcome of what many historians perceive to have been the emergence of modern

in the 1890s. The British Ecological Society's inaugural meeting was held at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

on 12 April 1913 and was attended by 47 members. Sir

Arthur Tansley Sir Arthur George Tansley FLS, FRS (15 August 1871 – 25 November 1955) was an English botanist and a pioneer in the science of ecology. Educated at Highgate School, University College London and Trinity College, Cambridge, Tansley taught a ...

became the first President and the first issue of ''

Journal of Ecology The ''Journal of Ecology'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of the ecology of plants. It was established in 1913 and is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the British Ecological Society. The journal publ ...

'' was printed in time for the meeting. In its early days the society shared the London offices of

The Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

Publications

Publication of

scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. Content Articles in scientific journals are mostly written by active scientists such as s ...

s is a principal activity. The ''

'' was first published in 1913 in time for the inaugural meeting of the Society, followed by the ''

Journal of Animal Ecology The ''Journal of Animal Ecology'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing research in all areas of animal ecology. It began publication in 1932, and as such is the second oldest journal of the British Ecological Society (after '' ...

'' (1932), ''

Journal of Applied Ecology ''Journal of Applied Ecology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing research in all areas of environmental management. It was established in 1964 and is published by Wiley on behalf of the British Ecological Society. The Sen ...

'' (1962), ''

Functional Ecology Functional ecology is a branch of ecology that focuses on the roles, or functions, that species play in the community or ecosystem in which they occur. In this approach, physiological, anatomical, and life history characteristics of the species a ...

'' (1987), and '' Methods in Ecology and Evolution'' (2010). Members can subscribe to these journals at a low cost. The Society also partners with

Wiley-Blackwell Wiley-Blackwell is an international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons. It was formed by the merger of John Wiley & Sons Global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business with Blackwell Publish ...

on the open access journal ''Ecology and Evolution''.

Meetings

The Society also runs several major scientific meetings for ecologists each year. The Annual Meeting currently attracts 1,200 delegates each year and provides the opportunity for ecologists to present papers and posters on a wide variety of topics; an important element has always been the active participation of research students. There is an increasing number of delegates from overseas, principally Europe. It is Europe's largest annual meeting of ecologists. Since 1960 the Society has run an Annual Symposium and published a volume of its papers. It supports a range of other specialist meetings, workshops, training events and field meetings.

Presidents

References

External links

* {{authority control British biology societies British ecologists Ecology organizations Organisations based in London Professional associations based in the United Kingdom Scientific organizations established in 1913 1913 establishments in the United Kingdom