Information theory applied to ecology (Margalef)
Teoría de la información aplicada a la ecología (Margalef)
- Date
- 1957 · confidence medium
- Place
- Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Credited to
- Ramon Margalef
- Field
- Life & health
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
Ramon Margalef applied Shannon's information theory to ecology and proposed measures of species diversity (the Margalef index) and the idea that ecological succession accumulates information and reduces the energy flow per unit of biomass. His “Information Theory in Ecology” (1957) opened a path to modern theoretical ecology.
Robert MacArthur had already used Shannon's measure as an index of community stability in 1955; Margalef developed it as a theory in 1956-1957 (original in Spanish). The attribution of priority is debated.
What it led to
- species-diversity indices in common use
- theory of ecological succession and ecosystem maturity
- plankton ecology (Margalef's mandala)