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How Can We Better Predict Environmental Change?
October 23, 2026
The latest issue of Philosophy, Theory, and Practice in Biology features an article co-authored by Professor of Philosophy and interim dean of Arts and Humanities Julie Maybee that offers a new take on the way ecologists understand changes in the systems they study. “Embracing Process Ontology Towards a Dynamic Biogeochemistry” argues that environmental systems can be better thought of as a group of dynamic relationships that change and interact over time, rather than as fixed components and outcomes—the traditional approach. When methane and phosphorus, for example, are tracked through the environment by traditional models, critical interactions can be missed. A process-based model focuses on how such elements respond to their surroundings and how short-term changes can affect a whole system. Maybee and her co-authors suggest that when both models are used together in conjunction with frequent measurements, scientists will gain a more complete understanding of ecosystems and their behavior.