Keywords
complexity theory; ecofeminism; conservation and invasion biology; ecology; coyotes; red wolves
Abstract
Conservation biology and invasion biology are value-led scientific disciplines founded on environmental advocacy, operating at the intersection of research and action. Though these disciplines are known for their scientific veracity, unexamined values are often promulgated without scrutiny and drive decisions that work against good ecological outcomes. A case in point is that coyotes migrating into southeastern territory are framed as the greatest threat to the conservation of the endangered red wolf because hybridization is seen as diminishing their species integrity. Applying Val Plumwood’s ecofeminist account of dualistic frameworks, I will use this case to show how the vilification of the coyote and the sanctification of the red wolf lean on constructions of moral binaries that distort ecological relations and imply that nature is something to be subjugated, managed, interpreted, and controlled for our desired outcomes. As a solution to dualized and reductionist thinking, I suggest a robust inclusion of the principles of complexity theory would dismantle latent values for species purity and mastery of nature that work against evolutionary adaptability and human-ecological relations. A transition away from dualized, reductionist thinking and towards adopting an interdisciplinary and interspecies ethics modeled after complexity theory would allow biologists and wildlife managers to embrace hybridization between coyotes and red wolves as a creative process of a greater ecological system that is complex, inherently unpredictable, irreducible, and untamable.
Thesis Completion Year
2026
Thesis Completion Semester
Summer
Thesis Chair
Rudow, Brooke
College
College of Community Innovation and Education
Department
Department of Philosophy
Thesis Discipline
Philosophy
Language
English
Access Status
Open Access
Length of Campus Access
None
Campus Location
Orlando (Main) Campus
STARS Citation
Mahalic, Gretchen E., "Complexity Theory And Environmental Conservation Management: A Case Study With Coyote And Red Wolf Hybridization" (2026). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 662.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hut2024/662
Included in
Animal Sciences Commons, Animal Studies Commons, Applied Ethics Commons, Biodiversity Commons, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Feminist Philosophy Commons, Philosophy of Science Commons
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