Crawford Stanley "Buzz" Holling, (December 6, 1930 – August 16, 2019) was a Canadian
ecologist
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 ...
, and Emeritus Eminent Scholar and Professor in Ecological Sciences at the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
. Holling was one of the conceptual founders of
ecological economics.
Biography
Crawford Stanley Holling was born in 1930 in the United States to Canadian parents. He grew up in
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Pro ...
, which was where he first became interested in nature. As a teenager he was a member of the
Royal Ontario Museum's Toronto Junior Field Naturalists.
Holling received his B.A. and M.Sc. at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...
in 1952 and his Ph.D. at the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...
in 1957. He worked for several years in the Canadian Department of Forestry in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
After working for
Forestry Canada, Buzz Holling was, at various times, Professor and Director of the Institute of Animal Resource Ecology, University of British Columbia, Director of the
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an independent international research institute located in Laxenburg, near Vienna, in Austria. Through its research programs and initiatives, the institute conducts policy-o ...
in
Vienna
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, and Eminent Scholar, Arthur R. Marshall Jr. Chair in Ecological Sciences in the Department of Zoology at the University of Florida.
He retired from the University of Florida in 1999, but remained on the faculty as an Emeritus Eminent Scholar.
He was awarded two major awards from the
Ecological Society of America
The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is a professional organization of ecological scientists. Based in the United States and founded in 1915, ESA publications include peer-reviewed journals, newsletters, fact sheets, and teaching resources. I ...
, the Mercer Award given to a young scientist in recognition of an outstanding paper in ecology in 1966, and the Eminent Ecologist Award for "outstanding contributions to the science of Ecology" in 1999. He also received the Kenneth Boulding Memorial Prize, in 2000, the
Volvo Environment Prize
The Volvo Environment Prize is an annual international award originating in Sweden. The prize is awarded to individuals who "''explore the way to a sustainable world''." The prize is awarded by the independent foundation ''The Volvo Environment P ...
in 2008, an Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Guelph in 1998, and an Honorary Doctor of Science from the Simon Fraser University in 2011. He was a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Canada, a foreign Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and has been awarded the
Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art
The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system.
History
The "Austrian ...
. In 2009, he was made an Officer of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the cen ...
"for his pioneering contributions to the field of ecology, notably for his work on ecosystem dynamics, resilience theory and ecological economics".
He was founding editor-in-chief of the open access on-line journal ''Conservation Ecology'', now renamed ''
Ecology and Society
''Ecology and Society'' (formerly ''Conservation Ecology'') is a quarterly open access interdisciplinary academic journal published by the Resilience Alliance. It covers an array of disciplines from the natural sciences, social sciences, and the ...
''.
He was also the founder of the Resilience Alliance, an international science network.
Work
Throughout his research, C. S. Holling blended
systems theory
Systems theory is the interdisciplinary study of systems, i.e. cohesive groups of interrelated, interdependent components that can be natural or human-made. Every system has causal boundaries, is influenced by its context, defined by its structu ...
and
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 overl ...
with simulation modeling and policy analysis to develop integrative theories of change that have practical utility. He has introduced important ideas in the application of ecology and evolution, including
resilience,
adaptive management
Adaptive management, also known as adaptive resource management or adaptive environmental assessment and management, is a structured, iterative process of robust decision making in the face of uncertainty, with an aim to reducing uncertainty over ...
, the
adaptive cycle, and
panarchy.
His early work included major contributions to population and behavioural ecology. Later, he was among the first ecologists to recognize the importance of nonlinear dynamics. This early work on predation led to a series of papers, including his 1959 Citation Classic paper in the Canadian Entomologist, in which he developed the notion of
functional response (the relationship between prey density and the rate at which prey is eaten), an idea that continues to be a linchpin of modern population ecology.
His 1973 paper on the
resilience of ecological systems had a substantial impact within ecology and other natural and social sciences. He has also contributed important ideas to ecological management, including
Adaptive management
Adaptive management, also known as adaptive resource management or adaptive environmental assessment and management, is a structured, iterative process of robust decision making in the face of uncertainty, with an aim to reducing uncertainty over ...
and the Adaptive Cycle. More recently his work on the cross-scale structure and dynamics of ecosystems has been highly influential. This work resulted in the 2002 book ''Panarchy: understanding transformations in human and natural systems''.
His work is frequently cited in the fields of ecology,
environmental management,
ecological economics and the human dimensions of global change.
Literature
C.S. Holling has edited or co-edited several books:
* 1978. ''Adaptive environmental assessment and management''. (Editor) London: John Wiley & Sons.
* 1995. ''Barriers and bridges to the renewal of ecosystems and institutions''. Edited with L. Gunderson and S. Light (editors) New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
* 2002. ''Panarchy: understanding transformations in human and natural systems''. Edited with L. Gunderson, (editors) Washington, DC: Island Press.
* 2008. ''Discontinuities in Ecosystems and Other Complex Systems''. Edited with Craig R. Allen, New York, NY : Columbia University Press.
* 2010. ''Foundations of ecological resilience''. L. H. Gunderson, C. R. Allen, and C. S. Holling, (editors): Island Press.
C.S. Holling's most cited articles include:
* 1959 "The components of predation as revealed by a study of small mammal predation of the European Pine Sawfly". in: ''Canadian Entomologist''. Vol 91 : 293–320.
* 1973. "Resilience and stability of ecological systems". in: ''Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics''. Vol 4 :1-23.
* 1978, with D. Ludwig, D. and D.D. Jones. in: "Qualitative analysis of insect outbreak systems". ''Journal of Animal Ecology''. Vol 47 (1): 315–332.
* 1990, with C.J. Walters, "Large-scale management experiments and learning by doing", in: ''Ecology''. Vol 71 (6): 2060-2068
* 1992, "Cross-scale Morphology, geometry, and dynamics of ecosystems". in: ''Ecological Monographs''. Vol 62 (4): 447-502
* 1996, with G.K. Meffe. "Command and control and the pathology of natural resource management". in: ''Conservation Biology''. Vol 10 (2): 328–337.
References
External links
Holling, Crawford Stanleyin the Canadian encyclopedia.
Resilience Alliance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holling, C.S.
1930 births
2019 deaths
Canadian ecologists
Canadian expatriate academics in the United States
Officers of the Order of Canada
Systems ecologists
University of Florida faculty
University of British Columbia faculty
Ecological economists
People from Theresa, New York
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
Fellows of the Ecological Society of America
University of British Columbia alumni
University of Toronto alumni
Scientists from New York (state)