Abstract
This paper reviews some of the current practices in limnology and oceanography and discusses ways to improve our habits in these fields. A survey of all 253 articles published in the journal Limnology and Oceanography in 1980, 1985, and 1990 indicates that the majority of papers (>60%) were predominantly descriptive, only about 30% used an experimental approach. Of the 27% articles presenting models, only 3% validated these models using field data. Only one out of 253 papers presented biological criteria to reject hypotheses. We discuss the significance of descriptive studies in the fields of limnology and oceanography, the use of numerical techniques to detect spatio-temporal patterns in the data, the significance of reductionism in aquatic sciences, the introduction of ad hoc hypotheses, the problem of selecting study sites, stations, and sample locations in shore and pelagic studies, and strategies available when an experimental approach cannot be used because environmental factors cannot be controlled.
Résumé
L'auteur passe en revue quelques-unes des pratiques habituelles en limnologie et en océanographie et discute des possibilités d'amélioration dans ces domaines. L'examen de 253 articles parus dans le périodique Limnology and Oceanography en 1980, 1985 et 1990 montre que la majorité de ceux-ci (>60%) est à dominante descriptive, et que l'approche expérimentale n'est utilisée que dans 30% des cas. Parmi les 27% d'articles présentant des modèles, seuls 3% valident ces modèles en utilisant des données de terrain. Un seul parmi les 253 articles présente des critères biologiques de rejet des hypothèses. La discussion porte sur l'importance des études descriptives en limnologie et en océanographie, l'emploi des techniques numériques pour détecter des phénomènes spatio-temporels dans les données, la signification du réductionnisme dans les sciences aquatiques, l'introduction d'hypothèses ad hoc, les critères de choix des sites d'études, des stations et des échantillonnages dans les études littorales et pélagiques, et les stratégies valables lorsqu'une approche expérimentale ne peut être employée en raison de facteurs environnementaux non contrôlables.
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Contribution to the program of GIROQ (Groupe interuniversitaire de Recherches Océanographiques du Québec)
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Bourget, E., Fortin, MJ. A commentary on current approaches in the aquatic sciences. Hydrobiologia 300, 1–16 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00024444
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00024444