Chemistry in Ecology: An Editorial Review

At a time when scientists contribute to and, at times, seem likely to be overwhelmed by an information explosion, one might pardonably question the need for another journal; particularly another journai of an ecological nature. Too often, however, land, sea and fresh water are treated as if they do not interact, and chemistry, although a driving force in ecological systems, is either viewed as an impact upon parts rather than the whole system, or ignored completely: an attitude which is the despair of chemists and a grave loss to ecologists. Indeed, i t would seem, particularly in the marine field, that biologists/ecologists are falling far behind the chemists and this is a loss to the scientific community as a whole. One outcome is a lack of the wider view and those attempts to theorise which are necessary to progress in the subject. While not forgetting that an understanding of the component parts is vital to an understanding of the whole, Chemistry in Ecology will seek to promote the wider view, and in so doing try to create “bridges” between studies which have not been allied hitherto, but may advantageously work together in the future.