Relevance and Responsibility in Behavioral Ecology

Emlen, S.T. (1998). Presidential address to the International Society for Behavioral Ecology, August 1, 1998. Excerpts printed in ISBE Newsletter, 10:2-4.


I will use this president's forum as a bully pulpit to argue that we, as behavioral ecologists, have a responsibility to communicate the importance and relevance of our research to an audience far beyond that of our scientific peers. At a time when governments are re-assessing their science policies, when the "value" of basic science is being challenged, and when scientific priorities are becoming defined in terms of short-term economic payoffs, it is essential that practicing scientists become more actively involved in the public dialog on science. This is especially true for behavioral ecologists because: (1) the questions that we ask are inherently interesting to the public, and (2) the answers that we discover are frequently relevant to the understanding of human nature.

I will make the argument for our increased public involvement through a retrospective review of some of my own research experiences, showing how the line between basic and applied science is often blurred, and how results often have unexpected implications. I will draw upon examples ranging from the use of navigational aids by migratory birds, to the importance of resource distributions in influencing social organization of animal societies, to the effects of genetic kinship upon family dynamics and family dysfunction.

My argument throughout will be that we, as behavioral ecologists, have a responsibility that extends beyond merely doing our science, to include explaining the potential relevance of our science to as broad an audience as possible.