Ecology, Vol. XIV, No. 2 
 
 
has been little or no tendency towards the development of specialists on
the entire life of 
natural areas. Perhaps one reason why nature study has been unsuccessful
is because too 
often it is not the study of nature but of single natural objects or groups
of objects which 
constitute a small part of any natural aggregation. Often this has resulted
in the devel- 
opment of emotions relative to the plants or animals singled out for this
study, followed 
by sentimental desires to protect them. 
    Biologists are beginning to realize that it is dangerous to tamper with
nature by 
introducing plants and animals, or by destroying predatory animals or by
pampering 
herbivores. Much of the so-called " control" of noxious insects,
of predatory animals, 
and of plant diseases is based upon the idea that nature can be " improved."
This is, of 
course, the dominant idea in all agricultural, silvicultural and game cultural
practice. 
The fact remains, however, that wolves and other predators, and herbivores
in numbers 
have lived together for thousands of years without disaster and that in some
of our na- 
tional parks they have lived together with far better maintenance of natural
conditions 
than in areas where control has prevailed. 
    In general, from a philosophical and practical viewpoint, the unmodified
assemblage 
of organisms is commonly more valuable than the isolated rare species. However,
be- 
cause the significance of the unmodified assemblage is popularly ignored,
the whole is 
commonly sacrificed in the supposed interest of the rare species. Due to
the local habitat 
relations of the rare species, neither need be sacrificed in any large natural
area, hence 
the importance of large sanctuaries. 
    The principal activity of field ecologists might be stated to be the
gathering of data 
for the interpretation of nature. To the ecologist, it is the entire series
of plants and 
animals which live together in any community which is of primary interest.

    The Ecological Society of America has always been interested in the preservation
of 
natural areas with all their native animals. A committee composed of its
members pub- 
lished a book entitled The Naturalist Guide ('25) listing a very large number
of such 
areas and so is in position to know the extent and present condition of such
areas. Only 
a very few were reported in a pristine condition so far as animals were concerned.
The 
society has recently held a number of conferences with park and forest officials
and after 
careful consideration, prepared the following memorandum dealing with (I)
definition, 
(2) size, and (3) classification of natural areas containing original plant
and animal life. 
 
                    B. NATURE SANCTUARIES OR NATURE RESERVES 
I. Meaning and Use of the Term 
    Just what original nature in any area was like from a biological viewpoint,
is not 
known and never can be known with any great accuracy. Primitive man, who
could not 
remove the forest or exterminate the animals, is probably properly called
a part of nature. 
At the time of the discovery of America, a scattered population of Indians
had locally 
modified the vegetation, but had not destroyed any of the vegetation types.
However, 
most of the areas which are now available for reservation as nature sanctuaries
or nature 
reserves were probably not much affected by these primitive men. This is
the argument 
for leaving them out of the picture. 
    " Nature " and " natural " are purely relative terms
and can have significance only as 
averages, because the outstanding phenomenon of biotic communities is fluctuations
in 
numbers of constituent organisms or reproductive stages of organisms over
a period of 
one to thirty or more years. Thus, a Nature Sanctuary is primarily an area
in which 
these fluctuations are allowed free play. 
   The term Nature Sanctuary has been applied to areas covered by natural
vegetation, 
but not containing all the animal species. In Europe, for example, in some
of the nature 
parks no timber is removed and only persons with serious scientific or other
scholarly 
interest are admitted. The Nature Sanctuaries are surrounded by areas in
a less natural 
 
 
241 
 
 
NOTES AND COMMENT