Ecological modelling

Abstract

An ecological model relates interactions within and between people and other life forms in an ecosystem context. Anthropologists use ecological modelling to address issues such as sustainability of cultural practices, population structures responding to policies, or ecological impacts of human activities. In Anthropology ecological modelling initially arose in response to Cultural Ecology as developed by Julian Steward and Leslie White, but eventually positioned agency and cultural processes as the principle drivers in ecosystems. Ecological models tend towards explanatory rather than descriptive accounts, with detail often specified at the level of individual interactions. Ecological modelling makes possible research that might otherwise be unethical or impractical