Evelyn Chrystalla "E.C." Pielou (February 20, 1924 – July 16, 2016) was a Canadian statistical
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 ...
.
Biography
She began her career as a researcher for the
Canadian Department of Forestry (1963–64) and the
Canadian Department of Agriculture
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
(1964–67). Later she was professor of
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
at
Queen's University,
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between To ...
(1968–71) and at
Dalhousie University in
Halifax,
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
(1974–81) and then Oil Sands Environmental Research Professor working out of the
University of Lethbridge
, mottoeng = '' Let there be light''
, type = Public
, established =
, academic_affiliations = Universities Canada
, endowment = $73 million (2019)
, chancellor = Charles Wease ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
(1981–86). Pielou was the second woman to win the
Eminent Ecologist Award The Eminent Ecologist Award is prize awarded annually to a senior ecologist in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the science of ecology. The prize is awarded by the Ecological Society of America. According to the statutes, the recipient ...
(1986) 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 ...
. She has contributed significantly to the development of
mathematical ecology, the
mathematical modeling
A mathematical model is a description of a system using mathematical concepts and language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed mathematical modeling. Mathematical models are used in the natural sciences (such as physics, b ...
of natural systems, and wrote six academic books on the subject. She lived in Comox, British Columbia, Canada, and wrote popular books on
natural history until her death in July, 2016.
Contributions
Pielou's Evenness
Pielou's evenness is an index that measures diversity along with species richness. While species richness is the number of different species in a given area, evenness is the count of individuals of each species in an area. A calculated value of Pielou's evenness ranges from 0 (no evenness) to 1 (complete evenness). When taken into account along with other indices such as Simpson's index or Shannon's index, a more thorough description of a community's structure can be interpreted.
Mathematical Ecology
Pielou's approach added mathematical modelling to ecology. Quantifiable analyses could be done with theoretical ecology in areas like population and community ecology. Mathematics would provide insight into, for example, which factors are most significant to ecosystem stability and by how much compared to others.
One of Pielou's papers mentioned the importance and uses of mathematical modelling in ecology as well as their limitations.
Population dynamics was better explained as to why they behaved in the ways that they did through modelling. Predictions to an ecosystem's behaviour and its outcomes became more of an explanation as to why, rather than simply a forecast, through the use of such models. If a model was unrealistic, it did not mean that it was wrong. Mathematical modelling allowed the creation of new hypotheses looking into why the model did not match observations. An outcome was not always one or the other, as it might have been different due to unforeseen circumstances or conditions initially thought as unimportant. This allowed mathematical models in ecology to be used as a standard for comparisons with other systems. No two ecosystems are identical, and the significant differences between them could be more easily identified.
Selected works
Scholarly books
*Introduction to Mathematical Ecology (1969). Wiley-Interscience, New York.
*Population and community ecology: principles and methods (1974). Gordon and Breach, New York.
*Ecological diversity (1975). Wiley, New York.
*Mathematical ecology (1977). Wiley, New York.
*Biogeography (1979). Wiley, New York.
*The interpretation of ecological data: a primer on classification and ordination (1984). Wiley, New York.
Popular books
After the Ice Age: The Return of Life to Glaciated North America(1991). University of Chicago Press.
A Naturalist's Guide to the Arctic(1994). University of Chicago Press.
*Fresh Water (2000). University of Chicago Press.
*The energy of nature (2001). University of Chicago Press.
*The World of Northern Evergreens (2011). Comstock Publishing Associates (a division of Cornell University Press).
References
External links
Profile at science.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pielou, E.C.
1924 births
2016 deaths
Mathematical ecologists
Canadian ecologists
Academic staff of the Dalhousie University
Women ecologists
Fellows of the Ecological Society of America
British emigrants to Canada
British ecologists