How the equilibrium assumption is addressed in empirical tests of major ecological theories

The idea that natural systems tend to be at equilibrium dates back to the origin of the field of ecology and continues to underlie most ecological theory. However, empirical evidence for equilibrium dynamics in nature and in experiments is surprisingly elusive. Here, we address this conundrum by first exploring the history of equilibrium in ecological theory and the evidence for equilibrium dynamics in natural systems. We then search the literature to quantify how empiricists deal with equilibrium in their research, and we address barriers to integrating equilibrium into empirical work by providing step-by-step instructions for determining whether a population is at equilibrium. Next, we lay out three ways that equilibrium is embedded in theory, and for each, outline when meeting the equilibrium assumption in empirical tests is critical for scientific inference, and when it is possible to relax this assumption. And finally, we present concrete steps that empiricists and theoreticians ca..., This dataset is the outcome of a Web of Science search on July 24th, 2024 of the top cited articles that test five major equilibrium-based ecological theories: Modern Coexistence Theory, Tilman’s resource ratio (R* theory), the Metabolic Theory of Ecology, Metapopulation Theory, and Neutral theory. We developed search strings iteratively, adding in additional terms highly specific to those theories (e.g., \"stabilizing niche differences\" for Modern Coexistence Theory) in order to capture a substantial portion of the literature. Abstracts were screened to verify that the papers involved empirical tests of the theory’s predictions, and we retained 10 papers for each theory, for a total of 50 papers. , , # Data for: The equilibrium conundrum

Tess N. Grainger, Keila Stark, Chuliang Song, Matthew A. Barbour, Rachel M. Germain

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5hqbzkhgb](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5hqbzkhgb)

## Context

The equilibrium concept is ubiquitous in ecology, yet the ways in which it is considered and applied in different ecological theories varies significantly. We investigated how often the top-cited papers in common ecological theories acknowledge and address the equilibrium assumption.

We conducted a Web of Science search on July 24th, 2024, of the top cited articles that test five major equilibrium-based ecological theories: Modern Coexistence Theory, Tilman’s Resource Ratio (R*) Theory, the Metabolic Theory of Ecology, Metapopulation Theory, and Neutral theory. We developed search strings iteratively, adding in additional terms specific to each theory (e.g., \"stabilizing niche differences\" for Modern Coexistence Theory) in order to capture a substantial portion of the l...,

自然系统倾向于处于平衡态的理念，可追溯至生态学学科的起源，至今仍是绝大多数生态学理论的核心基础。然而，自然界与实验中平衡动态的实证证据却出人意料地难以寻觅。本研究首先梳理生态学理论中平衡概念的发展历程，以及自然系统中平衡动态的实证证据，以此破解这一难题。随后我们通过文献检索，量化生态学家在研究中如何处理平衡问题；同时我们提供了判断种群是否处于平衡态的分步指南，以解决将平衡概念融入实证研究的障碍。接下来，我们阐述平衡概念在理论中的三种嵌入方式，并分别说明：在实证检验中满足平衡假设何时对科学推论至关重要，以及何时可以放宽该假设。最后，我们提出了实证研究者与理论研究者可遵循的具体步骤……
本数据集源自2024年7月24日对Web of Science数据库的检索结果，检索覆盖了检验五大主流基于平衡的生态学理论的高被引论文，这些理论包括：现代共存理论（Modern Coexistence Theory）、蒂尔曼资源比率（R*）理论（Tilman’s resource ratio (R* theory)）、代谢生态学理论（Metabolic Theory of Ecology）、集合种群理论（Metapopulation Theory）以及中性理论（Neutral theory）。我们通过迭代方式构建检索式，加入针对各理论的专属术语（例如针对现代共存理论的“稳定生态位差异”），以尽可能覆盖该领域的绝大多数文献。我们对论文摘要进行筛选，以确认其针对理论预测开展了实证检验，最终每个理论保留10篇论文，总计50篇。

# 数据集对应：平衡难题（The equilibrium conundrum）

作者：Tess N. Grainger, Keila Stark, Chuliang Song, Matthew A. Barbour, Rachel M. Germain
[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5hqbzkhgb](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5hqbzkhgb)

## 研究背景
平衡概念在生态学中无处不在，但不同生态学理论对其的考量与应用方式存在显著差异。我们调研了主流生态学理论的高被引论文对平衡假设的提及与处理频率。
我们于2024年7月24日对Web of Science数据库进行检索，筛选出检验五大主流基于平衡的生态学理论的高被引论文，这些理论包括：现代共存理论、蒂尔曼资源比率（R*）理论、代谢生态学理论、集合种群理论以及中性理论。我们通过迭代方式构建检索式，加入针对各理论的专属术语（例如针对现代共存理论的“稳定生态位差异”），以尽可能覆盖该领域的绝大多数文献……